A Student Health Center physician will clear you to return to normal campus activity after 10 days, as long as you have gone at least 24 hours without symptoms, including no fever (without the use of fever-suppressing medications). That speaks volumes about who we are as a community. Our Wonderful Students: I hope this message finds you and all you love doing well. If you are away from campus and have belongings in your room for which you have a critical need (medications, laptops) you must make plans to collect them by Wednesday, March 25, 5:00 p.m., as follows: If you need for someone else to retrieve your critical items for you: Email [email protected] from your official W&M email account and provide the following information: We will plan a full move out period from April 18-May 18, 2020. You will make the best memories at SHU; your friends, your professors and classes, everything. It made my day," one third grade student wrote to him in an email. Five coordinated teams will focus on short-term solutions for mission-critical areas of the university: curricular flexibility, operational resilience, how we might de-densify campus spaces, how we might expand career pathways for graduating seniors and recent alumni. May we continue to take care of each other. Those habits will be the key to a successful in-person fall semester at W&M. We are making decisions in a phased, evidence-based way and understand that flexibility is essential to remaining responsive to changing public health contexts. An archive of messages sent to William & Mary students about the university's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. And we can do this together. Additional information about testing plans and protocols will be shared later this month. Earlier today, Dean of Students Marjorie Thomas shared with all students W&Ms Fall, An introduction to the Healthy Together commitment, COVID-19 and its prevention, A tutorial on mask use and requirements at William & Mary, A review of proper preventative hygiene, including hand washing, the use of sanitizer and the difference between cleaning and disinfecting spaces, Tips on how to handle situations in which peoples behavior diverges from our shared commitment to health, A conclusion that reinforces the main points and offers additional resources. Slots are first come, first served. Below are some additional resources that you may find helpful as you transition to our new online educational environment:, The departments of Health & Wellness have created a Virtual Health & Wellness site. Pandemic conditions require William & Mary to adapt how we teach, learn and work in order to mitigate health risks for our community. Those students may choose temporary housing in Richmond Hall, which has been identified as suitable for isolation (separate, exterior room doors, individual bathrooms, etc.) We are working with real-time information, assessing current conditions and predictions for future trends with expert advice guidance from authorities in infectious disease, epidemiology and our regional public health partners. A university-wide policy on travel reimbursements is posted online. W&M's COVID-19 Response Team has outlined significant risk reduction measures W&M is taking to prepare for the fall. When traveling to Williamsburg, all students should practice prevention to mitigate risks of contracting COVID-19 (wearing a mask, social distancing, regular hand-washing). We will have more general information about Summer 2021 later this summer. Students may also opt to return to their permanent homes/families as they await results. We can mitigate, but not eliminate, risk of coronavirus transmission. The Positive Effects of COVID-19 on Education - Civic Issues Blog Please continue to stay safe and look out for one another. Please note that intentional submissionsof false reports are subject to disciplinary action. "Don . IT has set up the web resource that may also be helpful, https://www.wm.edu/offices/it/remoteresources/index.php. In addition, employees who work in positions identified by Human Resources as being in high-contact roles in which they may not be able to use mitigation strategies such as masks, physical barriers and social distancing at all times may be tested for COVID-19 before students return to campus. "I would like to begin by recognising our parents, families, and loved ones, especially my mum and dad, who, may not be physically present with us, but who are, as always, cheering us on from the screens of the Great Hall or on their devices; our lecturers for imparting their wisdom - who have recently acquired the number 1 spot in the recent The five most-mentioned feelings among all teachers were anxious, fearful, worried, overwhelmed, and sad. Beginning Monday, October 19, William & Mary will launch the next round on-site testing forstudents. Even with full compliance, the health and safety of our community will remain vulnerable. First, I send my sincere thanks to students, faculty and staff who have worked tirelessly and honored our Healthy Together Community Commitment in order to make the fall semester a success in the face of considerable challenges. Please use this. While students majoring in health sciences and/or people with medical experience are preferred, opportunities are available for anyone willing to serve. Those who did not make a selection by that date were automatically enrolled in the Gold 19 plan. William & Mary will cover the cost of a voluntary test for