Bittersweet memories after Maldon Primary principal’s sudden passing

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Maldon Primary School family in Maldon, St James, will start the 2020 school term mourning the sudden death of principal Audrey Bernard-Kilbourne on Boxing Day.

Bernard-Kilbourne, who hailed from the Stonebrooke community in Falmouth, Trelawny, had served as principal of Maldon Primary School since January 2013.

When The Gleaner visited the Maldon community on Tuesday, residents and school representatives remembered Bernard-Kilbourne as a dedicated educator who did all she could to improve the school’s educational output.

Fabian Taylor, one of Maldon Primary’s grade-six teachers, credited the late principal with the development of the school’s computer lab and the painting of murals around the property to provide learning opportunities to students.

‘she was very innovative’

“She put up murals on the walls and set up the computer lab, and under her stewardship she transformed the aesthetics of the school to make it more learner-friendly. She was a meticulous person, and she was a people person, always in high spirits, and very innovative,” said Taylor.

Osmond Thompson, a past student of the school, praised Bernard-Kilbourne’s focus on holistic learning, including the promotion of a breakfast programme for students.

“All now I can’t believe she ‘drop out’ (died). She was a good teacher, and she ‘tun up’ the school,” said Thompson. “She would say, ‘You know we have a little programme where you can get breakfast in the morning,’ and when you’d go there, there was early work on the board.”

But while Bernard-Kilbourne’s strengths as an educator were praised, residents such as shopkeeper Carvington Wilson recalled that her only flaw was an inability to relate well to others in the community.

“... But in her own way, she showed interest in the school. She changed up the school system and built it back, and the kids had to learn,” Wilson admitted.

Bernard-Kilbourne’s tenure as principal was marred by her battle in the Supreme Court with the school’s board over her removal from the post in 2014, after she had been provisionally appointed in 2013. The court ruled in 2015 that her termination was unlawful as proper guidelines were not followed.