Fires under control in St. Andrew hills as air quality becomes a concern

There’s concern this morning about the environmental impact of  the bush fires which have razed large acreages of  farmland and other hilly sections of Jacks Hill in St. Andrew over the past 24 hours. One environmentalist is warning that there will be implications for air quality in the Corporate Area.

Chief  Executive Officer of  the Jamaica Environment Trust, Diana McCauley, says the fires in a wide section of  the hills overlooking Kingston have made a bad situation worse:    There were several anxious moments last night for residents of  Jacks Hill and surrounding areas in St. Andrew as massive bush fires spread uncomfortably close to houses and other properties.

A house in an informal settlement near Tavistock was destroyed. The fire is believed to have started at that location. Fire personnel along with Jamaica Defence Force helicopters transporting water battled the fires in other communities including Ivor, Cassia Ridge and Westphalia.

Three units responded to the fires which started about 10 o’clock in the morning and later spread due to heavy winds.

And up to early this morning some of  the fires were still burning along Jacks Hill Road and in Cassia Ridge. Fire personnel said others had been extinguished.

View the original article here

Fires under control in St. Andrew hills as air quality becomes a concern

Red hills primary benefits from Child Find initiative

Bjorn Burke, Staff Reporter

At the beginning of the school term in September, 20 students enrolled at the Red Hills Primary School in St Andrew are on track to benefit from the Ministry of Education’s special-education Child Find initiative, ensuring no child gets left behind in the task of learning.

In acknowledging that there are students at the school who face several challenges in the classroom, Red Hills Primary principal Lorna Hector shared with THE weekend STAR that the Child Find initiative to come on stream is graciously welcomed.

“We would like to improve the programmes offered. One main one is, come September, we hope to include a programme of special needs. We’re going to cater for special-needs children. Already, some children have been selected and tested by Child Find in collaboration with the Ministry of Education,” she explained. “We know that many children are not making it for different reasons, and one of the reasons is that some just might have learning challenges that the ordinary teacher would not be able to assist them within the way in which they should be.”

Hector further explained that the number of students selected for the Child Find initiative is expected to increase as time progresses.

The Child Find special-education policy, birthed out of the necessity to provide assistance to children with special needs, was spearheaded by the Ministry of Education, identifying students with undiagnosed and undetected challenges in schools islandwide.

View the original article here

Red hills primary benefits from Child Find initiative