On Tuesday, January 12th 2016, the Deputy Premier, and Minister of Education the Hon. Akierra Mary Deanne Missick, and a team from the Ministry of Education including the PS Jones, DS Cox, Director Howell, and Education Officers Kennedy and Bowen, continued their school visits, which took them to the Islands of Middle and North Caicos. The Minister of Border Control and Employment Services, the Hon. R Don Hue Gardiner who is also the Member of Parliament for the Constituency of Middle and North Caicos accompanied the Education team on their visits.
The visits, including stops to the 4 campuses managed by the Ministry of Education, including Doris Robinson Primary School in Middle Caicos, where the team took the time out to commence designing phase 2 of the recreational field for that school. In 2014, the Ministry of Education, successfully completed the capital project of preparing the site on the school’s compound for a playfield and recreational area. Phase 2 2 will entail the installation of turf and new playground equipment.
While, on the Island of North Caicos, the team, were able to meet with the Principal of the Charles Hubert James Primary School, and assess the new location for the canteen that will be constructed at that site, and while at the Adelaide Olmer Primary School in Bottle Creek, the team were delighted to see the students actively using their new playground which was constructed last year. The Minister of Education had an opportunity to speak with students and discuss other projects that they would like to see take place on their campuses, to make their experience in the Twin Island schools even better.
Commenting on the visit, Deputy Premier Missick said “it is always a good day when I can visit the students and staff of our schools on the twin islands of Middle and North Caicos. Today was an exciting day which allowed the Ministry to have the Blessing and Ribbon Cutting Ceremony of the newest Science Lab in the Turks & Caicos Islands, and the Blessing of the New Playground at Adelaide Olmer Primary School. The renovated science lab at the Raymond Gardiner High School, is a state of the art science lab, that will provide the students at that school the full opportunity for creative hands-on learning in the area of science. I must thank the Contractor Mr K Higgs on delivering such an amazing project, the detail and construction is not only supreme, but the layout of the lab will encourage group learning and experimentation, and I almost want to go back to high school so that I could utilize the lab functions. Similar lab projects are underway already for Marjorie Basden High School and Clement Howell High School, and I look forward to their completion, and celebrate with the students who will have modernized facilities for hands on learning.”
Middle and North Caicos Member of Parliament, Hon Gardiner said “Seeing the renovated science lab at Raymond Gardiner High School, has giving me pause to reflect on how far this school and the communities of Middle and North Caicos have come. RGHS as it is called now, opened in 1973 as a junior school, where science was not taught, and students who had to transfer to high school in Grand Turk had to repeat the 3rd form in order to undertake learning in the science subjects. I am happy that my Government saw it fit to fast track the renovating of this lab, and I encourage the students of Raymond Gardiner to continue to make use of these facilities and appreciate the greater access to creative hands-on learning that is now provided by this lab.”
The Ministry of Education, wants to also thank the Minister Amanda Missick, and her team at the Ministry of Infrastructure, Housing and Planning, and the team at SPPU for diligently working to ensure that these projects be completed and delivered on time. Both the Labs at RGHS, the Playground at AOPS and new bathrooms at the Doris Robinson Primary school, were completed by the commencement of the academic year 2015/2016.
