After not having Legacy Day for the last year, due to Covid, students and faculty are ready to get the community back together. As Sarah Shah ‘25 says, “I was really looking forward to Legacy Day, so I was kind of sad when they postponed it”. Blake has had to sacrifice some important traditions and community building activities to keep students and faculty safe.

     As the Delta variant levels have been rising, the three separate Blake campuses have installed different restrictions corresponding to the age groups in the building.  Lisa Sackreiter, who is a part of organizing Legacy Day, explains some of the concerns of parents and faculty, “We were hearing from teachers and families that they were pretty concerned about us being together across age groups and across campuses.” Without younger kids having access to the Covid vaccine, it is difficult to bring younger and older kids together. Not only was Sackreiter and the school considering the safety concerns expressed, they also wanted to ensure that the goals of Legacy Day were met, “It’s meant to be a celebration of community, but if you’re feeling anxious or fearful or uncomfortable then it doesn’t feel like a celebratory day.” These were some of the main reasons why the school decided it would be best to push Legacy Day back to the spring.

     Now that Legacy Day Still will be making a return this spring, students and teachers alike are excited and have various expectations for the day. Brian Lukkasson, the Upper School Director of Instrumental Music who has never atteneded Legacy Day before was dissapointed. Lukkasson said, “I was excited to be able to see upperclassmen help mentor younger students and see that kind of cross generational bond.” Fifi Tierney ‘24, who also hasn’t been to Legacy Day before due to last year’s cancelation, says, “I’m looking forward to meeting more of the Blake community and specifically younger students and getting to know new faces.” For new students and teachers, Legacy Day is a very important event that helps people meet one another, as Shah says, “Legacy day is a really important tradition we have because it brings people together from different grades.” Shah also pointed out that “Blake really works to form connections with people from all grades.” Sackreiter sees the delay as a “gift of time” she says, “Sometimes when we don’t do something for a little while we can bring some fresh eyes and ideas to it, so I think having some extra time this year to build on the ideas we already had could be fun!”