I am writing to you once again about the spread of the Coronavirus and our upcoming Spring Break holiday. As you may know, both the CDC (Center for Disease Control) and WHO (World Health Organization) are continuing to update their advisories as the virus spreads outside mainland China.
Along with
China, the following countries now have varying levels of heightened concern due to apparent community spread from person to person:
Hong Kong,
Japan,
Singapore,
South Korea,
Taiwan,
Thailand, and
Vietnam. In fact, South Korea has just noted that their number of cases has nearly doubled in 24 hours as I'm writing to you.
As we must always put the highest priority on the health of our students and community, we strongly encourage those planning travel to these countries and into China via these countries to cancel their plans and find alternative arrangements.
Also, with this rapidly-evolving situation it is highly likely that travel may be restricted to and from these countries in the coming days. Any students who do decide to travel must understand that they do so at their own risk and that a failure to return to the US would jeopardize their academic standing and ability to graduate or finish the school year.
Families also must be aware that, if in the School’s judgement, a student or students traveling to these countries could pose a health risk to the greater school community upon returning, the School reserves the right to deny their return to campus.
We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause, but in this extraordinary situation we feel it is the best recommendation we can make to ensure all of our students will finish the year both in good health and with good academic standing.
If you know of someone in the United States such as a relative or friend of the family who might take your child in between February 29 and March 16, please make arrangements with them as soon as possible and inform the Dean’s Office.
We have also made the decision to keep the campus open during the break for any students who are not able to secure other arrangements. Students will stay in the dormitories, eat meals in the dining hall, and participate in activities and trips under the supervision of faculty and staff members on duty over the break. The cost per student to remain on campus is $2,500 for the duration of the holiday and can be billed to their account.
If you would like your child to stay on campus or if you need help finding other accommodations, please inform the Dean’s Office as soon as possible.
Thank you once again for your continued support and cooperation as the School works toward a satisfactory solution for each student while keeping the mind the health and well-being of the Storm King community. I will continue to update you as the situation evolves further.
