We’ve Got This: Working Our Way Through the Pandemic

WE’VE GOT THIS:

Working our way through the pandemic

It’s no secret that the pandemic of 2020 has introduced an entire new lexicon to the English language: COVID-19, social distancing, flattening the curve, and masking up are terms that, while never used until recently, are now part of common parlance.

In the world of education, that lexicon also includes hybrid and in-person learning, Zoom classes, and virtual performances, to name a few. At Ursuline Academy, the on-campus community of faculty and students is living daily the challenge of how to adapt an environment known for close personal relationships to a reality in which closeness can be hazardous to our health. With the second semester underway and our community weary from weathering a storm, there is a sense of hope that getting back to normal – or at least a new version of it – is not too far in the future.

As the 2019–2020 school year ended, there were two main tasks facing Ursuline’s administration and faculty. One was how to deliver on one of Ursuline’s most cherished traditions, an inperson commencement ceremony, for the Class of 2020; and the other was how to reimagine education, the primary purpose of our existence, in a world where six feet of space between students was imperative. Happily, the school was able to deliver on both of these important goals, albeit with some modifications required. Saint Angela Merici would be proud of the way we are soldiering on.

2020 Commencement

For anyone familiar with Ursuline Academy, the word “commencement” instantly brings to mind images of white dresses, red roses, and rhododendrons in bloom flanking the convent steps. The Class of 2020 imagined nothing different. Through the spring of 2020, it became clear that the path of the coronavirus would make a graduation with girls standing shoulder to shoulder on the convent stairs in front of a crowd of family and friends an impossibility. Many schools were turning to

Meg Reynolds ’82 receives the Serviam Medal from Kate Levesque ’77 at commencement in August upon the conclusion of her tenure as Chairperson of the Board of Trustees.

virtual or drive-by graduations as a way to confer their diplomas and honor their graduates. However, the class of 2020 wanted the real deal, and Ursuline’s administration was determined to deliver an experience that honored tradition while being safe for the graduates and all in attendance.

Through the early summer, Massachusetts prohibited in-person graduations of any kind. However, starting in July, outdoor graduations were permitted, provided that strict regulations were observed. With an indoor backup plan off the table, school administration scheduled commencement for Saturday, August 1, and began praying for sun. Immediate families and their graduates were assigned seating in their own family “pod” on the back field. The traditional procession down the convent stairs was held, with the graduates spaced out the required six feet, and the iconic photo on the stairs was taken, spilling out onto the field. The ceremony was livestreamed so that extended family and friends would be able to watch it live. Despite being held in the height of vacation season, nearly all 91 graduates were present at the ceremony.

Prior to the big day, many graduates had expressed that “all I want is to be together with my class wearing that white dress and receiving my diploma.” The joy of seeing that moment come to fruition was one of the defining moments of 2020 at Ursuline Academy.

Planning for the fall

Before school year 2019–20 had even ended, it was clear that school year 2020–21 would look different on opening day. In March, Ursuline had made a sudden transition to fully online (remote) learning, along with most schools around the state and the country. As the incidence of COVID-19 abated over the summer, hopes were high that students would be able to return at least part-time in the fall, but one thing was certain: the mode of learning would need to be able to adapt very quickly to changing conditions. A planning team including members of the administrative, academic, technology, nursing, and business teams was assembled and met twice a week to work through myriad questions: How many students can fit in a classroom to accommodate social distancing? What type of technology will support a classroom with some students on campus and others at home? How will the necessary cleaning supplies be procured and financed? Before those questions were considered in earnest, Kate Levesque ’77 (President) and Mary-Kate Tracy ’94 (Principal) set two things as the top priorities: the safety of all community members and the academic experience. Everything else was to be secondary.

Virtual Reunion for the 0’s and 5’s

Members of every reunion class gathered remotely on September 19, 2020 for Ursuline’s first-ever virtual reunion. A total of seventy-five alumnae attended, and while the turnout was impressive, we all agreed that looking at a twodimensional screen does not compare to an inperson, on-campus gathering. One silver lining – the remote platform allowed some attendees from far-away places to join in, and the virtual format provided an unlimited time frame - some of the breakout rooms went on talking for hours!

