7 News Belize

Beyond The Horizon For St. Matthews Govt. School
posted (June 12, 2017)
Today the students and staff at St. Matthews Government School walked through their brand new 3 classroom building. The construction of this building is just one project in the US Army funded "Beyond the Horizon 2017" initiative. In fact last week the newly renovated Ladyville Medical Center was officially opened. Courtney Weatherburne has more from St. Matthews Government School.

Lyle Banner - Standard 6 Teacher
"I have been teaching in the metal building for quite a bit of time and we suffered from getting wet by the rain. The windows weren't properly locked at evening when we left. It wasn't too secure"

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
And Teacher Banner, his colleagues and all the students at St. Matthews Government School are glad to get a break from the discomfort and congestion in that trailer building. The school had been using this structure for 2 years and it was a struggle.

Michelle Gordon - Principal
"It was very hot, the floor was wobbly and then along with that we were noticing that we had consistent growth. Within the last 2 years we have grown at least 10 percent."

But with this new 3 classroom building - the school will be able to properly accommodate all students.

Michelle Gordon - Principal
"We were very excited and we still are and I'm sure the students will be even more excited to go in that much more comfortable environment, its well aerated and it could accommodate an average group of students, at least 33 to 35 students and of course it will give us more leverage for growth, in terms of intake as well as to extend the curriculum in establishing a resource center or library or other different activities."

It took 12 weeks to finish the building and the Beyond the Horizon team had to work in rotations to get it all done.

Diaz Isaias - Project Manager
"Rotation 1, they basically did the foundation process, rotation 2 and 3, they did the concrete block portion, rotation 4 did the roof system, rotation 5 took care of the electrical work and some plumbing work and rotation 6 took care of most of the finishes."

But Isaias says all that hard work surely paid off.

Diaz Isaias - Project Manager
"I am pretty sure what we just did here is going to make an impact on these children education. Now they will have a good facility, they are going to get motivated and they are going to shoot for more as far as education."

Lyle Banner - Standard 6 Teacher
"We are grateful for having the new building being built here by New Horizon and I am certain that the community and St. Matthew's government school will benefit tremendously from the new structure and it should help considerably in comparison to what we had to endure for the last couple of years."

The cost for just the building materials is $300,000 US dollars. The new clinic in Double Head Cabbage, expanded rooms and an incinerator building at the Western Regional Hospital are the projects left to be officially opened. The new classrooms can accommodate 33 to 35 students each. There are 420 students at the school.

Home | Archives | Downloads/Podcasts | Advertise | Contact Us

7 News Belize