Parents, students weep for Jeremiah
Published:Saturday | March 19, 2011 | 12:00 AM
ADULTS HUGGED and kissed the grade 4-1 classmates of Jeremiah Yson in between tears yesterday, while each child created a memorial of him and placed it on his desk.
Jeremiah, a nine-year-old student of Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory, died on Thursday after a goalpost on the school's playing field fell on him.
Jeremiah's teacher, Yvonne Downer, said she did not sleep the night before. The pain was too much.
"He was calm, extremely obedient, very creative, a good listener. He was just an extraordinary student," Downer remembers of Jeremiah, who was in the reading and chess clubs as well as a member of the choir.
"He was so helpful, very forgiving, and so kind, sharing his lunch, especially with [classmate] Reanne."
Downer looked at his desk. "Every evening he sat there from 2-3 p.m., just me and him in one-on- one sessions. I looked forward to that."
Downer smiled as she remembered a teacher once said to Jeremiah: "I will pay you to be rude."
Chairman of the school, Deacon Christopher Gooden, said approximately a quarter of the student body did not turn up for school yesterday. Parents are to be called to a meeting on Monday, and the counselling sessions will continue.