The Parker Weekly, Page 1
Visit us at parkerweekly.org
The Parker Weekly Happy First Day of School!
Volume CXI, Issue 1
ROV TEAM SWIMS TO INTER– NATIONALS
September 8, 2021
CHICAGO COVID-19 PROTOCOL UPDATE
“Subaquatic Solutions” Goes to Tennesee For Competition
New Delta Variant Endangers the Safety of Chicago Citizens
By Gabby Druger
By Alya Satchu
W
alking down the science hall during the school year, room 181 is full of the sounds of rotary tools, the sizzling of soldering irons, and lively chatter. Even though classes were not in session, Parker’s very own Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV) team continued working through the summer for the international competition. Every year, regional contests take place around North America, Asia, North Africa, the Middle East, and the Western Pacific. The top teams from each regional competition move on. Parker won first place at Shedd Aquarium’s regional competition on June 5 and earned their spot for internationals. This year the international competition was held at East Tennessee State University, from August 5-7. The MATE ROV challenge was to build a vehicle able to tackle real world climate problems, such as plastic in the ocean and the impact of poor environmental practices on inland waterways. The robots that did the best would move up to the next competition. To successfully compete, each team must create an engineering presentation and give a live demonstration of their robot completing tasks. Teams are scored by judges on their presentation, engineering, communication, marketing display, and their technical documentation. Their robot does various tasks in a timed pool environment which can give them different points that add to their score and help determine their placement. Parker’s team, named “Subaquatic Solutions,” consists of students from grades 9-12. Roles within the team include engineers, managers, directors, and builders. Some students have multiple roles such as junior Savanna Maness, who is the Director of Marketing, Tether Management, and the Electrical Engineer. All the students worked together to create the robot they named “Shelby,” a play on “She’ll be” as the team has mostly
Continued on page 15
The alcove is quiet as students wait for the start of school. Photo by Caroline Skok.
MASKED BUT BACK
Parker Returns On-Campus Despite Delta Variant
W
By Tess Wayland
hen school ended in early June 2021, the daily average of COVID-19 cases in Chicago had dropped below 100, eligible Parker community members had an over 80% vaccination rate, and President Joe Biden removed the mask mandate for vaccinated Americans. Three months later, the Chicago coronavirus landscape has shifted after the rise of the Delta variant and so has Parker’s reopening plan for the 2021-22 school year. Parker will be returning to full inperson instruction, with masks required inside regardless of vaccination status and weekly saliva screening for unvaccinated individuals. Remote learning will only be offered in the event of a quarantine. The health and safety plan, called the “Better New Normal” by Upper School Head Chris Arnold in an August 20 email, has been communicated in several emails throughout the summer as the Delta variant made the coronavirus cases surge. Though many health and safety protocols remain from Spring 2021, the school is reintroducing more community engagement events such as admissions tours, on-campus parent mixers, and orientation. “We’ll slowly have a re-engagement of face-to-face, mask-to-mask community, but we’ll do it thoughtfully and step-by-step,” Principal Dan Frank said. All employees and students were required to return saliva samples to campus by Tuesday, September 7, the day before school began. Unvaccinated community members will continue to be saliva screened weekly. Breakthrough cases of the vaccinated will be handled on a case-
by-case basis, Frank said. Visitors are required to provide proof of vaccination, a negative PCR test, or proof of recent coronavirus infection to schedule an appointment to visit the school between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., per a school-wide email sent on August 25. Families will also be required to fill out three forms and waivers: the COVID-19 Waiver, the Community Social Contract, and the COVID-19 Screening Consent Form. The Social Contract contains guidelines that were also in-place last spring, such as daily health screenings on the Ruvna app and restricted access to water fountains. Frank suggested that traditions such as Big Brother Big Sisters would be moved to the field and that Morning Exercise may be limited to grades 7-12 in the auditorium with a Zoom option for younger students or held in smaller groups for the Lower and Intermediate school divisions. Senior and Executive Advisor Ivy Jacobs met with Arnold this summer to provide feedback on a draft of the “Better New Normal” schedule. Though she said she knows plans could change with the Delta variant, she feels excited to start the year at 330 W Webster. “I’m not mourning my senior year yet because our first day will be in-person, we’ll get to leave campus, we’ll get to be in large groups of people and face directions other than forward,” Jacobs said. There was some discussion in early July of vaccinated classes taking their masks off within the room until “it was clear that Delta had taken a surge,”’ Frank said.
Continued on page 14
C
hicago transitioned into Phase Five in June and several COVID-19 restrictions were lifted. All areas of the economy were permitted to reopen with new safety and health guidelines. Capacity and distance limits were revoked, allowing citizens to socialize in close proximity. As schools reopen, the Delta variant is now a concern and has altered the course of national COVID-19 recovery. On June 11, Mayor Lori Lightfoot encouraged Chicago citizens to return to their sense of normalcy. “Now it’s time for you to get up, get out of the house this summer, and, fully and safely... enjoy the events of the best city on the planet,” Lightfoot said in a news conference. Since then, the variant has spread throughout the city, and despite this, large music festivals such as Lollapalooza and Summer Smash were held with little to no restrictions. Lollapalooza, the annual music festival held in Grant Parkwas canceled last year due to COVID-19 but made a comeback this summer, admitting over 100,000 people. An estimate of 203 new COVID-19 cases were linked to the festival. “It felt very weird to be close to so many people at a time, but it was pretty amazing to experience the normalcy,” junior Maddie Deutsch said. “In a way, it feels like COVID-19 hasn’t happened.” Deutsch also spent her vacation working for Parker Summers–a summer camp held by Parker for lower and middle school students. Campers engage in outdoor activities while following COVID-19 guidelines. “Being sixteen, I’ve had so many opportunities before the pandemic restrictions started taking place,” Deutsch said. “I wanted to make younger kids feel more normal and get back into having fun. The pandemic may be all they know right now.” Parker Summers has reopened, but the Delta Variant, initially detected in India
Continued on page 14