Friday, March 13, was the last day of on-campus school for Bishop’s until further notice due to increasing concerns about the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19.

Head of School Mr. Ron Kim shared this news with faculty before school Friday morning. Moments later, advisors discussed the news and closure protocol with their advisees. During this time, Mr. Kim also informed families of the closure via email.

Monday, March 16, through Wednesday, March 18, will serve as preparation days for faculty to adjust to teaching online, using either Google Meet or Zoom to conduct class. Online classes will resume Thursday, March 19, which is an A Day. From there, classes will continue until the already-scheduled Spring Break—March 30 through April 10. After this, administrators will reassess whether a continued school closure is necessary.

“Please know that we gave great thought and care to this decision, and ultimately, we felt that a proactive approach was best,” wrote Mr. Kim. “Our goal is to keep our community healthy and these practices give us the best chance of doing so.” 

Despite the disruption in routine, The Tower looks forward to continuing our coverage on all matters Bishop’s. Issue 05 will be published as scheduled before Spring Break, but digitally instead of in print since we can no longer pass out hard copies on campus. An email with a link to the magazine will be sent to the upper school upon release. A separate tab has been created on our website homepage to house coronavirus and closure-related news articles. Since difficult times such as this can be stressful for students and adults alike, The Tower is committed to sharing supportive and light-hearted content on our Instagram account, @thebishopstower, managed and led by Online Graphics Editor Lucie Edwards (‘21). 

Bishop’s policy and updates regarding COVID-19 can be found here. 

Additional information about COVID-19 is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention here.