Gilbert Carmichael delivering the St. Michael South Central seminar on the ‘Transition from Primary to Secondary School’.
Member of Parliament for St. Michael South Central, Richard Sealy, sat with the children who go to school in his constituency during the annual seminar.
The Honourable Richard Sealy continues to ensure that children leaving the primary schools within his constituency have a smooth transition to secondary school.
Yesterday, the Member of Parliament for St. Michael South Central brought together the students for a one-day seminar aimed at giving them a heads up on what to expect in this new environment.
“The intention is to give you some confidence, so you can go into first form feeling ready to continue your studies,” Sealy expressed.
“It’s a chance for all of you to get an idea of what you can look forward to in September. It is important that we equip you with this because you are going into a new school with bigger kids, and there are other factors that will not necessarily be a part
of the primary school experience. We are providing you with a few useful tools so you can manage the journey.”
The seminar, now into its ninth year, was held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC).
Delivering the featured topic “Transition from Primary to Secondary School”, Gilbert Carmichael, highlighted that some of the difficulties they may encounter, include: the number of subjects, number of teachers, changing classes, fear of bullying and getting lost.
However, he stressed that they need not fear going into secondary school. “The teachers at secondary schools are quite aware that you are coming from one environment into another, one which is new to you,” he assured.
The teacher at The Lester Vaughan School also told students that regardless of which school they are going to they should “feel proud and embrace it”.
“Recently the Lester Vaughan School was in the public domain because of one or two students who obviously know not how to conduct themselves. When we recently had first year registration, I spoke to some parents who were quite concerned as to the environment at the school. I used the analogy of a farmer growing tomatoes and the plot yielded 956 tomatoes and out of those 956 tomatoes, 12 were rotten. I still think the farmer did a fantastic job because of the 956, only 12 went against
the grain,” Carmichael pointed out.
During the day students also took part in sessions on Substance Abuse and Addiction, Fire Safety and Prevention, as well as a tour of Arlington House Museum in Speightstown. (TL)