All the traditional elements of a Bromfield graduation were present last Friday evening, July 31, as the Class of 2020 gathered with family members on the field in front of the school. But the occasion was also marked by some significant differences.

There is a new image on the rock that rests on the field beside the Bromfield School: a black fist set against a white background with the words "Black Lives Matter," in block letters above it.

Reopening school during this pandemic is a journey of immense complexity into unknown territory. Ventilation, disinfection, masks, one-way staircases, 6-foot spacing, coordinating remote and in-person classes, and much more.

Lucas Thayer, proprietor of a cannabis cultivation business on South Shaker Road, and his attorney have met virtually with the Select Board and the Planning Board to advance the months-long permitting process that is required for cannabis growers in the commonwealth

Janet Brown, Bromfield English teacher, department leader, and meditation instructor, has taken a position as vice principal at Narragansett Regional High School in Baldwinville.

Town officials breathed a sigh of relief last week with the announcement that Gov. Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts Legislature have agreed to protect two main sources of aid to towns and schools in fiscal 2021.

Following the release of an open letter from Bromfield alumni calling for a more antiracist curriculum in Harvard public schools, current students have picked up the cause and are working to further the action that was stirred up earlier this summer.

Select Board members have concluded that once school administrators abandon the Bromfield House next spring, it should be sold or destroyed.

Completion of the installation of energy-efficient lighting in the library and the Bromfield School is expected to save the town over $17,000 annually. Meanwhile, the larger goal of dramatically lowering municipal energy use remains unmet.