An Exercise in Exceptions

“Even Life Itself is an Exercise in Exceptions”

Captain Jean-Luc Picard

This is one of my favorite lines by one of my favorite characters. If I can find any way to describe the events of the last few weeks, there is no better way to start than to describe it as an exercise in exceptions. There is no playbook for the decisions that we have faced in the last few days, and these decisions have weighed heavily on the hearts of administrators, teachers, parents, and students. Last Thursday morning, students came to school getting ready for scheduled ROTC and band events, choral concerts, and spring athletic contests. We finish this week with schools closed and events canceled. The majority of our students and staff have also quickly transitioned to an online learning environment.

We still face significant uncertainty on how long the current status will last. There will be growing pains as we go through this transition, and we ask that you bear with us. I can’t begin to tell you how proud I am of our students, as so many of them have embraced this sudden change. I couldn’t ask for a harder working group of teachers and staff, as many of them have teamed up to help this transition go as smoothly as possible. Faculty and staff continue working together to get google classroom’s setup, helping pass out chrome books to parents and students, and voicing genuine concern for the well-being of their students.

Every day, we are working to increase opportunities to provide meals to students that might need it. My hope is that we can continue this as long as it is both practical and possible. While school looks much different this week than it did last week, know that many of those services that we provide to students are still available. If you need to talk with your counselor, your teacher, or an administrator, we can arrange it. If we can help ease the burden that you’re feeling during this season of our lives, please reach out. Know that this will pass. While we don’t have all of the answers to your questions, we have not forgotten, nor do we take our responsibility lightly to help you or your child graduate high school well prepared for the world that they will enter. We know that their dreams depend on it!