The Tribune

By RICARDO WELLS

Tribune Staff Reporter

rwells@tribunemedia.net

PUBLIC schools throughout New Providence, Grand Bahama and North Andros are expected to reopen early next week as education officials announce extended closures for a handful of schools and a revised academic calendar for the remainder of the school year.

At the Ministry of Education’s Thompson Boulevard offices on Friday afternoon, Education Minister Jerome Fitzgerald declared that schools in New Providence would open on Tuesday, October 18, with the exception of C I Gibson Senior High and Government High School.

Schools in Grand Bahama, except the Lewis Yard and Bartlett Hill Primary Schools, and in North Andros, except the Lowe Sound Primary School, will open on Wednesday, October 19.

However, Mr Fitzgerald indicated that the re-openings in Grand Bahama are contingent on water supplies being restored to schools in that district.

According to the Marathon MP, extensive damage to the roof at C I Gibson and damage to the exterior panelling at Government High School, inflicted by the passage of Hurricane Matthew last week, must be resolved before those campuses can re-open.

Mr Fitzgerald said the Ministry will provide an update on those two facilities on Tuesday, after further assessment and repairs are carried out.

In Grand Bahama, Mr Fitzgerald said his ministry is working arduously to bring resolution in the cases of the Bartlett Hill and Lewis Yard Primary School. He said repairs at these two campuses will take time, placing the government in a situation in which it has to make provisions for the students elsewhere.

Mr Fitzgerald assured the public and parents of these students that the necessary provisions have been made, and students will be facilitated at other campuses nearby.

In the case of the Lowe Sound Primary School, the government has forgone plans to carryout repairs.

According to Mr Fitzgerald, the government has opted to carryout minor repairs to another facility in the community in an effort to “complete” the school year, with the final aim being to move students into their new facility at the commencement of the 2017-2018 academic school year.

The government announced plans earlier this summer to construct a new school in the community.

Mr Fitzgerald also encouraged administrators at various campuses to be aware of the emotional and physical toll Hurricane Matthew may have taken on individual students.

He said: “We have advised administrators to be mindful that some students may have lost personal effects, inclusive of uniforms during the storm. We have indicated to administrators to be sensitive to the circumstances of students, particularly those who may not have any or complete uniforms. They are to use good judgment and give some lenience during the next couple of weeks.”

Mr Fitzgerald said his ministry is devoted to using the full complement of its psychological and guidance staff to aid students through this tough time.

According to the minister, “psychological support will be made available by our experienced counsellors to those wishing to use it, to ensure that the emotional needs of those impacted by Hurricane Matthew are addressed, as we attempt to return to some semblance of normalcy.”

As a part of his address on Friday, Mr Fitzgerald also said that changes have been made to the school calendar in an effort to offset days lost due to Hurricane Matthew. He said the decision comes after consensus between Ministry officials and Bahamas Union of Teachers executives.

For both the October and February 2017 mid-term breaks, students will have two days off as opposed to four and two days will also be taken from the Christmas break.

The October mid-term break would have been from the 19th to the 24th. Students and teachers will now be off on Friday, October 21, and Monday, October 24, only.

The February mid-term break would have been from the 22nd to the 27th. Students and teachers will now be off on Friday, February 24, and Monday, February 27, only.

During December, students were originally scheduled to be dismissed for the Christmas holiday on Wednesday, December 14. Now they will remain in school until Friday, December 16.

Teachers in New Providence are expected to report to school on Monday, while teachers in Grand Bahama and North Andros are due on campus by Tuesday.