Messages from the Head of School

List of 1 items.

  • Update on COVID-19 Protocols, Introduction of New Employees - 8/10/2022

    Living and Learning Fully in Community, Keeping Each Other Safe

    As I mentioned in my email last week, COVID-19 is something we will have to contend with on a daily basis for the foreseeable future. Members of the school’s administrative team and medical advisory committee have worked together to establish the following protocols and guidelines. This approach is designed to help us live and learn fully in community while keeping each other safe.
     
    COVID-19 Protocols
    • We will begin the school year mask-optional.
    • We will not offer PCR surveillance testing on campus; however, we encourage families to have a supply of rapid antigen tests at home and to be very mindful of the safety of our community.
    • We expect families to test their children if they: 1) have any symptoms, OR 2) have been in contact with someone who has a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis. It is imperative that you inform the Health Center team if your children experience one or both of these scenarios. They can be reached at healthcenter@sstx.org.
    • Students who travel for sports or class retreats may be required to test before departure.
    • All students in Athletics/Fitness with a confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis (including those who are asymptomatic) will be required to present one of the following before returning to athletics/fitness activities: 1) a parent/guardian must complete a COVID-19 Risk Acknowledgement Form, OR 2) a parent/guardian must submit written clearance for return to athletics/fitness/sports from a healthcare provider. 

    COVID-19 Quarantine/Isolation Guidelines
    Please click here to review our COVID-19 quarantine/isolation guidelines.
     
    We will continue to monitor the pandemic situation on campus and in Austin, and we will adjust our protocols and guidelines, as necessary. In addition, we will maintain a COVID-19 web page this year with a dashboard that reports weekly confirmed cases in our community, as we have for the past two years.

    Introducing New Employees
    Since March, our leadership team has recruited a number of remarkable faculty and staff to The Hill. In addition, several well-known members of our community will serve in new roles this school year. I look forward to making official introductions during our opening days of school, but you may want to acquaint yourself with these new and returning faculty and staff and their roles at the school by reading more about them now. I know that you will enjoy meeting them and that they will contribute significantly to our students’ campus lives. Please help us welcome these outstanding professionals to our school community!

    As you make final preparations for the school year, I want to thank you in advance for committing to keeping each other safe by following our COVID-19 protocols and guidelines. 

    I look forward to seeing you on campus in the coming weeks.

    Sincerely,

    Chris Gunnin
    Head of School
Address: 6500 St. Stephen's Dr., Austin, TX 78746
Phone: (512) 327-1213