Clare Valley school gets Water House project

The question of healthy living was a recurring theme in the rural fishing and agricultural village of Clare Valley last Wednesday. Through the vision of teacher Inola Charles, health concerns and interest in the environment are very much on the minds of students, teachers, and parents of that institution.

Charles is a final year student in an Educational Administration degree programme. Part of the requirement for successful completion of her programme is completion of a project which would benefit her school.{{more}}

Charles undertook the task of providing extra water facilities at the school. She designed a “Water House” project estimated at $6,000. There are six taps placed at varying heights in the “Water House” to accommodate pupils of different heights.

Charles did not attempt the project just to satisfy the course’s needs. She chose a project that was environmentally safe.

She has moved away from the tradition where drinking water was placed near to the toilet of most institutions.

The Water House is neatly constructed with tiled floors, soap, and towels.

Charles has been a teacher for 31 years and her training is being done through the University of the West Indies Distance Learning Programme.

She sees the project as encouraging students to drink more water.

Guest speaker at the handing over ceremony was Family Nurse Practitioner Etheldrea Prescod. She praised Charles for the project which she described as “well done.”

For Prescod, the partnership between the Health and Education Ministries underscored the importance of the venture.

Prescod stressed the need for persons to have their eight glasses of water daily.

She expressed the hope that with the new facility, “Children would be motivated to drink more water on a daily basis.

“Don’t wait until you are thirsty,” she added and encouraged students to drink water instead of juice.

She outlined the benefits including replacement of fluids, helping with tissue and cell functioning and helping students to study. Prescod also highlighted the importance of washing hands, cups, water bottles or any receptacles used for drinking water.

Prescod’s remarks were endorsed by all the speakers including Principal Ethel King, Ministry of Education representative Tyrone Burke, and Teacher’s Union representative Denniston Douglas.

Claudette Lewis, a tutor in the UWIDITE programme, commended Charles on completing the project two weeks ahead of the scheduled May 12 deadline.

Clare Valley Primary School has a population of 208, but according to the principal the daily average attendance is 190.

The ceremony was not only speeches and unveiling. Two cultural renditions by students, a chorale speech done in collaboration with teacher Asif Dover and a dance by an all female eight-member cast received special commendation from Burke.

The dancers moved to modern hip-hop beat. Dressed in T-shirts, jeans, and hat, they went through a rhythmic procedure which had students and other onlookers enthralled.