Bahamas News
BAHAMAS: Education Minister in GB to assess readiness of public schools
#Freeport, September 23, 2019 – Bahamas – Minister of Education, the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd flew into Grand Bahama on Thursday, September 19, 2019 to inspect the condition of public schools, most of which were devastated by Hurricane Dorian.
Initially, government schools were set to re-open on Monday, September 23, 2019, but that can change once all of the assessments have been made.
“We would like to get school started as soon as possible, but we’re very concerned about the safety of our children,” said Minister Lloyd. “We want to ensure that the water system is stable and that electricity is available for the teachers and the students. We also have to ensure that our teachers, administrators and support staff are in the frame of mind to educate our children.
“This has been devastation for everyone involved. Some people have lost everything and they have been debilitated as a result.”
The Minister said that he has had the opportunity to speak with Mrs. Lewis, the Principal at East End Primary school, who confirmed that she has a number of students from her school missing, as well as parents and grandparents still not accounted for.
He added that the students from East End will have to be accommodated in the Freeport area or in Nassau, if necessary.
“But we are here to not just assess the situation, but to be sensitive and to offer our support,” said Minister Lloyd.
Accompanied by the District Superintendent of Education in Grand Bahama, Ivan Butler and Ministry of Education officials from Nassau, Minister Lloyd visited a number of primary, junior and senior schools in Grand Bahama.
The Minister acknowledged that from his tour, the Hugh Campbell Primary school was (at that point) the worse he had seen. The school was flooded with at least nine feet of water, with windows and doors blown out. Upon the Minister’s visit, workers were still busy cleaning out classrooms, dumping school desks, chairs, and books; pulling up soaked and mildewed carpets and tearing out wet sheet rock and throwing them into piles within the school yard.
“That school is in very, very bad shape,” noted Minister Lloyd. “It is much worse than we had anticipated. So, that is going to cause our budget to have to be adjusted. But some of the schools appear as if they can be opened once proper cleanup has taken place.”
At Jack Hayward High School, Minister Lloyd was given a short tour of some of the damage at the senior school. Although the teachers and staff members had cleaned up much of the debris that had been caused by the storm, evidence of some damage was visible at the entrance of the building, where flooding had taken place.
Minister Lloyd said that once he and his team of Education officials have assessed all of the government schools on the island, a meeting will be held and a decision will be made as to when schools will be opened. He admitted that because of the level of destruction at some of the schools, there is a possibility that those schools would take much longer to reopen.
The Education Minister said that there are some possible locations that have been identified that could be used temporarily for students and teachers until some schools have been repaired.
“Mr. Ivan Butler our District Superintendent is giving us a heads-up on that aspect of things,” said Minister Lloyd. “In the event that we find that the repairs will take longer than we anticipate, he’s looking into places we can use in the interim.
“We may have to do some creative things to get the kids back into school and going again. We all know that from a psychological standpoint that as quickly as we can get kids back to some sense of normalcy, it would help with sense of getting back the lifestyle they’ve become accustomed to.”
Asked how smoothly the process of assimilating students from Abaco into Nassau will run, Minister Lloyd noted that getting the children into Nassau was not a problem. However, trying to register children into various schools proved to be a challenge, although he added, the Ministry has tackled that problem effectively.
“We’ve already registered over 1,200 students and over 250 teachers and administrators; and this weekend we are going to start placing them in respective schools. As a matter of fact, some students have already begun to be placed in respective public schools.
“I do know that we had initially invited the private schools to offer spaces if any was available and many of them did. So, we have students already in the private schools. We’re making progress, but we have to do it right, that’s why it’s taking a little longer.
“We want to make sure that everyone is immunized properly, that they are properly identified and that they have the amenities that they need. And then we have to identify which schools have the space to [accommodate] them.”
All things considered, Minister Lloyd said that he’s looking forward to the schools getting to the point where things are considered normal again. In the meantime, the Minister said while they would like to move quickly to get schools up and running again, they want to do so with a level of sensitivity.
By Andrew Coakley
Release: BIS
BIS Photos/Andrew Coakley
DISCUSSING DAMAGE – Minister of Education, Jeffrey Lloyd (with cap on) speaks Thursday with some of the teachers and maintenance workers at Freeport Primary School about the damage caused to the school as a result of Hurricane Dorian.
WHAT ABOUT WATER ISSUES? – Minister of Education the Hon. Jeffrey Lloyd visited Grand Bahama public schools, September 19, 2019 to assess damage to those structures during Hurricane Dorian. Joining, Minister Lloyd on the tour of GB schools was District Superintendent for Grand Bahama, Ivan Butler, along with Education officials. During his visit to Jack Hayward High School, Minister Lloyd got to speak with Geron Turnquest (left), General Manager of Grand Bahama Utilities, concerning water issues.
HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? – During his assessment tour of Jack Hayward School, Minister of Education, Jeffrey Lloyd sees injured hand of one of the security officers at the school.
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products concluded their 10 weeklong Twist To Win campaign with four $5,000 Mall at Marathon shopping sprees.
The campaign which was available throughout the entire Bahamas allowed consumers to enter by purchasing a 20oz bottle with a yellow cap
from the following brands: Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola No Sugar, Sprite, Fanta Orange, or Fanta Grape. Each yellow-cap had a unique alpha numeric code underneath which they submitted to the Twist To Win WhatsApp number.
With each qualifying purchase, participants residing in The Bahamas were entered to win instant prizes and into a grand prize draw to win one of four $5,000 shopping sprees at the Mall at Marathon.
