A plaque for Christmas - Joshua Sirgany donates victory symbol to Hillel Preparatory

Glenroy Sinclair, Assignment Coordinator

It was close to Christmas and neither Santa Claus nor his reindeer had yet visited Hillel Preparatory School. So just before the Christmas holidays, a spirited 11-year-old boy, Joshua Sirgany, took it upon himself to offer the St Andrew-based institution a memorable gift for the Yuletide season.

The gift was the most recent international go-kart racing plaque Sirgany won, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

"I don't know what prompted him to do what he did, but he donated the plaque last Thursday (December 15) during assembly. This plaque will be kept in my office," declared Carolyn Lee, the school's principal.

She said it is the first time during her 11-year tenure at Hillel Prep that a student has competed in an event which has nothing to do with the school then handed over their winner's trophy or plaque to the school.

Lee further explained that although the pint-size Sirgany has travelled abroad frequently to compete in race meets, he has been able to maintain a 90-plus average. "He is preparing for GSAT next year. He just completed mock exams and got a couple 90s and scored a 100 in one of the exams," said Lee.

She said Sirgany's performance, both on the track and in the classroom, is evidence that if a child has an interest in something positive, his or her parents should support them all the way. "I believed that Joshua was overwhelmed with the level of support he got from the school. He may have probably been so touched that he donated the plaque to us," Lee commented.

One of the rising stars of go-karting, Sirgany currently leads the points standings in the Mini Max Fall Championship in Florida with 1,038 points, well clear of his nearest rival Christian Cole on 890 points. Another Jamaican, Jonathan Law, is seventh in the standings on 435 points, but he has now been elevated to the Rotax Junior Class.

Ricky Sirgany, Joshua's father, said, "He now has over 40 trophies that he has won both locally and overseas." They plan to add to the collection next year on the international circuit, which will be buzzing with activity during the early months.