MORE THAN 500 educators in the parishes of St James, Hanover, Westmoreland, St Ann and St Mary, were on Teachers’ Day last week treated in style at luncheons hosted in their honour by Sandals & Beaches Resorts at luncheons hosted in their honour.

Approximately 200 teachers from 28 schools in St James, Hanover and Trelawny were hosted to lunch on Sandals Cay in Montego Bay, while 207 teachers in St Ann and St Mary lunched at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Beach & Villa Resort.

In Negril, more than 60 teachers were treated to a luncheon at Beaches Sandy Bay Resort, while 40 teachers from 11 schools in the surrounding Whitehouse, Westmoreland communities were feted by the management and staff of Sandals Whitehouse European Village & Spa.

In his address at the luncheon hosted for the Negril teachers, Beaches Sandy Bay’s general manager, Howard Spittle said: “Sandals & Beaches Resorts stands committed to the development of education in Jamaica. So today, this is our way of saying thank you for doing an essential job that oftentimes go unappreciated.”

Spittle outlined to the teachers avenues through which the resorts sustain educational development and tourism within the host communities, which he said include the staging of interactive community career expos and resort tours and the adoption of schools.

A slide presentation depicting resort team members working within these schools on various projects, many of which include the ‘edutaining’ Sesame Street programme, was also shown at the luncheon.

In the meantime, teachers attending the Sandals Whitehouse luncheon were acknowledged and recognised for their years of service and commitment to the education of the nation’s children.

General manager of Sandals Whitehouse, Jeremy Jones reminisced of his own school days and commended the teachers for sticking to their challenging profession.

“It is not an easy task to act as caregiver, mentor, and educator to children who are not your own,” he said, adding that it is through the teachers’ commitment that even ‘trying’ children have proven that they too can amount to something.

Amy Palmer Carpenter of Mearnsville All-Age School in the parish and who is a 40-year veteran of the educational system was personally recognised for her years of service.

Thelma Foote, of Kentucky All-Age School in her response, thanked the Sandals Whitehouse team, commenting that even though it is Teachers’ Day, a very large number of teachers would go unrecognised on this day.

“It is very appreciated that this resort has gone the extra mile to invite us to this function in our honour. With all the challenges of our job, the fact that Sandals can recognise us in this way means a lot,” she added.