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Last week, several schools in South Manchester were desperate to get ready for the new academic year. Many schools were still struggling to cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which caused extensive damage to their facilities. School administrators expected the coming week to be a challenging one as they tried to get everything ready by tomorrow.
The hurricane left South Coast communities in disarray and without power for extended periods, with the region relying on catchment ponds to meet water needs after two decades of lack of drinking water.
Principals at three of the schools in particular are facing major obstacles. The cyclone blew away several of the schools’ water tanks, which remain scattered around the campus. Contractors sent by the Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) to carry out repairs only began in the past two weeks, they told this The Sunday Gleaner The Ministry of Education has directed that all schools should reopen on September 2.
Due to the high mosquito breeding rate, principals expressed the desire to disinfect the schools before reopening.
At Plowden Primary School and Nursery School, where several feet of wires dangled precariously from the road to the main building last week, posing a major hazard, interim principal Karen Smith, with fear evident in her eyes, hoped a solution would be found by Monday.
Issues of concern
“We have some very worrying issues. The hanging wires are a huge menace. It must be fixed and the issue has been reported to the relevant authorities. It cannot be hidden and it is right in the front of the school. Also, at the back, the electrical system needs to be fixed as the connection to the kindergarten and first grade needs to be repaired urgently. If this is not done, the kindergarten and first grade (section) will be without lights,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.
One classroom has a clear view of the blue sky, thanks to a large gap in the roof where the translucent covering was blown off by Hurricane Beryl. The rectangular opening, about 2 feet by 18 inches, exposes the classroom to the elements.
After receiving the order to report on Monday, Smith plans to temporarily cover the opening with a tarp, although this will reduce the amount of natural light that comes into the room. If the tarp cannot be put in place in time, a basin will be used to collect rainwater until repairs are completed.
Smith also noted that the fierce storms had knocked over plastic water tanks and damaged the covers of large water collection tanks.
She didn’t want to take any chances.
“Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You just have to look away for a second,” she said, as the minutes ticked by and she pondered what to do next.
Plowden Elementary School and Preschool was designated as an emergency shelter during the hurricane and as of Saturday, there was still one student in the classroom.
The Manchester Diocesan Library is a refuge for teachers who need to complete administrative tasks, but their progress is hampered by slow internet speeds due to high demand. As a result, end-of-year reports for some students at Plowden School remain unfinished, and screening of kindergarten students that was supposed to take place before the school closed is set to begin tomorrow.
About seven kilometres away, workers were busy painting and cleaning the grounds of New Broughton Primary School.
Principal Ian Crawford said the kindergarten, located at another property, was 80 per cent ready last Tuesday. The kindergarten facilities are clean, the grounds are neat and the external environment is attractive.
“The roof of my office was destroyed by the hurricane. It has been repaired now. … At the main plant, we lost all the water tanks and they are still on the ground. Unless it is repaired by Monday, water use will be affected, but we have to work with the contractor from MOEY,” he said.
Long before the hurricane hit, the school had already started an expansion project to add more classrooms, and the work is still in progress.
‘We don’t have space’
“So we enrolled kids, but we didn’t have the space to accommodate them. Plus, we still had blackboard dividers, so, you know, if one teacher taught music, everyone taught music. The expansion was to get rid of that and create more classroom space…”, he explained.
Despite construction equipment and materials scattered around the area, Crawford said regular cleanup will continue before the park reopens on Monday.
At the Woodlands Primary School and Kindergarten in Salmon Town, 11km away, the gutter that directs water from the roof to the catchment area and plastic water tank broke off last Tuesday and remained on the ground. In addition, the connection between the concrete water collection system and the black water tank broke, causing the tank to leak.
Acting principal Pauline McKenzie expressed doubts that the school would be ready to welcome 100 students and six teachers on September 2.
“The last semester report was incomplete. We had to go to Manchester Parish Library in Mandeville to use computers and internet services because there was no electricity in the area. The computer would buffer for hours and sometimes you couldn’t do anything,” she told The Sunday Gleaner.
While toilet facilities have been upgraded, pit latrines remain and without the water required to upgrade the facilities, the staff toilet and women’s toilet are unusable.
The roof of the chicken coop that provides meat for the canteen was also blown off and the pavilion on the playground was also damaged.
“The Ministry of Education said we had to open on Monday. The contractor came but had to come back and as you can see, that’s the situation. So, after being closed for so long, we are now doing the routine clean-up to get the classrooms ready,” McKenzie explained.
Eight kilometres further, all the water tanks at Mary Hill Primary School were left on the ground after being knocked over by the cyclone last week. Overgrown grass was being cut and contractors were busy building a facility to store rubbish until authorities came to collect it.
Temporary health station
As coronavirus cases increased on the island during the summer vacation, makeshift sanitation stations were set up for cleaning. The two stations were set up with five-gallon paint buckets that pour water over a small sink for people to wash their hands. Hand sanitizer was also in place.
Nearby Cross Keys High, which opened in 1976 and operates on a shift basis, is currently having its roof repaired after it reportedly began leaking in the late 1990s.
The school supplements feeding programs through the agriculture department and raises chickens to provide meat.
Its meticulously maintained grounds were in good condition last week as a few workers repaired the roof.
The Education Department said 107 of the island’s 1,009 public schools will not be ready for the start of the 2024-25 school year. The department said it has contingency plans in place and has identified alternative sites to allow classes to continue until the hurricane-ravaged schools can resume.
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