A special shoutout goes to the Classes of 1965, 1970, 1985, and 1995, who were the best represented at reunion. Carol Buttner Maloof ’50 also deserves recognition for attending on the occasion of her 70th reunion from Ursuline Academy!

It is our sincere hope to be back at Lowder Street next September, where we can truly be together to share hugs, stories, and laughter.

As summer progressed, the team determined that, due to the guidelines issued by the state and the CDC as well as the capacity of the physical plant, fitting all 380 students on campus for inperson learning would not be feasible. The focus shifted to how the academic experience could best be delivered in a concurrent (hybrid) learning model, with students in two cohorts – half at home and half in school on any given day. The technology team evaluated several solutions that would combine a Zoom call with an in-class camera, and selected the Swivl camera as the solution that would best allow for a “whole class” experience even though half the students were participating from home. Teachers spent much of their summer adapting their lesson plans to the hybrid model, and created backup plans to facilitate a shift to fully remote learning if the need arose.

When students could return to campus was an equally important consideration as how learning would take place. By pure coincidence, the school had begun a long-planned project to replace the aging heating and ventilation system over the summer. COVID-related interruptions to the manufacturing of needed equipment delayed the project’s completion until late September, so classrooms could not be occupied until several weeks after the planned start date of September 8. With returning students eager to see their friends again, and incoming students yearning to meet their new classmates, the planning team began to seek ways to bring students on campus to connect with one another and have fun without utilizing the main school building. The solution: Bear Cave Days!

For most of September, students took their classes remotely from home, but once a week, each grade had a designated “Bear Cave Day,” when students would come to campus with their classmates to engage in social-emotional learning through workshops and outdoor activities. The goal was to bring together the entire grade to bond, to have some outdoor fun, and to participate in sessions designed to promote a successful start to the school year. Over the course of the month, each grade joined together for a class Mass, heard from the consulting school psychologist on strategies for managing stress, learned about new health and virus prevention protocols, and enjoyed outdoor activities run by the staff of Hale Reservation.

In early October, students returned to the classrooms of Ursuline in a “connected” (hybrid) model, with half the students on campus and half at home. Every detail of school life, ranging from the class schedule to passing times to traffic flow in the halls, was adjusted to enable social distancing and to allow for breaks from the ubiquitous masks. Despite these restrictions, the joy of being back on campus for the first time since March was palpable.

Adaptability: The New Watchword

Throughout the first half of the year, the entire community – students, teachers, and administration – adapted to meet the

challenge of living in a way that would keep COVID at bay while remaining faithful and optimistic. Clubs and activities began to meet, primarily via Zoom. The drama and speech teams began to practice and compete. In December, the Drama Club delivered its first performance of the season via Zoom, a student-directed comedy called Radio Play Disaster. While many sites at which students had planned to do service projects closed to visitors, students became creative about identifying new areas of need where they could apply their skills. For example, students who are musically inclined began creating playlists for residents of memory care facilities to help them activate their memories through music, while others helped students in Poland learn English via Zoom.

On the athletic front, fall athletic teams continued to participate and compete, but in a modified way depending on the sport. The cross-country, swimming and diving, and soccer teams played a reduced schedule of inter-scholastic competition. (The soccer team had a nearly perfect season, with only one loss out of eleven games!) The field hockey team participated in a skills and drills program, and volleyball was moved to a new “Fall II” season slated to start at the conclusion of the winter sports season, conditions permitting.

The reality of life during COVID is that working through new challenges day after day can be challenging to the human spirit, and at times exhausting. However, with each challenge faced comes a new confidence in being able to handle the unknown, and to think on one’s feet. Ursuline’s faculty has set a remarkable example of creativity and resilience as they adapted their teaching practices to the reality of COVID. Hybrid learning is the perfect example of something that does not come naturally at first, but with time, can allow students to exercise new skills. See page 6 for one account of students persevering through an assignment while being in different cohorts, and learning in the process.

As we move through the second half of the year, with vaccine administration rolling out across the country, we know that the end is in sight, but remain committed to “playing the game all the way to the end,” in the words of Governor Baker of Massachusetts. We are an Ursuline school. We’ve got this.