ON MONDAY, schoolchildren will be back in classrooms, some of which will be new or refurbished.
Government embarked on a rehabilitation programme ahead of the start of the school year and this week Street Beat is highlighting a few schools sporting a makeover.
At first glance, it looked like St Mark’s Primary in St Philip was far from ready for Monday, but looks can be deceiving as a supervisor, who did not wish to be identified, said all would
be ready.
“We completely changed the roof, reinstalled the windows, implemented a fresh electrical system throughout the building and did a complete paint job and we are placing new tiles in the nutrition room,” he said.
Everything should be finished by today, he added.
The site was still full of dust, with lots of debris around, and they had to deal with termite infestation. However, the supervisor said there was only tidying up to be done and the men and women were working diligently so there was no doubt the students of St Mark’s Primary will be greeted with upgraded facilities on Monday.
Vauxhall Primary in Christ Church was a flurry of activity and camaraderie as the love people felt for the school was evident. Not only teachers were present ensuring all was ready but also parents and former students were on site to lend a hand.
Principal Lionel Stoute said repairs had been done to the eastern windows and ceiling while the bookshelves were still being constructed.
Contractor Winslow Greaves of Greaves Building and Maintenance said the old bookshelves were in a bad state and the cupboard in the nursery was termite infested. As a result, they built eight brand new bookshelves. He said they also tiled the nursery, something Stoute was pleased with.
“The much needed repairs have been realised and the new windows will help with ventilation so the children will be more comfortable as they go about their lessons. It is good quality workmanship and my dream of getting the nursery tiled has been realised. I am quite happy,” he said.
Greaves said the work was going smoothly and should be done this week.
Teacher Emerson Bailey was painting the floor of his classroom. He also repaired the chairs, adding a personal touch to each of them in the form of small animal paintings, all done from his own pocket. He said he loved the school so helping out was natural.
“I have been at this school for 23 years; it is one of the schools which is of utmost importance to me,” he said.
The third school visited, the new Erdiston/New Horizons Academy, will not be ready for the new school term.
The foreman, who requested anonymity, said he began the project nine months ago but problems in Government caused him to be pulled off the job after six months and he had only been returned on Monday.
He hopes it will be ready by October.
“We now have to trowel the exterior and pave the outside area. There is a big difference – if you had to see this when I first came here – the whole root structure has been changed, it looks much more modern,” he said.
The work included four classrooms and an air conditioned computer room and administration building. There is also a workshop area in the works although this is still at the foundation stage. The foreman said more workers were scheduled to come in an effort to meet the new deadline.
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