Grateful Hill gets new canteen

February 11, 2019
Students of Grateful Hill Primary look on as principal George Moodie prepares fresh vegetables in the new canteen.
Students of Grateful Hill Primary look on as principal George Moodie prepares fresh vegetables in the new canteen.
Rasbert Turner photos
Principal George Moodie showing off the new Grateful Hill canteen six months after it was closed by the St Catherine Health Authority.
Rasbert Turner photos Principal George Moodie showing off the new Grateful Hill canteen six months after it was closed by the St Catherine Health Authority.
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It was great celebration for the students, teachers, and parents of the Grateful Hill Primary school in St Catherine last Monday, as the school canteen was reopened.

The facility was ordered closed on June 10, 2018, by the St Catherine Health Department.

"We are very pleased that the students are now exposed to modern facilities that we intend to keep it that way," principal George Moodie said.

The canteen was ordered closed as health department officials deemed the facility was run-down, and needed upgrading.

The school community was crestfallen at the news shortly before the closure, the school had embarked on a chicken-rearing project, so it could provide more nutritious meals for students.

novel approach

Before the closure, the canteen provided both breakfast and lunch.

During the closure, students were not able to receive cooked meals, and could only get snacks.

Moodie said that the cost of the upgrade was approximately J$2 million and was concluded over a four-month period.

The work, which was undertaken by a private contractor, comprised tiling, painting, and the installation of lightning fictures, kitchen counter, cupboards, and other modern arrangements.

The opening function utilised a novel approach with the students of the institution conducting the ceremony and praying for their new facility.

"This is very meaningful to me, this adds to a place which has been in need of a facelift for years. I'm hoping that this gesture can go throughout the school's compound," said Michelle Service, a parent.

Grateful Hill Primary, which opened its doors in 1937, is nestled in the Glengoffe community of St Catherine, and is the former school of former police commissioner Owen Ellington.

There are 295 students on roll.

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