Orientation Days: More important than ever
This year, more than any other year in its 25-year history, Orientation Days at The Sharon Academy were a crucial way to start the year.
Last week, both new and returning students faced the challenge and excitement of transitioning back to school after a six-month break from in-person learning, and TSA worked hard to design an orientation program to help with that transition.
Orientation days were filled with games and conversations between students and staff. Some seemingly silly games like the egg toss shown above had a more serious purpose. After the egg toss was over, teachers led an outdoor handwashing session, teaching students the correct way to wash their hands. Another game challenged High School students to assign the correct random fact to the correct staff member (Did you know that one of our staff members once played Dungeons and Dragons with the creators of the game? Or that our Photography Teacher used to be a photojournalist who covered the MLB, NBA, and NFL?). This favorite annual game helps students get to know the adults in the community as people, not just as teachers, in a fun and humorous way. No matter the activity, the focus of Orientation was to help students get to know one another while also helping them to adjust to the new world in which we all find ourselves.
For the first time, this year the Seniors at TSA got their own Orientation day to help them to build the community within their class that they will need to help each other get through this unusual Senior year.
Mary Newman, TSA’s Head of School, began the Senior’s Orientation day with some thoughts about how to approach the coming year. She urged Seniors to consider reframing the way they think about how school is “supposed to be”. She stressed that while it’s important to recognize the many traditions and expectations that will not come to fruition because of COVID, it’s just as important to think relatively: that not everything is a loss, and that opportunities exist in sometimes hidden spaces. “Think about how you want this year to have been when you’re on the other side of it,” said Newman, “Think about what can you do. What choices can you make to have more agency over your life and grow from this experience?” She also encouraged them to reach out for help whenever they need it. “Reach out to each other, to teachers and staff, and to your families and friends. The importance of relationships cannot be overstated: we are in this together, and when a community is truly built on trust and respect, there is nothing it can’t overcome.”