A Message from the School College Board Asalamu Alaikum, Dear Bellfield College Community, The Board of Bellfield College wishes to thank every member of the College community for their patience, understanding and endurance during the restrictions placed on school education, teaching and learning face to face as well the transition period to an online delivery mode. Our commitment and strategy for the Bellfield College community is to address concerns for the whole child rather than just their academic performance. The whole child encompasses the family unit, especially in times of distress. Hence we see it incumbent upon us to ensure each child benefit from stability in their education by remaining at Bellfield College during this time and hopefully during the duration of their schooling. The College Board and senior executive have held several meetings with associated partners, consultants and service providers to facilitate and ensure that we continue to strive to provide the upmost expectations and high standards of learning and teaching support for our students and families at every stage during this challenging period. The College is closely monitoring updates provided by the NSW Department of Health and Association of Independent School (AIS) in an effort to understand the complex implications of a staged return to school. As a result of these meetings, it will be necessary for the College to develop a new Risk Management Plan for Term 2. A huge part of this plan is to ensure that our students have the resources they need for interactive online learning. This will require all students to be participating in a live online classroom for an entire school day. Recognising that the costs including teaching costs, remain largely unchanged the current wellbeing of our families are our priority. As such, the College Board and senior executive have deliberated and discussed strategy for financially investing in and preparing the following programs and initiatives to facilitate and support students and their families: 
New Laptops: The College has consulted with families to determine if they have the resources at home for online learning. Our assessment survey data indicates that the College allocates considerable financial investment in purchasing new laptops which will be loaned to the families that require an additional device to ensure that all students have access to attend and participate in all of their classes throughout the school day.
CANVAS (learning management platform) has been acquired which will enable students and parents to access all lessons both live and recorded through the parent Sentral portal. The CANVAS platform will enable our students to have direct face to face access to all of their teachers and lessons as well as having all of their lessons accessible from one centralised location. IHSAN is an initiative that is based on our ethos of parents working in partnership with the school. IHSAN is an extension of the College illuminations program and seeks to support the social, spiritual and well-being needs for all students and families. A team of highly trained mentors have been deployed to contact families with the aim of providing home-based support during these challenging times. Embedded in the IHSAN program is the senior school TAL program which is an academic support program for all students and families. Over the coming weeks, families should expect to be contacted by our mentors, however parents are also welcome to contact any member of the IHSAN team at any time.
With regard to Term 2 for the whole school, we can clarify that at this stage is:
Weeks 1 and 2 of Term 2 will remain operationally as we concluded Term 1. That is, learning will remain online delivery mode only and the school will be open to those students who require supervision during school days.
We will gradually transition back to on-campus learning commencing in week 3. The form this will take is being developed in consultation with the Ministry of Health and the Association of Independent Schools (AIS);
The conflicting advice from authorities is complex and complicated and requires time to work though it;
The high-quality standards of online learning will continue, with attention to meeting curriculum requirements, continuation of remediation and extension programs, strong pastoral and wellbeing support and many opportunities for community engagement, albeit online.
It is clear that this pandemic, and the efforts being made to manage the situation, are causing terrible disruption to the economic functioning of our society. It is likely that the economic and social fallout will be extensive. The Bellfield College community is not immune to these consequences. Therefore, the College Board has determined to take the following actions that are intended to assist families and their children to have stability and purpose at the School this year, in the hope that greater clarity about the future will emerge, enabling wise decision-making for future years. Our initial response action for families of the Bellfield College community is to refund all levies that are unutilised. One consequence of social distancing and the shift to remote learning is that the wider life of the School has contracted. There are many activities and events which are part of the normal school experience that are not able to take place. Therefore, from the beginning of Term 2, the savings associated with the contraction of School life will be returned to families as a credit on fees, effectively reducing the overall fee.
In the event that remote learning needs to be sustained into subsequent terms, the same practice will apply, adjusted as necessary in light of the actual cost savings. The second action is to establish a COVID-19 relief process that attempts to support families who are in particular financial hardship. Families who are experiencing particular financial hardship because of the COVID-19 situation are warmly invited and encouraged to notify the School of their situation and are required to complete an application form. A member of the business team will contact and seek to understand your situation of financial hardship in order to further assist and support a way forward. Our hope and priority is that our students will have the benefit of stability at Bellfield College during this unprecedented and challenging period. We endeavour to provide ongoing holistic education and well-being support for student learning, we are blessed to have the recognition and admiration of AhlulBayt as our role models, herefore we are confident that the Bellfield College community will emerge stronger and dedicated when this pandemic ends. InshaAllah we will soon return to a place where teachers and students interact face to face and we hear the laughter and sounds of children in the playground. The College Board, senior executive and teaching staff are dedicated to continue and provide ongoing support to develop and grow our online teaching and learning and face to face education. We would like to again thank you for your continued perseverance, partnership and support, and we wish you all a very blessed Ramadan. May it incorporate our strive for IHSAN and inshaAllah you all remain safe and healthy. FiamanAllah (In Allah we trust) On behalf of the Bellfield College Board Friday, May 1, 2020