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HEALTH & WELLNESS FEATURE STARTS ON PAGE 16
VOL. 6, NO. 40
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COVID Cases Now Double Last Year LOUDOUN NOW STAFF REPORT
Loudoun County is seeing more than twice as many new COVID-19 cases per day compared to this time last year, according to numbers from the Virginia Department of Health, although those infections are seldom putting people in the hospital or killing them. The rolling seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases as of Aug. 24 was 63.3 new cases per day, compared to 29.6 on Aug. 24, 2020, in the depths of pandemic-era closures and lockdowns. That is still well short of Loudoun’s high of 324 average new cases per day, seen on Jan. 29, 2021. It also comes not long after the pandemic hit its lowest ebb in Loudoun, when from July 3-5 the county averaged less than one new case a day. And with vaccines usually protecting even breakthrough cases from the most serious effects of the virus, hospitalizations remain similar to last summer. On both Aug. 24, 2021, and Aug. 24, 2020, Loudoun’s seven-day rolling average showed less than one new hospitalization a day. And Loudoun recently went well over a month without the virus killing anyone, from June 23 to Aug. 14. But the rising case counts raise questions as cooler weather apCOVID COUNTS continues on page 39
AUGUST 26, 2021
Students Head Back to Class at Last BY HAYLEY BOUR hbour@loudounnow.com
As students mask up and return to classrooms Thursday for full-time in-classroom instruction for the first time since March 2020, many across the district brace for a semblance of normalcy, though many COVID protections will still be in place. Hovatter Elementary School in Aldie is opening its doors to students for the first time ever, and for Principal Lori Mercer, who has spent her career in Loudoun County Schools, opening a school as principal is a dream come true. Mercer started in the position last January. Her office was in the adjacent Lightridge High School, and watched as her new school building came to fruition. “I’d be interviewing potential teachers and look out the window and think ‘oh look at that going in the place they have a roof on the building,’ and ‘yay we have a playground now,’” Mercer said. While the entire student body is new to Hovatter this fall, many students across the district are adjusting to new learning environments. “The biggest challenge or transition for students depends on their previous experiences,” she said. “We have first graders who are coming in, some for the first time, so we’re really welcoming kindergarten and first graders and then other students who have not had a traditional school experience since March of 2020.” To put students at ease, Mercer said that the district’s social-emotional learning framework will be key for teachers. Social-emotional learning includes differ-
Hayley Milon Bour/Loudoun Now
Hovatter Elementary School Principal Lori Mercer in the school’s new library. Hovatter, adjacent to Lightridge High School on Collaboration Drive in Aldie, opened its doors to students for the first time this week.
ent techniques to personalize education for students and to encourage engagement. At the elementary school level, social-emotional learning means fun conversations with teachers. “Days begin with morning meeting time… the teacher might ask ‘would you rather be on a beach vacation, or on a mountain vacation’… or ‘would you rather be a bird or a fish?’ and each child will have the chance to share their thoughts,” Mercer said. Social-emotional learning is just one of the methods the district is modernizing the school experience for learners.
The Hovatter building boasts a number of amenities to foster interpersonal relationships and learning. In the hallways, there are common areas, where students sit on couches for lessons and project collaboration, much like you’d find in many modern office buildings. In the library, students can sit on expansive stadium seating to listen to stories. And, in the television studio, the 5th graders will produce and deliver the morning news on a greenscreen backdrop. Mercer believes that having Lightridge BACK TO SCHOOL continues on page 39
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