St. Joseph’s Institution International
MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAIRMAN That 2020 was a challenging year for everyone globally would be an understatement. Millions of lives have been disrupted and families have lost loved ones. The COVID-19 pandemic is still upon us; while we have learnt to protect ourselves and cope with the virus potentially becoming endemic in the community, we must remain vigilant even as we try to go about our activities. The school environment is uniquely vulnerable yet it can also provide a safe refuge that enables our students to continue their learning journey in the midst of a pandemic. Whether physically or virtually, the SJI International community has weathered the challenges brought about by COVID-19 in 2020 and we will continue to prioritise our students’ well-being, learning and development in 2021. The Year of the Pandemic 2020 was marked by COVID-19 and the ever evolving challenges it presented, requiring the Board of Governors and the Senior Leadership Team to work diligently to look after our SJI International community of students, parents and staff. We continually examined ways we could deliver a holistic Lasallian educational experience for our students in the COVID-19 environment, all the while committed to maintaining and supporting our teaching faculty, and adhering to our high admission standards across all levels. We were not sure how long the pandemic would last and how acutely the school would be affected but our commitment to our high standards and our mission would not be compromised. While we had unexpected overheads and increased operating costs due to the pandemic, we were also mindful that some members of our community were potentially also adversely affected by the fallout from the attendant economic downturn. As a not-for-profit school without any government funding, we have always been careful with our expenses while ensuring that we deliver a unique value-formoney educational experience and outcome. We brought forward our budgeting cycle to factor in the impact of COVID-19, and expedited our annual fee review. We made the decision to hold all school fees for the 2021 academic year at 3
2020 levels. At the same time, we also provided all families a 5% fee rebate on Term 2 2020 fees. For families that required further support or assistance, we worked with them to see how else the school could help. Families were also given the opportunity to give back their rebate to help those families more in need. While the freeze on fees and rebates added some weight to the financial load of the school during 2020, we also saw the completion of a number of new buildings on campus, which were funded mainly using our reserves and partially using our Building & Development Fund. As the initial payback period was originally forecast to be over the duration of our time on our current premises, the freeze on 2021 school fees meant that we funded an increased portion of this development from our reserves. Although we have always believed in protecting our reserves for future lease renewals and long-term development, the Board nevertheless felt that these unique circumstances warranted the use of our reserves to support our community. The adjustments to our academic and enrichment programmes and the impact on school life because of COVID-19 during 2020 were equally challenging, but our community more than rose to the occasion. Home-Based Learning and Work-from-Home models for our students, faculty and staff were put in place to ensure that our programmes remained strong and intact. Service and enrichment programmes, cocurricular activities and school trips were moved
