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News : Local Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


All Students on Long Island Back in School after Hurricane Joaquin
By Bahamas Ministry of Education
Oct 21, 2015 - 8:00:01 PM

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Nassau, Bahamas – 21st October, 2015 – A few days after announcing the opening of most schools on Long Island, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology is happy to announce that the students from the Mangrove Bush Primary School will return to school sooner than initially expected.

Director of Education, Mr. Lionel Sands returned to the capital on Sunday after a trip to Long Island to meet with the principals of the schools and to ensure that the schools were conducive for the return of students. The Long Island community worked assiduously to clean up schools so that students could return and have a sense of normalcy in the aftermath of the devastating Hurricane Joaquin.

Initial talks with Principal Carla Rodgers of Mangrove Bush Primary were to find a temporary facility for the 78 students - 9 preschoolers and 69, first to sixth graders. However, in keeping with the community spirit that has been evident on Long Island throughout the hurricane relief efforts, the principals of the Mangrove Bush Primary School and Lower Deadman’s Cay Primary School, Mrs. Lucy Adderley agreed to amalgamate the two schools until the extensive works to Mangrove Bush Primary are completed.

In speaking with the Director of Education, Mr. Lionel Sands, he expressed his pleasure that the Mangrove Bush students would be able to return to school. “I am pleased that the principals have reached this agreement and think that it is a viable option. I felt a little disheartened for Mrs. Rodgers when we were there on Sunday, realizing that her students would have been the only ones not slated to return to school this week when the official statement was given for the return of students to their respective schools throughout Long Island.

As I’ve said before, ensuring that students are able to remain on their islands and return to their schools is a priority of mine for many reasons. In the first instance, from a community level, it is important that they are able to stay home rather than be displaced so as not to add more trauma to their lives. Secondly, at the national level, we know that schools are the bedrock of family island communities and the migration of students to other islands, be it New Providence, Abaco or wherever, could lead to the death of a community as some may opt not to return.”

This is great news for the island of Long Island and each community is working together to ensure that no one, no school no settlement is left behind in the rebuilding/restoration process. This is another example of the resilient spirit of the people of Long Island. Mr. Sands said that coming to that decision was rather straightforward for him and he was intent on having those children in school by the time the mid-term break had ended, which meant that those students were going to be in school by Tuesday, 27th October, 2015. “As long as the principals agreed this could happen, I had no objections. This was in fact an initial thought of mine, but considering that we were sending the children from Morrisville Primary to Lower Deadman’s Cay Primary, I did not want to be overwhelming. However, merging the three schools still gives them a student population of 179 students and we know that that number is less, given the fact that some students from all those schools have left the island. If you ask me, this is still better than migrating to another island to have a school population four times that amount.”

There is no doubt that the principals of those schools will continue to rally together in the best interest of the students and do whatever is necessary to ensure their well-being. In the meantime, the Mangrove Bush Primary School will have to be properly sanitized to safeguard the health of the students. The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology wants to assure the public that due process will be given and it will continue to be proactive. The process will not be rushed, leading to the Ministry of Educaiton having to react to situations later on. The Mangrove Bush Primary School suffered extensive flood damage and as a result the repair/restoration efforts are more intricate and require multiple agencies and phases.

While all the students are able to return to school, another component is being established on the ground in Long Island. An administrative and technical team has already begun arriving on the island and will be there for at least two weeks to provide the necessary support both physical and psychological.

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