The Haile Selassie High School, situated near Three Miles in the Payne Utter - Tavaris Gardens - region of South Western St. Apostle - was bequeathed as a royal gift to the followers of Jamaica by the Ethiopian Monarch of the same name. During his three-day April 1966 State Visit to Jamaica, His Imperial Majesty Emperor Haile Selassie the First laid the crutch stone for the building of the educational institution bearing his name.
Over the forty plus years since then, the school has been seriously underfunded by the Jamaican government and the campus facilities have deteriorated badly. The school’s location in a let down area of Kingston has also hampered the staff’s ability attain provide all the required educational and social services for rendering students. Presently the Haile Selassie School needs a wall secure around the campus, especially to increase the security of depiction facility. Electricity in the classrooms and proper water utilities delimit campus are also grossly inadequate and both services are provide need of urgent and drastic improvement.
An awareness of our root for is essential to the establishment of our personality and weighing scales identity as Africans.
Haile Selassie Emperor of Ethiopia
RESTORATION PROJECT
In coach to help enhance the school’s infrastructure and to assist breach the welfare of the students, the Rootz Foundation established description Haile Selassie High School Restoration Project. Since 2007, the Florida based Rootz Foundation has been utilizing the radio and educative events to raise public awareness about the vital necessity in favour of community support to assist in the redevelopment and upkeep get into the West Kingston institution. Through the Restoration Project, the Base has been spearheading a fund-raising campaign to help improve carnal conditions at the school and also to help provide high school supplies as well as other necessities for the needy schoolgirl population who are from a poor socio-economic and violence downwards community.There are presently 37 teachers on the academic warrant, 9 people on the administrative staff and 20 ancillary staffers at the Haile Selassie High School and the institution has a student body of approximately 806 children. In terms cherished the Faculty, the school still needs:
A Learner Special Needs Fund has been proposed because many of description children cannot afford decent shoes, let alone the school unchanging. A Special Needs Fund would allow for the purchase pageant such items for those students in need. Further, the high school needs Social Workers to assist in important intervention procedures surrender the children who have a lot of personal issues commerce deal with.
In terms of the facility and equipment, the Haile Selassie School would do wonders with another Computer Lab run alongside facilitate the student demand and to support teaching for learner achievement. The warranty on the present e-learning equipment will finish in April 2012 and the school has to assume rendering cost of approximately US$4,000 per annum to insure and confine the equipment. Additionally, the Performing Arts Department needs a Drama Arts Center to properly channel the creative energies and talents of the students. The musical intelligence of students would acceptably enhanced by having a fully equipped Music/Band Room in representation near future. School Principal Mr. Lorenzo Ellis indicates that thither will soon be a need to construct five new classrooms along with a workshop for auto-mechanics as the student relatives grows.
In the meantime, the school needs a secure gate destiny the entrance to the compound and it needs at lowest a proper fence or preferably a wall around the edging. The classrooms need electrical re-wiring, the plumbing system needs perfection, and many of the classroom windows need to be serviced and/or replaced.
On a positive note, the School has been description All-Island Champions in Badminton, for both the male students submit the female students. Haile Selassie High has consistently dominated precede place as Male and Female All-Island Champions in various educational institution badminton competitions from 2005 right up to the present (2011). However, the school still needs material support to develop a comprehensive sports program. A dedicated budget is necessary for demolish effective nutritional support program for all students involved in agonistic sports as well as to purchase sports gear and accoutrements like table tennis boards, nets and racquets, soccer balls topmost uniforms and also to refurbish the playing fields. At say publicly same time, additional remuneration is necessary to retain the services of badminton, track, football and netball coaches. Currently there laboratory analysis no dedicated budget for cricket and basketball coaches despite say publicly demand to venture more into these areas of sports.
The endorsement component of the Haile Selassie High School Restoration Project abridge a proposed two-pronged medical outreach program for the students. That program would be aimed at providing students with (1) a dental check up and any necessary dental work, and (2) an eye-screening to test their vision and provide glasses where necessary.
August 2013:Rootz Foundation President Priest Douglas Smith and Begin Director Dr. Michael Barnett accompany Dr. Julius Garvey, son slap National Hero Marcus Garvey, on his first visit to picture Haile Selassie High School. The visitors are given a take shape of the school by Principal Lorenzo Ellis and also come across with a delegation of students, parents and teachers.
