BBSS, adding value to lives of students

“What the mind can conceive, it can achieve”.

Under this motto, the Buccament Bay Secondary School aims to add value to the lives of its students, by allowing them to excel not only academically, but in all other aspects.{{more}}

True to their word, the institution has provided a range of opportunities for their students, in the form of mentorship programmes, sporting activities, various competitions and even pageants.

The institution, which was established in 2005, launched a mentorship program in 2011, in which students are paired with persons who are considered good role models.

Principal Kay Martin-Jack explained to SEARCHLIGHT that the goal is to impress upon their students that “you need to behave, you need to finish school.

“Some of the mentors…we would have identified good persons in the community …different people who would encourage them,” she said.

“Just for someone to say you can do it, you can make it”.

Martin-Jack also noted that present mentors went through training to ensure that they are aware and capable of the responsibilities that come with the title. She said currently, the school is in the process of finding new mentors, so that the programme can continue.

From inception, the Buccament Bay Secondary School has endeavoured to make a name for itself in the sporting arena.

Only last year, the institution stole the Secondary Schools’ Senior Division Netball title from its neighbours, the Central Leeward Secondary School.

“Over the years, we have been performing quite well in terms of athletics,” the principal said.

Students have even copped prizes in various art competitions.

As if to inspire them, various corners of the school are adorned with attractive murals that were done by local artists Calvert Jones and Rashida Samuel, as part of a beautification initiative.

This year, students are hoping that Terreka Nero, the school’s first ever representative in the National Secondary Schools Ms Heritage Pageant, can bring the title home, when she competes on October 19 against six other young ladies.

Nero, a fifth form student, believes that the pageant will give her school some well deserved publicity.

“I want to make my school well-known, because it is not a well known school and show that we are…good at whatever we do,” the charismatic teenager said.

Like Nero, Martin-Jack believes that the school can benefit from being a part of the national event.

“It’s another way of showcasing the school. We are showing… that we have bright girls, bright children,” she declared.

“A number of children who come to this school are in need of remediation. We work to see how best we can bring them up to speed”.

The school, located just a stone’s throw from the Buccament Bay Resort, accommodates the growing number of students to be placed in secondary schools in the South Leeward district, because of universal secondary access.

In its first years of existence, the institution saw four principals, each doing a one-year tenure, before settling into the hands of the longest serving principal, Martin-Jack.

Although the growing school has a capacity for 360, only 240 students are presently enrolled.

The institution sadly carries with it a slight stigma, which sees grade six pupils preferring to attend a secondary school in the capital, rather than go to a school nearer to home.

“It is a school like any other,” the amiable principal said.

“I get the distinct impression sometimes, that students don’t want to come. School is what you make it, and if you come with a positive energy, school is going to be positive. If you think negatively, then obviously it is going to have a negative impact.

In fact, the Buccament Bay Secondary School has an extensive academic and vocational programme which includes electricity, craft design and technology.

Fourth form students who take Electricity, which is introduced in the third form, have the opportunity to travel to the Barrouallie Technical Institute for an in-depth and hands on experience in the subject.

Owing to the fact that the institution is in its early stages, the science lab has not yet been furnished with the proper equipment.

However, Martin-Jack is extremely proud of her students and the aptitude they have displayed in their exams.

“We are making strides. In terms of CSEC performances…we have to say that we are doing well, because we actually have students sometimes who are coming in who are reading at a Grade 2 level and for that person to come up and get five subjects at CSEC, its’ good,” the principal told SEARCHLIGHT.

Vermont, Layou, Clare Valley and Questelles are the main residential areas from which students are drawn for the Buccament Bay Secondary School.

Sadly, Martin-Jack observed that the school is lacking in the parental participation department.

“One of my strongest appeals is that parents support their children,” Martin-Jack said. “Support the school with the various initiatives. We would like to see a bit more parental involvement in the life of the school, in the life of the children”.

The Buccament Bay Secondary School will celebrate its 8th anniversary this year and the principal is positive that the institution can make a name for itself as one of the best secondary schools in the country.