Principal of the St. George Secondary School, Dennis Browne
(second from left), accepts the donation from Cheryl-Ann La Roche
(right), Head of Retail and Commercial Banking at First Citizens Bank,
as Yvette Estwick (left), Education Officer for Secondary Schools at
the Ministry of Education; Karen Bishop-McClean (second from right),
President of the Sunshine Optimist Club; the Club’s Vice President,
Jon Martineau (third from left) and Pamela Jones-Goodridge of the
school’s Board of Management, look on.
Online learning at the St. George Secondary School has now been made
easier for students there, half of whom have been without tablets to
complete their online instruction.
Principal of the St. George Secondary School, Dennis Browne, extended
thanks to the Sunshine Optimist Club yesterday afternoon, after the
Club presented the school with a donation of 30 tablets to assist
students with online learning. The donation was made possible via a
partnership with First Citizens Bank, which made a generous donation
of $10,000 towards the tablets, as part of its efforts to assist in
the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
“On behalf of the Board of Management of St. George Secondary School
and the staff and students, I would sincerely like to thank First
Citizens and our partner the Sunshine Optimist Club, for making this
contribution that brings me great joy,” the principal remarked as he
accepted the donation.
“Many of our students have not been involved in online instruction at
this time. I can say without a doubt that half of the students on the
roll are without devices and even though we are unable to supply all
of them with devices, this contribution does at least provide for the
few that we can. So I am grateful and sincerely thankful for the
Optimist Club who have partnered with First Citizens, to make this
contribution to our students,” he further commented.
Yvette Estwick, Education Officer for Secondary Schools at the
Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training, was on
hand to witness the hand over.
“We say a heartfelt thank you for this kind gesture. We know that it
will help support students in their learning goals and also will
assist us in moving students further along in becoming digitally
literate. So again, thank you,” she remarked.
Cheryl-Ann La Roche, Head of Retail and Commercial Banking at First
Citizens Bank, meanwhile noted that the initiative forms part of the
Bank’s efforts to assist the vulnerable, in the midst of the current
pandemic.
“First Citizens Bank has always been one to support the community and
especially in the current environment of COVID-19, we recognise that
[the pandemic] has not just changed the world temporarily, but it’s a
global change and it is a permanent change in the way that we do
things. We understand sometimes that when things happen, there may be
those who may not be in the same financial position and they may be
disadvantaged by the impact of these things and so, we felt it was
important for us as an organisation, to come forward and assist,” she
stated.