New building boosts old school by over 10,000 sqft

(CNS): The new school building at Sir John A. Cumber Primary School (SJACPS) in West Bay which was officially opened last month adds 10,710 square feet of learning space to the country’s largest primary school.  It consists of 8 new 780 square foot classrooms, each with their own restroom and storeroom, interactive whiteboards and 26 linear feet of cabinets to maximize storage space of teaching materials. With an eye on security the building has an intercom and a fully functioning intruder alarm system.  It also has a wheelchair elevator for students with special needs and has been constructed to withstand up to a category 3 hurricane.

A fully covered walkway has been built to connect the building with the existing school and a playground has been reinstated where the temporary modular classrooms were that have now been removed. The Education minister officially opened the building and thanked everyone involved in the project and the school staff for their patient. “This building cost approximately $2.7 million to complete but is invaluable in terms of the better learning environment it has created at SJACPS due to the much needed added space and technological improvements with the interactive whiteboards and by allowing Reception classes to now be accommodated at the school,” said Rolston Anglin.

SJACPS is also the first government school in Cayman and the entire Caribbean to be authorized to teach the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme (PYP and a new sign at the front of the school has been unveiled displaying the designation.

Joseph Wallace, Principal of SJACPS said the school had worked extremely hard to achieve the prestigious authorization.  He said the IB was all about being a holistic person well versed, not only in academia, but in other subject areas such as sports and the arts. He also thanked the ministry for the new building which he said was desperately neededbecause of the large student body. “The building houses our Year 2 and 3 students and everyone has adjusted well to their new environment,” he said.