If there is one core value that is more deeply ingrained within our school than the rest, it is community. For many, it is an integral part of our school, and one of the reasons we chose it.

With our transition to distance learning, it becomes easy to forget the value and importance of community. As we start our sixth week of distance learning, there is a lack of attendance at community meetings: Class Meeting, Chapel, and All-School meeting. 

Our community comes from different parts of the world, and we need to make a more conscientious effort to show up to our community meetings and engage.

We are cognizant that there are students living in different time zones, but what excuse do the rest of us have? A large majority of students live on the East Coast where it is 12:15 p.m. at the start of these community gatherings. These gatherings are one of the few ways we have left to connect and engage with the community. Clicking on a link and engaging with the people speaking for twenty minutes does not require very much effort, especially since most of us now have the extra time to watch Netflix or take a nap every day. 

We need to recognize the time and effort community members spend planning these events. Our class deans, class presidents, Chaplain, and others create plans for these meetings so that we, as a school, can still feel united even if we are not physically together. For example, during last week’s Chapel, Dr. Jason Larson, chaplain, featured a nearly ten-minute long video he took the time to film. 

We don’t want to carry this attitude forward into the next school year when a myriad of new students join our community.

With less than four weeks left of this school year, we need to step up and show up to these community gatherings. Don’t regret staying disconnected with your peers when it is too late.

The Zoom links for all the community gatherings can be found below:

Class Meeting

Prep: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/566405533

LM: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/165621854

UM: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/181944342

Seniors: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/903358074

Chapel: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/959282061

All-School: https://hotchkiss.zoom.us/j/860154815