With the Lower, Intermediate, and Middle School back on campus, Parker hosted a physical gathering for each grade in the Upper School. Due to the grade sizes and the size of gatherings allowed in Illinois, Parker worked to create an enjoyable, but safe, social event for students to see one another in person. Attempting to stay safe from COVID-19 with such large groups is hard, especially when some students have been socializing with each other while others have chosen not to since March. 

“It was fun seeing people in my grade, and I am glad I was able to connect more with people,” freshman Danni Kaplan said. “Truthfully, it was a little awkward to hang out with people six feet apart, and some people weren’t doing the best distancing, but still a pretty good time.” Kaplan is a new student at Parker but was not as nervous to go to the gathering as she had met several students on the tennis team already. “At the social, if I had known no one, it would’ve been really hard,” Kaplan said. “That made sense, because we had to be safe, but it still is tough circumstances.” 

Physical Education teacher and freshman grade head Tyler Heidtke was able to attend the gathering and felt that the event went well given the restrictions. “I have heard that it was really nice being able to see their friends and new classmates,” Heidtke said. “It looked like students were a bit hesitant to chat early on, but by the end of the event there was a lot of socializing.” Heidtke felt the grade did well with the social distancing parameters. Students were asked to spread out a few times, but Heidtke expected this, considering the amount of people and new interactions. 

For a look into the sophomore gathering, “everyone mingled around so I got to talk in-person to many people I haven’t seen since mid-March,” sophomore Daniel Silets said. “But the COVID-19 safe part of the event was not our best. Everyone kept their mask on for the most part, we were eating pretty close, but overall it wasn’t very safe as no one was distanced, even if it was outside.” The sophomores were split into two groups and were expected to stay on their designated side of the courtyard, but by the end of the event, no one was on the Eastern side.

Like others, junior Ava Rosenberg said she had a good time seeing her classmates again, and catching up with friends was super enjoyable. “Safety-wise, the juniors were good about keeping their masks on, and we did okay with six feet social distancing,” Rosenberg said. But despite the social distancing and mask-wearing, Rosenberg thought the split of the grade was useless. “There are pods of people that have seen each other more often, almost quarantining together, so when the faculty split them up, it wasn’t effective,” Rosenberg said. Because of this issue, the grade eventually just came together.  

Each grade gathering was planned and laid out by the Upper School Dean of Student Life, Joe Bruno. Socially, Bruno agreed with Heidtke. “I thought by the end of the event students warmed up to being back at Parker and seeing one another. They were all a little awkward at times, but that makes sense due to the facemasks and time apart, and definitely the six feet distance,” Bruno said. He explained how everyone made the best of it, and once students were comfortable with the setting, the socials were a success. When looking at the coronavirus safety restrictions, “I was beyond impressed with how well people kept their masks on, but the struggling was being six feet away from each other,” Bruno said, then adding that he understands the awkwardness of six feet between you and the person you are talking to. 

For social events like these for the future, Bruno says it will be tricky. “I think we have to be respectful when bringing people into Parker, now that it is getting colder, it will be more difficult to do an event outdoors,” Bruno said. “If we did something inside, we would need to get very creative on how we do that, and I really don’t see it happening.” He says in terms of classwide gatherings, he doesn’t see it happening again due to state guidelines. If people  did gather, further preparation would need to take place, but nothing is being arranged as of now.