Dear Bolles Community,
After consulting with our leaders, speaking with health officials and reviewing the latest COVID-19 information from the World Health Organization and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, regarding the rapid spread of COVID-19, it has become clear school closure and the implementation of our Distance Learning Program is the right thing to do for our school and our community.
Beginning Saturday, March 14, 2020, our four campuses will be closed to all but boarding students, resident families and essential personnel. Students will remain at home and take scheduled courses virtually through our Distance Learning Program in Schoology (beginning Wednesday, March 25—to give faculty an additional day to prepare). While this was a difficult decision and a challenging step to take, we felt compelled to align our actions with recent decisions being made by universities, organizations, teams and businesses across our state—and around our country. At this time, the length of our closure is not known but we will be closed a minimum of two weeks following Spring Break—returning to school on Monday, April 6. Students will receive instruction about expectations, times and class requirements through Schoology.
Helpful Facts:
- Resident Life students will use their dorm space and remain on campus.
- All Bolles campuses will be officially closed to all but boarding students, resident families and essential personnel.
- Online courses begin Wednesday, March 25 in order to give teachers time to prepare.
- All athletic practices and competitions and fine arts events are cancelled.
- All campus events will be cancelled during our closure.
- Lower School students were sent home with their books and Surfaces.
- If you have class questions, your child may email their teacher or advisor through Schoology or contact your Campus Head for other questions and issues.
- College Counseling will continue to meet with their students by transitioning to online interaction.
Experts have told us the best time to take steps to prevent any spread of the virus is now, before the first case arrives. Our approach to this pandemic is guided by three goals: (1) To protect the health of our community; (2) To help slow the spread of the virus in Jacksonville; and (3) To ensure the continuity of our teaching and lessons.
While we hope to return to normal as soon as possible, we are moving forward with making contingency plans for other events, activities and graduation. We will send out communications via email with updates and also will post them to our school website. This unprecedented situation requires us to be both flexible and focused as we move ahead.
I would like to thank our Board leadership, Administration, faculty and staff on all four campuses who have been working diligently to make this transition as smooth as possible. They are dedicated to continuing to provide the best education possible for your child—even from afar.
I also would like to thank each of you for your patience and understanding as we embark on this new journey. I am confident in our ability as a community to keep each other safe and for your willingness to support our efforts in doing so. We will make it through this together by supporting each other, thinking creatively and staying connected even if separated physically. If there was ever a better time to believe in our motto of creating All Things Possible for our students, this is it.
Stay well everyone,
Tyler Hodges
President and Head of School
For more information CLICK HERE.