First of all, thank you for your ongoing patience in what is becoming an increasingly stressful time. As we have said before, this is an incredibly fast-changing situation, and if we look to the rest of the world and what is happening, it is only prudent for us to be as prepared and proactive as possible.
This afternoon, we received news that a Secondary student was screened for COVID-19, as a precautionary measure over the weekend. This student was absent from BHS for most of last week. All members of her household have been quarantined. In light of this situation, a Board meeting was held tonight and we have made the decision that BHS will close, at the end of the school day tomorrow, Monday, March 16th, for an unknown period of time.
We will communicate with the specific Year Group of the affected student in a separate email with further information and details.
Classes will be held on Monday. During this time, students will have a chance to gather their resources, and teachers will give any work and guidance before the closure. We wish to make clear that students are not obliged to attend school on Monday under any circumstances. The school building will be open on Tuesday, if Secondary parents or students wish to collect their books and binders etc. Primary parents can collect their students' work packs on Tuesday from 9am - 12pm, from Mrs. Renaud or Mrs. Kerr.
We are requesting that any alumni who are home from boarding school and university, regardless of their arrival date, do not visit our campus. We are not accepting non-essential visitors at this time.
We did not think we would be making this decision so quickly, and we are aware that it will pose significant logistical challenges to all of our BHS families. We do, however, take the health and safety of our students and staff very seriously and we believe this is in the best interest of all involved to do our part to keep our school community, and the wider community, safe and healthy.
All BHS parents will need to ensure that they have their password to access Firefly for remote learning. If you have forgotten your password, please contact Nicola Cunha at
ncunha@bhs.bm
. Primary students will receive home-learning packages and will have work posted on Firefly. Secondary and IB students will access their e-learning through Google Classrooms and ManageBac. Please expect further communications from the Heads of Primary, Secondary and IB with more details. We expect to commence e-learning from Wednesday, March 18th until the commencement of the Easter holiday (March 28th).
We also wish to recognise that this school closure represents a larger shift in how we live our daily lives in this new normal, and it can feel unsettling. We all need to be flexible, realistic, calm and sensible and take it one day at a time.
At this point, it is impossible to give a date when the normal school schedule will resume. We will monitor conditions daily, and we will give as much advanced notice as possible.
In terms of looking ahead to school events, we can confirm that the Torch Ceremony will be postponed. We will communicate on separate events as, and when, we are able.
