Colonarie students told not to adopt negative attitudes

Colonarie Primary School and the Ms Gail’s Pre-school of Colonarie came together for this year’s Graduation and Prize-giving Ceremony under the theme: “Your Dream now, determines your Future”.{{more}}

The Graduation and Prize-giving Ceremony, which is considered historic, given its unique nature, was held last Thursday, June 24, at the Walden Ryan Resource Centre.

It was well attended by parents, teachers, retired principals and present and past students of both schools and well-wishers. Two ministers of the gospel, Dr Herbert Bruce and Pastor Exton Clarke, were also in attendance.

The feature address was delivered by Gail Andrews, principal of the pre-school. In her presentation, she urged the graduates to continue to work hard and not to adapt negative attitudes as they move to another level of education. Borrowing the words “Children go to school and learn well, otherwise later on in life you will catch real hell…” penned by Slinger “The Mighty Sparrow” Francisco, she emphasized the importance of achieving a sound education.

Other addresses were made by Education Officer in the Curriculum Unit of the Ministry of Education, Hannah Browne, and the Headteacher of the Colonarie Primary School, Elizabeth Johnson.

During the ceremony, the audience was treated to two excellent cultural performances in the form of dance by the graduating class of the Colonarie Primary School. The pre-school children also entertained the audience with a song.

Prizes and trophies were awarded to a number of students for outstanding performances in Common Entrance and internal exams.

Sarah Lawrence received the trophy donated by the Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, for the “Student of the Year” title. She also walked away with the trophy for the most outstanding Language Arts student. Another student, Randel Adams, collected trophies for outstanding performances in the Mathematics and General Paper of the Common Entrance exam. In Sports, the Female Athlete of the year, Afisha Adams, and the Male Athlete of the Year, Kimani Peters, also received trophies.

Certificates were awarded to all graduates. In addition, each graduating student obtained special packages to aid in their educational development.

The three top students in each class from kindergarten to Grade 5 were given prizes for their academic achievement.

The Grade 6 teacher, Rosalind Mitchell, was specially recognized by Child Fund Caribbean (CFC) for her outstanding contribution throughout the years.

In her speech, Sarah Lawrence, Student of the Year, used the analogy of a l-o-n-g sentence interrupted by various punctuation marks to describe their journey from Kindergarten to Grade 6. Each punctuation mark represented a shift from the academics. For instance, the exclamation mark referred to fun experiences, the colon: long-lasting friendships and the comma: pause for prayer, counseling sessions, etc. She challenged her colleagues to stay focused and always dream big. Furthermore, she reminded them that their destiny will be determined by their CHOICES and not chances. In her final words, she encouraged all to always strive for excellence.