October 14, 2020

Dear Parents,

Beginning this weekend, October 17-18, the School will begin to entertain requests for boarding students to come home for Saturday night. We will be doing so on a limited basis, in an effort to mitigate the risk of someone contracting COVID-19. With that said, we are limiting weekend requests to those at the top of the group ratings and will prioritize leaves for students who have been on campus since August. After seven weeks of students being on campus, we are all pleased with the commitment shown forth toward the common good and health of the larger School community.

As we begin to allow boarding students to leave campus, we cannot become relaxed in our daily approach to mitigating as much risk as possible regarding the protection of our community from COVID-19 and its related health complications.

While we are beginning to allow boarding students to go home, we require all students to follow the regulations outlined in the Pride Pandemic Pledge, signed by all students earlier this year. In that pledge, each student agreed to practice physical distancing, wear a mask when in public, demonstrate healthy hygiene habits, and keep away from public crowds of ten or more people. While not specifically included in the pledge, we are asking students to not participate in sports outside of Trinity-Pawling while at home, as this would violate the protocol of avoiding crowds of ten or more. Should a student or family willingly violate the Pride Pandemic Pledge, the student may be removed from campus and asked to continue in our remote learning program until the School deems necessary.

Requests for weekend permission will be considered on a case-by-case basis. In addition to a student's academic and group rating standing, factors to be considered will also include the state of the health of the Trinity-Pawling community and the state of the health of the community in the county of the student's destination. When deemed necessary, a student may be asked to have a COVID-19 test shortly after his return to campus, with the expense of the test being covered by the family.

Weekend leaves will begin after the students' last commitment on each Saturday and conclude at 7:30 PM on each Sunday for students in Group 2 and 3 and 9:30 PM for students in Group 1. Unfortunately, students on Academic Probation and Community Probation are restricted to campus.

I ask that all parents send weekend permissions through the Off Campus Permission Form in the Parent Portal. This is a mandatory requirement, as no student may leave campus without parental consent. All students will also be required to sign out at the front desk in Cluett prior to leaving campus.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Thank you for your continued commitment to keeping our community safe and healthy.

Best,

Josh Collins '95

Dean of Students