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| A section of the Charlestown Secondary School's Graduating Class of 2006, 5th Form students. |
CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (November 10, 2006) -- Stakeholders in education in Nevis have been called on to shift focus if they are to redefine education excellence in an academic setting. That call was made by Mrs. Sherming Daniel while she delivered the keynote address at the Charlestown Secondary School Graduation and Prize Giving Ceremony.
The ceremony for the 120 graduating students was held at the Charlestown Methodist Church in Charlestown on Wednesday November 08, 2006 under the theme Redefining Excellence on the Educational Frontier .
She said the process would require extensive collaboration between all involved in the education process which would require them to begin to look beyond the academics to producing not only intellectuals but a fine caliber of young people with greater prospects for future success.
~~Adz:Right~~ More attention must be paid to the development of practical minds. I challenge you [stakeholders] to pay more attention to those students who are not gifted in their minds but in their hands. We understand that there might be constraints but the challenge is to push beyond those constraints and devise a method that satisfactorily combines the academic excellence with the moral and spiritual.
The world has become one global village [and] we must reform our educational system to train our children to take prominent positions in the world, she said.
Notwithstanding, Mrs. Lewis noted that redefining excellence on [the] education frontier could not be attained if excellence in teaching was not redefined. In her view, excellent teaching could be achieved if teachers used a combination of empathy, enthusiasm, patience and classroom skills which would result in a positive, supportive, respectful and disciplined environment in which not only academic but personal development could flourish.
~~Adz:Left~~She said it was important for teachers to understand that if they molded a child properly, they would in effect have molded the nation.
Meantime, Deputy Premier the Honourable Hensley Daniel who stood in for Premier and Minister of Education the Hon Joseph Parry, in brief remarks addressed the graduates on transformation from school to the world of work.
Welcome to the world of work. Employers complain that many of you [graduates] are bright but you have no manners, no respect [and] no discipline, I plead with you to love work because work is life and life is work.
Teachers had trouble firing you from school but your manager would have no such problem. I want you to use your education for enterprise development [and] for wealth creation&Create your own work, he said.
The Valedictory speech was read jointly by top students Ms Kimala Swanston in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and Mr. Aniruddha Joshi in the Caribbean Secondary Examinations (CSEC). While they reflected on the days they spent together with the other students, they also shared some words of wisdom to their fellow graduates.
Remember this graduation does not mark the end but the beginning of a whole new journey. As we travel on we will be faced with new challenges and choices. [We] cannot tell you what choices to make [because] there is no exact roadmap to find success. Ultimately it is simply a matter of judgment and making the right choice. As we go through life, mistakes are inevitable, learn from these mistakes and move on.
~~Adz:Right~~ Graduates, continue to set goals for yourselves and work hard to achieve them. Most of us have already been employed in various fields. We have among us persons in the teaching profession, business field, medical field and the list goes on. Class of 2006, we have the potential to be the best in our fields of interest and if we continue to remain focused, we can make significant contributions to Nevis and the word at large, they said.
Ms. Swanston was awarded the Principals Medallion, the Bank of Nevis Award, TDC Award, the Panell Kerr Forstrer Award, the Nevis Youth Council Award and the Millicent Byron Award. She had obtained distinctions in Communications Studies and Accounting Unit 2. She also attained passes in five Advanced Level subjects.
Mr. Joshi was also awarded the Principals Medallion, the Millicent Byron Award, the Nevis Youth Council Award, and The Bank of Nevis Award. He had obtained 12 distinctions at the CSEC level in 12 subjects: English A, Caribbean History, Principles of Business, Spanish, Information Technology, Principles of Accounts, Typing, Mathematics, Geography, Chemistry and Physics.
