Moments of: The Blog
The View From Here: Connected Community
We pride ourselves on our connected school community. In a normal year, that community is reinforced throughout the day, every day, in a hundred large and small ways. We gather as a whole school each day for lunch in the Commons, and once a week in the gym for Community Meeting. We meet in small multi-grade groups for Advisory, creating opportunities for students to develop friendships and mentoring relationships across grade levels. We wave and smile at one another as we cross campus between classes, and each wave and smile weaves that net of community bond just a bit tighter.
One of the great challenges in distance learning is maintaining and cultivating the sense of connection that is so unique to our school. Just as our teachers are reimagining their curricula and their pedagogy, our Student Life and Experiential Education staffulty are coming up with creative ways to build community even as we must be apart.
A cornerstone of our community is Advisory. These small, mixed grade-level groups are a kind of “home base” for our students; each student generally keeps the same advisor all four years, and Advisory is a place where younger students are mentored by older ones. Since we aren’t on campus yet, Advisory groups are meeting up over Zoom at least once a week to check in and discuss what’s on their minds. This week, some of our Advisory groups chose theme songs or made playlists; they have also been playing icebreaker games and getting to know one another.
Another crucial community-building activity is freshman Health and Wellness, where our ninth graders meet both as a class and in small groups with their senior TAs. In these groups, freshman have many important conversations about topics like mental and physical wellness, substance use and abuse, relationships, and more. Since the beginning of school, our TAs have facilitated discussions on our Honor Code and school rules and digital citizenship (especially important in our current circumstances). Next week, they will dive into a new curriculum called Belonging, which explores how we find a sense of belonging in the world as individuals.
Clubs and student activities are already underway, with many returning clubs convening over Zoom this week and new clubs in the works getting ready to launch. Based on the interest survey we sent out to students, we have a lot of student bakers out there...perhaps we will get some clubs going so students can test out those newly acquired quarantine bread-baking skills!
And of course, the beating heart of our community is our weekly Community Meeting. Although we aren’t all packed into the bleachers hoping no one’s phone drops noisily, we are still gathering once weekly in front of screens to come together as a school. So far this year, we have heard moving Senior Speeches and an inspiring Moment of Reflection on finding happiness from STEM teacher Dan Karbousky, and this week saw the awarding of our very first Coyote Cup points in a fun live vote for best photo collage (the freshmen came away victorious in a strong start to their year!)
In many ways, large and small, we are keeping those connections made in person, and building new ones even from a distance. When we are able to be together again, it’s certain we will pick up where we left off, even more grateful for the many opportunities to connect every day.
Sonoma Academy Is...
...the only private, independent, college preparatory high school in Sonoma County. On our beautiful campus nestled at the base of Taylor Mountain in Southeastern Santa Rosa, our students are able to explore their interests and passions in a rigorous and inspiring environment that develops a lifelong love of learning and prepares them for college and beyond.
Sonoma Academy admits students of any race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability, to all the rights, privileges, programs, and activities generally accorded or made available to students at the school. The school does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnicity or national origin, citizenship, gender or gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, or disability in administration of its educational policies, admissions policies, scholarship and tuition assistance programs, and athletic and other school-administered programs.
