Parents and guardians of students attending public schools in the Territory are reminded that schools will be closed on Thursday, May 27 to facilitate Professional Day and midterm break is Friday, May 28.

Dessert competitions for secondary and tertiary school students were held as a part of the activities in observance of Farmers and Fishers’ Week 2021.

A few weeks ago, during the Seventh Sitting of the Third Session of the Fourth House of Assembly held on April 15, I provided an update on the education sector in which I reported that Cabinet had decided to reduce the six-feet social distancing requirement of six feet to three feet to facilitate an increase in the number of students being able to access onsite instruction in schools throughout the Territory. As I indicated then, this reduction has now made it possible for all primary school students to return to onsite instruction.

Teachers and students of the Althea Scatliffe Primary School (ASPS) have received copies of the Virgin Islands Environmental Atlas as the National Parks Trust moves to supply 200 copies to public and private schools across the Territory.

The Fort Garden Centre and Plant Wise VI have contributed to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries’ School Garden Initiative.

Writers across the Territory are being offered another opportunity to finesse their skills with the hosting of another writing workshop series titled: "The Speculative and the Real: Writing Across Genre” a Prose Fiction Masterclass.

The public is notified that the Department of Culture is hosting another writing workshop series titled: ‘The Speculative and the Real: Writing Across Genre’

Persons ages 15 to 18 are invited to enter the World Book & Copyright Day Flash Fiction Writing Competition.

Mister Speaker, I am grateful for this opportunity to share in this Honourable House and with the entire community, updates on education and progress over the last month as we approach the final term of the 2020/2021 school year.  Many costly adjustments had to be made in all schools in the Territory to ensure safety and to instill the COVID-19 protocols established by the Ministry of Health, which includes social distancing, extra wash stations for the washing of hands and classrooms equipped with sanitisation stations for students.  Hybrid/online learning was implemented and has been utilised for the last two terms while we sought to ensure that the best possible pedagogical practices were enforced.

The Government of the Virgin Islands has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote cooperation and positive academic relations with the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom (UK).