Planning for 2020-21

The 2020-21 Academic Calendar provides the school and our families the flexibility to respond quickly and with minimal disruption to changing circumstances related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather than taking five or five-and-a-half courses per trimester as was the case in our schedule for 2019–20, our students will take two or three courses in each of six intensive five-week terms. This calendar is the same for students taking courses online and in person.

Whether students are on campus or online, the daily schedule includes face-to-face synchronous instruction time (in person or via Zoom) in small sections of students, structured asynchronous learning, virtual community gatherings, advisor meetings, wellness programming, open office hours for faculty and students to meet, and other supports that will maximize our students’ learning. All students will take two to three courses per term. Students engaged in online learning will have schedules designed to work for the times zones in which they are living.

Master Schedule: This document shows the two weeks of our daily schedule. The times represented on this schedule are times at Loomis. You will see the schedule shows four course blocks (B1, B2, B3, B4) during the morning and afternoon, community time/lunch blocks in the middle of the day, and one course block and community time block each evening. The evening course blocks (B5 and B6) are for online learners in a wide range of time zones. Please note that all on-campus synchronous classes are 70 minutes, except on Wednesdays when they are 60 minutes. All evening online synchronous classes are also 70 minutes. Synchronous and asynchronous class meetings for both in-person and online learners alternate every other day.

Sample On-Campus Schedule: This sample schedule shows a ninth-grade student enrolled in three courses for Fall Term I: World History, French I, and Biology. This new student is also enrolled in a daily study hall. This schedule will also work for online learners in the Eastern time zone in the United States.

Sample Online Learning Schedule: This sample schedule is for a ninth-grade student in Beijing, China. The times listed reflect the time in Beijing. For Fall Term I this student is enrolled in English I, World History, and Chemistry. This student will be taking French during their first year at Loomis but is not enrolled in that class this particular term. To help them maintain their French language during the terms they are not enrolled in French, they will participate in a French tutorial once a week during the community time block.

For an online learner on the West Coast of the United States, the school will create a schedule that will utilize block B3, B4, B5, and B6 depending on the classes the student is taking. Please refer to the master schedule above to see when those classes are offered. Please note that the times on the Master Schedule are Eastern Time Zone times..

Sample Year Schedule: This document shows a sample ninth-grade student’s course schedule over the year’s six terms. Year-long courses are taken every other term for three terms. This particular student is enrolled in World History, French I, and Biology in terms Fall I, Winter I, and Spring I. They are enrolled in English I and Algebra II Advanced in terms Fall II, Winter II, and Spring II. Students who have terms where they only have two courses will also enroll in one of many non-credit wellness courses offered. For this student, they are enrolled in Cardio/Fitness in Fall Term II, Yoga in Winter Term II, and Trail Walking/Jogging in Spring Term II. Note: In terms the student is not enrolled in their language course, they will participate in a once-a-week language tutorial. Finally, all traditional half courses have been converted to term courses with the exception of music and dance ensemble courses which will meet every term. So a student enrolled in the orchestra will have that class on their schedule every term.

The school has designed an online learning program to meet the needs of students who cannot return to campus due to travel restrictions or health concerns. This program also will be used should circumstances related to the pandemic require us to close campus and move all students to an online learning format. For more information about the online learning program, please refer to the FAQs below for online students.

While the school decided to go to a pass/fail system for this past spring term, we have returned to our traditional grading system in the fall. The same grading system will apply to both in-person and online classes.

Creating a rich and connected community life for all our students is as important to us as delivering an excellent academic program. Under the leadership of our Student Life team and in collaboration with student leaders and offices and faculty across campus including coaches, the theater and dance programs, community service, and student clubs and organizations, we will deliver a student life program that enables new and returning, online and on-campus students to connect with each other in meaningful and fun ways.

• Community time has been built into the daily schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. That time can and will be used in a variety of ways including club meetings, all-school convocations, advisor meetings, faculty office hours, and more.
• Students will connect with their advisors often and in meaningful ways. Students will meet with their advisory group on Thursdays and will have other opportunities to meet individually on a regular basis.
• Student Activities will work with students to plan special events and weekend activities that will be inclusive of both online and on-campus students.
• Traditional afternoon activities including athletics, theater, and community service will be offered for all.
• A series of wellness classes/activities from meditation to yoga will be available to online and on-campus students.
   

