As a College, we understand that the Coronavirus is having a significant financial impact on our families, members of our community, and our fellow Australians. The economic impacts have already been significant and many people are affected by this in some way.

I am aware that many of our parents have lost employment or business income due to the Coronavirus. The College’s immediate priority is to provide as much stability as possible for your daughter. Our position as a Catholic Mercy school is very clear – no child will be denied ongoing enrolment due to their parents’ inability to pay their school fees as a result of financial hardship. We are committed to providing fast, flexible and confidential financial assistance to those who are in need.

Our Finance Team has established a streamlined financial assistance process and the College will endeavour to provide prompt support, subject to our internal assessment criteria. Please do not hesitate to contact our Accounts Receivables Officer, Zina Polorotoff or Leader of Business Operations, Luke Haitas, at areceivable@shcgeelong.catholic.edu.au if you would like to discuss your options for managing the 2020 fees.

I also wish to advise that there will be no fee refunds for 2020 in respect of any alterations required to the educational program or the method of curriculum delivery, eg on-site versus remote learning. The expenses of the school year are largely fixed by the start of the academic year, and the school is incurring significant additional expenses to manage Coronavirus-related issues such as increased academic resources, ICT assistance, sanitisation requirements, and remote learning. I am also anticipating a significant reduction in our fee income as a result of additional fee relief to affected families.

We are committed to working with our families throughout this complex time. Please do not hesitate to contact me, or the Leader of Business Operations, to discuss any of these items further.

Take care

Anna Negro
Principal