Dear Madrona School parents,
Last week I had the opportunity to deeply understand and follow our health protocols. I woke up Wednesday morning with a mild sniffly nose and that vague, cotton ball feeling in my head that I get when I have a cold. In a normal year, I would have gone to school without thinking about it. However, this is not a normal year. Out of an abundance of caution, I stayed home and watched my symptoms. I knew that if they disappeared within 24 hours I could return to school, but if they lasted longer, I would have to get a COVID test or quarantine for 14 days. I decided to get a test so that I was ahead of the game if the sniffly nose didn't go away by the next morning. I'm glad I got the test because my ever-so slight cold symptoms didn't go away so I had to wait for negative test results before returning to school. Friday morning I opened my email to discover I was negative for COVID, which was my suspicion all along. It was very inconvenient to stay home, but it was the right thing to do for the community.
Last year, as a result of masking, frequent hand washing, and the care the whole community took to stay home when sick, I didn't have any cold or flu symptoms all year long. It was great to have a little vacation from illness. But, I am also glad to have a mild cold to give my immune system a work-out. And it is working well. I was right as rain by Friday.
Moral of the story: if your child is sick, please keep them home and follow the return to school protocols linked in the COVID-19 tab on our website. It is inconvenient, and it is worth it.
Many of you have already experienced this same dilemma. I appreciate your choice to keep your children home, despite the fact that they may be missing a first milestone of the year. It is that care of our community that adds to the specialness of Madrona School.
Thank you, Jocelyn Waite
Head of School
Back to School Letter, September 8, 2021
LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF SCHOOL
The faculty and staff are busy preparing for a new school year. We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of the students to campus, both returning and new students.
This fall we find that not much has changed from last fall. Despite strong vaccination rates on Bainbridge Island, with the persistence of variants like Delta the cases of COVID-19 statewide are rising. We have put in place the same policies and protocols that we followed last year. Masks will be worn in the Kindergarten through 5th grade when inside and outside when physical distancing is not possible. We will check the students' temperature and general wellbeing at arrival every day. We will have handwashing stations set up for regular cleaning and sanitizing.
Our full health policy and protocols are linked here:
Madrona School COVID-19 Health Policy
Madrona School COVID-19 Protocols
Last year we were able to offer in-person school all year and had no active cases of COVID-19 in our school. This was only possible because of the care all our families took to prioritize the health of our community when making choices to socialize outside of the school community. Our families are asked to read and sign a Community Commitment which outlines our expectation that the Madrona School community is prioritized above all other social engagements. Given our success last year, we are confident that we will be able to safely navigate in-person school throughout the year. We will offer a fully outdoor parent/child class for ages 12 months (walking) - 3 years, a fully outdoor preschool program for ages 2 1/2 - 4, a fully outdoor kindergarten class for ages 4 - 6, and two mixed age grades classes: 1st - 2nd and 3rd - 5th. Follow this link to find our application and application process.
I admire our teachers and staff who have worked hard to create a safe, enriching, and viable school experience for your students. If you have any questions or would like further information, please don’t hesitate to contact me at hos@madronaschol.org. We look forward to welcoming your students in September.
With warm regards,
Jocelyn Waite
Head of School
Orchestra lessons culminate in a beautiful concert at Madrona School
Dear Madrona School parents,
For those of you who took the opportunity to attend our strings concert last week, you know how moving it was. The outdoor setting, the fact that we had probably not attended a concert in over a year, and the students who truly rose to the occasion after a school year of many absences and upsets to our routines all were ingredients for a magical event. Thank you, Justine Jeanotte, for creatively working with our students, whether in person or remote, for your patience with never knowing who would attend class on any given day, and for your positive attitude during a trying year. Your skill and expertise were clearly on display. Our music program, consisting of violin, viola and cello lessons, is one of the many things that makes our education special. I am so glad our students had an opportunity to show our community the hard work they have put in this year.
Sincerely, Jocelyn Waite
Head of School
Mini Magic Challenge, Week of May 25
The Madrona Mini Magic Challenge is a weekly activity where community members seek to infuse their own home and our shared virtual community life with a bit of fun. It is open to all and is designed to offer the possibility of a little bit of fun, playfulness, creativity and shared inspiration to our collective experience as we settle in to a longer period at home.
This week’s theme: Bees! How did you interpret this theme? See below for our entries, and click on an image to see it in a larger lightbox.
