MONTEGO BAY, St James— Students at the Mount Alvernia High School in Montego Bay now have better facilities in doing research.

This, after a computer resource centre, which was built and outfitted at a cost of $12.5 million, was officially opened at the all-girls institution.

The project, which entails the construction of a building and the installation of equipment, was made possible by the Mt Alvernia High School (MAHS) Central Florida International Chapter, Alumnae Association in collaboration with Food for the Poor, Caribbean Producers Jamaica Limited, Wendy Hart and husband Ronald, Martin Lyn and Associates, and Sandals Resorts.

The building was constructed by Food for the Poor, while the alumnae provided 27 desktop computers, 15 tablets, two printers, two projector screens, a video projector, wireless access points and an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) unit. The installation and wiring support for the computers were provided by the Diocese of Montego Bay.

Construction of the building, which is capable of hosting roughly 50 students at any given time, was started in December last year and completed in February 2017.

Principal of the school, Stacey Reynolds, in her remarks at the opening of the much-needed facility, said the resource centre will assist the school to surpass their already outstanding performance in information technology (IT).

“When I started out a year-and-a-half ago at Mount Alvernia, one of the surprises for me was that we had a computer lab that could not facilitate an entire class. And I saw where girls had to be going in half at a time to do practicals. So, I can guarantee you that this computer resource centre will be of much benefit, … we will [now] be able to even surpass the quality of output we have been getting in the IT area,” Reynolds remarked.

An overwhelmed President of the MAHS Central Florida International Alumnae Chapter, Dawn Chin Jones, said years of dreaming have become a reality.

“This morning I am overcome with joy as I stand here to declare the Computer Resource Centre of Mt Alvernia High School officially opened. As I look around I see the fruits of many years of dreaming. It took dedication and tenacity for this dream to be realised. It just goes to show that everything that we accomplish in life begins with a thought, with an idea, but it takes hard work and determination for these ideas to be transformed into reality,” expressed Chin Jones.

At the groundbreaking ceremony for the centre last year, Chin Jones said the facility would enable students to have information at their fingertips, “allowing them to expand their minds”.

She said that in 2011 the chapter identified the need for the facility, citing the school’s dysfunctional school library, which still had on its shelves encyclopedias and religious books dating as far back as 1965.

She stressed that MAHS Central Florida is committed to conducting activities that promote the advancement of education, alleviate burden of government, and offer relief for the poor, distressed and the underprivileged.