Working in conjunction with the Norton Family Center for the Common Good, we have designed an advisory curriculum that aims to deepen community. Every student meets with their advisor group on Thursdays to hold real and brave conversations about the issues of the day and our relationship with those issues and each other. Read more about the Thursday Advisory Group (TAG) program here. In addition, ninth-grade students have been placed with specialized advisors who can assist in their transition to high school, and the rest of our students continue to build strong relationships with their assigned advisor and engage in weekly structured conversations.

Loomis Chaffee’s counseling staff continues to provide counseling and support services for all our students. All students also will participate in healthy living seminars offered throughout the class day, including mindfulness and yoga. The school has also contracted with Lynn Lyons, an internationally-renowned speaker and psychotherapist who works with children, families, and educators as they deal with worry and anxiety. Ms. Lyons held a seminar with the faculty before the school year began and presented to parents in the early fall. A recording of her webinar with parents is posted on the Parent Portal. She will be available to the school throughout the year as we navigate these challenging times together. 

Yes, after-school activities including athletics, community engagement, theater, debate, science team, and robotics will be offered in Winter Term 2.

Loomis remains committed to the growth of our student athletes. Winter interscholastic teams will run scheduled after-school practices that focus on skill development and performance training. Varsity teams will film practices to enhance skill development and support student athletes in the college process. At this time there are no scheduled scrimmages or games. More information about our programs for Winter Term 2 will be made available in the coming weeks.

Yes. The Athletics Department is running a games and life fitness program for interested students. Some of the activities will include skating, winter walking, winter jogging, turf games, and fitness. Bring back warm clothes and ice skates. The department also offers all students online yoga, basic to advanced fitness classes, and additional performance training with Coach Nhat Mai.

Like in Fall Term 2, no student, boarding or day, who is living in the dormitories and/or taking in-person classes is allowed to participate in group activities, including off-campus club sports or tournaments, during Winter Term 2. This was not an easy decision to make but is in line with many of our peer schools and one that we feel strongly is the right decision for the school at this time. We will continue to review this policy before the start of each term. 

Yes. Loomis Chaffee remains committed to the advancement of our student athletes. Students online will be able to choose between Zoom yoga and LC PLT4M Fitness, which provides online basic to advanced fitness classes and performance training with Coach Nhat Mai. The Loomis Chaffee Athletics Department has launched conversations and speakers series on Zoom around nutrition for athletes, mindfulness, sport-specific college recruiting, and anti-racist work.

All students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to wear masks on campus. Masks must be worn at all times except when eating or given permission by a faculty member. Boarding students may remove their masks in their dorm rooms.

Yes, students need to provide their own two- to three- layered cloth masks. Students are advised to have enough masks to wear daily and rotate between laundering. Please review this video on how to wear a mask. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciUniZGD4tY 

Yes. Student (and faculty and staff) should practice social distancing whenever possible. This means keeping 6 feet between yourself and others. This is a particularly challenging measure to follow but so important in our efforts to keep our community healthy. In addition to social distancing, hand hygiene — washing and sanitizing your hands throughout the day — is also critical, as is refraining from touching your face and monitoring your health.

Yes. In Winter Term 2, all boarders as well as day students, faculty, and staff coming to campus need to complete the health survey on the REACH app each morning before leaving your dorm or coming to campus.

Please review the following video for instructions: https://loomis.wistia.com/medias/dq8nvrpdsz

NOTE: If you have an older Android or iPhone you may not be able to download the app because your OS will not support it. Please try updating your operating system first. If that does not work, you can use this url to complete the daily health check. https://loomis.reachboarding.com/

This short video will how you how: https://loomis.wistia.com/medias/ug72hr2pxo

All students on campus for Winter Term 2 and their parents will be required to sign a Winter Term 2 expectations agreement. Students who violate the agreement may be required to complete the term online.

In Winter Term 2 the Health Center will be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Over the summer Loomis spent over $1.5 million dollars on changes to classrooms, dormitories, dining halls, and other physical spaces on the campus to comply with CDC and state of Connecticut recommendations. 

• Furniture in the classrooms was rearranged and/or replaced to provide 6 feet of social distancing between students and their teacher.
• Labs were set up to provide similar distancing and acrylic barriers were installed on all lab benches.
• We installed acrylic barriers for teachers in classrooms.
• All faculty were provided with face shields that they can elect to wear in combination with a face mask.
• Class sizes average only seven students.
• To reduce congestion in buildings, one-way traffic patterns have been established in many of the buildings and most also have external doors designated for either entry or exit.
• Hand sanitizer dispensers are available in all buildings.
• The dining hall tables have dividers.
• We installed self-flush toilets.
• We increased Health Center space and staffing.
• We purchased four tents for outside use.
• And we improved air systems across campus.

