Bishop’s College Kingstown officially opens sickbay

With their 50th anniversary just around the corner, the Bishop’s College Kingstown is upgrading the facilities at their compound.{{more}}

The official opening ceremony for the school’s first ever sickbay was held on Wednesday.

At the opening ceremony, principal of the school Cecelia Akers-King, thanked the many persons who contributed to the sickbay, including the director of Nelson Bloc Alvern Cadogan, who coordinated acquiring what was needed for the room.

“In light of our growing population, we saw the need to have an area to cater to our students with minor ailments,” Akers-King said.

The principal noted that the sickbay is part of the continuous improvement of the school and what it offers to its students.

Cadogan, who is a past student of the Bishop’s College Kingstown, noted that while she was a student, there was no such accommodation for sick students.

“We first started out by telling Mrs King, a sickbay is needed because…in my time, when you sick, you put your head on the desk and if you can’t make it, your parents have to come for you and take you out of school,” Cadogan said.

“Years gone by, I heard Mrs King say that when you’re sick, you stay in the principal’s office or the staff room and lie on a chair”.

Cadogan encouraged the students to care for their new facilities.

“It is for you to use, but not to abuse. It is for you to utilize when you’re really sick and not want to lie in the bed because it’s there,” Cadogan said.

“It’s for you to take care of because there are children who would want it to use”.

She also thanked the various persons and organizations who had contributed to the sickbay. Among these was Courts St Vincent Ltd, which donated a bed and mattress.

Speaking at the ceremony, marketing executive of Courts Alexis John stated that he was happy to be a part of such a worthy venture.

“We’re extremely delighted to join forces with Nelson Bloc,” John said.

“We acceded to her (Cadogan) many calls and we’re extremely excited about this partnership. It’s a great one”.

Like Cadogan, John urged students not to abuse their new facility.

Others involved in making the sickbay a reality include Jimmy Greaves, who donated medical supplies; Big Ras, who provided a medicine cabinet; Simon Kamara of Liberty Properties, who donated paint.

The sick bay was also blessed on Wednesday, after the opening ceremony.

Carnival mas band Nelson Bloc uses the Bishop’s College Kingstown compound to prepare costumes in the carnival season and makes regular donations to the school. This year, they facilitated the painting of two fourth form classrooms.(BK)