Education Minister Urges Students To Make Good Use Of Time Back In Classroom
By: , March 8, 2022
Photo: Marck Bell
Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams (third right), listens to a comment from Head Boy at the St. Catherine-based Old Harbour High School, Demario Golding (second left), while on a visit to the institution on Monday (March 7) to mark the full resumption of face-to face classes. Sharing in the conversation (from left) are Principal of the school, Lynton Weir; Vice President of the students’ council, Grena Bernard; Head Girl Claudia Mendez; and Chairman of the school board, Icylin Golding.
Photo: Marck Bell
Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams (left), and Principal of the Old Harbour High School, Lynton Weir (right), greet students as they return to full face-to-face learning at the St. Catherine-based institution on Monday (March 7).
Photo: Marck Bell
Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams (left), engages with Chairman of the Old Harbour High School Board, Icylin Golding (right), and Head Girl at the school, Claudia Mendez (centre), during a visit to the St. Catherine-based institution on Monday (March 7).The Full Story
As schools across the island resume full face-to-face learning, students are being urged to make good use of their time back in the physical classroom, to make up for what they would have lost over the past two years due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Minister of Education and Youth, Hon. Fayval Williams, made the call while addressing a devotional exercise at the Old Harbour High School in St. Catherine on Monday (March 7).
“Settle down in order to catch up and recover [stronger] than where you were when we started this pandemic; that is what we are asking of you. We are depending on you; you are the next workforce, and Jamaica can only move forward if you, our next generation, really take it very seriously,” she said.
Minister Williams said she was “delighted” to see children back in the classroom and urged them, as they socialise with their peers, to always observe the measures in place to prevent transmission of the virus, including wearing their masks.
She also appealed to teachers and students not to turn up at school if they feel sick.
Principal of Old Harbour High, Lynton Weir, said that the school has been preparing for the full resumption of classes for some time, with protocols put in place to protect the health of students and staff.
He said that the students are happy to be back at school and noted that all stakeholders are sensitised of the need to be “extremely careful” to avoid contracting COVID-19.
Head Boy, Demario Golding, for his part, called on fellow students to commit to “getting the work done and to be dedicated during this time”, while Head Girl, Claudia Mendez, reminded the students that “COVID is not dead”, and they should adhere to the health and safety protocols.
“We want everyone to be safe,” she said.
Regional Director at the Ministry, Sophia Forbes Hall, also welcomed the students and urged them to continue to “keep the flag of Old Harbour High, flying high”.