On December 12th the kick-off of two new construction projects was celebrated on Sint Eustatius: the Golden Rock and Bethel Methodist School. For the Golden Rock School it concerns a thorough renovation of a dated school building and for the Bethel Methodist School it concerns the constructive improvement of six class rooms to eliminate the currently existing space shortage at the school.
The programme at the Golden Rock School was opened with cheerful songs by the school children, under guidance of music teacher Dennis Amajan. from the Department of Public Works and Planning & Preparation (Openbare Werken en Planning & Voorbereiding) and president Ingrid Whitfield of the school board expressed their gratitude to OCW for the upcoming facelift of the school, after which the demolition process of the old school was ceremonially started, followed by the unveiling of the construction board. The building of the Golden Rock School, which is over 50 years old, will undergo big changes: roofs and ceilings will be completely replaced, there will be new windows and doors and toilets will be renovated. The buildings will receive a new air-conditioning installation with fresh air supply and CO2 meters and the electric network will undergo an upgrade. During the renovation period, which lasts until the end of 2014, some of the students are temporarily allocated in an educational accommodation – especially equipped therefore – on the field of Stichting Zagen en Schaven in the area of Man o’ war.
At the Bethel Methodist School too there were festivities on Thursday morning with a construction sign being unveiled after speeches by school principal schooldirecteur Ellis Woodley, Reverend Elkanah Seymour of the school board, Commissioner Tearr and head of RCN/OCW Hans Kuilder. The ceremony was accompanied by a group of school children, singing a song..
At this school it concerns a class room building of two floors of which the construction of the existing floor needs to be adapted. In the past, the building was emptied because of construction problems and is now handled by replacing the existing floor. Furthermore, the upper and lower floor will get railings and the division of the classrooms will be adapted by applying new dividing walls. To ensure the safety of the students and personnel, the classrooms will be well screened off during the activities. Activities causing a lot of inconvenience are executed outside the school hours. After completing these renovations in May 2014, the school will have in total six additional classrooms. The renovation of the remaining buildings of the Bethel Methodist School will take place at a later point in time, according to the complete allocation plan for Sint Eustatius.
The construction company Liccom Statia N.V. executes the activities at the Golden Rock Shool, as well as at the Bethel Methodist School. The Central Buildings Service (Rijksgebouwendienst), on behalf of the Public Entity Sint Eustatius and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap – OCW) guides the renovations and are part of the education accommodation plans. These plans were made by the Public Entities, including Sint Eustatius, and the OCW to improve the accommodation of education in the Caribbean Netherlands, between 2012 and 2017.
Photo caption:
1.The construction board, containing the description of the upcoming renovations.
2. F.r.t.l.: director Rosalie Edelstein-Lopes and ex-director Debbie Clark-Brown of the Golden Rock School, Commissioner Carlyle Tearr of the Department of Public Works and Planning & Preparation (Openbare Werken en Planning & Voorbereiding) and head of department RCN/OCW Hans Kuilder, officially kicked-off the renovation with a slam of their demolition hammer.