Dear Burgundy Families, 

As most of you know, the World Health Organization (WHO) yesterday declared the COVID-19 coronavirus a global pandemic. The situation is elevating quickly as is our sense of urgency. Late last night we held a telephone conference call meeting of our Board Executive and Risk Committees to process the most recent COVID-19 updates and our strategies in response. Accordingly, we will be closing in-person regular school operations after school today, Thursday, and begin transitioning to remote learning for the coming week before spring break. We will continue after spring break in this distance-learning format for at least an additional week, or until Monday, April 6. 

During this interval, beginning tomorrow, there will be no Burgundy sports, field trips, Spring Break camp, or official student activities on or off-campus, including our spring break Island School (Bahamas) trip, which we hope can be postponed, perhaps along with some other events. Parent-teacher conferences, scheduled for next Thursday and Friday, will be postponed as well. More information soon.

We realize this is a sudden declaration, but it is in keeping with our best information, which has been fast-changing. Indications by some estimates are that millions, even many millions, of Americans may be sickened by the COVID-19 coronavirus. It is our consensus view, therefore, that Burgundy has a responsibility to cease regular operations as soon as possible, in an effort to practice social distancing to protect not only the most vulnerable among our students, employees, parents, and extended family members, but also to support the greater community and even our region, by helping to avert an over-stressing of health and emergency infrastructure.

We will assist students today in packing up all of their belongings (we will provide bags as needed). We can allow, as needed, for individual parents to come in Friday or even Monday to pick up anything important that students may have left behind. We will provide Chromebooks with chargers for all students in grades 2-5 to take home today, if possible.  

We will be using PowerSchool, Burgundy Barnyard, and our Burgundy website to keep parents and students up-to-date. More information to follow.

We appreciate your support and cooperation. Please recognize that at this time it is going to be very difficult for me, administrators, technology staff, teachers, and others here to respond to every email and call. We will try to bundle communication and post updates that answer the most timely questions. We will support you and your children in every way we can, and we will keep a healthy optimism and positive spirit, even as we encounter the unknowns before us.

Wishing you the best in this dramatic and unsettling time, 

Jeff