Dear Bullis Families,
I am late with the letter I promised when I wrote to you last week. Apologies. Hopefully, you’re all enjoying the waning days of the vacation, and weren’t waiting with bated breath!
Summer camp at Bullis has come to a successful conclusion, and this week there have been orientation programs for new students to the Middle and Upper Schools. It is genuinely exciting to see students’ enthusiasm and everyone getting ready for school; not long now.
Upcoming Events
Here’s a little calendar of upcoming events as we get ready for the start of school.
- Mon, Aug 23: New Faculty on Campus. COVID-19 testing available for athletes.
- Wed, Aug 25: School Store Opens. Come get your Bullis Swag!
- Thurs, Aug 26: All Faculty Back on Campus
- Thurs, Aug 26: New Parent Reception at 5:00pm in the Discovery Center
- Mon, Aug 30: Lower and Middle Schools Drop-In Day. 1:00pm – 3:00pm. COVID-19 testing for all students & faculty.
- Wed, Sept 1: First Day of School
- Thurs, Sept 2: Parent Coffee with Head, Division Heads and Parents Association. 8:15am – 9:15am in the Blair Center Lobby Mon, Sept 6: Labor Day (No School)
- Tues, Sept 7: Rosh Hashanah (No School)
The 4-day weekend as soon as we start school was one of the reasons we are starting school a week earlier this year. The first few days of school are taken up with making connections, valuable orientations and experiential education, and we can really get going academically on September 8 after a restful weekend.
Enrollment and Finances
When we open on September 1, we will do so with 900 students, the largest enrollment in Bullis’s history. We will have 148 students in the Lower School, 207 students in the Middle School and 545 in the Upper School. Simultaneously, due to the hiring of additional teachers, we have lowered class sizes to 12/14 in the Lower School, 15 in the Middle School and 16 in the Upper School. (There may be one or two classes above these numbers, but many more below them.) This growth in enrollment has happened while lowering the percentage of gross tuition revenue that the school is devoting to need-based financial aid. There has not been a change in the demographic make-up of the school. Quite simply, families want to be at Bullis, and the Admission department had extraordinary choices as they built the classes. Unsurprisingly, with increased enrollment and lower financial aid, Bullis is stable financially. Our key competency and mission is of course educating young people. Rigorous fiscal management is critical because it enables us to not only to fulfill this mission, but also to set consistent, reasonable tuition increases and provide competitive faculty compensation. The Board of Trustees and I are absolutely committed to this and will remain so in the coming years.
Carpool
(I know, not the most interesting of topics, but please read!)
Carpool Map 2021-22 (click to view larger image)
I promise that I am looking forward to writing about educational philosophy, the strategic plan and our students’ achievements, but I am going down a particularly operational rabbit hole with my next subject--dropping students at school in the morning. With our growth in enrollment, no remote education, and more teachers, we will have a significant growth in those driving onto campus every morning. Therefore, we have had to consider the carpool arrangements and make changes. This is how the morning carpool will work this year:
- Cars dropping Middle School students will turn right after entering Bullis, stick to the right lane, pull right forward and exit the car quickly. There is no change from last year.
- Cars dropping Lower and Upper School students will turn left, stick to the right-hand lane, and continue driving until directed to stop by a faculty member or the car in front of them has stopped.
- This means that Upper School students may disembark by the Lower School, and Lower School students may have a longer walk along the sidewalk than they did last year.
- We are doing this because we anticipate the need to maximize the utility of the sidewalk.
- This system will prevent cars from backing up onto Falls Road.
- There will be many adults along the sidewalk as well as recently trained 5th grade safety patrols to help our younger students disembark quickly and be walked to their classroom if necessary.
- Students who are driving themselves will turn left, stick to the left lane and pull into their appropriate parking lot.
- Faculty and morning visitors need to be parked by 7:40am very latest, and preferably by 7:30am
The division directors will review these carpool plans with you and answer any questions. We believe this is the safest, quickest way of getting our community onto campus. Thank you so much for your support with this. Please, please do pull forward as far as you can; do not randomly stop to shorten your child’s walk; they will be fine, I promise. Here is a diagram to explain visually. Please drop students in the areas colored green, unless directed otherwise by supervising faculty.
Vaccination and Clinic Arrangements
As you know, last week I announced that once the FDA has fully authorized vaccinations, eligible students and faculty will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. Federal and State law mandates that institutions must accept valid and authentic religious and health exemptions. In the spirit of transparency, we have received requests from two student families (four total students) for religious exemptions and one faculty member. Additionally, I have heard from three other families that have other concerns about the vaccine. I share this information because it may be that there are eligible members of our community who are unvaccinated. Of course, we will have over 200 Lower and Middle School students who are currently ineligible to be vaccinated too.
I am grateful for the overwhelming support I heard for the protocols designed to keep the community safe; thank you very much indeed. I also know that different opinions exist. The motivation behind our decisions remains twofold; keep everyone safe and ensure the continuation of the education of our students.
Bullis, in partnership with Safeway/Albertsons, will be hosting a dual COVID and flu vaccination clinic offering both the Pfizer COVID vaccine and annual flu vaccine to all member of the extended Bullis family (students, parents, siblings, faculty, and other family members) on Friday, September 17th from 2-5pm. The second dose of the COVID vaccine will be administered on Friday, October 8th from 2-5pm along with a second opportunity for those just interested in the flu vaccine.
Register for your/your child's first dose of the COVID vaccine and complete the vaccine consent in hard copy (please check your email for details). A link will be provided so that you will be able to register for your/your child's second dose after the first dose is administered.Â
Those that have already received the COVID vaccine (or are not currently eligible for the COVID vaccine as they are under 12 years old) are encouraged to sign up to receive the flu vaccine (a link for those wanting the flu vaccine on October 8th will be shared later). Once again, you will need to complete the attached vaccine consent in hard copy.
Individuals getting the COVID vaccine may elect to get the flu vaccine at the same time on either their first or second shot. If you would like to register for both vaccines on September 17 you should register for times using both links [check your email for links]. Please try and pick the same time for both shots, but, if the same time is not available, don't worry, the shots will be administered together.
Please make sure to bring the signed consent form and your insurance card (or a copy of your insurance card) to your vaccination appointment. This clinic is offered at no cost with insurance or through a federal program for the uninsured.
For all students/siblings age 12-17, the consent form must be signed by a parent or guardian. You are welcome to attend the vaccination appointment with your child. We will also have school representatives supervising as non-custodial adults if you are unable to attend the first dose appointment with your child. If your child will need to be excused from class to attend one of the earlier appointment times, please reach out to your Division Head so that appropriate arrangements can be made.
Completing Health Information – A Reminder
The best way to access your Magnus account is through the Parent Portal. We do require families and eligible students to upload their vaccination certificates. The portal is the easiest way to complete the necessary health information, particularly for parents with multiple children attending Bullis. Please be aware that the emergency contact information preloaded in the “Vital Health Record” section of Magnus is feeding directly from the Parent Portal and can only be updated in the portal if you need to revise or delete the preloaded contact information. You can also access and update the necessary health forms and information through the Magnus app.
And finally with regard to this health stuff, a reminder that everyone must have a negative COVID-19 test result before attendance at school. We are conducting tests at school on August 23 for fall athletes and all other students on August 30. If students cannot make these test dates, they will need to present negative PCR test results before being on campus.
The start of the school year is upon us. The faculty and I are so excited to welcome our students and our families. Again, thank you for your support, and please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if I can help with anything.
Warmly,
Christian G. Sullivan
Head of School