Update from the Head of Academy

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year and very best wishes for 2021!  Everyone here at the Academy joins me in sending joyful New Year’s greetings to you and your family at a time of renewed hope and opportunity.

As you know, we are determined to reopen the campus as soon as it is safe and wise to do so.  That time has not yet come.  As we have seen in schools around the world, school communities are not immune to Covid-19.  In our opinion, and based on your feedback, maintaining a stable and effective online programme is preferable to a reopening in a challenging socially distanced context with the risk of disruptive further closures.  With this in mind, until the threat of Covid-19 reduces and vaccines have been widely administered, we will continue with our Distance Learning Programme. 

In December, I wrote to you and explained that we will consider reopening options on a month-by-month basis.  We are, therefore, still keeping the following possible reopening dates in mind:

• 1st February
• 22nd March (after the March Break)
• 19th April

There will be no major changes to the programme when school resumes on Tuesday 5^th January – routines and approaches which have been perfected over the past 9-months will continue.  This includes some things which are distinctive to an Aga Khan Academy education in an online setting - our caring focus on each individual student, our emphasis on pastoral care and helping our students to find the values which will guide them reliably throughout their lives as ethical leaders. 

Remember, online learning is the new “school” – at least for the time-being!   We expect 100% attendance and participation by students, just as we would on campus.  As a reminder, dates for the remainder of this academic year are as follows:

• Term begins:                Tuesday 5^th January
• Island of Rest 1:            Friday 22^nd January
• Republic Day:               Tuesday 26^th January (no classes)
• Island of Rest 2:            Friday 12^th February
• March Break:                Friday 5^th – Monday 22^nd March
• Term begins:                Monday 22^nd March
• Island of Rest 3:            Friday 9^th April
• Island of Rest 4:            Friday 29^th April
• Term ends:                   Saturday 22^nd May

Please contact me if you have any questions or queries.  We are here to support you.  I welcome your suggestions and any thoughts you may have on how we might further improve.  Our relationship with parents is a uniquely special partnership which focuses on the education and wellbeing of your child. Amidst the devastation of Covid-19 and the disturbance to life’s routines, we believe there are opportunities for our students to learn valuable things which will last them a lifetime – we will continue to seize this opportunity and we are committed to working with you in this exciting endeavour!  

Best wishes,

Dr Long