Sandy Point Primary gets new Principal
By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
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Sandy Point Primary School
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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE dawn of the new school year has seen a new principal to the Sandy Point Primary School to succeed veteran educator Marilyn Maynard.
Jennifer Dolphin, former Deputy Principal of the Sandy Point Primary School, was given formal notice of the appointment on Thursday, August 28 and has had high expectations for the school.
In speaking to SKNVibes, Dolphin said her expectation is simply to see the school progress both in academics and extra-curricular activities. She added that 32 years of teaching have granted her a great deal of experience which she hopes to use effectively to ensure the school grows from strength to strength.
“For now, it feels like the principal is just absent because I have deputised for the principal on many occasions; so, this transition was not a frightening one. I didn’t have much preparation to do,”
Dolphin said she is grateful for the encouragement of the staff members as many of them supported her for the position. She also
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Jennifer Dolphin
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expressed confidence in the Parents Teachers Association (PTA) and noted that she has always had a good working relationship with the parents and “did most of the ground work with them”.
The new Principal outlined a number of changes that she would undertake in order to overcome some of the challenges of previous school years.
She stressed the need for the institution to regain proper control over the disciplinary aspect and has already made plans of how it would be done.
“I am already encouraging teachers to make rules and develop a punishment and reward system to encourage good behaviour among the students. I am going to strictly deal with corporal punishment…when a child has to come to me that would have to be the last resort.
“We have to stamp down bad behaviour now! If we let the children get away they would do it all the time, and so, we have to set the tone now,” Dolphin said. ~~Adz:Left~~
Dolphin declared that she would continue the reading programme that was implemented by the previous administrator in order to help the “non-readers”. She added that some parents may have lost confidence in the academic standard of the school, but she hopes to regain that trust in them.
The new Principal admits that there would be conflict, but she has plans on how this could be minimised.
“I don’t envision a lot of problems, but I know that there will be conflict…I am not naive. There has been friction among staff members before. So, I am not even suggesting that we start on a new leaf, but that we start in a new book”
Dolphin reassured parents and teachers that they could look forward to continued progress and further improvement of the school, especially in academics and athletics.
