Friday, March 29, 2024

New Horizon SDA School hoping for support to build more classrooms

Share

Last March, The San Pedro Sun reported on the help and assistance given to the New Horizon 7th Day Adventist School by volunteer students and teachers from the Arlington 7th Day Adventist Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. In addition to offering counseling and free ear clinics for children of the school and community, one of the major tasks the volunteers did to benefit the school was to help renovate one of the few classrooms that the school has to accommodate its 320 students. The support could not have been more welcomed because the classroom that the volunteers helped to renovate and reinforce was close to collapsing on top of its weak and rotting foundation. The students worked together and practically rebuilt the entire ground floor of the classroom to ensure that it is now safe to be used for the students. Principal of New Horizon, Mr. Miguel Hernandez is ever so grateful for the help that the students gave to the school, however he also wants to let people know that there is more needed to help the school accommodate the growing number of students and he is hoping that the Ministry of Education can step in and continue the assistance needed to improve the conditions at the school.

Principal Hernandez says that he has already been in contact with the Area Representative, Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr. as well as the District Education Office asking for their help and support in lobbying the Minister of Education to try and get the new classrooms built for the upcoming 2012 – 2013 school year. The new classrooms would help to house the ever growing population of students that are overcrowding the school each year which has now risen to an average of 32 students per class in the 10 available classrooms at the school. Year by year enrollment is increasing and each year the school is forced to turn students away because there simply is no room to permit them and Hernandez feels that without the additional classrooms he will have to do the same this coming school year. In the past he has had to turn away up to 30 students for lack of space. He would like to see the Ministry step in and assist with adding a second floor to their lower division building in the center of the campus that would allow for two new classrooms to be built. This new addition would allow them to be able to take in more infant-aged students into the school and help with accommodating its Standard 4 classroom which is at a staggering 39 students.

Hernandez also suggests that the Ministry could look into the possibility of acquiring a piece of the land adjacent to the lower division building to allow for expansion and another classroom building to be built for the upper division students. The land which belongs to Mr. Wilfredo Escalante sits just behind the school and as to his knowledge is not currently being used and could serve the school’s needs for more classroom space.

Hernandez says that the overcrowding situation is not localized only to New Horizon, but it is a problem across the board in San Pedro as all of the other public schools are also experiencing issues with congestion. Teachers and parents have signed and submitted a petition urging the Ministry to step forward and assist with the building of these new classrooms and to take Mr. Hernandez’s suggestions into consideration. They are inviting residents to assist by petitioning the Area Representative and Minister of Education to look into the issue. Principal Hernandez also asks that if there is any individual, business or organization that is willing to contribute to the cause in the form of donations or assistance please contact him at the school to offer their support.

Read more

 

Please help support Local Journalism in Belize

For the first time in the history of the island's community newspaper, The San Pedro Sun is appealing to their thousands of readers to help support the paper during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since 1991 we have tirelessly provided vital local and national news. Now, more than ever, our community depends on us for trustworthy reporting, but our hard work comes with a cost. We need your support to keep delivering the news you rely on each and every day. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable. Please support us by making a contribution.

Local News