Community (\ kə-ˈmyü-nə-tē) noun. the feeling of fellowship with others.

When I hear the word “community”, family, friends, loved ones, camaraderie, and belonging are just some of the images and feelings that pop into mind. During this pandemic, we’ve all had to adjust how we maintain and build community; we’ve had to be innovative, virtual, flexible in our communication, and we’ve had to adjust our expectations for our typical communities. 

We’ve all experienced the feeling of community at Waterford – an intangible feeling of calm as you walk east across the quad looking at the towering Wasatch mountains; goosebumps as you listen to our orchestra play; the inspiration you feel as you watch one of our faculty skillfully navigate the science and art of teaching their class. In the past two months, it’s been a challenge to feel those moments as we’ve been segregated to our homes, disconnected except for virtual contact through our screens.

#OneWaterford Closing Video 2020 from The Waterford School on Vimeo.

This past week, Waterford showed its ability to create community despite being physically apart. #OneWaterford Week was truly a celebration of all that makes our community great:

• Over 100 of you shared messages of gratitude and thanks on our community wall. 
• Nearly 20 parent volunteers delivered almost 200 signs and boxes of cookies to our faculty on Teacher Appreciation Day. 
• One parent baked and donated all those cookies – all 2400 of them! 
• Several students and families shared ways they’ve served during this time of need. Collectively, students made and donated over 850 masks, gave blood, donated food, supported the elderly, and brought cheer to their neighbors.
• And our community raised almost $90,000 to help maintain faculty and staff employment, support professional development for remote learning, and provide financial aid assistance for families in need amidst the economic uncertainties of the pandemic. 

Thank you is an understatement for the way our community showed up this week! 

Looking ahead, you can continue to post on our community wall after this week, and we encourage you to share those things going well! You can make a gift to the Waterford Resilience Fund through the end of August, and please continue sending in all the service you and your family are doing! We love to hear about all the good happening despite the challenge. 

We encourage you to continue to foster this incredible community – continue to share messages of hope, continue to serve others, and continue to support the School we all love. We are only #OneWaterford with you. And we’re so grateful you’re part of our community.