PTA, student council join forces for students’ welfare
Published:Tuesday | March 8, 2022 | 12:07 AMCecelia Campbell-Livingston/Gleaner Writer
The parent-teacher association (PTA) and Student Council at Glenmuir High School in Clarendon are both engaged in a drive to assist students who are facing hardships.
The PTA will restart the breakfast programme that was put on pause during the pandemic.
Francine Rhooms, president of the PTA, said the plans were fast-tracked as students made the request for its return.
“The students are asking for the breakfast programme and so we will resume after the midterm and we will issue two mornings per week,” Rhooms informed The Gleaner last week .
However, she said with the challenges brought on by the pandemic and the increased needs of the students, they will need partnerships to sustain the programme.
Directing her pleas to “Jamaicans who benefited or walked through the gates of Glenmuir, even if it’s for a year”, she asked for support.
The school’s student council body has also joined in the fight to ensure that students can enjoy a meal as they target the high cost at the canteen.
Student Council representatives Cheyann Stone and Gabriel Thomas, along with their faculty adviser at the school, Diedre Ann Barrett-Whyte, shared on the power of advocacy in securing the benefits for the students.
HIGH LUNCH COSTS
She noted that they were receiving a lot of complaints about the challenges some students were having buying lunch as a result of the high cost and financial strain their parents are experiencing.
At the resumption of face-to-face classes on Monday, students will now be able to enjoy the benefits of a more affordable lunch as well as menu options.
The council is also powering a uniform and textbook drive to assist students as the school resumes face-to-face classes. With uniforms already distributed, the textbook drive continues.
Barrett-Whyte, commenting on the catalyst for the drive, said parents were calling in, seeking uniforms for their children to come out in order to sit their examinations, which started last week and ended on Tuesday.
“We distributed some uniforms, and as it relates to the textbook drive, some have already been given out to persons, and we are looking forward to persons still continuing afterwards by handing in their used books,” she shared.
Members of the council said that following the success of the drive, the programme will be continued as, for them, persons will always be in need.