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New leaf for new school year

Published:Tuesday | September 7, 2010 | 12:00 AM
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Kadine Russell, a teacher at the Tredegar Park All-Age School, greets students Tashana Spence and Pete Nelson. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Grade-one students at the Friendship Park Primary School in Spanish Town, St Catherine, get to work. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer
Summer is over and it's back to business for children across the island.
Students at St Alban's Primary School in west Kingston. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Dr Dennis Kelly (left), principal of Charlie Smith Comprehensive High School, gets the boys in order during devotion at the school. - Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Angela Chaplain, principal at Vauxhall High School in east Kingston, laughs at a joke by Anthony Meade on his return to school. - Photos by Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
Students at Windward Road Primary and Junior High in east Kingston are eager to answer questions from their teacher on the first day of school yesterday.
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Worried new pupils have fears addressed

Pep talks were the order of the day at several Corporate Area high schools yesterday as administrators sought to comfort those students who were reluctant to take up their Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) spaces at some institutions.

Fears about the communities in which some schools are located and the stigma attached to upgraded high schools, as opposed to the more traditional ones, topped the areas of concern principals had to address.

At Vauxhall High, eight students stood up when principal Angela Chaplain asked: "How many of you did not want to come to Vauxhall?" during yesterday's devotional exercise.

Chaplain said she met with them and encouraged them to focus on their education.

"School should be about you and not the building," was the message Chaplain said she tried to impart.

The charge given to GSAT students placed at Windward Road Primary and Junior High was the same, according to principal Norman Malcolm.

"We told them it's not where they are placed, but it's up to them to make the most of the opportunity (given to them)," Malcolm told The Gleaner.

The pep talk seemed to have worked for Jody-Ann McKoy, a first-year student at Windward Road Primary and Junior High, who admitted she was "frightened and shocked" when she first learnt she had been placed there.

"When I came to school, it was different. I met the staff and they were nice," said Jody-Ann.

- Livern Barrett


Meaningful change to Tredegar Park All-Age School motto

A new day has dawned for the students and staff of the troubled Tredegar Park All-Age School in St Catherine.

In an effort to give new meaning to the way the school is being directed, the institution has changed its motto.

"We believe meaningful changes bring meaningful results," said Hyacinth Rochester, the school's principal. "Therefore, we decided to change our motto. We also decided to change the boys' uniform from khaki to blue bush jackets."

Rochester said the changes came after discussions with staff at the school.

The new motto, 'Excellence Through Hard Work And Perseverance', replaces 'Be The Best Of Whatever You Are'.

The principal said the former motto was too ambiguous and it was hoped that the changes would bring positive energy to the school, which has been plagued by crime and violence.

"Having seen what the children suffered, any positive contributions can only work well for all concerned," reasoned Paulette Allen, a parent.

Rochester said about 300 students were registered at the school, which has a capacity of 750, and that enrolment was expected to improve gradually as the week progresses.

- Rasbert Turner