Ms. Roggero show off her spirit during virtual Beach Spirit Day.
Allister Adair waves during his Graduation Celebration
THE CATHEDRAL SPIRIT BY KATE JUERGENS, Director of Lower School On a Thursday afternoon in early March 2020, the halls at Cathedral were vibrating with a new kind of energy. As educators, we are very familiar with boy-energy—the noise, the movement, the excitement. It’s what inspires us and keeps us grounded. This particular afternoon, however, the energy felt different. We had just made the unprecedented decision to close our campus due to the serious nature of the COVID-19 virus. In classrooms, teachers were organizing and packing up student supplies, the boys were nervously talking about learning from home, and administrators were finalizing the technology needs. Though we had been talking about this potential for weeks and teachers had been working overtime to be prepared for distance learning, the uncertainty of it all felt heavy.
Coach Thomas presents the Soccer Juggling Challenge as part of virtual Field Day
Beach Spirit Day
AS THE LAST STUDENT LEFT CAMPUS THAT AFTERNOON, we reflected on the educational preparation we had done. We were ready to make the first leap into distance learning and like any challenge we face, our teachers were committed to maintaining the quality of teaching and learning, even virtually. To some degree, we felt ready. But, I’ll never forget overhearing someone say, as we turned off the lights and left campus, “What do we do about Chapel?” With the shelter-in-place order, phrases like “distance learning,” “remote school,” and “emergency teaching” were flooding our email inboxes and thoughts. But one word was noticeably lacking in the new vocabulary this situation had created: COMMUNITY. The question, then, became not only how do
we provide an excellent education at a distance, but how can we maintain our Cathedral community when we can’t be together? Now, more than ever, we needed to maintain and strengthen our connections and support each other with compassion. And so, just as we began to prioritize all things teaching and learning, so too did we prioritize the Cathedral Community at a distance. In moments of uncertainty, consistent communication is essential. Headmaster Jones, therefore, quickly created Town Hall meetings where information was shared and questions were asked. Held every Tuesday morning, Cathedral families logged on and listened to Mr. Jones’ articulate updates on-going developments. It was also an opportunity for our community to ask questions, share
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FALL 2020 • RED & GOLD | 7
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