Dear Academy Family, Today I am writing to highlight actions the Academy is taking to adjust to changing conditions and new information. First, after discussing the matter with Father Lewis, I can announce that the mask provisions of our 2020-2021 Safe Return Plan—first sent to you on June 30, 2020!—will expire after the last day of the school year, Friday, June 4th. After that time, masks will be optional on campus and at school events, whether indoor or outdoor. (Senior families—Given the size of this year’s graduating class, we will have more than enough space to facilitate physical distancing for any of your guests who may require this. Please contact Mrs. Powell if you would like to request such arrangements.) Second, the Academy does not plan to offer online video instruction in 2021-2022. Given our classical and Catholic philosophy of education as borne out in such practices as daily Mass and Socratic dialogue, scholars’ physical presence on campus is a must. Third, Coach Miranda let me know that several parents had questions about 2021-2022 sports fees as outlined in his Athletics Department update letter. He has called or met with these parents, but I thought I might offer some insight as well. In the 2020-2021 school year, fielding our sports teams has cost approximately $60,000. This total includes league fees, coaching stipends, and referees/umpires. It does not include field and facility maintenance, equipment, lighting, gym and field utilities, uniforms, or travel. Total collected sports fees in 2020-2021, however, came to slightly under $30,000. Traditionally, parish funds have been used to bridge this shortfall, but that will not be the case going forward. The letter Coach Miranda sent represents our reckoning with the deficit this created, as well as an early installment in our commitment—mirrored across Academy departments—to practice fiscal realism in 2021-2022. In 2021-2022, if all sports offered go forward with projected participation, costs for league fees, coaching stipends, and referees/umpires are estimated at roughly $70,000. Again, this total does not include field and facility maintenance, equipment, lighting, utilities, uniforms, or travel. In contrast to the current year, if all sports offered for 2021-2022 go forward with projected participation, we project an income from sports fees also of approximately $70,000. This is a major step toward the sustainability of our athletics program. As private schools mature, they sometimes find it helpful to roll the various fees that have accumulated over the years into tuition. This simplifies both the cost of attendance for family budgets and schools’ ability to project revenues and plan accordingly. This may be something to look at as we set tuition in the future. Let us continue to pray for one another. Our Lady of The Atonement—pray for us! Your servant,