Plum Hill School is happy to announce we are opening our doors this month at our new home on Pine Lane in West Tisbury. We are embracing an outdoor forest kindergarten model to begin the year. Plum Hill staff and administration feel that this is the safest and healthiest way to serve our families at this time due to COVID-19.
Being outdoors in nature has always played an integral role in the rhythm of our days at Plum Hill, and we are excited to bring more of our curriculum outdoors. This fall we are looking forward to lots of time together planting our gardens and exploring the surrounding woods. Children who spend ample time in nature learn important physical, social, emotional and cognitive skills that pave the way for academic learning later on. At Plum Hill we strongly believe in fostering a connection to the outdoors and the natural world. We aim to instill a deep respect for Mother Earth, helping to create life-long stewards of this planet.
Though we will be spending the majority of our time outdoors, we are still working to ensure a safe experience for our students. Each child will have their temperature taken by staff upon arrival everyday, and parents are also expected to regularly check their children for symptoms of COVID-19. We ask that all parents dropping off their children wear facial coverings and maintain a safe physical distance from other families.
As for our students, we are taking action to create several outdoor spaces for learning, playing, eating, and gathering. Faculty and staff will work to minimize the use of shared materials between children as much as possible, and if any materials or toys are shared, they will be cleaned and disinfected between use.
We are so excited to implement this outdoor model into our classes, and even more excited to see our new students! If you need any more information on our reopening plans and safety guidelines, click here.