Principal Felix Durand and students at the Joseph Sibilly Elementary School stand in front of one of two basketball units purchased for the school through a generous $15,000 donation from Tacoma Asset Management, a St. Thomas EDC company.
Students and teachers at the Joseph Sibilly Elementary School enjoyed a school year that was cooler and a lot more fun, thanks to a generous $15,000 donation that was used to purchase two basketball units and two energy-efficient air conditioning units for the school.
Sibilly Principal Dr. Felix Durand said Tacoma Asset Management, a St. Thomas EDC company, made the donation toward sports and energy-conservation equipment for the elementary school. In addition to the basketball and air conditioning units, the funds were also used to replace damaged fencing around the playground.
“The lower playground is not usable, so we do not have students go in there,” Dr. Durand explained. “The area that we call the front court is the area that all students spend their lunchtime, playtime and dismissal time. Any assembly that we have, we use the courts. The basketball outfits are really the only equipment we have for students for recreation. While we have other small items that students can play with, [the basketball outfits] are the major things students can use and they actually love it.”
The new basketball units were installed at the school during the 2015 holiday break. Prior to the installation, Dr. Durand said the students used portable ones.
“When we didn’t have the units, we were using some portable ones and they broke down very easily,” he explained. “And when we did not have those, the students were very distraught.”
Dr. Durand pointed out that the new basketball units are used for student athletes to practice to participate in island-wide tournaments. “Having these new ones have given students something to use during their playtime and to prepare them for island-wide competitions with other schools,” he said, adding, “Before the new courts, students would go to other schools and practice or use the old, portable ones.”
As for the two air-conditioning units, they were installed in a physical education classroom and a second-grade classroom. Dr. Durand expressed his gratitude for the new equipment that have changed the school’s atmosphere.
“Our sincere thanks to Tacoma Asset Management and Ms. Gayla Bryan for making this generous donation to the school that has helped our students tremendously to compete in the island-wide sports competitions and also the teachers whose classrooms received the air-conditioning units,” he said. “The students and teachers have benefited greatly and we are grateful.”
