Graduates urged to continue working hard

Seventy-five students graduated from the Thomas Saunders Secondary School (TSSS) on Tuesday, with the hope that they will be “Facing the future with courage, preparing for greatness.”

During the school’s fifth graduation ceremony{{more}} and prize giving ceremony, the featured speaker, magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias, told graduands that hard work and dedication often go together in order to achieve greatness.

In reference to the theme, Matthias pointed out that the graduands began facing the future with courage many years ago, when they took one bold step and learned to walk.

The magistrate encouraged the students to be fearless while trying to achieve their goals, as fear is something that can paralyze and stifle dreams.

“It is my hope that after today, you would progress undauntedly into the future with a state of mind that will enable you to face difficulty, danger or pain without fear. Each day should be met with a sense of purpose and courage,” Matthias said.

Among other words of encouragement, she urged the graduating class of 2014 to have clear goals, to be optimistic and to make wise choices.

“Graduating class of 2014, you are charged with facing the future with courage, preparing for greatness. Someone said when it comes to the future, there are three kinds of people. Those who let it happen, those who make it happen and those who ask what happened. Who will you be today?” she said.

“Make wise choices because there is no gift more powerful than that of choice. Be consistent; harvest strength and your vision needs to be focused with every steady stride. Always believe that you can do more, be more and get more and set about to accomplish that.”

In the principal’s report, John Renton boasted that the Thomas Saunders Secondary School was the top performing co-educational school for the country in the 2013 sitting of the CSEC examinations.

“The 2013 results were a 2.5 per cent improvement on the previous year’s performance and the third consecutive year in which our pass rate has improved,” Renton revealed.

Despite the many strides that the secondary institution has made academically and in several sporting activities, the principal disclosed that the internal assessment results were unsatisfactory.

“The results of our internal assessments remain somewhat disappointing. They do not reflect, as yet, the full potential of our students. Internal examination results, in particular, show room for improvement. The improvement of these results remains the greatest challenge for our school community,” he said.

Renton noted that the past school year has been about transformation and one such transformation is the crafting of a new mission statement for the nine-year-old institution.

The principal explained that previously, a mission statement was present in the main office; however, “Nobody knew if it belonged to Thomas Saunders or the old Richmond Hill Government School. It was time to make our own.”

The new mission statement, which was crafted by students, teachers and parents, reads: “The Thomas Saunders Secondary School seeks to create a learning environment that encourages high expectations for success through development – appropriate instructions that allows for individual differences and learning techniques. Our school promotes a safe, orderly, caring and supportive environment. We strive to have all parents involved in partnership with all teachers to become involved with our student’s learning.”

The valedictory address was delivered by Osini Lewis, who received 12 awards at the ceremony. The Student of the Year award was presented to Aalyah Dupont.