Advent Greetings
It’s a thrill to be writing to you at the end of a full, lively, stretching term, one in which – thankfully – more face-to-face encounter happened than was possible through the whole of last academic year. There has genuinely been a buzz about Queen’s, both on campus and online and all members of the Foundation – students, professional services staff and academic staff – have played their part in making that happen. I hope that you yourself have had a rewarding three months.
It’s also sad that I must write at the same time to report that yesterday’s Government announcement means that we are needing to make some adjustments for the final week of term. For some students and staff this will have little impact. For others it will be quite a blow, affecting the ways in which Advent was being marked, and the rounding off of term, and of the calendar year, was happening.
In simple terms, we have had to move some events which were due to happen face-to-face online, and postpone or cancel others. Our main priority has to be safety, and we have interpreted the ‘work from home if you can’ guidance to mean ‘reduce as much as you can who needs to come on campus’.
This means:
- Each of the Track 1 groups due to undertake Themed Teaching on Monday 13th and Tuesday 14th December will be contacted directly about whether their sessions will be able to happen online.
- After this week, lunch will be provided for Sunday, Monday and Tuesday only, for those resident or for staff needing to work on site. (The Hospitality staff will make adjustments to the catering numbers to allow for people who may have booked in but are not likely to be present, in order to prevent food waste.) There will be no evening meal on Tuesday.
- There will be no chapel Carol Service on Tuesday at 5.00, or festive frivolities to follow.
- Reception will still be open through to the end of Dec 17th, though we are, of course, expecting fewer people on site anyway, and many staff (academic and professional services) will be working from home throughout the week.
- The Library will continue to remain open, but please do ensure that you follow all of the guidance re. sanitising.
We are naturally really sorry to have had to make these difficult decisions, but they do seem the wisest ones to make in the circumstances. And in passing on this news it is worth issuing reminders to:
- ensure that you’ve had all your vaccinations
- continue to do twice-weekly testing
- wear a face-covering in most indoor public places and on public transport
- let fresh air in whenever you can if you meet indoors.
Thankfully, despite the limitations, none of this need affect our anticipation of the joy which is to come. We can even make use of the space and time which is created by cancellations and postponements to ‘make more room’ for preparation and rest, so that we’re even more ready (and not too tired) for celebration.
With warmest good wishes for the weeks ahead
Clive