Teachers and students rise to the challenge despite pandemic

In spite of the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, teachers and students of the Alleyne School were still able to rise to the challenge and achieve many of the goals set for the academic school year.

Principal of the Alleyne School, Julia Beckles acknowledged the above as she delivered the Principal’s Report, as the school held its annual Speech Day & Prize Giving Ceremony in its auditorium recently, under the theme “Surpassing Adversity Through Resilience”.

During the ceremony, many students were rewarded for their success in varying areas of school life. It was a day of celebration, as the school reflected upon the achievements of its staff and students, during the past academic year 2019 to 2020.

“It would have been easy to have written this speech in one sentence. It would probably have gone like this – COVID-19 came and therefore, there is nothing to report. However, that is certainly not the case for us at Alleyne School,” the Principal remarked.

“Certainly, as a community of practice and professionals, we have tasted adversity in 2020 at the hands of COVID-19, but we have emerged stronger and more resilient, as we were forced to dig deep and devise strategies for survival, in this new season,” Beckles maintained.

The school’s Principal shared with those gathered how the school was forced to adapt to the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic.

She noted that the student population was divided into two groups – A and B, with the groups accessing the physical campus on a rotational basis, as those at home were engaged online via the Google Classroom, all in an effort to facilitate the necessary physical distancing requirements, in keeping with health and safety protocols. Students were meanwhile lauded for having successfully completed the CSEC and CAPE exams, given the changes brought about by the pandemic.

Featured speaker Pierre Cooke, a past student and Head Boy, who is at present studying law and who serves as “Prime Minister” in the Barbados National Youth Parliament and Technical Advisor to the Healthy Caribbean Coalition (HCC), meanwhile encouraged the students to believe in themselves and to take responsibility for their own learning. He also stressed the need for them to attach to themselves, positive labels of affirmation.

Students awarded

In the area of prize-giving, students were awarded for their achievements in the areas of academics, sports, leadership and extracurricular activities.

Prizes were presented by past student Ms. Tonya Stephen and Senior Education Officer Mrs. Kaylene Kellman-Holder. Some of the special prizes presented included the Dr. Joseph Richards Memorial Prize For Excellent Results in CSEC Examinations, which was donated by Ainsley Lovell and presented to Erisha Husbands. She also received The Ashby Jordan Memorial Prize For Excellence on the Principal’s Honour Roll. The Cyril Thompson Memorial Prize For Best CSEC Results which was donated by Henderson Wiltshire was given to Tawanna Farley and The Elliott Williams Memorial Challenge Trophy For The Best Results In Entrepreneurship at CAPE Unit 2, which was donated by Mr. Ralph “Bizzy” Williams, was awarded to Denica Scott. She also received the Vallis Jemmott Prize for Best results in CAPE Unit 2 and the George Beckles Prize for the Best CAPE Results. (RSM)