Graduation and Last Days at School

Goodbyes

June was a whirlwind of National Elections, wrapping up classes, testing and organizing the parent group. I am officially finished with school and saying goodbye to students and staff was really hard for me. The school had a special assembly where each class preformed a song or poem about me and gave me gifts and hugs. I was a mess and was so touched. The children got so emotional. I love my children so much. I will miss them the most! The teachers also had a surprise lunch for me where they too shared their gratitude and gave me more gifts. This is making it so much harder to leave! They also gave me a giant cake which I promptly shared with everyone so I didn’t eat it all myself. I really love my school, the staff were so welcoming and never made me feel like the volunteer. I am so blessed to have this experience.

We were also able to celebrate and honour the 27 parents who adopted practices from the workshop and interviewed to be in the parent leader group. At our school’s graduation, I was able to say a few words about these amazing parents who have not only adopted practices but also have created their own and are motivated in helping their children succeed. I had one parent share her thoughts about the workshop and her experience in helping her children. I was amazing! I wanted to share her comments, she sent what she was going to say so I could read over it. Here is what she said…

“I’ve always been a reader, always interested in learning but I’ve never been a teacher. This workshop has taught me alot in the means of making my kids excited about learning. It has also closed the door on procrastination because there is now accountability. My daughter doesn’t let me forget that I’ve to give her word a day. That is one of the methods that I’ve implemented at home. A word a day where they pronounce it as much as they can on their own before I help them. Also by not just telling them the word but having them try to break down the word, it has improved their confidence and they try more. We do model reading and paired reading. Model reading entails reading with expression and punctuations. This is also quite successful as I also give rewards in the form of stars and everyone wants a star especially if another sibling has already gotten one. I’ve learned how to break down the words to better aid them in pronunciations. The homework chart is also an accountability tool as it holds both myself and the kids accountable. It serves as a physical reminder and a rule that’s not to be disobeyed.

What was learned in that workshop requires work. It is not a one day miracle cure but requires hard work on both the parts of the parents and child and also consistency. I hope my story will serve as a motivation to all parents because at the end of the day it’s not about us. It about the future about equipping our kids with the knowledge, education and skills to function in the world. I also look at it as spending quality time with my family and knowing I’ve played a significant part in educating my child. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the organizers of this workshop. It was truly an exceptional experience and shows your dedication to helping the students and families. I thank you”

These parents are so inspiring and I can’t wait to hear about how they will positively affect the community and school. We are having our first parent group meeting this next week to discuss what this group can achieve this coming school year. I also included a picture on the previous post of our group logo that we put on the front of the shirts. On the back, it reads “My Child, My Responsibility: Beyond the Academics.”

For the last day of school, we all went down to the beach for a nice time to celebrate. We cooked a one pot of saltfish, green fig, plantain and dumpling over a fire and went for a sea bathe. Lots of memories were made. Now I have reports to make and sleep to catch up on. I am ready for the summer library programme which will be every Wednesday and there are a few camps I am going to help with. It will be a fun summer. My tickets have been bought. I will be home for the 22^nd of August. My time here is almost over.

 

Pictures of my farewell assembly

 

I wanted to put pictures of staff and students with their names to remember.

Grade Six –  Front row: Anneil, Sierra, Reanna, Donavan, McKell, Kavon    2nd row: Jennavive, Quain, Demetra, Jason, Junior, Sherquan, Kyana

 

Grade Five –  Front row: Calise, Kazia, Curshel, Kurtlan, Marlon    2nd row: Joansha, Ed, Ethan, Quain, Shirneil     3rd row: Sierra, Joshua, Vandan

 

Grade Four –  Front row: Al, Devonne, Kemany, Saquain    2nd row: McMillon, Sunisha, Nikisha, Tanya, Fernando, Jervon, Linus   3rd row: Jeanil, Shernika, Sharma, Darnell, Darrell

 

Grade Three – (not really in rows…)  Front row: Taya, Leeam, Neville     2nd row: Jaymiah, Synovia, Allize, Ciarra, Cherine, Jazzelle, Jerome   3rd row: Abigirl, Ucilla, Chontay, Willka     4th row: Sylvan, Taj, Breon, Zeyan, Endez, Ranny, Aiden, Kimany

 

Grade Two –   Front row: Narjma      2nd row: Noah, Quaine, Leslie, Stella, Kernilya, Jermiah, Kershawn    3rd row: Jaimane, Johnelle, Deandre, Dalliar, Jessica, Marissa, Karson, Syra

 

Grade One – Front row: Evianne, Lorn, Christian, Delton, Alisha, Anatalia, Ariann, Chervonn, Curtis, Amanie    2nd row: Caitlin, Neigle, Tyra, Tayjsha, Sherlana, Emani, Jaden, McKenzie, Bryeon, Kevin, Nikayla, Maria

 

Front: Ms. Chris     2nd Row: Ms. Marcia, Mr. Cooman, Ms. Marcellina, Ms. James, Ms. Ianna, Ms. Jawahill     3rd Row: Teacher Terry, Ms. Emma, Teacher Vincent