students and employees who wish to be tested prior to returning home for the Thanksgiving holiday. On nearly a daily basis, new reports emerge from institutions around the country of behavior that endangers the health of entire communities. Thank you for your support of our testing effort. Alumni talk about ringing the Wren bell, saying goodbye to beloved places on campus, and walking together with classmates out through the door they entered when they first arrived at William & Mary. Introduction. Everyone is eager to be back in the classroom with you. These 4 Inspirational Letters From Teachers to Students Will Ease Exam Pains By Jovita Aranha March 9, 2018 These beautiful letters by teachers have been immensely helpful for not just students but also their anxious parents. Like many of you, we continue to follow closely the unprecedented outbreak of COVID-19. "One child, one teacher, one pen and one book. "It is better to be a failure at something you love than to be a success at something you hate.". Symptomatic individuals awaiting test results will need to self-quarantine, rather than remain in their assigned residence halls. Such individuals should continue the universal precautions and protocols that are expected of our entire community, and remain in their places of residence. Maintain physical distance. In an emergency situation, WMPD will help with a lockout, but we need this to be a last resort. Given the growing number of Covid-19 cases in our surrounding area, including in our campus community, we recognized that our residence halls are unsuitable for long term self-quarantine and self-isolation, which will be necessary in the weeks ahead; additionally, we are not staffed to provide a high level of health care and living support for students under pandemic conditions., Students who are having difficulty implementing their personal evacuation plans under these unprecedented circumstances, will be helped on an individual basis, and we will deploy emergency funds wherever possible to ease the financial burden as students await housing, dining, and parking rebates (detailed information about rebates will be sent soon in a separate message). Teachers report violence and aggression from parents and students Wed love to share your messages to students during COVID-19 school closures. School principal shares encouraging coronavirus-related - ABC News Students within a 30-mile radius of campus will also need to test negative. As vice president for student affairs, I have never felt more proud of our students than I do this year. Below my signature, you will find a high-level view of our current operations under the pandemic and an introduction to our planning process for next year. Thus, I write to share decisions regarding the universitys operations for the remainder of the semester. Responses will be tallied as they come in, but not saved by individual student. Beginning tomorrow, September 8, William & Mary will launch on-site testing for our students. In that message, she emphasized that confirmed conduct violations would be dealt with through the student conduct process and could result in consequences including separation. In acting now, we hope to allow you as much time as possible to prepare and respond. If you do not intend to comply with our guidelines and shared expectations, do not come to campus. As William & Mary expands student and employee testing for COVID-19, we wanted to offer guidance to the community about what to do in the case of a positive result and introduce you to the new case management system. We ask students not to return to campus during this period. Make some art. In our residential setting, we interpret this as roommate/suitemate groups. (Again, pending EMT hurricane guidance.). Our youth do not have the years of wisdom many of their teachers, counselors, and educators have from living more life on this earth than they. 23 Messages Of Hope From Communities Affected By The Coronavirus Outbreak 23 Inspiring Signs Of Hope During The Coronavirus Outbreak As businesses shutter and residents continue to distance themselves from their neighbors, messages of hope and solidarity are springing up in unusual places. , It is my sincere hope that each of you will tap into tools and resources that you have found work best for you during trying times. You will have a limited amount of time to collect your belongings and leave campus. As teachers close o Service is one of the universitys core values, and we have seen that in action throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. You can sign up to volunteer on the Virginia Volunteer Health System website. As we move forward, we are committed to ensuring the standards of excellence that distinguish a William & Mary education. Initially, staff members wanted to drive by houses in their cars, but considering the social distancing protocols that were in place at the time, the idea was changed to making a video and they reached out to fellow staff to collect clips and edit them all together. We continue to be guided first and foremost by the advice of our local health authorities. Just spend responsibly, kids. All invited speakers must present in a virtual format, whether invited for university-wide presentations or at invitation of professional and graduate schools, departments, professors or student groups. Virginias Phase 3 of reopening began July 1. Integrity is one of William & Marys core values and a hallmark of this community. Testing