QC’s PTA tackles ashfall on the compound

A monumental task.

That’s how Principal of Queen’s College, Dr. David Browne, described the clean-up process at the St. James institution as a co-ordinated effort got under way yesterday to clear the layers of ash on the school grounds and in classrooms, caused by the recent eruptions of the La Soufrière volcano in neighbouring St. Vincent.

The initiative of the QC Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) is bringing parent volunteers, students and members of the business community together to clean up the school this weekend.

Yesterday when The Barbados Advocate visited the school, teams were stationed at various blocks armed with brooms, mops, power washers, vacuums, shovels and bags as they attempted to clean as much as possible.

Principal Browne thanked the QC PTA for their assistance as he lamented the magnitude of the work to be completed. “If school were to start on Monday, it couldn’t. So we’re going online for the time being. Here, SBAs (School-based Assessments) have not been done, so we still have to clean up the school. We are cleaning because we have to get the labs, Home Ec rooms and the computer labs all ready for students who have to compete SBAs. So that’s what is on my mind.”

QC PTA President Tisha Peters stated: “The whole idea is to at least get the majority of the dust from the classrooms. While we’ve done the work on the outside to a great extent, inside the classrooms were very dusty. And so when the students come in, they’re also doing the SBAs, they can come in a little bit of comfort. Because you have to factor in students who have allergies, asthma, and any other respiratory diseases where the atmosphere might affect them.”

Peters and Dr. Browne used the opportunity to thank those who came on board including Preconco and the C.O. Williams team for washing the carpark and the roadways, which were a major concern. In fact, Peters compared the carpark to the Sahara desert after the first ashfall. On Thursday, focus was placed on roofs, gutterings and drains.

Dr. Browne noted that with government resources currently stretched and with the large number of public schools to be cleaned, PTAs and other volunteers will have to come together to assist in the clean-up of the many primary and secondary institutions across the island. The clean-up effort continues today with a morning and afternoon shift. (JH)