July 15, 2020
Dear Families,
We hope that you are all staying healthy and enjoying the summer so far! Although NYA’s campus contains has far less activity than that of prior summers (especially without the annual Yarmouth Clam Festival setup this week), there is still a great deal of planning underway as we prepare the campus for the opening of school in September.
We continue to actively plan for the safe reopening of campus in the fall. As we prepare, we do so with the health and safety of every member of our community at the forefront. Our process is driven by the most up-to-date guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), state and federal guidelines, Maine Department of Health and Human Services guidelines, and the Maine Department of Education. As we shared in our June 25 letter, several factors, most notably our small classes, uniquely position the Academy to open to all students for on-campus instruction in the fall.
We are grateful for your patience as we carefully prepare our physical campus and update protocols for a safe return for our students, faculty, and staff. In lieu of our annual Lower School Family Picnic, classroom teachers will be holding Zoom meetings with their students and parents on August 28. We will be sending additional information about preparing for the new school year next week, and look forward to sharing more detailed plans for returning to campus in the weeks ahead. The following is a timeline of important dates:
- Friday, July 24: Draft of the “NYA: Return to Campus Plan” will be shared with the community.
- Tuesday, July 28: Zoom Meeting with Families to provide an overview of our return to campus plan. Representatives from the faculty and administration will be on hand to answer questions on program and safety. A separate invitation will be sent for a 4:00 p.m. meeting.
- August 11-13: Zoom Meetings by Division. Head of School and Division Heads will be on hand to share more division-specific information and answer questions.
- Monday, August 17: Upper School Athletic Preseason scheduled to begin.
- Friday, August 28: Lower School Class meetings via Zoom. Invitations will be sent from individual classroom teachers.
- Wednesday, September 2: New Middle and Upper School Student Orientation (for all fifth grade students and new students in grades six-PG). Freshman Orientation (for all ninth grade students). More information will be included in the August newsletters.
- Tuesday, September 8: First Day of School.
In the meantime, we hope you all continue to stay healthy, enjoy your summer readings, and relish these wonderful weeks of summer!
Sincerely,
| Ben Jackson | Marissa Markonish |
| Head of School | Head of Middle and Lower Schools |
