Terms of disagreement

Late date change affects office calendars

TASMANIANS planning their annual leave or looking to enjoy quality time with their kids might want to double check their calendars.

Confusion has ensued after a late state government change to school holidays was at odds with Tasmanian 2021 calendars and yearly planners.

Diaries and calendars sold in newsagents have listed term one as finishing on April 9 and term two as beginning on April 26 or 27, but the government website says otherwise.

Those planning their school holidays can scribble their own diary entries for roughly a week earlier than usual.

Term one will finish on March 31 for schools and on April 1 for colleges, while the second term will commence on April 21 for all schools so youngsters can enjoy their festive Easter holidays and term break in one hit.

A statement on the state government website confirmed changes were made so term one holidays could begin immediately after Easter break to ensure “less disruption to student learning”.

A government spokeswoman said the decision was widely supported by stakeholders and was made in consultation with unions and principal groups.

“The overarching reason behind the decision to change the term one and two school holiday dates is to allow for greater continuity of educational provision for students,” the spokeswoman said.

“All principals and Department of Education staff were made aware of the change as soon as the decision was made at the end of November. Tasmanian government schools were provided with information to forward to all parents.”

The spokeswoman said the DoE informed the Catholic and independent schools and communicated the changes via their website, social media, WorkSafe and other online platforms.

“Tasmanians generally refer to the DoE website as a source of truth for school term dates, which is standard practice,” the spokeswoman said yesterday.

“Schools are guided by the information on this website and will continue to reiterate the date changes in term one.”

The festive Easter period is celebrated after the first full moon following the autumn equinox, with Easter Sunday this year falling on April 4.