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Kingston, September 14, 2024 – Officials from the Ministry of Education and Youth and school administrators report that the 2024/25 school year started smoothly at various institutions on Monday (September 2).

This happened after Hurricane Beryl threatened to disrupt the reopening of some schools.

The Department of Education Regional Director for St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland, Dr. Michelle Pinnock, provided updates on various schools in those parishes.

She told JIS News that Bethel Primary School in Hopewell, Hanover, was undergoing clean-up operations after construction work was completed.

The regional director said students from grades five and six were present on Monday and that plans are in place to fully resume classes on Tuesday (Sept. 3).

Meanwhile, she said that pupils from Kendal Primary School, also in Hanover, are being temporarily housed in two classrooms at the community church while management awaits the completion of a new building being constructed by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF).

“Kendal Primary will have a building from JSIF, which is effectively a whole school; even before Hurricane Beryl the arrangements had been made,” Dr Pinnock said JIS News.

At the Barracks Road Primary School in Montego Bay, St. James, where the roof was damaged among other things, measures were put in place to ensure the safety of students and the continuity of learning activities.

“The rains last week made us realize that we have quite a bit of damage to the membrane of the roof. So we are spreading the children out and on Wednesday we are using Faith Temple Church as an offsite location. The church has an area very close to the school and we are going to have students there,” informed Dr. Pinnock.

The regional director expressed satisfaction with the general start of the school year for the schools under her jurisdiction, noting that some institutions may have to adjust their timetables to take into account the availability of teachers.

She also highlighted the ongoing training initiatives to facilitate self-directed student learning through Google Classrooms.

Meanwhile, principal of Siloah Primary School in St. Elizabeth, O’Neil Larmond, said the school year had started positively for his institution, citing the active involvement of parents and the entire staff at the opening on Monday.

“With a student population of over 500, Siloah Primary has started off well. We had a member of the Anglican Church do the devotion for us this (Monday) morning and we (had) almost 200 parents present. So after the devotion we had a short meeting with our parents. We (had) our full staff and we have water and electricity,” the principal said JIS News.

Yashieka Grant, regional director of the Ministry of Education for St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary, reported that the majority of public Schools in the region have successfully reopened, with two exceptions.

Ms Grant, who acknowledged the impact of Hurricane Beryl, welcomed the successful resumption of classes at the institutions that reopened.

“We have 165 public schools in this region, and all but two (were) open to students (on Monday)… so we are grateful for that,” she said. JIS News.

Mark Powell, principal of Scotts Pass Primary and Infant School in Clarendon, also reported that the start of school had been smooth. He stressed the importance of establishing classroom routines and building relationships with students from the start of the school year.

He told JIS News that, during the start on Monday, “teachers set the ground rules, got to know their students and reacquainted them with the procedures”.

As schools face a variety of challenges and adjustments as we enter the new school year, teachers and administrators remain committed to creating a supportive and engaging learning environment for students.

CONTACT PERSON: ANDREW LAIDLEY