There were mixed responses from some schools on Monday when educational institutions across the island reopened on full-scale operations following two years of disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We started off nicely this morning,” said Roogae Kirlew, principal of Spanish Town Primary, who said a large number of children and the smooth manner in which they were received by administrators were exactly what he expected.
Though school started at 7 a.m., some children arrived as early as 6:30 a.m. This posed no problem to the school which was well preprepared for the day, said Kirlew, who assured that someone would always be there to greet the enthusiastic early birds who were eager to return to school.
He explained that the school had met with parents last week to update them on the its plans for Monday’s roll-out. The administrators also rearranged classrooms to obey the COVID-19 protocols in preparation for full resumption of school.
He added that he was very pleased at the 80 per cent turnout of a student population of over 1,400 with a teaching staff of 70. He added that he is confident that by Thursday, there will be a 100 per cent turnout.
Kirlew does not anticipate any future challenges that the school might be unable to handle as a result of the effective strategy employed, noting that he will be working closely with guidance counsellors and the physical education department to assist with the transition from the morning to the afternoon, when students appear to slow down and become fatigued.
In light of the full roll-out of face-to-face instruction, Marlon Campbell, principal of St Catherine High School, on the other hand, has opted to take on the position of mathematics teacher.
With a student population of over 2,500, Campbell admits that although he welcomes the pupils’ return, the task at hand will pose some difficulty in maintaining and observing all the COVID-19 protocols.
“It’s not an easy task, but we are up to the task,” he said.
Lakayla Davidson, a grade 11 student who was attending classes face-to-face from January 10, said, “I’ve been here from before but it kinda feel strange because I haven’t been in this situation, where everybody is at school, so the feeling is weird.”
She added that “the feeling is mixed”, as she had grown accustomed to a smaller number of students at school, and while she is glad that others are out getting into the rhythm of face-to-face instruction, she is also concerned about the larger crowds as Jamaica continues to battle the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Tyrell Thomas, another grade 11 student, expressed similar concerns. “It a guh sort a stressful wid the amount a people wah guh deh here,” he said, citing the large population of students as his major concern.
But Campbell said the school had been in preparation for a full resumption since January when the Government allowed for a phased learning environment.
As the COVID-19 infection rates have been trending downwards, signally hope for many, Campbell expressed that the learning loss has been tremendous among the students and this has been part of the reason for his involvement in teaching.
“My heart, the heart of the teachers are in it and our task is to set programmes ... to make sure that the entire school is where we ought to be,” he said.
Such programmes include substituting form time for an hour of tutoring sessions in the mornings, one-hour after-school sessions, and weekend supplementary courses to assist pupils with math and English.
“I am passionate about math, I am a teacher first and an administrator second. I will say that with no apology and the truth is sometimes I look on the nation and where [we] are today ... and if we lose these, honestly, we will regret it, so we have to make sure we hold them and make sure that we educate them and make them into fine citizens,” said Campbell.
The Government had indicated that shift schools would be granted an exception in the all-island resumption of school.
Currently, only grades 10-13 have been attending face-to-face school and turned up for school on Monday morning.
“This is a shift school and it takes a little more time to get things back to full speed,” said Oniel Ankle, principal, Jonathan Grant High School, noting that because lower school (grades seven to nine) consist of the greater part of the student population, it will take more time to work out the logistics of how the school will be able to accommodate the students.
“The rooms are just not large so we just have to make sure that we do all of the logistics,” he said, to ensure that the students will benefit as his main concern is that the school battles mainly with smaller-sized classrooms.
Ankle, on the other hand, expressed optimism that after his meeting with the vice-principals on Monday, the over 2,000 pupils will be accommodated, and that the school will be able to reopen fully next week once the timetable has been revised.
Delrine Young, a school vendor who has been selling along White Church Street in Spanish Town for over 20 years, said it has been a challenging path, but she has had to fight and press on despite the impact of the pandemic, which has been nearing two years now.
She is expecting that business will pick up in the afternoon hours when the children are returning home.
Elaine, another school vendor, said she came out before 7 a.m. to get access to the expected crowd of students; however, she noted that it might not be the same as it was in years prior to COVID-19, but she decided to come out near the school gate because she would otherwise be at home with no other work to generate income.
Meanwhile, principal of Excelsior High School, Deanroy Bromfield, said just over 55 per cent of students were present on Monday.
“That is the amount we can accommodate now. Grades seven to nine and sixth-formers are here today, and tomorrow the other students will come in. We are still working on furniture and timetable changes. We can’t accommodate all 2,400-plus students at school simultaneously,” he explained.
Bromfield said it is expected that the full population will return to school next Monday.
At Penwood High School, 90 per cent of the student population was present up to the time of registration Monday morning.
Principal Donna McLaren said other students may have turned up after registration, given the challenges with transportation and traffic.
“Things went smoothly for the most part. We had a challenge with lunch as our lunch lines were backed up but we have sorted that out for tomorrow,” McLaren said.
And principal of Red Hill Primary School, Paul Glenroy Messam, told The Gleaner that 90 per cent of students turned up for face-to-face classes on Monday.
He said close to 100 per cent of grade six students, who are preparing to sit the Primary Exit Profile (PEP), were present.
“Our devotion got off to a late start due to tardiness and that was probably linked to the traffic. We reminded them to maintain their social distance and lunches were taken to classrooms to reduce crowding among students,” Messam said.
Judana Murphy contributed to this story.