Dear Parents and Students,   Update as of 1241 on Thursday 30 April 2020 I hope you and your loved ones are well.  We had a technical glitch yesterday so my update probably didn’t reach you until this morning and in multiples.  Our apology.   What do we know?

• As you may know, the Education Minister has announced that schools will remain closed until half term.  I attach the full statement for your information.  I know we will all be disappointed with this extension and at the same time accept it.  Such decisions are hard to make but are made with our health foremost in mind.
• The Minister also makes reference to the payment of school fees.  Thank you for your morale support and also your support through the continued payment of fees.  Your fees make over 65% of our budget and without them we would just not be viable.  While remote learning is not preferred to real in-school learning, we are trying our very best to support your daughter.  I am so grateful for your many and daily messages simply saying thank you.
• If you are finding the payment of fees difficult due to the impact of the lockdown on your personal finances, please do contact me directly.  We can request Treasury to defer payment for three months with the amount being spread over the following 12 months.  The Government has also indicated, as stated in the Minister’s statement, that we may receive additional funds for assisting families who are encountering hardship.  Again, please do contact me directly if you are in this position.
• The Government has launched a ‘Learning at Home’ website to support parents and students during this period of remote learning. It has some useful links to resources and guidance on wellbeing: https://learningathome.gov.je/?fbclid=IwAR1cACKxE1eSNwg0L8kuvDxjcKMjo_Mk0isJ6kQWvP4Gfkoki7v6eYFpVGc
• Trip Refunds: we are working on this.  However, we are finding it is taking longer than expected due to the heavy demand on travel companies.  We will do our best to return as much as we can to you.  More information will be forthcoming.
• Exercise Books: we are aware that students may be running out of space in their exercise books.  If you need new ones, please collect from the College Reception.  They are in piles and you do not need to do anything other than take what you require.

A deliberately brief update today given yesterday’s more lengthy one.   Take care.   Yours, Carl Howarth Principal   [pdf-embedder url="https://jerseycollegeforgirls.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Schools-to-stay-closed-until-end-of-May-30.04.20.pdf" title="Schools to stay closed until end of May 30.04.20"]