Dear Bearcat Community,
I hope that all of you were able to enjoy a restful and relaxing Spring Break. It has been a pleasure to welcome students back to school this week! We have seen notably fewer students on campus this week, as many are quarantining following out-of-state travel. I’d like to thank these families for doing their part to help keep our community safe. We look forward to welcoming many of these students back to campus next week!
Updated travel guidance from the CDC
On April 2, the CDC released
new guidance on travel restrictions. Under this new guidance,
- Fully vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine after travel.
- Non-vaccinated individuals are recommended to self quarantine for either 7 or 10 days. (The 7- and 10-day quarantine guidelines are described in the information linked above.)
Reminder: KCD will continue six-foot distancing on campus, with a few exceptions
Although the CDC
updated their social distancing guidelines for schools earlier this spring, we have decided to maintain our current six-foot guideline through the end of the school year. At this point, asking teachers who are currently in non-traditional spaces to move would represent a significant disruption during a busy time of the year. In addition, students and faculty alike are comfortable and familiar with our current distancing guidelines, and sticking with these familiar rules through the final weeks of the school year seems to be the least disruptive course of action.
However, we will take advantage of the CDC’s new three-foot guidelines in the following circumstances:
- Lower school classes, who are already limiting contact through cohorting, will follow the CDC’s three-foot distancing guidelines within their pods or cohorts.
- Middle and upper school classes who are doing small group work, labs, or projects may use the CDC’s three-foot distancing guidelines.
Updates to KCD’s lunch program
I’m pleased to announce that Flik has already made a number of changes to our lunch offerings based on the student feedback we collected earlier this spring:
- Foods requested most often on the survey are now being offered more frequently. Conversely, items that students did not prefer have been taken off the menu.
- Our local Flik team has gotten approval to continue offering some KCD favorites, such as Bluegrass Bars.
- Vegetable dishes now feature simpler preparations more likely to be appealing to young people.
- The menu now includes a daily soup, salad, and deli special.
- Bagels and soup are now available every day.
- Yogurt is available on rotation.
- The menu cycle will be updated regularly based on student feedback, with monthly specials to further increase variety.
In addition, Flik is starting a food committee that will include students from all three divisions. These students will have the opportunity to learn more about the Flik program, offer feedback on menu items, and serve as community ambassadors.
Once pandemic restrictions are behind us, Flik plans to expand selection and variety even more by offering
- a full salad bar,
- made-to-order sandwiches and salads, and
- a toppings bar.
Finally, further plans to upgrade the kitchen and dining hall are in the works and will happen over the summer.
Grandparents and Special Friends Program
Students in grades JK–4 are hard at work preparing for this year’s Grandparents and Special Friends Program, “A Musical Journey.” Under the direction of LuAnn Hayes (JK–3) and Jeannine Ary (4), with assistance from Parker Scinta, these young students are excited to share this year’s program with you.
This virtual performance will be filmed on Thursday, April 15. Ms. Hayes and Ms. Ary ask that all performers wear KCD shirts or solid-colored shirts featuring KCD’s colors for the April 15 filming. Dark, long pants and comfortable shoes are also the order of the day. Long hair should be pulled back from children’s faces.
The link to the performance will be released on Friday, May 7, and we hope that you will celebrate a Mother’s Day weekend by watching this performance with the entire family!
Other year-end events
The end of the school year is full of many KCD traditions and milestones. We are working hard to provide as “normal” an experience as possible for our community while prioritizing the health and safety of all in the midst of a pandemic. Details about some of these events can be found below; throughout the remainder of the spring, I’ll provide additional details as they become available.
- Prom (April 24): We will take advantage of our beautiful campus by hosting an outdoor prom under large tents so that juniors and seniors can celebrate yet another milestone in their journey at KCD.
- Senior Retreat (May 16): We will not be able to host an overnight retreat due to health department restrictions, but we will conduct a full day-long retreat at Pyoka Camp full of fun, team building, and reflective activities.
- Graduation (May 29): Traditionally, St. Matthews Baptist Church hosts our beautiful graduation ceremony, but they are unsure that hosting outside groups will be possible in May or June. We explored many indoor venues and have chosen The Louisville Palace as our site for what will be an incredible experience on May 29 at 11:00 am. Although The Palace allows us to maximize the number of guests each senior can invite as it is twice the size of the church.
Bocce courts are coming to the quad
Some of you may have noticed a new project taking shape in the quad. I’m pleased to announce that KCD will soon have two
bocce courts, thanks to the generosity of Parco Constructors, the general contractor on our STEAM Academic Center. This game is a great fit for our community, since bocce’s simple rules make it appealing to players of all ages and skill levels. I’d like to thank Parco for this wonderful addition to our campus, and I can’t wait to see our students trying out these new courts!
As we head into the final months of the school year, I’m planning on communicating with you every two weeks instead of weekly. Of course, I will communicate if there are new developments that result in changes to our policies or procedures.
Thank you once again for your encouragement and support during this extraordinary year.
Go Bearcats!
Peter