Head of School Coronavirus Update (REOPENING on Monday, Feb 17)

Dear Faculty and Staff,

Happy Valentine’s Day! I couldn’t be more excited to be sending you the following update. SSIS will reopen this coming Monday, February 17, unless we receive a further directive from the Vietnamese authorities to remain closed. That means that in a few short days, we will finally get to welcome our students back to campus! 

Throughout the school closure, I have been so impressed with the fortitude you have exhibited. The flexibility and creative ways you adapted, were truly a testament to your growth mindset, as well as to your professionalism and dedication to our students. Thank you.

Students returning to campus will have also faced challenges during the school closure. Although Virtual School engagement has been high, some may need a little extra support in returning to their school routines. I know that you will continue to demonstrate the extraordinary care that you have shown them during this Virtual School time.

Though students are returning to campus, the Novel Coronavirus remains a WHO Global Emergency and circumstances may change. All of our previous precautionary measures will remain in place, and we will continue to take the temperatures of everyone entering campus. In addition, we will limit non-SSIS visitors on campus to only those necessary for the essential operation of the school.  We will need to implement some additional precautionary measures in response to DOET and Ministry of Health’s most recent directives and we will share those with you later today. As always, please remain vigilant about hand-washing, both for yourselves and your students. We should not become lax about our health safety guidelines – they will continue to be important for our community’s safety.

We should also consider that there may still be some apprehension among members of our community. Parents and students should know that we will remain in close contact with International SOS and our medical professionals. Portions of the webinar, from earlier this week, will be made available to parents through eNews. And I encourage you to direct any parental concerns of a general nature to your principal or to me and to remind students to make use of the many resources in place for them.

There will always be challenges, and facing this one with you, I am grateful for how well you face adversity, demonstrate resilience, maintain perspective and make the very best of a difficult situation.  Thank you.

Catriona