I hope and pray this email finds you and your family well. I am writing to keep you updated on new developments in our response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this afternoon, the Archdiocese of Miami released a statement about school closures next week, heeding guidance provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Florida Department of Health, and the Department of Emergency Management of Miami-Dade County.
In an abundance of caution, to safeguard the health and well-being of our students, teachers and staff, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy will close on Tuesday, March 17, until further notice. All extracurricular activities, including practices, games and events, have been canceled, effective Monday.
Please know that, because the spread of the virus has been fast-changing, we have been preparing for the possibility of remote and virtual instruction, since the potential threat of COVID-19 became real. While we were hoping to not have to implement our contingency plan, unprecedented circumstances warrant the suspension of on-site learning at Our Lady of Lourdes Academy, effective Tuesday, March 17. Our team is ready, and we will implement virtual classes, until public health officials deem it safe to return to our usual mode of operation.
While these are uncharted waters for all of us, we are optimistic our plan will help ensure our teaching and learning process is minimally affected - specifically, that course curricula and all learning objectives continue to be met, at the standard expected here at our school. To view the plan, please click HERE.
During our closure, the school will undergo thorough sanitizing, in accordance with CDC guidelines. As frequent cleaning remains an effective means of spread prevention, please know our school has allocated funds and secured the necessary supplies and resources to ensure our maintenance team can properly sanitize the campus, especially those surfaces that are frequently touched (i.e. desks, countertops, door knobs, electronics, etc.).
I would be remiss if I didn't mention that the purpose of the school closure is to slow down the spread of the virus. To be effective, it is important our students and their families practice social distancing, limiting contacts with others. Congregating outside of school defeats the purpose of the closure. The exponential growth of the disease is evident across the globe; let's work together as a community, toward a solution.
Because this is a fluid situation, we will make decisions on a week-to-week basis. For next week, the following decisions have been made:
- The Junior Encounter, scheduled for March 17-19, has been postponed.
- The evening presentation with Ms. Ana Moreno, scheduled for March 18, has been postponed.
- Junior Prom, scheduled for March 21, has been postponed.
- The Dance Show, scheduled for March 23, has been postponed.
- The Night of Reflection, scheduled for March 25, has been canceled.
I repeat, these are uncharted waters for all of us, so, I kindly ask for your patience, support and cooperation, as this situation evolves.
In the interest of transparency, please know our administrative team
has identified students with family members who have recently traveled to high-risk countries, as identified by the CDC. We are working with those families and ADOM, to ensure the proper medical clearance is obtained, prior to the student's re-entry to school.
We promise to provide regular updates, as new information becomes available.
For your convenience, because the volume of emails is sure to increase in the coming days, we have created a central portal where all messages and updates related to COVID-19 will be archived. The portal also includes an FAQ section that will summarize event cancellations or postponements, as they occur. It is our hope this will help ensure all members of our school community remain properly informed on our school's mitigation plans. The portal can be accessed at
www.olla.org/coronavirus
.
