With nearly 50% of high school students consistently learning remotely since March of 2020, New Fairfield High School staff are so excited to have a full house when school begins on Monday, August 30. NFHS Principal Mr. James D’Amico says, “What energizes me the most for this year is having a school full of students again!” He reflected that, “It is strange to think that close to half of our students have not been in school in almost a year and a half.” He went on to say “My hope for this year is that we can rekindle the spirit of community that makes NFHS a special place, and that all students will feel connected to our school and like they have the ability to take charge of their education.”
Just having the full school of teenagers together again will help to naturally foster engagement, but the administrators and faculty plan to facilitate that process even more. To that aim, they have been strategizing various ways to re-engage students, both academically and socially, which is the school’s primary focus for the year. They’ve mindfully incorporated this focus into all professional learning plans. In addition to bringing students together, they plan to spend time in the beginning of the year connecting students with the school counseling staff and allowing them time to get to know their mentor teachers. “All of our freshmen and half of our sophomores have not had that face-to-face contact with a mentor, and we want to provide that as safely and as often as we can,” D’Amico pointed out. He also stressed the importance of “clubs and teams being able to meet regularly in person from the beginning of the year.” The school has also planned activities for the year that are intended to improve the social-emotional climate and make sure that NFHS is a place where all students and staff feel safe and accepted.
The school will certainly face challenges this year. In addition to pandemic-related mitigation strategies that make daily business safer, but more complicated, construction on the new high school will soon begin a stone’s throw away. “Obviously the construction of a new building is incredibly exciting for our community, and at the same time will create some challenging scenarios over the next couple of years,” D’Amico said. Acknowledging the recent frustration of upperclassmen families regarding limited parking, he shared his own NFHS construction story, “I was a senior here when the last major construction project took place when the middle school was being built. Prior to that we had plentiful parking for all juniors and seniors right in front of the gym, and it was hard not having that privilege. It did feel at the time like something had been taken away from us—only a handful got the lucky ticket for an actual parking spot, and the rest of us being relegated to the bottom of the hill where there was not enough space.” He went on to say, “At the time, Dr. McDonnell and the staff tried to work with us as much as they could, and we will do the same for our current students. So, I truly do understand the frustration of feeling like students are giving up a lot for a school they won’t ever attend.” He’s also confident “that we will figure it out together and make it through” and that he’s so “happy that on the first day of school, construction will not have started and we will be able to have the senior parade!” With fellow administrators, returning faculty and staff, and excellent new teachers coming on board, D’Amico is enthused about the year ahead. He points out that the staff is filled with those “who care deeply about helping students reach their potential as learners and as people.” He acknowledged that, while last year had its successes,” we now know that we can teach classes and deliver curriculum [remotely],” he truly believes that “there is nothing like having students in the building and learning together with their teachers.”
By Sarah Opdahl