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Assistance to students of Brown’s Town High pour in from alumni

Published:Saturday | May 30, 2020 | 12:22 AMCarl Gilchrist/Gleaner Writer
Care packages prepared by the Brown’s Town High School for the student population which has been impacted by the economic challenges brought on by COVID-19.
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Care packages prepared by the Brown’s Town High School for the student population which has been impacted by the economic challenges brought on by COVID-19.

Past students of the Brown’s Town High School in St Ann have provided much-needed support to the institution as it moves to assist students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The school is also preparing for partial reopening on June 8.

The past students have provided items for care packages and $100,000 worth of data to assist students.

When school closed a few weeks ago, several items were left in the canteen, and the school decided to issue them to needy students in the form of care packages.

“We did it in two phases. In phase one, we issued 110 care packages to students who we would have identified as needy students,” Albert Thomas, principal of the school, explained.

“We would have identified them through the guidance counsellors, the vice-principals, the form teachers, and recommendations from persons on the parent- teacher association (PTA) executive. That first phase would have been from the school,” he added.

In the second phase of its assistance programme, the school issued 140 more care packages.

“The packages in the second phase would have come from donations from mainly past students and also persons in the business community. We have also received and are issuing approximately $100,000 worth of data to needy students, provided by past students,” the principal pointed out.

Grateful for aid

Recipients of the care packages have expressed gratitude for the donations. One mother was so overwhelmed when she received the package, delivered by a vice-principal, that she took the educator into her house to show her the empty refrigerator.

Another recipient, who received a chicken in her package, said she would cut it in two and share it with her neighbour, who was facing a similar plight.

In the meantime, the school is working feverishly to install sanitisers and other facilities to meet the June 8 reopening date.

The principal said that reopening would be on a phased basis, beginning with students who need to complete school-based assessments.