LETTER FROM THE RECTOR

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Dear Friends, To say this year has been an uphill climb (see cover photo of Vanessa R. ’21!) may be something of an understatement. From COVID-19 to a contentious election season, historic storms to history-in-the-making, it seemed that each week of this school year brought something new with which to challenge ourselves.

Yet challenging oneself, pushing outside of one’s comfort zone to try new things, hit dead ends and high walls, and to keep going, is essential to growth. While we as a community, society, and even world may never have chosen to undertake so many challenges all at once, there is no doubt that this year we did not watch passively as events unfolded but rather we were active participants in our own lives, truly living in the moment.

We took risks this year. We reimagined our athletics seasons, our drama performances, our robotics meets, our weekend activities. We re-envisioned how our beautiful campus could support these new realities, and re-imagined what was possible for us individually and as a Chatham Hall community. We opened ourselves to possibilities, and in doing so expanded both who we are and what we believe. We did not put our lives on hold, but rather pushed ahead in bold initiatives like refining our Living Well philosophy, creating a new academic and daily schedule, overhauling our advanced courses curriculum, and even renovating our campus houses. We started the real work of building inclusion in our community, and are grateful for the words and actions of our faculty, students, and alumnae who have come together to help ensure Chatham Hall is a school in which all can truly see places for themselves. While it would be easy to look at the world and even our lives as having stopped over the course of the past year, nothing could be further from the truth. In the pages ahead, you will see just a glimpse of all that went on at Chatham Hall in the past few months and the foundation on which our work will continue next year and into the future. This was a year that may be looked on in the future as a heavy time, a sad time, a slow time, but for me it has been a year in which light emerged as together we navigated new realities, appreciated the journey, and illuminated the way for others when perhaps they could not do so for themselves. It was a year in which we may have felt as though all we had to offer was what seemed like the worst of ourselves, but in reality we were privileged to find the best in ourselves and in each other.

It is truly astounding what we have been able to accomplish together, whether we are on campus or off, students or alumnae, faculty and staff or parents and families. With the love, support, and commitment of all we have made strides that would be tremendous in any school year and are phenomenal in this one. Though to anyone who knows us, this should not be a surprise - I for one would expect nothing less of a community as exceptional as Chatham Hall.

Esto Perpetua,

Rachel A. Connell Rector