Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
PHILIPSBURG--All government-subsidised schools and "most" public schools are ready to reopen their doors on Monday after a weeklong closure due to the passing of Hurricane Gonzalo, which pummelled the island on Monday evening, October 13.
High schools ready to reopen on Monday are Milton Peters College (MPC); Sundial School; both sections of St. Maarten Academy; Charlotte Brookson Academy for the Performing Arts; Methodist Agogic Center (MAC) Comprehensive Secondary Education; and St. Dominic High School.
Primary schools set to reopen are Seventh-Day Adventist School; MAC Browlia F. Maillard and John A. Gumbs campuses; Hillside Christian Schools Asha Stevens and Helmith Snijders campuses; Ruby Labega Primary; Leonald Connor Primary; Charles Leopold Bell; Prins Willem-Alexander School for Special Education; Sister Magda Primary; Sister Marie Laurence Primary; Sister Regina Primary; St. Dominic Primary; St. Joseph Primary; and Sister Borgia Primary School.
A date will be set on Sunday for the reopening of St. Maarten Vocational Training, Dr. Martin Luther King Primary, M. Genevieve De Weever Primary and Oranje Schools after a final assessment is conducted on that day. The information will be made available to the media and posted on the Ministry of Education's Facebook page.
The decision to reopen the schools that were ready was taken during an emergency meeting of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports and the school boards on Friday. It was based on the schools' level of preparedness, which showed that all major issues related to the safe provision of education had been addressed for the vast majority of schools, Education Minister Patricia Lourens-Philip said in a press release on Friday.
All schools but one have running water and electricity. Electricity is expected to be fully restored by Saturday.
"All major debris had been removed from almost all schools by Friday afternoon, with the remaining debris scheduled for removal over the weekend. With the support of Public Works, the Fire Department and private contractors, issues related to flooding were also addressed and the required cleaning of the school facilities had already been concluded by midday on Friday," the release said.
In preparation for the resumption of classes, school boards were advised by the Education Ministry's Division of Student Support Services of strategies that should be employed in the first few day days of school to meet the needs of students who have been impacted by the storm.
A psychologist and social workers from the Division will be visiting the various schools to guide and provide additional support to student care teams for as long as the need arises, the release said. Everyone who was involved in the cleanup efforts was thanked for their input.
