DONALD Quarrie High School in east Kingston was one of the educational institutions whose operations were disrupted by the passage of Hurricane Sandy in October last year.

Massive waves from the Caribbean Sea flooded the campus, leaving in their wake large deposits of sand and debris. But in three days, the school was almost back to normal and able to open for classes, thanks to the assiduous work of the staff and benefactors of the school.

“The sea came in a burst, open a gate to the rear of the school, and deposited a lot of debris in the industrial education department, the visual arts department and in one of the boys’ and girls’ restrooms,” principal Reford Hines recalled.

However, he said students’ preparation for external exams was not affected because the school was only closed for three days.

Hines expressed thanks to one of the school’s regular partners, the Airports Authority of Jamaica (AAJ), which helped with the clean-up of the institution.

“The staff at the school got out all the debris while the AAJ sent their water trucks to hose down and flush the place. So by October 29, we were back up and school was fully in session,” Hines told Career & Education last Thursday.

Sandy, a category one hurricane, slammed into Jamaica on October 24 last year, causing millions of dollars in damage before moving on to become a superstorm and devastating the United States’ eastern seaboard.

After the major clean-up of the school on October 25, mopping-up operations continued on the weekend and the school’s more than 1,400 students and 103 staff were able to resume normal classes on October 29.

Hines noted that Minister of Education Reverend Ronald Thwaites visited the school on October 25 to get a first-hand view of the damage.

Hines said Thwaites voiced the possibility of asking the Chinese investors to build a sea wall around the school.

“The minister said he would ask China Harbour Engineering Company (CHEC), which was carrying out works on the Palisadoes Road, to grant a favour to the Jamaican Government by putting up a sea wall on the south side of the school and a gabion basket on the eastern side to prevent flooding in the future,” the principal said.

Efforts to get an update on this proposal from the education minister as well as CHEC were unsuccessful yesterday.