While no school can predict a pandemic, the foundation for the collaborative and independent learning John engages in at home was laid by his teachers well in advance. Starting in the Junior School, the boys learn the skills required to work productively and respectfully in groups and also to plan out their independent projects. Now learning remotely, they can call on the skills and habits they had honed in the classroom. “Our distance plan extends the learning essentials that the boys start working on the moment they arrive in our care,” said Anna Magor, Director of Teaching and Learning in the Junior School. “But it’s not only about transferring good learning habits to the home. It’s also about maintaining the close relationships and connections between teachers and students and among the boys. Learning is as much social and emotional as it is intellectual. Maintaining community and inclusion is a priority that runs in parallel with continued instruction of the STEM subjects, the humanities, physical education, music and so on.” With parent feedback gathered on how to build the most effective timetable, as well as research into best practices around the world, Anna is confident that the school is offering a highly effective online teaching and learning environment. She is also proud of how hard the faculty has worked to find the right balance of synchronous and asynchronous learning, while maintaining the warm family feeling that is a hallmark of the school. “We had to re-imagine what education needs to be in this context,” she said. “But we already know who we are and what we stand for. We continue to guide our boys toward being their best selves within a community of caring relationships, even when learning moves off campus and continues at home.”