Saturday was a great day in Treasure Beach. The Sandy Bank Primary School celebrated the Grand Opening of the new addition to the school.

It was a beautiful day and held a beautiful celebration.



This addition was made possible thanks to the following sponsors:

United States Ambassador Sue Cobb
United States Ambassador Charles E. Cobb
United States Aid
United Way of Jamaica
BREDS - The Treasure Beach Foundation
Jim and Sue Van Arsdale
Tony Hart
Laura Gambrill
Bruce Bicknell
Tini Hendrix
Ralph & Tony James
Sunset Villa
Tranquility Bay
Nick & Gail Hopkins
Eric & Janet Nichols-MacPeek
Sandy Bank Primary School PTA
and many other sponsors who have given in cash or kind . . .

We sincerely thank all of you!

The dedication program started with our one and only Grand Dame of Treasure Beach as Mistress of Ceremonies, Mrs. Sheila Hamilton



This was followed by a speech by Ambassador Charles E. Cobb explaining that when looking for a school to be the recipient of the funds, they were looking for the most dynamic community with strong civic leadership in Jamaica and were led to Treasure Beach. The Cobbs, along with USAID and the United Way promised to fund 50% of the building fund with the community finding the rest of the funding.

Other speakers included Ambassador Sue Cobb,



Honorable Donald Buchanan, Minister of Parliment for South St. Elizabeth and Minister of Water and Housing, the Honorable Maxine Henry-Wilson, Minister of Education, who spoke on the importance of parent's involvement in student's education,



the president of the Sandy Bank Primary School PTA, George Hill, the principal of the Sandy Bank Primary School, Mrs. Norma Moxam, Chairman of the School Board, Norman Elliot, Chairman of Breds, Jason Henzell, Director for Region 5 from the Ministry of Education, Ruben Gray, and we were entertained by the Sandy Bank Sharks with a delightful song and dance routine.



The new addition includes a library(a large shipment of books is to arrive within a few weeks),

(Photo of library soon come)

A new classroom for the 1st grade,



A new classroom for the 2nd grade,



A new sewage system replacing the old pit latrine system, and a new computer lab which will house 42 computers, one for each student in each class!!!



Special thanks and recognition to:

Darin James - Project Manager
Gustavious Gordon - Contractor
Charlton James - Head Carpenter
Howard Brown and Andre Clarke - Electricians
Beth DeCelles - US Peace Corp. Volunteer
Joseph Shannon - US Peace Corp. Volunteer

Also worth noting is Joseph Shannon has agreed to give free, yes free, adult computer classes starting next month. The first to be accommodated will be parents of the students, but after that, the class is open to anyone wanting to learn!

What a perfect Valentine's Day with so many dedicated to the uplifting of the quality of children's education!

Here is the library photo as promised.

I'd like to celebrate with Sandy Bank school and the whole of Treasure Beach for this wonderful addition. I cannot wait to see it for myself. I sat in on the original meeting when Mr & Mrs Cobb outlined their personal interest in contributing to the community in this way. They're great desire was to partner with the people of Treasure Beach in this project. Judging from the list of sponsors this desire has been satisfied.

From what I gathered, they chose Treasure Beach for a variety of reasons. They were impressed by what Breds had achieved, to a large extent through the leadership of Jason. When Mrs Moxam spoke, she spoke of how involved the PTA were with the school. They had come to love Treasure Beach and everyone they met there, and they loved the fact that people didn't wait for the government to do something for them if they could do it for themselves.

Although for the time being I have to live in cold cold Ohio, you know my heart is always there with you.

One love,

Congratulations to everyone in Treasure Beach on your grand, grand accomplishment. We can't wait to see the new and improved school. We loved seeing the photos of so many of the TB residents we remember and miss. Keep up the good work. We send our love to you all.
Ann & Pete Wilson
Returned Peace Corps Volunteers

don’t cut the bough you are sitting on

Good advice, but what does this have to do with Sandy Bank Primary School?????????

Congratulations Sandy Bank primary on your great acomplisment.I attend Sandy Bank primary myself looking at these photos bring back some many memory,s keep up the good work.SBP.

Do,nt cut the bow you,re sitting on ,what do,se that mean. I think we have to much time on our hand we should find a volountering job helping the sick.?????????