Oracabessa High Appeals For More Classrooms, School Bus
Published on December 1, 2018 by Admin
The administration at Oracabessa High School in St Mary is appealing for assistance to erect more classrooms at the institution and to acquire a school bus.
With 1,220 students enrolled and a staff complement of 63, the school is currently operating on a shift system, and according to Vice-Principal Donovan Thomas, this limits the contact hours with students.
“We need classrooms, we need space which will allow us to more effectively deliver the curriculum,” Thomas told The Gleaner. “If we get more classrooms, by default we’re going to have to get more teachers, which would allow us to get more contact time with the students. That’s the problem right now, the contact time.”
Contact time refers to the time a student spends in a classroom under the guidance of a teacher.
The school is also in need of a bus, the vice-principal disclosed.
MORE SPORTS
With the expansion of the school’s sports programme, more teams are now representing the institution in ISSA-run competitions such as track and field, football, cricket, netball and volleyball.
In addition, there are academic and other non-sporting events that would require travelling for school representatives, and having to hire a bus has proven quite expensive in the past, Thomas pointed out.
“In 2015, we came second in All Together Sing and every time we went to the show in Kingston, you’re looking at $30,000 for the bus, and we had to do that twice per week,” he explained.
“We had to prepare meals so we’re looking at $50,000 total. And All Together Singwas about two months; we ran through about $2.5 million. We did fundraisers but just to show the importance of us getting a vehicle; we really need it.”
The school is appealing to past students to make contributions, even while the school plans fundraising activities.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner