The strength of our school-parent partnership was in evidence this morning with more than 150 parents joining us for our first virtual Head of School Coffee – what a great pleasure to see you all! Julie, Peter, Jeff and I very much enjoyed seeing your smiling faces again and reading your messages. We all miss you and your children and of course, being all together on campus.

The focus of the session was, as stated in the title of this message, on our approach to advancing learning and supporting the social and emotional well-being of our students. These are our two highest priorities implemented through our Continuous Learning program. Our thanks to all those who have shared feedback via the Continuous Learning Parent Survey. The response has been extremely positive and we will continue to refine and adjust the program according to the needs of our learners and your ongoing feedback. If you haven’t already done so or would like to share some additional thoughts with us please complete the survey – we very much welcome your input and suggestions. Here are the slides from today’s HoS Coffee; please know that we are addressing your comments and will share responses with you in an FAQ document on our Parent Portal next week.

We also touched on our thinking around possible future scenarios and the importance of remaining flexible as we develop plans for an uncertain path ahead. Earlier this week it was announced that the Ministry of Education (MoE) will advise when schools are to reopen two weeks prior to the date. In light of this, we are reviewing possible options regarding re-opening. In addition to being guided by the MoE our decision will also be based on ISKL’s Covid-19 decision-making matrix, Government advice, Ministry of Health data, and our own assessment. We anticipate that we will be able to make this decision by the end of April and will notify you accordingly.

As we look ahead for the start of the next academic year, please know that we have a range of plans in place and we will communicate them to you in due course. For those who joined me at the recent HoS optional online conversation; I spoke too soon! We are very much looking forward to a ‘normal’ year and at this stage, our 2020-2021 calendar remains the previously published one.

I will continue to keep you updated and invite you to join me next week for the Head of School optional Informal Chats on Wednesday, April 22, 7:30 am – 8:15 am via Google Meet and Thursday, April 23, 2:30 pm -3.15 pm via Google Meet. A few parents suggested trying an earlier morning session. Both sessions are identical in case you wish to join either of them.

I hope to see you virtually then, in the meantime I wish you and your family a restful weekend ahead.

Yours in partnership,

Rami Madani
Head of School