SOME six months after the renovation work began, students at St Andrew High School for Girls are now able to enjoy the new-look gym that is located on the school’s premises.

The Parent Teachers’ Association (PTA) hosted the official opening of the renovated facility recently and several past students, sponsors and donors were in attendance.

Nicole Holness, president of the PTA, said that one of the objectives of renovating the gym was to improve the wellness of the students.

“We want to improve the mental wellness of our girls and of our teaching staff and all the staff here at St Andrew High School. We saw this structure that the PTA had built some years ago, but it was in need of an upgrade, and so we took on the task and over $6 million was invested in the project,” Holness told the Jamaica Observer shortly after the formalities of the official opening had ended.

According to Holness, funding for the renovation came from various donors.

“Our village, the village that supports St Andrew High School for Girls, are wide and varied. What I can tell you is that we remained positive.

“Sometimes we didn’t know where the funds were coming from. Daria Brown-Taylor, an old girl, came to the school last year with her husband, and we told her about the vision that we had, and when she was alive, she was very instrumental in the sporting programme. Her husband went and spoke to the fund managers and they were able to donate $1.1 million to start us off.

“We were able to get some of the equipment and we went into fund-raising mode. We had an evening of culture, a barbeque, a walkathon, and we also got sponsorships from Atlas Group, Tropi Shades Limited, and some parents even chipped in as well as old girls, including those from our Florida and Atlanta chapters,” said the PTA president.

Holness said that the renovation is not 100 per cent complete, and some additional equipment for the gym are to be installed shortly.

“The idea is to have it [the gym] as a fully run and managed gym by the PTA. We want this to be an efficient and cost-effective space,” Holness said.

She added: “The facility will motivate the students, and I think this is just a support system for the girls. This is just one aspect that will help and motivate them. They are really pumped up about the new space.”

Prior to the official opening of the renovated space, several awards were presented to individuals and representatives of entities who contributed to the funding of the projects. They include Daria Brown-Taylor (now deceased), Tropi Shades Limited, Atlas Group, and PJ’s Cuisine.

St Andrew High School for Girls was founded 99 years ago. The current principal is Keeva Ingram.