Head of School Michael Bornn of the Virgin Islands Montessori School & Peter Gruber International Academy (VIMSIA) sent the following message to parents on March 12, 2020.
Dear VIMSIA Families,
The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and its attendant disease COVID-19 present uncharted challenges as a school community and as part of our wider VI community. Your school administrators and the board of trustees have been discussing international data and scenario planning over the past few days and have been in discussion with our local Department of Health. Our intention is to be proactive in protecting our communities, while still being true to student learning.
The most successful containment of the virus has been in countries (Japan, Taiwan and Singapore) that have acted quickly and decisively in maximizing social distance. In the absence of solid data, it is always more prudent to do more, than less.
At VIMSIA, we are acting preemptively and have made the following decisions:
VIMSIA campus is closing for students at the end of the school day on Friday, March 13. This extends spring break by one week (from March 16 through March 27) to allow the teaching staff to prepare for remote/online learning. We highly discourage students from coming to school because the purpose of this action is to promote social distancing, but if you have extenuating circumstances and need to have a child on campus Monday or Tuesday, please call Michael Bornn to discuss. No child exhibiting illness is permitted on campus.
Remote learning will begin on Monday, March 30. The current plan is to have remote learning for two weeks. Students will not return to the school campus until April 10 or possibly longer, depending on the scenario at that time. The combination of spring break and remote learning provides a 14- day period of time for symptoms to become evident. This time away from campus is meant to create social distancing. Allowing gatherings of your students during this time will defeat that purpose. Please be prudent.
Effective immediately, we require a self-quarantine of 14 days for anyone traveling before returning to school.
Our Taste the Nations event on March is cancelled. Online ticket purchases will be refunded. The students will instead perform at a school assembly on March 13th to complete the academic assignment for dance.
As of today, End Sessions are still scheduled, however, the likelihood of traveling End Sessions being canceled is certainly real.
We ask that families practice social distancing in as many areas as possible over the next few weeks, in the attempt to flatten the curve of the spread of the virus, and prevent overwhelming for our health and medical resources.
Again, this is a very dynamic situation with no rulebook to follow. Any plans that are put in place are absolutely subject to change based on current information. Our intent is to be proactive and plan as best as our knowledge provides, but to be flexible enough to adapt to new information daily. We will do our very best to communicate with you often and thoroughly. As Head of School, I will be the definitive point of contact for information regarding VIMSIA’s actions relating to the pandemic.
We acknowledge that these decisions will be inconvenient economically, socially and educationally, and we ask for your patience and understanding as we navigate during this difficult time for our school and indeed, our global community.
Michael Bornn
Link to FB post https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=10159544829699408&id=221650504407