frequency and population percentage will evolve based on campus trends and available testing methods. We continue to move forward in a phased way: focusing on adaptations and flexibility, to mitigate risk to health, while ensuring we can sustain W&Ms mission of teaching, learning, and research. Last week over 160 people join our first live, remote yoga class! The information it provides allows us to better support your health, and for you to better protect the health of your friends, faculty members and support staff. Resource Feedback Since early August we have seen that the vast majority of students, faculty and staff are fully committed to doing what is required to safeguard one another. More information on privacy can be found on. Katherine Rowe President Ginger Ambler Chair, Commencement Committee and Vice President for Student Affairs. Teacher, Natalie Wieland, holds up the medals she plans to gift her students when they finish their AP exams. In order to donate, you must indicate your decision to do so no later than Sunday, April 5, which will provide W&M time to process the donation. Peggy Agouris, ProvostGinger Ambler, Vice President for Student AffairsAmy Sebring, Chief Operating Officer. Resources to support in-person instruction include: Extreme flexibility will be crucial throughout the fall. Spikes in positive COVID-19 cases at other institutions came in the first few days after students arrived on campus, often as a result of large gatherings where mask-wearing and physical distancing expectations were ignored. This too shall pass. We wish you all the best in the remaining weeks of the semester and during the exam period. All events and gatherings in university facilities as well as university-sponsored events on and off campus are suspended through at least April 3. Masks should be worn when moving around on campus. We are especially grateful for the partnership and shared purpose of Student Assembly President Kelsey Vita 20 and the entire SA leadership team. Each person will schedule a ten-minute slot for their test. In order to ensure due process for students who are reported to have violated the Healthy Together Commitment, all COVID-related matters will be addressed via Administrative Resolution by the Community Values and Restorative Practices (CVRP. Yet, understandably those at greater risk worry about how consistently young adults will be able to adhere to these guidelines, on and off campus. Even as we benefit from sharing wisdom with peer institutions in the Commonwealth and around the country, our decisions will reflect William & Marys unique culture and educational model. Students moving to Richmond Hall should prepare personal items, books, laptop, phone, chargers, prescriptions and clothing to last approximately 14 days. The adorable footage featured not only the teachers and staff members, but also their own children and furry friends as they practice social distancing. Ralph Northam announced another option for those looking to serve the greater good: an opportunity to join the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. Event sponsors should explore solutions that include canceling, rescheduling or moving to alternative platforms. Students can easily remove the Honorlock browser extension from Chrome after completing an exam. Against the unpredictable environment of COVID-19, we will do everything we can to continue to provide as much certainty as we can. Suzanne Tomlin, a fifth grade science and math teacher at Willis Elementary, decided to call her students at various times this week, as well as speaking with their parents. Classes will resume online starting Monday, March 23. Each person will schedule a 10-minute slot for their test. We want to hear your voice and believe this app will help us better stay in touch with student opinions as we plan ahead. During the Summarize phase, teachers and students share, discuss, and refine strategies and conjectures as a whole-class discussion. Active cases within the student population will be monitored through the Student Health Center under guidance from the Center's medical director. Kick a ball around. We are aiming for Labor Day weekend. As we move through the many decisions that we face individually and as a community, our top priorities remain to keep teaching, keep learning, and keep helping each other to stay well. Editors note: Phased planning has amended some information included in the July 22 message. We are guided by four key goals: safeguarding the health of students, faculty and staff; ensuring students complete their classes; maintaining the universitys research and other operations; and joining in the national effort to slow the spread of COVID-19, to protect our communities, from Williamsburg to DC and beyond. I hope you can do the same, and I hope you can focus on forgiving yourselves if you're not perfect. Heres what they said: Out of the hundreds of teachers who told us what they wanted students to know, 100% started by saying they miss them. On June 12, 2020 William & Mary released its planning process for the coming semester the Path Forward: Fall 2020. This slower pace is also a good opportunity to establish and systematically reinforce compliance with our Healthy Together Community Commitment and our new health rules mask wearing, social distancing and more. For those who want to use this time to deepen their learning on various wellness areas, we will be providing educational resources on a wide range of