School says God is not surprised by the coronavirus pandemic
A Victorian Christian school will ignore a state government directive and continue online teaching this week, saying that God is not surprised by the coronavirus.
Education
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A Christian school, which has told families that God is not surprised by the coronavirus pandemic, says it will continue remote classes this week and not bring holidays forward.
Chairo Christian School which has 1700 students from three-year-old kinder to Year 12 in campuses at Drouin, Drouin East, Leongatha, Traralgon and Pakenham, decided last week to go online from Monday.
It has also decided that, contrary to State Government directives, it will continue online teaching until Friday.
“In making this decision, our starting point is that God is not surprised by the pandemic that we are experiencing,” executive principal Simon Matthews told families.
“He is Lord over all creation, including viruses, and as Paul reminds us in his letter to the Colossians, ‘ … in Jesus all things hold together’. What a great hope this can be for us as a Christian school community.”
The Colossians is a book in the New Testament in which imprisoned apostle St Paul sends letters to the Colossians in which he praises Jesus as the messiah.
“For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together,” St Paul says.
A non-denominational Christian school which counts AFL footballer
Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti among its alumni, the school said it has made a positive start to remote learning and would stick it out.
“We understand that the premier has announced a decision to bring forward the Term 1 school holidays so that schools are able to prepare for the possible commencement of online learning following the break,” Mr Matthews said.
“However, as we communicated last week to our families and staff members, we made the decision to transition to online and remote learning from the start of this week because we believed it best prepared our students, families, staff members and systems for anticipated closures.
“We understand well the huge commitment and effort that all families and staff members have made to prepare for this and we believe that we are now well-placed to proceed for the benefit of all students.”
Chairo said at this point it was unable to confirm arrangements for a return to face-to-face learning, or a resumption of online and remote learning, following the term break.
Chairo has also told families to contact it if Covid19 and resultant shutdowns and job losses cause them problems meeting fees.
“Chairo is committed to doing all that we can to avoid the need for any family to have to withdraw their children from the school due to financial hardship
related to COVID-19,” Mr Matthews told families.
“In order to make this commitment a reality, we ask that you do not hesitate to make initial contact with our finance department if you are already finding that you are in increased financial difficulty, or if you believe this may soon apply, or if this occurs at some time in the uncertain days ahead.
“We want to work proactively and promptly with you to ensure that no further disruption needs to be felt by your family.”
The school charges $1000 to $8000 a year for fees.
“This is a significant decision that has only been made after much consideration, consultation and prayer,” Mr Matthews told families of the plans around dealing with the pandemic.
“We understand that this will impact all families to differing degrees. We encourage each family to consider how they might be able to support each other at this time, as
parents and guardians seek to fulfil their responsibilities to their children while also continuing to work if possible.
“We understand that this decision will not be easy for families. Please know that we are praying for you and your children, that the overriding outcome of this time will be that you will know, in even greater ways, the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus.”
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