All students who will be in-person learners during Winter Term 2 are required to have a flu shot before they returned to campus if they did not already have one before Fall Term 2.

Yes. All students who will be in-person learners during Winter Term 2 are required to provide results of a COVID-19 PCR test before returning to campus. Important details about this test were emailed to parents and students on Thursday, January 14. You can link to the email here.

Yes. The testing plan for Winter Term 2 includes twice weekly pooled saliva testing for the entire community during the initial few weeks of the term. After that, some community members will continue to be tested twice weekly, including day students; day faculty and staff; and those residential faculty who leave and return to campus on a regular basis, have children living at home who are in daycare or attend school in person, or have someone else in the home who leaves and returns to campus on a regular basis. All other residential faculty and boarding students will be tested once a week.

If a student or faculty or staff member tests positive for COVID-19, the Health Center first contacts the infected community member and, in the case of a student, contacts the student's parents or guardian. The school then notifies the Town of Windsor Health Department and the COVID-19 Coordinator initiates the contact tracing program. As part of that program individuals determined to be direct contacts of the infected individual will be given specific instructions regarding quarantine and receive follow-up communication from the appropriate offices to help them manage that process. In her weekly emails to the community, the head of school will provide general updates on any cases and results of campus-wide testing.

Boarding students will move back to campus the weekend of January 30–31. Families are asked to follow the schedule below so the school can best manage arrival testing and the number of people on campus. If you can't move in at your assigned date/time, please contact your dean. Information about where to check in when you arrive on campus will be sent to boarding families the week before your return to campus.

• Saturday, January 30, 2_4 p.m.: International students, RAs, and prefects
• Sunday, January 31, 10 a.m.–12:30 p.m.: All other boarding students with last names A–M
• Sunday, January 31, 1:30–4 p.m.: All other boarding students with last names N–Z

Boarding students and their families are reminded to review information emailed to them from their deans outlining the arrival and initial testing procedures. That information was sent the week of January 25. You cannot enter your dorm until you have been tested and cleared by the Health Center.

Only a dormitory's student and faculty residents, and affiliated faculty and staff are allowed in the dormitory.

To protect the health and safety of all our students, faculty, and staff, parents and other family member are not allowed to visit campus without special permission from the Deans Office.

During the five-week Winter Term 2, boarding students will be restricted to campus.

Because the school is currently restricting visitors and vendors to campus, use of delivery services will be restricted. Dorm heads will provide more information to students. Flik, the school's dining services provider, will be stocking each dormitory with between-meal snacks for all students.

Several spaces on campus have been converted to lounge spaces where students can congregate between classes and meet with friends while also observing appropriate social distancing guidelines. Additional study carrels have been set up in the library.

Families have access to a school directory through the Veracross portal.

The school encourages parents to consider carefully whether carpools and van services are safe and can provide appropriate social distancing. If families elect to use these methods of transportation, the school expects that students will wear masks while traveling and wash/sanitize their hands before and after their rides. If a student who uses a carpool or van service exhibits symptoms of COVID-19 or tests positive with COVID-19, the school may require that all students who carpool with that student quarantine at home and not return to campus without a negative COVID-19 test. Please note that the school does not offer daily transportation services to and from campus.

In Winter Term 2, students should plan to arrive on campus no earlier than one hour before school starts. Students should plan to leave campus no later than 6 p.m. unless they have a specific evening commitment at school.

Yes. Day and commuting students may eat breakfast in the dining halls on weekdays.

Loomis has designed the hybrid academic program so that each class is designed for either in-person instruction or online instruction. So if you are an online student, your classes will be with just other online students. We made this decision deliberately recognizing that trying to teach students who are in a classroom and students who are online at the same time doesn't serve either group of students well. Only in very rare circumstances will a class have a mix of students who are in the classroom and online.

At minimum, all faculty have office hours each week during one community time period during the day and one community time period in the evening. Students are encouraged to reach out to faculty to schedule appointments outside these time blocks if needed. 

