So while police are going all out - at her school, Excelsior High on Faber’s Road, the administration was doing all it can to help the 87 students deal with the shocking loss.

We visited this morning - and found a school still moving forward in what has been a tumultuous year:…

It’s review week at Excelsior High, but this morning instead of getting ready for exams, they were putting up a black bow on the front fence for their acting principal - Alarice Andrewin. 

Sean Martinez - Ag. Vice Principal
"This morning when we broke the news to them, it for these students, it was a shock for them. They didn't expect it, they didn't expect to come to school on a Wednesday and expect the news that they heard this morning. So it's a time of coping and to get through this time of grieving."

And to help them get through it  - Excelsior has brought in counsellors from other schools 

Sean Martinez
"It’s a very hard loss for us, at this point however, we have our sister schools, the principals have all gathered to lend their support but also we have counselling association through the school councillor, they organized to have the different counsellor come in. So we have the students with at least 2 counsellor and a pastor in each classroom and so they are doing those sessions right now."

Counselling and lots of caring….Marshall Nunez has been involved with this school in one way or the other since the 1980’s:

Marshall Nunez - Excelsior Board Member
"Become even more hurtful when we find out that they were executed in the style which they were. Words are insufficient to even try to describe how makes me feel. I guess the students and everybody here at Excelsior."

Jules Vasquez
"How will Excelsior move on from this very deep imprint of grief? She was a leader here at this school."

Marshall Nunez
"It's difficult to say at this time. The uniqueness about Excelsior is that Excelsior is not only a school, it's always like a family."

A family that has lost its leader - in the middle of review week and just before exams:

Jules Vasquez
"Was it a tough decision to make and go ahead with classes on the first place today?"

Javier Castellanos - Chairman Excelsior
"Yes, it was a tough decision and we believe we have the students here, we could counsel them."

Counsellors can help cover the pain - but there’s no getting past the loss of an inspired educator:

Marshall Nunez
"She really enjoyed teaching. She enjoyed imparting information to the students. She had taught several institutions before. She taught at ACC and she had taught at St. Catherine’s and she came here. In addition to being a teacher, she was ascended to the post of administration and she had good intentions, good intentions."

Sean Martinez
"Ms. Andrewin will always be remembered for her jovialness because she's always jovial. There is not a moment where she would want to be in your presence down and so she would properly want to uplift your spirit, she would want to encourage, that's the type of person Ms. Andrewin was. As far as an educator, I respect her as an educator. She does what she says she will do and she's very professional in carrying out her duties."

Javier Castellanos
"She was a very energetic person, we really wanted that position, to show herself because it's my time now to shine and she decided I am going to turn over this school and I had donation from ministries, from chairs, she was working hard enough to keep improve for next year September to have a good image."

But, instead of thinking about September, today staffers were answering questions from the police.  The fact is that while Excelsior may be a family, it was a family divided and riven by controversy.

Alarice Andrewin had taken over a few months ago in a time of upheaval, after the principal was sent home pending investigation into misappropriations of funds:

Marshall Nunez
"Challenging, challenging and trying to make the best of the existing situation may have been exceedingly challenging for anybody who was placed in such position."

Javier Castellanos
"At this moment I really don't want to speculate on the situation because it's an ongoing investigation and the police have been informing us and best thing is to get some information from the police."

Reporter
"We understand that investigation however, the matter was set to come up in the days ahead and then this incident?"

Javier Castellanos
"The case was to come up Thursday right here and she was a part of the witnesses."

Which may explain why crime investigators were at the school today looking for answers.

Police say there has been no criminal complaint about the alleged misappropriation of funds from the school - allegedly some 175 thousand dollars.  They say it is being dealt with internally by the Teaching services Commission. They say Andrewin had already testified and was supposed to have been cross examined today. That’s the police account: We will try and confirm this with the Ministry of education.