Coronavirus Update: Nourishing Our Wellbeing – Together and Individually

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Each year, at this time SSIS hallways and classrooms are full of joyous cheer and hugs of encouragement as high school seniors receive word of their university acceptances. Needless to say, even under normal circumstances, this is sometimes a nerve-wracking and very exciting time. This year, our resilient seniors are unable to be at each other’s sides physically, however, the University Guidance Office is making sure that our students’ incredible achievements are not overlooked by holding an online event today to celebrate our seniors. I am so impressed with the creativity and innovative ways this community has found to keep our students, families, and each other connected.

Yesterday, Julia Bui and Jacob Humes held a joint presentation for parents about the psychological impact of social distancing and living through a global pandemic (see the webinar in full, here). I’m so grateful for the insightful and supportive strategies that they shared with parents, tangible tips that our families can use at home to help guide their children through this challenging time. Parents, who described the webinar as very informative and reassuring, received one of the most important strategies for us all to remember – for each of us to remember to take care of ourselves.

This week, someone shared this excellent article from the Harvard Business Review, with me. It perfectly captures how our loss of normalcy and control is hitting us and states that we must acknowledge that we are grieving. We are not used to this type of collective grief. The article states that it is important that we spend time acknowledging our feelings, our emotions. “When you name it, you feel it and it moves through you. Emotions need motion.” I highly encourage you to read it.

So, as we check off another week of successfully delivering Virtual School to our deserving students, I encourage you to spend this weekend actively taking care of yourselves. Go for a walk, reach out to a colleague, live in this moment – social distancing is not social disconnectedness. Nourish your emotional wellbeing by connecting with friends, family, and yourself.

I look forward to seeing many of you online this afternoon.

All good wishes,
Catriona