Yes. The Learning Access & Student Achievement Office stands ready to support the academic, organizational, and social-emotional needs of our online students. Molly Pond has joined the office as director of distance learning support to specifically address these needs. Together with Lena Sadowitz and Michele Trenchard, Molly will support online student achievement.

Yes. Online students have access to all student support systems that on-campus students have access to. The Quantitative Resources Center (QRC), Writing Studio, and other peer-to-peer and faculty-to-student support programs provide the schedule and hours necessary to meet the needs of our online students. Hours are posted in the Daily Bulletin.

Creating a rich and connected community life for all our students is as important to us as delivering an excellent academic program. Under the leadership of our Student Life team and in collaboration with student leaders and offices and faculty across campus including coaches, the theater and dance programs, community service, and student clubs and organizations, we will deliver a student life program that enables new and returning, online and on-campus students to connect with each other in meaningful and fun ways.

• Community time has been built into the daily schedule on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. That time can and will be used in a variety of ways including club meetings, all-school convocations, advisor meetings, faculty office hours, and more.
• Students will connect with their advisors often and in meaningful ways. Students will meet with their advisory group on Thursdays and will have other opportunities to meet individually on a regular basis.
• Student Activities will work with students to plan special events and weekend activities that will be inclusive of both online and on-campus students.
• Traditional afternoon activities including athletics, theater, and community service will be offered for all.
• Boarding students learning online for Fall Term I will still connect with their dorm and assigned pod throughout the term for virtual social events.
• A series of wellness classes/activities from meditation to yoga will be available to online and on-campus students.

Yes. Loomis will continue to offer online classes for students who are unable to return to campus for in-person classes due to travel restrictions or health concerns.

Loomis will be offering the ACT on campus in February and April, and the SAT on campus in March and April. The status of the May SAT and subject tests is still to be determined. Because students will be home in June, Loomis will not be a test site for the ACT or SAT in June. As of now, we do plan on administering the AP exams in May.

International families are encouraged to contact Elizabeth Parada at elizabeth_parada@loomis.org with any general questions they might have. If you have a question about your I-20, please contact Gratia Lee at gratia_lee@loomis.org

Families who are considering working with Student Health Advocates (SHA) concierge services and have questions should contact SHA directly. Their website is https://studenthealthadvocates.com/

For boarding families who do not receive financial aid, the school will credit the entire room and board charge for the Fall Term I to your December bill. For families receiving financial aid, the credit will be calculated based on your grant amount. We will do the same with the health fee for those students who are not involved with in-person instruction.

Given our plans for the coming year, we have reduced our tuition and adjusted our tuition structure to charge all families—boarding and day—a flat tuition for the year to cover the academic and co-curricular program.

You will note that the total costs for boarding and day students are lower than the tuition amounts announced in February. The revised tuition structure does not amend the enrollment contract that you have already signed. Your tuition bill will reflect these new amounts. For more information about tuition, deadlines, and billing, please visit the tuition page of the website. 

The first tuition payment is due on July 15. The tuition due can be located on the student’s account which can be found in MyBackPack on the landing page of the Parent Portal. 

Directions to access MyBackPack 

If you would like to adjust your current tuition payment plan to reflect the new tuition amount, you will need to log into your FACTS account. Once you have logged into FACTS, you will click on the Actions Button on your home page then choose Adjust Balance from the drop-down options.

https://online.factsmgt.com/signin.aspx

You can adjust your loan amount by contacting Your Tuition Solution on their toll free number 1-800-920-9777.

Yes. Any family who plans for their child to live on campus for all or a portion of the school year is required to pay the full room & board fee of $15,000 in order for the school to hold a bed for the student.

Any family who plans for their child to live on campus for all or a portion of the school year is required to pay the full room & board fee of $15,000 in order for the school to hold a bed for the student. At the end of the 2020–21 academic year the school will provide a partial refund program for room & board fees for boarding families whose children were not able to return to live on campus due to travel restrictions or health concerns.

No. If your child will be learning online and not returning to campus for the full year, you do not pay the room & board fee. Please be sure to let Tim Lawrence, director of studies, and Amy Thompson, dean of enrollment, know about your decision as soon as possible.

No. In June 2020, the school lowered tuition from levels announced earlier in the year to reflect the plans for the 2020–21 hybrid academic program. There is no tuition refund program because tuition is the same for all day and boarding students regardless of whether they are taking in-person or online classes. (Students living on campus pay an additional room & board fee. See information above regarding the refund program for the room & board fee.)