This is the time of year we would be putting the finishing touches on our gnomes ready to display at Floriade this weekend. We ordered gnomes for each student before lockdown commenced and whilst the original Floriade may be cancelled, we couldn’t resist creating St Jude’s mini-Floriade in our own ELC gardens. Mrs Slatter has been very busy planting bulbs and we will decorate the bulb garden with our gnomes. If you have paints at home and would like your child to still participate in this adventure as a home learning treat, please contact the office to organise a non-contact collection time. Your child can paint their gnome and return it to display in our garden for the rest of the year for our St Jude’s community to enjoy.

Absences

Families will not use their 42 allowable absences during the lockdown period.  Additional allowable absences will be available from 13 August until the end of the Commonwealth Hotspot declaration. Although absences may appear on your statements, they will be removed at a later stage.

Gap fee payments

Catholic Education Early Learning Centres in the ACT will waive all ‘gap fees’ for parents who keep their children at home during the lockdown period. This will take affect from Monday 23 August to add to the support for families during the ACT lockdown.

ELC Fees

For children currently attending the ELC, the fee statements emailed today include any outstanding term fees plus Holiday Care bookings. For those children not attending the ELC at this time, we have processed the gap fee waiver for each of the last two weeks. This means you are effectively not charged for the days your child is not attending. If your statement includes a ‘due now’ amount, this is a balance outstanding from previous statements and prompt payment would be appreciated.  However if you are experiencing financial difficulty due to the current lockdown, please contact the ELC office.

Check-in CBR

If you are on the ELC grounds, please remember you are required to register on the Check In CBR app and to wear a face mask at all times.

ELC Holiday Program

As current lockdown restrictions have been extended to Friday 17 September, we are uncertain what impact this will have on our holiday program. If lockdown is further extended into the holiday period, care will only be offered to children of essential works and vulnerable families. Please email the ELC office at elc.stjudes@cg.catholic.edu.au  to inform your booking IF restrictions are lifted, this is required to ensure adequate staffing during this time. Please note that Holiday Program bookings cannot be accepted if term fees are outstanding.