May 25, 2020

 

Dear Hathaway Brown Community,

 

We’ve reached the final week of the school year, and as we have observed Memorial Day today, it is a short week at that. But it’s certainly an exciting one.

 

All weekend long, Director of Upper School Hallie Ritzman and I have been standing in the beautiful sunshine in our famed graduation courtyard, welcoming the members of the Class of 2020 and their families for special individual graduation ceremonies. It’s been an honor to confer diplomas in this intimate and personalized way, with Hallie reading tributes designed to honor each of the fabulous members of this impressive and outstanding senior class. Our graduates also have been able to have professional photographs taken in front of our iconic fountain, and we sent them out into the world with several gifts from the school, as the Alma Mater played. It has been a lovely and emotional experience. On May 29 at 11 a.m., we will share a Commencement video to celebrate the class. The entire HB community is invited to view it at hb.edu/commencement2020.

 

We continue to celebrate students in all of our other school divisions as well. Last week we took end-of-year portraits of our eighth graders at school. On Saturday we had an Early Childhood Wave Goodbye Line in our front circle. This Thursday, we’ll have an Eighth Grade Car Parade, and K-3 Drive Through Goodbyes. We’re honoring our fourth-graders next Monday and Tuesday, with another car parade and a Zoom graduation ceremony.

 

It’s been so inspiring to me to see all the ways that our faculty and administrators have come up with to keep our students engaged and feeling the HB love. This time of remote education has certainly brought out some of the best characteristics of our team. This weekend our athletics coaches hand-delivered the senior banners to our Class of 2020 athletes, and since March, all of our sports teams have continued to connect, bond, and work out together. Coaches did an outstanding job staying in touch with their players and emphasizing the importance of camaraderie, teamwork, and supportive sisterhood. As we learn more about fall sports, we'll let you know.

 

If you haven’t yet checked out our slate of summer program offerings, please visit hb.edu/summer and feel free to share the link with your friends and family. We’re thrilled to have been able to reimagine so many programs and launch several more.

 

Plans continue to be developed for the fall, and as more of our educators have been on campus we have instituted strict social distancing, face coverings, and hygiene protocols for all employees. The school building is still closed to K-12 students through June 30, and we are not accepting visitors except those who are on campus for essential business reasons. I hope to be able to share documentation about our safety guidelines and plans for reopening campus soon.

 

In the meantime, please enjoy the sunshine and this wonderful last week of school. It has been a pleasure to partner with all of you this year. Next Monday will be my final Monday update for the 2019-2020 school year.

 

Fondly,

 

 

Fran Bisselle
Head of School