St Ann principals hopeful for better turnout on day two of pilot

All three schools in St Ann that are part of a two-week coronavirus pilot reported a generally successful resumption of face-to-face classes on Tuesday although student absences put a slight damper on turnout expectations.

Christine Badal-McBean, principal of Chalky Hill Primary, said only nine of 40 students turned up for school.

“We reopened on the rotation model. We were supposed to have grades four to six, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Today, we were expecting all our students from grades one to three. We have presently nine students who turned out this morning, but we are expecting that the figures will increase,” Badal-McBean disclosed.

The principal theorised that rainy weather and underlying illnesses like asthma – conditions that worsen coronavirus complications – may have played on the minds of students and parents.

While education officers milled around the compound, Badal-McBean said that all was in place to safely accommodate the students.

Principal of Steer Town Primary and Junior High, Michelle White-Guy, said 150 students were expected to turn out, but less than a hundred attended classes.

“We have 91 students here. The others are presently online with their teachers,” she told The Gleaner.

Despite that disappointment, White-Guy described Tuesday’s start as “great, wonderful!”

“We had all in place as planned. The sanitisation process started at 7 o’clock. The sanitisation team was in place way before hand.

“We also had an individual from the health department who came and spoke with the children concerning the social-distancing protocols,” said White-Guy.

A representative from the Ministry of Education’s Region Three was also at the school.

Meanwhile, at Moneague Primary and Junior High, principal Patricia Allen said that Tuesday’s sessions were geared at administering psychosocial support to students.

“We used today to do a bit of sensitisation - let the students remember what school is like and certainly to let them know it’s not school as we’re accustomed to, prior to going off, so we spent today doing that,” Allen said.

Regular classes are expected to resume on Wednesday.

Not all 165 students who were expected to turn out did so.

“Based on our conversations with parents, some are still a little bit wary. Also, some needed to get [students’] uniforms. But they welcome the initiative,” the principal said.