More students of the T.G. Glover primary school will be able to access lessons on the Ministry of Education’s virtual school platform after Mr. Dean of United Sanitation Company donated eighty tablets and Mi-Fi devices to the school located on Horse Shoe Drive on November 6th 2020. The island’s oldest private garbage collection company has been giving back to the school located a stone’s throw from his Farrington Road and Rampart Close home for more than twenty years. In fact, United Sanitation Company donated the school’s first computers for students years ago.
Minister of Education the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd thanked Dean for the company's donation while inviting more individuals and corporate partners to join the campaign to ensure that all of the nation’s 46,000 public school students have a device to register on the Ministry’s virtual school platform. To date more than 30,000 students are registered as New Providence, Abaco and Eleuthera fully conduct classes virtually. Principal Sheniqua Curry thanked Mr. Dean pledging that her team will ensure that many more of the school’s 650 students register for virtual instruction.
Pictured with Minister Lloyd, Principal Curry, Henry Dean, Director Marcellus Taylor, Dep. Director Sharon Poitier, employees of United Sanitation, Dean’s daughter deacon Allison Dean and students of T G Glover.
Bahamian students displaced by monster storm Hurricane Dorian last year September received a generous donation of school supplies on Thursday, November 5th, after a drive initiated by third grader, Caylee Matejicka from Cedar Grove, New Jersey. Upon learning of the devastation and loss brought on by the storm, Caylee through the assistance of her parents Chad and Cheryl Matejicka organised a school supplies drive within her school, South End Elementary. During yesterday's ceremony held at the Ministry of Education's Headquarters, displaced students attending Sadie Curtis Primary were the first to receive the donated supplies. The school's principal Mrs. Carolyn Mitchell expressed her gratitude for the altruistic gesture.
Also expressing thanks on behalf of the students was student, Delronae Mitchell. Caylee and her parents along with principal of South End Elementary, Lynn DiMatteo and student Daniel Barallari joined yesterday's ceremony via zoom.
"I wanted to help them out. So I did what I can." Caylee said.
Minister of Education Jeffrey Lloyd, Director of Education Marcellus Taylor, and Permanent Secretary Lorraine Armbrister were in attendance and they expressed gratitude for the extension of kindness by the Matejicka's and the family of South End Elementary School.
The supplies will be further distributed to students in other districts.
The Ministry of Education’s campaign to ensure that every public school student gets an electronic device for the virtual school got a big boost in a short presentation ceremony at the Ministry’s headquarters on University Drive on Thursday November 5th. Leno Corporation partnered with the MOE in September 2020 pledging $60,000. They made good on the pledge donating tablets totaling $60,000. Corporate Bahamas and private sponsors joined the campaign donating an additional $183,000. This included two surprise donations: $40,000 from the United Nations’ International Office for Migration earmarked for children in the Kemp Road community including immigrant children there and Aliv’s CEO David Blackburn donated $10,000 for children with special needs.
Other donations included the Bahamas Cooperative Credit Union League president Hilton Bowleg who presented 125 tablets totaling $30,000 to the principals of C.C. Sweeting , Government High, T. A. Thompson and C.H. Reeves schools; Michelle Fields, Superintendent of the Insurance Commission of the Bahamas donated $10,000 for the children of Uriah McPhee Primary School; Everette Mackey presented the Boys Brigade cheque of $15,000 earmarked for student members ; Olympic gold medalist Pauline Davis Thompson patron of the Run for Pompey Foundation donated ten tablets for students of Exuma. There were a number of private donations including $7,000 from a church who wished to remain anonymous.
The Ministry of Education’s Eleuthera school district received four Microsoft Surface Pro electronic devices from the One Eleuthera Foundation on Friday August 21st, 2020 to further assist in the Department of Education’s Virtual Learning Platform. Earlier this year the non profit organization donated 150 tablets and 150 portable WiFi devices to the district which operates sixteen schools from Harbour Island to Bannerman Town: eleven primary schools including the Center for Exceptional Learners; two All Age schools and three central secondary schools.
One Eleuthera Foundation’s CEO Sean Ingraham made the presentation to Michael Culmer, District Superintendent for Eleuthera, noting that the devices strengthen their commitment to collaborate with the two hundred teachers and administrators in the delivery of quality education for the island’s 2,300 students. This follows the One Eleuthera Foundation signing a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Education to support the Eleuthera school district.
Re: Sean Ingraham, CEO One Eleuthera Foundation; Michael Culmer, District Superintendent for Eleuthera; Fontella Knowles, District Education Officer; Maise Thompson and Jim Richards of the One Eleuthera Foundation.
