Carisbrook Primary pushes ahead amid construction

WESTERN BUREAU:

Students at Carisbrook Primary School in St Elizabeth returned to classes on Monday despite ongoing construction work at the institution, as principal Patrick Malcolm insisted that they had already lost too much learning time.

“We’re tired of being behind, and so we’re here,” said Malcolm, who enthusiastically welcomed students and parents on the first day of the new academic year.

Although repairs are still under way, with construction workers on the compound and classroom space limited, Malcolm said the determination of parents, students and teachers to resume learning outweighed the challenges.

“The parents are here this morning. The students are eager to learn. The parents brought them out, and therefore we are saying that we are making all the effort for them to be here and to learn,” he said, noting that students had already endured repeated disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hurricane Beryl and Hurricane Melissa.

“I want to make something clear: that, between 2020 and 2026, that’s six years. And, if you can check it right, this might just be the COVID set of students,” he said. “They would have gone through COVID. They would have gone through Hurricane Beryl. They would have gone through all the other disasters, and we thought that we’d have had enough learning loss, so we didn’t want our students to stay home.”

The school is seeking to maximise its available space while ensuring students’ safety as construction continues.

“The ministry had made some attempt to provide us with an additional tent. We’ll try to get that installed shortly, and we’ll have enough space for the students,” said Malcolm, explaining that the tent had arrived in three boxes and was expected to be erected on the school grounds.

“We’re going to try to get it up and we should be good after that,” he said, arguing that the additional space should allow the school to comfortably accommodate all 137 students.

According to Malcolm, repairs to one of the buildings are progressing well and could provide much-needed classroom space within days.

He said contractors expected to complete the zinc installation on the building by Tuesday, after which only clean-up work would remain, as electricity had already been connected. The building, he noted, would be able to accommodate three or four classes. He added that the Grade One area was expected to be completed by Friday.

“If they finish that by Friday, then, next week we should be in good stead to bring them (all the students) back,” said Malcolm, who noted that the school was also considering a shift system.

“We’re looking at it (the shift system) today to see how best to accommodate all our students at the same time. That is why we carry everybody out to see how we can fix the system.”

“If we need a shift, we are going to do that. But, outside of that, we think that we should be able to operate today without the shift system,” he said.

Notably, Carisbrook Primary was the first school in St Elizabeth to reopen following the passage of Hurricane Melissa on October 28 last year, resuming classes by November 17.

With the start of the new academic year approaching, Malcolm said there was never any consideration of delaying the school’s reopening.

“Absolutely not, surely not the most ideal but we’re making the best of a bad situation,” he said. “The government has worked assiduously to get this up, and we are appreciative of that and, therefore, we’re just going to play our part in developing our children.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com