topics, including managing cabin fever. William & Mary will not identify the names of people who have contracted COVID-19 to the public or greater campus community. Over the past week, we have been heartened by so many stories of students, faculty, staff, neighbors and alumni reaching out to support each other. So the deans, faculty, and staff are empowering each other to explore as many solutions as warranted for each discipline and each students learning situation. In March, we set out goals that were simple to describe yet incredibly difficult to achieve in such an uncertain and constantly changing environment. I just really miss them. Cory L. I hope you are all safe and healthy. An archive of messages sent to William & Mary students about the university's plans and policies responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Planning around the pandemic may be easier said than done. Safety measures being taken in the area of Campus Dining were detailed in Sam Jones. Hopefully they can find a silver lining in this and hopefully we can all be together sometime in the future.. Many of the outbreaks to date have resulted from large gatherings of young adults, without masks and physical distancing. What is the least-visited state park in Texas? Weve learned in the past six weeks that together, weve got this. This note has only one piece of business, an invitation, and then reflections on insights that have been shared with me this week from many different sources. Richmond Hall is also identified for housing any on-campus students with a positive COVID-19 diagnosis. "You are braver than you believe, and stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think." A. ET, for a conversation on health and wellness. As the COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded, Commencement 2020 has been front-of-mind for our graduating students and their families. Questions can still be submitted to us at [email protected]. School districts and schools should also support the social, emotional, and mental health needs of all staff. Your questions are helping us immensely as we strive to be clear and responsive during this global crisis. Yet I look forward to the coming months with optimism. As many of you know, Sam Jones retired at the beginning of December after an exemplary career at William & Mary, capped by his able leadership of the COVID-19 Response Team. Teachers work hard from August to the end of May and during May is when we get to celebrate and see how much our kids grow and change and tell them were proud of them and celebrate with them and were not really getting to do that together.. The health and welfare of our employees, not just our students, depends on robust compliance. Back-to-School Quotes for Teachers 21. Teachers, in a non-coronavirus world, already had to deal with an array of student challenges, parents, and an unrealistic amount of standardized testing. Greeting Card Messages In The Time Of Coronavirus - Ideas & Inspiration Inspirational Quotes During Coronavirus That Will Lift Your Spirits Thank you for consistently embodying the spirit of community. For now, on behalf of my colleagues on the Board, I want to recognize the incredible leadership and efforts by each of you.We have faced many challenges throughout our 327-year history. Instead, approach lower grades with compassion, and help kids find intrinsic motivation. All testing and distancing protocols will remain in effect. So much gratitude is flowing. Group Gatherings. The ability to physically distance within a space does not eliminate the above requirements. I have no doubt that we will emerge from this a stronger community and institution.With best wishes,John E. LittelRector. Ralph Northam announced new restrictions on private and public gatherings in the Hampton Roads region and Peninsula, which includes Williamsburg. White was exhausted and disillusioned from dealing with bad student behavior, which had escalated since schools reopened after the pandemic closures. W&M leadership will continually evaluate our path forward in light of those changes. That I am thinking of them and missing them daily. Do not come to campus if you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms or have been asked by state or local health officials to self-quarantine. Doing so matters greatly to our graduate students, undergraduates, parents, faculty, and staff and to me. It's a hive of human activity and constant, emotional interaction - buzzing with movement, noise, rapid changes, ups, downs and, in many cases, actual bells to tell everyone when to stand up and go. Knowing how much this semester matters, to so many, this email updates you on issues at the front of many of our minds: You are likely aware of the news about positive COVID-19 cases at some colleges and universities. ", Tom Sizemore, star of 'Saving Private Ryan,' 'Heat,' dies at 61 after brain aneurysm, Josh Hartnett is done talking about his break from Hollywood but ready to make fun of actors: 'We're the worst', Michael B. Jordan admits muscle gain for 'Creed' has been harder as he's gotten older, Billy Bush suggests Amy Robach and T.J. Holmes start their own show after ABC exit: 'They've got something that works', How to watch every Oscars 2023 Best Picture nominee. Its important to remember that W&M does not control the surrounding public health context; decisions by the federal government and by Virginias leadership will frame the universitys options in the months ahead.