Salem Primary and Junior High Hailed as Model School in Observing Covid-19 Protocols

The Salem Primary and Junior High School in Beeston Spring, Westmoreland has been hailed by the parish’s health department as a model institution in observing the coronavirus (COVID-19) protocols.

The institution resumed face-to-face classes on January 11 under strict COVID-19 guideless outlined by the Ministry of Health and Wellness and has been going the extra mile to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Health Promotion and Education Officer at the Westmoreland Health Department, Gerald Miller, who has been conducting public education sessions at schools opened for face-to-face learning in the parish, tells JIS News that the administration at Salem Primary and Junior High School has been doing an exemplary job in executing the COVID-19 protocols.

“When I went to Salem, I was very impressed with what I saw there in terms of the organisation and how the protocols are being carried out. You could see the coordination between the principal and the guidance counsellor… they had their wash stations, the students were queuing up based on the protocols and there was a teacher to ensure that these things take place,” he says.

The principal of the institution, Tanisha Ford- Farquharson, tells JIS News that a collaborative approach is being employed by the teaching and ancillary staff to protect the school population against COVID-19.

She says that the temperature of students and staff are checked at the gates every morning, and a second check is done in the afternoon and the readings logged.

“We basically work together as a team…to ensure that everyone is safe who comes here. So we’ve put in all the protocols, we’ve ensured that handwash stations are in place, we have sanitisation stations at strategic points right across the school, the isolation room is in place, and we also ensure that we have our sickbay and everything is up to standard,” she shares.

The classrooms have also been re-arranged to facilitate social distancing while desks and chairs are sanitised during break and lunch sessions.

“The students are allowed to… wash their hands before they go for break and while they are washing their hands, their classrooms are being sanitised by our cleaners. They come back to a clean desk to have their (snack) or to have their lunch and when they are finished eating, it is also sanitised again,” Mrs. Ford- Farquharson says.

“Right after lunch we have a mask change because we want to ensure that the students are not wearing the same mask for the entire day, so we allow them to do the mask change, which is done at designated locations on the outside. Each class knows their location so they go and do the mask change and then get back to their classes. We also have a mask beak at 2 o’clock to give them some air to breathe,” she further details.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Ford-Farquharson says there has been an increase in the number of students attending classes since the resumption of face-to-face learning.

“I am happy for the students because we had low turn-out [for online classes] because the internet is a great issue in the community,” she notes.

The students are happy to return to school and do not mind the strict COVID-19 guidelines.

Grade six Student, Roshae Smith, tells JIS News that she has been adhering to the protocols in order to stay safe. “Although we can’t ‘bundle-up’ like we use to, it feels okay, because we are in a face-to-face class where we have a better understanding of things,” she says.

For Nicoli Lowers, who is also in grade six it was a joy to be able to reunite with his friends after being away from the classroom for 10 months.

“[With] face-to-face I can see my friends…I like face-to-face because I get to understand the work more and I get to be more comfortable at school,” he adds.

For her part, the Guidance Counselor at the institution, Sophia Mullings, says sessions are being held with students “to help them with the transitioning back to school” as well as to reinforce the COVID-19 protocols.

She notes that the institution is also placing emphasis on safeguarding the mental health of students and staff, who have returned to school.

“I work with the entire school staff to provide psychosocial support for the community, my teachers, the students, and other workers here at school… I go to classes, I welcome them [students] back and I find out how they are coping,” she explains.

There are 96 students enrolled at Salem Primary and Junior High.