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Past students donate 80 laptops, tablets to Mt Alvernia High

Published:Wednesday | January 13, 2021 | 12:07 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
Dawn Chin-Jones (front, centre), president of the Mt Alvernia High School Central Florida Alumni Association, and members of the school’s staff and her alumni group, pose for the camera with some of the students who were presented with laptops and tablet
Dawn Chin-Jones (front, centre), president of the Mt Alvernia High School Central Florida Alumni Association, and members of the school’s staff and her alumni group, pose for the camera with some of the students who were presented with laptops and tablets.

WESTERN BUREAU:

Some 80 students at the Montego Bay-based Mt Alvernia High School are now equipped to access online learning, thanks to a generous donation of laptops and tablets, valued at some US$20,000 (J$2.8 million), by members of the school’s Central Florida Alumni Association.

During a socially distanced handover ceremony at the 96-year-old all-girls school last Friday, the students received 36 brand new HP laptops and 44 tablets, putting them in a position to access classes virtually, which is the new normal brought on by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Quianna Williams, a 14-year-old, grade-nine student, who is a part of the Theophane group, which is named after one of the school’s past principals, expressed much delight on being gifted with one of the devices, as previously she had to be using her cellular phone to do her schoolwork.

“I feel really elated to have gotten my device,” Williams told The Gleaner. “Before this, I could not really go to my classes, because sometimes when I was trying to log on, either the Internet would get cut off or my phone was not working. So I am actually happy that I got this device.”

The provision of the computer devices is the latest in many recent cases of the Central Florida Alumni Association, which has shared a dedicated partnership with the school since the alumni group’s launch in 2010, coming good for the school.

Previously, in 2019, the group presented the school with a brand new school bus, and in 2018, they spearheaded and participated in a health fair, where medical professionals provided healthcare screenings and valuable information to students and staff.

Dawn Chin-Jones, president of the Central Florida Alumni Association, told the students who received devices on Friday that her group was honoured to be able to help the current generation of students at the school.

“Over the years that we have been around, we have done tremendous things to support our alma mater, and it is about you, who we consider our sisters. Mt Alvernia High is founded on some great principles, one of which is that we will always look to help the poor and those who are in need, and that is a big part of our chapter’s work,” said Chin-Jones.

“If we can be just a small part of helping you to continue to make the best of your education, then that is what our work will be all about,” Chin-Jones added.

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