JC builds teacher residence on campus

[Don1]

You should never put up such cloddish buildings beside historical buildings such as those on the JC campus. Not the first time it has happened there, but no need to repeat the crime.

JC is blessed with a sizable campus...so there are no cloddish buildings beside our historic monuments. If such clods exist they are relegated to the nether regions of our hallowed grounds. In the 30 years prior to 2007 there was no investment in facility upgrades and little even in maintenance.... hence the necessity for the recent crash program as the place was a wreck

While JC would love to erect palaces to complement the notable existing buildings, unfortunately compromises must be made due to wide-scale needs and severe resource constraints . There are new facilities that need to be provided immediately to serve 1800 students (compared with 700 in the 1970s), 100+ year old buildings to be renovated & maintained etc etc....all with zero help from Govt and amidst a profound economic crisis.

We crave the indulgence of the concerned public in understanding our quandary...in odda words...Clods tuh di Wirl!!

PR Dept.

[Mosiah]

Are you making excuses for the crappy buildings? Doesn't matter what your budget, if you have a good architect you could have done more with the money you took to make those god-awful structures.

[Mosiah]

JC is blessed with a sizable campus...so there are no cloddish buildings beside our historic monuments. If such clods exist they are relegated to the nether regions of our hallowed grounds.

Really? Then what's this: http://www.panoramio.com/photo/29101884

[Don1]

Oh that?? That's called the World Bank bldg....built circa 1973. The design is utilitarian and starkly different from the iconic Simms Hall and that stylistic difference is jarring.... but for a Jamaican high school it's not a horrible bldg per se.

Simms is such a magnificent, unsurpassed pearl of a design that anything beside it may appear crappy by comparison I suppose

[Willi]

Unno have money and start step it up!
Here is the target (and Mannings too):
http://www.stgc.org/georges/photos/campus%20photos.html
http://www.askaccessible.com/stgc59/images/stgc.jpg
http://www.stgctoronto.com/index.php...id=64&catid=25

[Don1]

Noice!

Wha dat bout Mannings?

[Peter R]

Pix # 7 was in my days the first form block.

The building where Mr Carnegie lived was north of the tennis court, if my memory serves me correctly.. I used to be able to walk out from behind that building alongside the drain onto Hope Blvd.

[Don1]

Pix # 7 was in my days the first form block.

The building where Mr Carnegie lived was north of the tennis court, if my memory serves me correctly.. I used to be able to walk out from behind that building alongside the drain onto Hope Blvd.

Ok I know what you speak of now.

It's the 2 story building bounded by the tennis courts, the old Assembly Hall (now canteen) and the back fence to Hope Pastures...It's still there

LOL...Drain yuh kall it?? Suh mi si dat ah Gully yuh seh from di 1970s...but ah Gaza ah dweet now

[Willi]

Manning has a very attractive campus ...at least from the entrance.

[Karl]

Go Ruel!
...demanding excellence in all disciplines!
...and that is as it should be!

[Don1]

Go Ruel!
...demanding excellence in all disciplines!
...and that is as it should be!

Yes excellence in all disciplines...

Except architecture

[Willi]

Typo...Mannings H.S. has...

[Mitty]

In my days Mr. Robinson who coached both colts team lived on campus. Some country teachers also lived on campus. Vice principal, Mr. Hazel and Principal Ruel Taylor had residences just off campus. Teachers living on campus is not a new ting to JC.

[Don1]

Thwaites: Kgn based HS to set up rural Campus

Who dat??

Education minister hails Jamaica College’s self-reliance
Sunday, February 03, 2013 | 2:00 PM


EDUCATION minister Ronald Thwaites has commended Jamaica College (JC) on its self- reliance in undertaking a number of development projects.
He expressed the hope that this measure of self-support “will in fact be infectious to the rest of the school system in Jamaica.”

The education minister was speaking on Thursday at the opening of an apartment building at the school’s Old Hope Road campus. Twelve teachers will occupy the one bedroom units in the ‘Drax Lodge Apartment Building’, which were constructed at a cost of approximately $52 million.

Thwaites expressed great appreciation for the efforts “of the JC partnership in all that you have done, that which you celebrate today and that which you have already established and will go on to do”.

He challenged the school community to extend its brand to another campus and hinted that another “fine Jamaican high school” will be opening a second campus in a rural area come September.

Chairman of the Jamaica College Foundation, Dr R Danny Williams, explained that the Foundation received a $45 million loan from the National Housing Trust (NHT), which formed the bulk of the funding for the facility.

He thanked the many Old Boys, who made the project possible by contributing in cash and kind and said many of them had essentially given free service.

Williams explained that the Foundation identified housing as a key area that needed to be addressed at the school.

“It became obvious that everybody would benefit if we were able to expand the housing here. The teachers would benefit, the school and above all, the people whom we try to serve, our students, are the ones who would really benefit by having staff on the compound, staff able to work late hours, come early, can just walk to work. It was an absolutely perfect situation,” he said.

He further noted that the Foundation was only charging the teachers rent to cover the mortgage and insurance on the facility. He estimated that the Foundation has invested approximately $400 million over the past seven years in the restoration of the school.

Principal Ruel Reid said that the institution tries to assist its teachers so that they can be comfortable but also demands returns on its investment. “We demand the performance, we demand accountability,” he stated.

He noted that the housing project is one of the initiatives that “we have been able to deliver that will add to the value of the school to make us number one. We can attract well qualified, committed teachers, who don’t have to worry about going home long distances in the evening and the boys will have access to them,” Reid said.

Teacher of the year, Kerry-Ann Watson, thanked the board on behalf of those who will benefit from the facilities. “We appreciate the initiative that was taken to address one of our basic needs, that of shelter. We would not have been able to afford these facilities in this area on our salary, if it had not been for this initiative,” she said.

She noted that the students will also benefit indirectly as the teachers will now be able to use travelling time to prepare for their classes, mark work, or get involved in extracurricular activities and clubs.


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/...#ixzz2LsarLm6E