Two Sydney Jewish day schools temporarily shutdown
Sydney’s Moriah College and Keser Torah College are now implementing backup plans to educate students at home as the schools prepare to join the struggle to contain the spread of Coronavirus.
Moriah College
The Board of Directors of Moriah College are closing the College for all face-to-face educational services for the remainder of Term 1, and to fully activate the school’s Moriah B’yachad online learning platforms.
A statement from the school said: “This action is not being taken as a result of a known outbreak of the COVID-19 virus within the school community, but rather because of the paramount value of Pikuach Nefesh – preservation and protection of life, which supersedes all other priorities, even if the situation presents only a possible danger. Through this decision Moriah hopes to mitigate the spread of the virus throughout the broader school community, and to significantly ‘flatten the curve’.”
Early Learning, Primary and High school classes will be offered via face-to-face lessons until the end of the school day on Thursday, 19 March 2020 and will be offered via the Moriah B’yachad online learning platforms from 10:00am on Friday, 20 March 2020.
The objective of this pre-emptive measure is to ensure that the next level of social distancing is practised, thus families have been asked to maintain vigorous hygiene protocols and to enforce true social distancing as much as possible, including not allowing children to congregate in groups, at peoples homes or in public places. As the virus is commonly spread through ‘family clusters’, the College is recommending that families reassess intergenerational visits and time spent together.
The school’s P&F, The Moriah Foundation and members of Alumni groups are mobilised and ready to match the needs of community members with volunteer services. Moriah’s Psychologists, educators and Wellbeing teams will share a comprehensive range of emotional, social and mental health resources and methodologies for online guidance and support.
The school holiday period will commence as scheduled, from Friday, 3 April 2020 at which time the school will be closed for both online and face-to-face learning. Communication will be sent to families in regard to Term 2.
Kesser Torah College
Kesser Torah College will cease operating today.
They advised parents:
The Early Learning Centre will remain open until Friday 20 March 2020.
Lessons for K-12 students will commence on Tuesday 24 March 2020 until Friday 3 April 2020.
Parents and guardians of all primary and high school students will be contacted by the KTS with online arrangements.
Principal Roy Steinman wrote: “What we are all going through is pretty much a once-in-a-generation experience and has, and will, no doubt further test us on many levels. It is important for us to remain resilient, optimistic and to try to reach out to those who are less fortunate than ourselves in order to help and assist them in their time of need.”
Both schools thanked their staff for their incredible professionalism and teamwork “during what has been a very challenging time”.
