Leadership team members recently reflected upon what it is that will cause our school community to come through this COVID-19 pandemic crisis still intact and possibly even stronger. Responding individually, our collective responses can be grouped by three core values: Our Inclusive Community Is A Moravian Tradition, We Are A Community Dedicated to Our Students & Lifelong Learning, and Our Mission & Strategic Vision Guide Us to Success.
The below are our reflections on how our community, dedicated to our students and lifelong learning, will allow us to emerge from this pandemic stronger.
The Gifts of Community Spirit
The strengths of the Moravian Academy community are being revealed as we navigate this pandemic. Every day, teachers are rising to become their best selves in order to reach students in meaningful ways. For many, this means leaning on each other for support to learn new strategies, and there has been an outpouring of positivity in the midst of angst and uncertainty.
While the demands of virtual school seem higher, everyone appears eager to work together, to listen to one another and to grow. Undoubtedly, we have the students’ best interest at heart, and we strive to help them emerge from this with more resilience. Schoolwide, there has been an outpouring of community service; so many are looking for ways to support those in need within and outside of the school community. This level of care and concern for the community at large will sustain us moving forward, with an even stronger emphasis on the whole, rather than the individual.
- Karen Washington, Director for Community and Inclusion
Lifelong Learners
We talk about modeling for our students, about being lifelong learners. These were easy words before -- but when schools closed and virtual learning began - it was time to put words into action. How do you make a virtual MABC program? How do you hold a virtual First Community Circle? How do you teach violin and cello when students aren’t in the same room? How do you provide schooling that is accessible, relevant, and engaging? How? How? How? Teachers and administrators have learned and are still learning. While it has been time consuming and challenging, it has also been invigorating. New skills. New techniques. New ways to teach.
PD on the run! This new environment reveals who we are. We learn and we adapt to an ever-changing world. We try. We fail. We try again. We learn. We succeed.
- Ann Mindler, Director of Lower School
A Committed and Dedicated Faculty.
At Moravian Academy, our faculty are passionate about teaching, building relationships with students, make teaching their first priority, and seek sound innovations to meet contemporary challenges. Our faculty help students discover their curiosities and hone their passions. Our faculty help students develop real-world skills and abilities. Our faculty help students to learn about themselves, their sameness, their differences, and their unique stories. Our faculty counsel, coach, and advise. Our faculty explore mind, body, and spirit. Simply put, our faculty are difference makers.
- John Donecker, Director of Middle School