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There was no power after Hurricane Ike, but Paul Arnold, WCS Director
of Facilities, cooked for the community on the WCS gas stoves.
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Preparations Before Ike Turn into Preparations After Ike
(September 2008) Thursday, September 11th, was the last day Westbury Christian School conducted classes and the day preparations were made for the arrival of Hurricane Ike. Maintenance Supervisor Jose Ramirez enlisted help from the Director of Guidance, Mike White, and even a few students to ready the school for the storm including the placing of plywood over windows to cover one of the school’s four computer labs. Karen Long, Technology Director, was backing up computer files and preparing the school’s servers for the 4:00 pm shut down. Students were given instructions for taking home text books and told of plans to reschedule the Homecoming festivities, football game, and the crowning of the Homecoming King and Queen.
But even after everyone left the school on Thursday night, work behind the scenes was still taking place. One employee, Paul Arnold, was back at the school on Friday making last minute preparations, going through the school one last time.
When school is normally in session Arnold can be found almost anywhere at Westbury Christian School. As the school’s Director of Facilities, Arnold oversees the custodial and kitchen staffs and interacts with the maintenance team.
The day after the storm Arnold and others were surveying damage to the school and cleaning away debris. He was up on the roof looking for missing air conditioning panels, in the hallway cleaning wet and broken ceiling tiles, and down in the kitchen considering what to do with the school’s food supplies.
Arnold and his wife Ann, the Director of Admissions at WCS, reside at the Braes Ridge Apartments about one mile from the school. Other WCS staff members, also living in the same apartment complex, were busy helping neighbors and looking for ways to serve others. Hamburgers were on the menu Wednesday night and Thursday night was pot roast with mixed vegetables prepared by Arnold in the school’s cafeteria and carried back to the apartment complex.
“My first thought was about the people,” Arnold recalls of his decision to pull food from the refrigerators. “There was no need for the food to go to waste when it could be used to feed people.” Westbury Christian School and much of the surrounding area has been without electricity since the storm. Power is not expected to be restored until sometime after Monday, September 22nd.
Because of this delay in the reopening of school, plans are in the works for students to meet at the school on Monday to volunteer to help with community needs. “School can not take place until we get power. But, this is a different kind of learning,” says Greg Glenn WCS Executive Administrator. “Students can learn about life in a different way by giving back to the community.”
There are still a lot of unanswered questions – are our students safe? when will power be restored? when can the school reopen? what will the calendar be for the remainder of the year? A meeting is being held Friday afternoon for WCS administrators to consider some of these questions.
But first on the agenda according to Glenn is a prayer of thanksgiving for the safe keeping of our students and staff. “God delivered a lot of people safely through this storm. When you look at the downed trees and the destruction you can’t help but be in awe of our Protector,” reflected Glenn.
WCS continues to communicate with students using telephone and text messages. Decisions about reopening will be communicated as soon as they are made.
Westbury Christian School is a private, college preparatory, fully accredited, culturally diverse school offering unique educational opportunities for pre-k, elementary, middle and high school students. The school is located at 10420 Hillcroft at Willowbend.
For more information contact Ann Arnold in the Admissions Office at 713-551-8100.
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