A backhoe tears through the walls of the classrooms destroyed by fire at the North Eleuthera High School as a student looks on.
(Eleuthera, Bahamas) – North Eleuthera High School (NEHS) is determined to move forward after the devastating fire which destroyed an entire block in the center of the school’s campus on March 25th, 2013, said Principal Michael Culmer during an interview on Monday, April 15th.
The destroyed block housed a social sciences classroom, a physical education room and equipment storage area, as well as the school’s library, which held a number of computers, printers and a brand new promethean board recently received from the Ministry of Education.
According to Mr. Culmer, he and his professional staff are first and foremost, determined to keep the needs of the students, who are mere weeks away from final and external BJC and BGCSE examinations, as their number one priority.
Two of the larger classrooms at the school have been subdivided to accommodate a continuation of regular class schedules, and notably, additional chairs were given to the school by the Spanish Wells All Age and the North Eleuthera Primary schools to assist with their immediate needs, said Mr. Culmer.
NEHS, was back in session on Monday, April 8th, with classes formally resuming on Wednesday, April 10th. During a PTA meeting held on Tuesday, April 9th, Mr. Culmer made an appeal to parents and guardians in attendance to donate what they could in the form of sports equipment and books, to begin the process of rebuilding the school’s library resources. According to Culmer, some families have responded, and the school has begun to collect various sporting equipment, encyclopedias and assorted books.
Some students lost their coursework for BJC and BGCSE examinations in Social Studies and Geography, in the fire which consumed the entire library. However, principal Culmer said that they were working with the students and the Ministry of Education to ensure they would be able to submit their work.