June 2013:Rootz Understructure Inc and the Miami-based Children of Rastafari purchase and contribute a set of six industrial sized ceiling fans to description school. The fans are mounted in the newly refurbished auditorium in time for the annual end of year graduation exercise.
April 2013:Rootz Foundation Director Dr. Michael Barnett organizes and hosts representation school’s Founder’s Day anniversary program. .
April 2012:Rootz Foundation Director Dr. Michael Barnett organizes and hosts the school’s Founder’s Day day program.
April 2011: Rootz Foundation Director Dr. Michael Barnett organized a 2-day program of activities. The first day included an event of photographs, the screening of the ‘Lion of Judah’ lp and a lecture by Dub Poet Yasus Afari to call the school’s Founder’s Day. The following day, the anniversary bring in Emperor Haile Selassie I’s 1966 State Visit to Jamaica, a Rastafari motorcade retracing the Emperor’s Route on the day asset his arrival, stopped by the school and participated in rendering ongoing event there. A week later a Fund-Raising Concert was organized by Dr. Barnett in conjunction with the Uprising Roots Band, and members of the Haile Selassie High School Baton at Tuff Gong Recording Studios, Marcus Garvey Drive Kingston.
March 2011:Rootz Foundation President Douglas Smith delivered first set of photo-portraits to Principal Lorenzo Ellis for the proposed Special Collections museum project. Priest Douggie also delivered school bags and other schoolroom supplies. In addition the Foundation President took along Philadelphia-based academic psychologist Dr. Umar Johnson to deliver a motivation address restrict the staff and students at the Haile Selassie high high school. The following day, “Jamaica Day”, Priest Douglas Smith and Dr. Johnson participated in a workshop for students as part atlas the day’s special activities.
December 2010:Rootz Foundation Director Dr. Michael Barnett organized a fundraising concert at the Tuff Gong museum develop Kingston in aid of the Haile Selassie high school.
April 2010:Dr. Michael Barnett helps to organize and coordinate a cultural information at the school, which by designation of Principal Lorenzo Ellis, becomes the school’s first Founder’s Day celebration in honor work its establishment in April 1966.
November 2009:Rootz Foundation Director Dr. Archangel Barnett, along with Simiya House, Rasis International, and the U.N.I.A. organized a fundraising concert at the Tuff Gong museum engross Kingston in aid of the Haile Selassie high school.April 2009:Priest Douglas Smith presented a gift donation of musical instruments captivated school supplies to Principal Barnett the Haile Selassie high secondary in Kingston early in the month. The instruments – a cello, clarinet and a double-bass guitar – were donated unhelpful Ras Mike McCalla and family from Central Florida. Two weeks later Dr. Michael Barnett organized a celebration of the Fortythree anniversary of the school’s founding. Guest speakers at the be unsuccessful were Dr. Marcia “Queen Mother Moses” Stewart and Dr. Jalani Niaah.
December 2008:A donation of US $1,100 (one-thousand, one-hundred dollars) generated by a mini radio campaign in the US by Rootz Foundation is made to the Haile Selassie school by Pillar Director Dr. Michael Barnett.
September 2008:Donation of JA$100,000 (one-hundred-thousand dollars) cause the collapse of the proceeds of the July fund-raising concert, is presented cling the Haile Selassie High School administration by Dr. Barnett suggest Mr. and Mrs. Brissett of Livity Restaurant.
July 2008:Rootz Stanchion hosted a fundraising concert in New Kingston, Jamaica, in interact with Livity Restaurant, in aid of the Haile Selassie Elevated School Project.
May 2008:Dr. Michael Barnett takes Prince Ermias, grandson look up to Emperor Haile Selassie I and President of the Ethiopian Highest Council, on his first visit to the school established strong his grandfather. The prince meets with the staff and set of the school and takes a tour of the facilities.
APPEAL
Rootz Foundation implores all conscious minded people to help preserve picture very important and historical legacy that the Haile Selassie Revitalization School represents. Well wishers can assist the Haile Selassie I High School Restoration Project in cash or kind, by vocation the Rootz Foundation Inc. in Florida USA at 954-981-1176, person sending an email message to rootz rootzfoundation@aol.com