Participants also enjoyed exciting instant prizes such as: Airpods, JBL Speakers, premium Coca-Cola merchandise, $500 Visa gift cards and Amazon, Spotify and Apple Music digital gift cards.
Out of 76,000 plus submissions, Brian Bethel, Ashia Demeritte, Merlin Adams, and Taraceta Neely won the coveted Mall at Marathon shopping sprees at the following select stores, Kelly’s House & Home, The Sports Center, John Bull, Brass & Leather, and BTC.
Leading up to the grand finale shopping spree, Coca-Cola hosted a Trivia Showdown with the eight finalists to determine the four winners. Finalists were tested on their knowledge of World History, Pop Culture, Caribbean Bottling Company and Coca-Cola Facts!
After a few rousing rounds of trivia, the four winners were declared after each winning their spot in the shopping spree by answering their questions correctly and choosing the “Grand Prize” Coca-Cola labeled bottles at random.
The morning of the shopping spree Coca-Cola gave the winners exclusive access to the Mall at Marathon and its participating stores before
their usual operating hours. Grand prize winners were greeted with wide smiles from Coca-Cola brand representatives and morning bites before the big event.
At the start of the thirty-minute clock the grand prize winners along with each of their Coca-Cola shopping assistants ran to the various stores collecting items in their arms and carts.
Merlin Adams, a husband and father of four was proud to have executed his game-plan at the end of the shopping spree. With toys, a new phone and materials for his home from Kelly’s, Adams felt accomplished in what he gathered.
Taraceta Neely, a winner from Eleuthera collected beautiful bags for herself and relatives from Brass and Leather and Brian Bethel bought matching athletic and outdoor wear from The Sports Center for his family.
The final winner Ashia Demeritte bought linens and household items in addition to a new phone from BTC right in time for Christmas.
Caribbean Bottling Company is proud to share the real magic of Coca-Cola with the grand prize winners and the may instant prize winners across the Twist To Win campaign. For more updates on new products, promotions, and events follow www.cbcbahamas.com.
Bahamas News
The Coca-Cola Art Project Astonishes Art Lovers at The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Bottling Company (CBC), local producers and distributors of Coca-Cola and Dasani products displayed
their astonishing Coca-Cola Art Project (CCAP), during Baha Mar’s five-day Culinary & Arts Festival. Earlier this year, Coca-Cola partnered with The University of The Bahamas’ Visual Art and Design Department for a culturally rich art competition. UB’s art students were challenged to create pieces surrounding the theme, Bahamian music.
As a result, 20 student works of art were made, with four students declared as winners at the CCAP exhibit opening in Baha Mar’s ECCHO: Art Gallery in August. To recreate the culturally stimulating magic felt at the exhibit’s premiere, the CCAP was featured at the FUZE Art Tent during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival.
Nine incredible pieces of art lined the walls of the Coca-Cola Art Project, four of which included the winning pieces from Jhanaisia Cole,
with ‘Gaulin Bride’; Alyssa Pinder, with ‘Shotgun Wedding’; Nelson Gray, with ‘Untitled’; and Jaela Bowe, with the piece ‘Whims of Obeah, a Folktail’. Additionally, an intimate listening room was built. It displayed students’ artistic processes, UB Visual Art and Design representatives, and a recap of the exhibit opening for audiences.
Art enthusiasts also enjoyed premium limited-edition CCAP keepsakes at the booth. Journals which featured a collage of all 20 student submissions on the front and back cover, postcards with an art piece on the cover along with the student’s name, title, dimension and materials on the back and pens designed with the CCAP’s dynamic logo.
Throughout the art festival diverse groups of people visited the art tent taking in the displays while enjoying the artistic insights from the
listening booth.
Community and culture are always at the forefront of Caribbean Bottling Community, and it was boldly showcased during The Bahamas Culinary & Arts Festival for the third consecutive year.
For more details on the Coca-Cola Art Project, events and new products visit www.cbcbahamas.com today!
NASSAU, Bahamas — Caribbean Wines & Spirits (CWS), The Bahamas’ premier wines and spirits distributor delighted Jollification
attendees with bubbles from their Bottega and Bouvet Ladubay sparkling wines and Besserat de Bellefon champagne lines.
Located in the Monument Circle on The Retreat grounds, CWS transformed The Retreat Garden into a lush lounge with Besserat, Bouvet and their latest product addition, Bottega, during the two-day affair.
The festivities kicked off Friday during BNT Member’s Night. Guests enjoyed exclusive offerings from CWS’s catalogue, offered exclusively to members. Complimentary mixes or glasses on the rocks included El Tequileno tequila, Hard Truth whiskey, House of Angostura rum, Cross Keys gin, Nemiroff vodka and a slew of wines such as Fonesca Bin, Bottega and Besserat.
Guests also savored the ‘Jolly Paloma’ cocktail, an instant favorite made with El Tequileno tequila, Schweppes Grapefruit and Domaine de Paris rose wine. To end the night, guests were treated to branded limited-edition wine tumblers as keepsakes.
On Saturday and Sunday, Jollification attendees delighted in glasses or bottles of champagne and sparkling brut or rosé wines while taking
in the comfort of the chic lounge. In addition to purchasing bottles for onsite consumption, consumers were also able to purchase bottles as gifts whether for themselves or someone special.
The sophisticated “bubble lounge” lounge was decked with velvet couches, gold rimmed cocktail tables, blue and pink pillows, and a white floral branded backdrop created for capturing the perfect picture.
Caribbean Wines & Spirits, a historic partner of the Bahamas National Trust was pleased to support Jollification 2025 to kick off the festive season and share their expansive range of spirits.
To keep up to date with all CWS products and events, visit their website at www.cwsbahamas.com today.
