Dear Parents,
Since my last communication to you there has been a surge in the number of cases and the curfew in Colombo has been extended to the 11th of May. The Ministry of Health has published detailed guidelines regarding the re-opening of schools, which have been made available on this website for your information.
It is clear now that schools cannot be re-opened on the 11th of May. As far as Trinity College is concerned, we will re-open only when it is declared safe to do so, we are ready to follow the guidelines and a majority of the parents are comfortable sending their children to school. The scenario that we should prepare ourselves for is that normal school operations are very unlikely to resume fully in the second term. This will be especially true for the Junior School and the Middle School.
Under these conditions, as I stated in my previous communication, a significant – and possibly a major – proportion of our lesson delivery will have to take place using the methods of distance education. One important component will be online lessons conducted through Microsoft Teams. We have commenced these classes for the International Advanced Level students last month and are now ready to extend these facilities to the rest of the school over the coming weeks.
We have created accounts – including unique email addresses – for every student. Before these accounts are activated and used to participate in the online classes and access other teaching tools it is important that parents read and accept the Policy on the Acceptable Use of Information Technology Facilities. This policy is intended to educate parents and students on the appropriate use of our facilities and protect the school from liability in case misuse occurs.
We have selected ONE CLASS in each Grade from Grade 6 to Grade 11 to begin the process of activating the student accounts and conducting trial classes using Microsoft Teams. These classes are:
GRADE 6F , GRADE 7F , GRADE 8F , GRADE 9F , GRADE 10B and GRADE 11F
Parents of the students in these classes will receive a link via SMS. They should use this link to access the form and confirm their acceptance of the IT Policy.
Parents must submit the form within the deadline given in the SMS to minimize the delay in giving students access to online classes.
They will receive the details of the email accounts of their children once the policy is accepted.
Parents of students from other classes will be contacted in due course.
NOTE : ALL PARENTS WILL HAVE TO SUBMIT A FUNCTIONAL EMAIL ADDRESS THAT THEY ACCESS REGULARLY WHEN THEY ACCEPT THE IT POLICY
These parents will also receive a link via a separate SMS to a Questionnaire on the facilities available to their children at home to follow remote classes and access videos and other learning materials. The information obtained from this questionnaire will make it possible for us to ensure that ALL students will be able to learn at a distance.
We are aware that some students may not have adequate facilities at home to participate fully in the distance learning program that we envisage. The Parents-Teachers Association and the Old Boys’ Association have offered to assist such students. The school may also be able to obtain package deals for devices and internet connections.
Please feel free to communicate with me on email at principal@trinitycollege.lk if you have any questions.
While we start this trial with these selected classes I would like to remind all parents to let us know your email addresses as soon as possible. Please send an email with your son’s name, admission number, grade and class to gradexx@trinitycollege.lk if you have not already done so. Here “xx” is your son’s grade. If you have more than one son in school please send an email for each of them.
Thank You
Dr. Nalin Wikramanayake
Acting-Principal
