By Claudia Liburd
Nevis Reporter-SKNVibes.com
(Charlestown, Nevis) --- On Tuesday the Ivor Walters Primary School moved back to its original location in Brown Hill after being relocated to the Brown Hill Senior Citizens Home in November 2006 due to asbestos contamination at the school site.
During an interview with SKNVibes.com Principal of the Ivor Walters Primary School, Wakely Daniel elaborated on the renovations which were done on the school which was newly re-inhabited on Tuesday morning.
"While the move began on Friday afternoon we officially moved back to our school house on Tuesday, May, 8 and I must say that we are quite elated to be back here. We were moved because of the refurbishments which were being done to the building especially those on the roof of the school where we had asbestos in the roof which needed to be taken care of," he said.
"The entire roof from Grade 4 up to the Computer Lab had to be replaced. The work which was contracted by Errol Bake Senior of Errol Blake Construction took approximately six months to complete," he said.
During the approximately 6 month hiatus from the school the exterior of the school was repainted, the interior of classrooms were repainted, the kitchen was tiled and other auxiliary work was done on the kitchen.
In light of these changes, Daniel expressed his gratitude at being able to be back at the school after experiencing several difficulties at the temporary location.
He said, "We moved on Monday 13 November 2006 so that would make our stay just over six months. While there we experienced several difficulties down there, for one thing the yard had no grass so when the rail fell the children shoes would become quite muddy and the interior of the building became quite muddy. The building was too small and so it contained the noise and made the area quite noisy. The small size also made the already unbearable heat sweltering. There were 3 bathrooms for 172 children and you could understand the problem with that as almost on a daily basis we would have to ask the plumbers to come in to fix whatever problem we had. Flooding was also a major problem as we had almost weekly floods and for all these reasons it was very challenging."
"Also, for all these reasons that we are quite ecstatic to be back. We got the word from the Education Department that we were going to be able to move back to our original location and after that we contacted Public works who would have assisted in the transportation of chairs and desks. All our teachers, children from grades 3- 6 as well as two different parents also came in on Friday and they assisted in the move as well. For the most part we are quite satisfied with the work that was done but we are also hoping that some of the work would continue such as the children's toilets."
~~adz:Left~~In closing the interview Principal Daniel expressed gratitude to all who facilitated the movement and repair of the Ivor Walters Primary School.
"Let me give thanks to all who played a role not only in the repairing of the school but also in the move. Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) , the Nevis Island Administration, the Education Department as well as the teachers, parents and students of the school. We give a heartfelt thanks to them for the part that they played in making this a reality," he said.
