Dear Friend,
The Sophia Academy team has you in our thoughts, and we hope that you are safe. If you or a member of your family is working to heal, support, and provide for others who are affected by the COVID-19 crisis, we send you our deepest thanks.
Here at Sophia, with creativity, energy, and teamwork, we transitioned to an entirely virtual school in one week. I’ve never been more proud or honored to work with a team of people in my career. Every faculty and staff member is focused on providing our students with the same relational approach and quality of curriculum we offer in our building. For some teachers, this work is complicated by the fact that they are home with their own children. For others, technology is a new realm, and they have had not only to rapidly reconceive curriculum, but also learn new ways to work, communicate, and teach.
On Monday, March 23, students began connecting with their teachers in Google Classroom and Google Meet. Morning Meeting and Closing Circle continue to book-end each day, providing structure and community; I dropped into the sixth grade Closing Circle last week and was treated to recitations of haiku poems they had written about living in the time of COVID-19.
Our family support team is reaching out regularly to parents and building a Google Classroom student support “office.” Our COVID-19 webpage provides information for parents about online school as well as resources they can access if they are affected by the economic fallout of this crisis; so far, about half of our families are reporting employment losses. We have helped families get free internet access if they needed it, and loaned out about 25 Chromebooks to students who needed them to participate in classes.
Virtual school means virtual meetings. We’re finding moments of collegiality, meeting online for coffee, sharing photos of our home offices, or trading tips on teleworking and teleteaching. In one of the most poignant moments of Sophia’s journey through COVID-19, last Friday, Ana Ceballos, our school secretary, opened our weekly meeting by serenading us with a beautiful rendition of "Volveremos a Brindar” (“We Will Toast Again”).
Sophia Academy was born out of an abundance of hope and a commitment to community, values that are more important now than ever. We are humbled by the love you have shown our students and families through your support, volunteer work, partnership, and leadership. With you standing behind us and cheering our girls on, rest assured that Sophia Academy continues to challenge our students to dream big, work hard, and reflect their wisdom into the world. Thank you for being a part of our community.
Warmly,
Maura Farrell
Head of School