All public pre, primary, middle and senior schools, in addition to DAME and Success Academy will be open for our students tomorrow, Thursday, September 16th, 2020.
All students are to report to school in uniform, at 8:30 am, ready to participate in the entry screening, which involves taking temperatures and responding to four COVID-19 questions.
Yesterday, staff from the Department of Education’s Facilities section, staff from the Ministry of Public Works Estates section, as well as school principals and custodians, carried out assessments of school buildings post-Hurricane Paulette. I am pleased to report that our school buildings fared the Hurricane well. There was power loss, water seepage at some schools and debris was found on the school grounds, but all in all, there was no significant damage to our school buildings. Also, some schools still need to have the grass cut, debris removed, but this will not impact tomorrow’s opening of schools.
In a combined effort which started yesterday and which continues today, staff from Agriculture and Parks; Public Works; and school custodians are working to address these issues created by Hurricane Paulette, so that our schools are ready to receive our children tomorrow.
I am making this one request of commuters in the morning and afternoon, and that is to use patience and caution in our school zones. Schools will be fully operational, and there will be congestion in the areas. I am encouraging the public to use extra care in these areas, especially since we have implemented new safety and health entry procedures at all public schools across the island. The public needs to be aware that ALL schools:…pre, primary, middle and senior, will open at 8:30 am. We are advising additional caution in the areas that have two schools.
One such an example is Northlands Primary School and the Berkeley Institute. Commuters are advised that there is likely to be a a high volume of traffic on Berkeley Road in Pembroke between the hours of 8:00 and 9:15 am on weekdays.
Parents have also been asking about the bus schedule; it is being continuously updated and can be viewed at www.gov.bm/bus.
I want to take this time to thank our Facilities staff, the Custodians and those from the Ministry of Works. They worked incredibly hard pre-hurricane to ensure our schools didn’t suffer any significant damage. They have also worked very hard and under tremendous pressure, post-hurricane to have our schools repaired and cleaned to be ready to accept our students tomorrow.
I would also like to thank our Educators who have also done the hard work necessary to prepare for the students to return. I am sure they have missed their students as much as the students have missed them.
In closing, I wish all staff and students a very safe and successful start for the school year. Thank You