“It Is a Time for Care” – William Knibb Principal

Principal of William Knibb Memorial High School, Linvern Wright, says the human and social needs of students and teachers in communities impacted by Hurricane Melissa must be prioritised even as focus is placed on the resumption of learning.

“My appeal really is that all of us just need to understand that it is a time for care,” he said in an interview with JIS News.

“It’s a human disaster. It’s a human condition that we have to take care of that,” he added.

Mr. Wright noted that there are many students and teachers who need assistance, not just financial but psychological support as well.

“It’s about getting the students to cope, to deal with what it is that has happened,” Mr. Wright said.

The Principal noted the importance of the resumption of learning, particularly for students taking external examinations next year, and called on schools to implement strategies to get students re-engaged.

He suggested having grade levels return to school for human contact on different days.

“The fact is that we have to try to get them here. Try to get the grade-11 students and the sixth-formers in most days and get the others in for some days… work through how we get to assessments and deal with the gaps in the learning when they come back,” he said.

William Knibb, like many others in western Jamaica, suffered severe damage, including flooded classrooms, destroyed roofs and technology equipment.

Mr. Wright is hoping that the experience of the hurricane will motivate the students to find solutions to disasters.

He is encouraging the public to persevere through the distress caused by the hurricane’s effects.

“I don’t want us to lie down and say ‘boy, we are traumatised’. There are some of us who have got to be about hope. There are some of us who have got to be about lifting ourselves up and lifting others up,” Mr. Wright said.