Ninety-four students complete the first phase of their journey towards higher education at the Dominica Grammar School
by Emmanuel H. Joseph Government Information Service
Ninety-four students of the Dominica Grammar School received certificates when they graduated from the institution of learning after completing at least five (5) years of secondary school education when the Dominica Grammar School (DGS) hosted its 2010 graduation ceremony at the Arawak House of Culture on Wednesday, 23rd June, 2010.
Graduating Class of 2010
The ceremony was conducted with the theme, “An Investment in Knowledge Pays the Best Interest”. Among the invited guests was the Hon. Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Alvin Bernard, Chief Education Officer, Mr. Steve Hyacinth, other officials from the Ministry of Education, representative from the Venezuelan Embassy, past school principal of the DGS, Mr. Felix Wilson and Reverend Peter Hill, featured speaker.
In delivering her school report, principal of the school, Ms. Alicia Jean-Jacques, spoke of the school’s successes and failures and highlighted some of the school’s achievements during the current academic year which is nearing the end. Part of those challenges was the need to address some of the challenges from the previous year.
“The question that needs to be answered in an end of year report is what happened for the past year. Many things, of course, do not change from year to year, but some do. By the end of the last school year, we knew that it was imperative to cater specifically for a group of students who were not coping at all with our curriculum offerings. A programme was designed to include a heavier than usual focus on technical vocational courses. Our technical classes or “T Classes” as they are now called came into being. There are four such classes in the lower school and these will be extended to the fourth form level next year. In addition to the core curriculum, students in that programme study Agriculture, Woodwork, Electricity, Home Management and Food and Nutrition.”
Principal of the school, Ms. Alicia Jean-Jacques
Principal Jean-Jacques said that there is a lot of effort placed into teaching those courses and there is already tangible evidence of the benefits of such programme.
“There is a great effort in teaching these courses with a heavy practical component. For example, some of our woodwork students are engaged in making souvenir items which are sold to our souvenir vendors. Our green house agriculture is providing a high technical concept to the subject and we have been able to successfully grow and harvest a large amount of tomatoes and lettuce which you may have eaten if you shop in the supermarkets or in the produce market in Roseau.”
Ms Jean-Jacque noted that curricular activities are being pressured due to external exams and this leaves them with very little time to complete their curriculum.
“Our co-curricular activities seem to leave us little time for ‘fun’. We have observed that Caribbean Examinations Council Examinations keep encroaching on our time as they are pushed earlier every year. There is an additional pressure to complete syllabuses in less time and the additional and tedious work with the Caribbean Certificate of Secondary Level Competence (CCSLC) exams have brought on for the third and fourth formers have really taken up what used to be free time. We definitely need some time management techniques in order to multitask and to deal with this deficiency.”
Ms Jean-Jacques took time off to appeal to education officials to address the issue of school attendance and shortage of teachers and offered her own suggestions to deal with them.
“As we mull over our challenges and look at ways of improving, I humbly suggest two things. Firstly, school attendance officers, of which the Education Act of 2007 speaks, must become a reality. Sometimes, some of our students need to be escorted to school, and these officers would surely assist the school administration in that respect. Secondly, we need to consider having a pool of substitute teachers who would be available to serve all schools when the need arises. Too often, students miss out on sessions when teachers are ill or otherwise absent. I can assure the authorities that these teachers will be engaged year round.”
In the meantime, Valedictorian, Denzel Coipel had some strong words of advice for his fellow graduants. He pointed out to them that “the interest we yield today is a reflection of how we treated our investment”. He further challenged them, as they embark upon their future journeys, to observe three major points as they endeavour on their separate paths.
Valedictorian, Denzel Coipel
“You must never let someone tell you that you cannot do something that you set out to do. Surround yourself by people who will encourage you and inspire you to be the best. Pace yourself, do not procrastinate and do not sell yourself short. Never allow the minds of others to mislead you and never follow the negative influence even from your best friends. You should not make the same mistakes that others have made but you should learn from it. Any good friend will now allow you to make mistakes as him or her.
Secondly, make your own footpath because only a genuinely confirmed plan or motive from yourself can make you both successful and happy. Remember that through Christ all things are possible. Always remember to call on Jesus and to establish a relationship with Him.
Thirdly, challenge yourself. It builds character and makes you stronger. People who like things easy end up going with the flow. Now that you are leaving school, you should look to further your education. The alternative is to get a job with a small pay with which you may barely be able to support yourself and family. Never chose to fall through the cracks. I have no doubt that one of us could be the next Prime Minister, President, Attorney General, top surgeon or owner of a large business. The greater opportunities become available only to those who seek it. One sure way is through education because an investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”
The complete speech of Mr. Coipel is available below in flash format for viewing and listening.
Also addressing the ceremony was the Hon. Minister for Education, Petter Saint Jean. In his address, the Education Minister said that the theme, a quote from Benjamin Franklyn, when taken into current contexts mandates that education is no longer a skill needed to survive but a pre-requisite.
The Minister went on to say that the graduants face an enormous sea of possibilities, however, they must be cognisant of the challenges that this post secondary school era of theirs are going to bring them.
“Today’s world bears the difficulty caused by declining revenues and the ever increasing needs of its residents. All agree, however, that our economy and future growth depend on a strong and educated workforce that can meet the demands of the global market place. Because our island is relatively small and it is not expecting the projected population growth, we must make sure that all our citizens are adequately prepared to meet the challenge before us.”
Hon. Saint Jean said that his government was addressing some of those needs.
Hon. Minister for Education, Petter Saint Jean
“Our government has recognized this hence we continue to invest in higher education in the short run for a long term productivity payoff. We have invested in all levels of education including Early Childhood Education, grade K to 5th form, post secondary and Adult Education. We have invested in higher education while increasing spending on other levels of education.
We continue to ensure that our current and future workforce get the education that they need in order to be productive contributors to Dominica’s economic success.
Accordingly, we continue to work to ensure proper funding of need-based aid programmes across our beloved country Dominica. This has been realized through the School Transfer Grant, improvements in the Ministry’s IT Sector, increase in college admissions, provision of scholarships, financial aid at various levels to students and individuals within the public and private sectors, construction and renovation of several schools in order to give students and their families more tools to succeed in their pursuit of quality education.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we are committed to ensure the delivery of educational programmes which are current, innovative and prepare our students for excellent opportunities as well as lifelong learning and appreciation for life.”
The entire speech of the Minister can be found under the speeches section on the Government Information Service website or under speeches and addresses on the Government of Dominica website.
Former student of the Dominica Grammar School, Reverend Peter Hill, now a priest in Trinidad was the featured speaker at the ceremony. Reverend Hill told the graduates that in exploring their theme for this year, they should see it as an investment towards lifelong learning and explained the importance.
“We are here to talk about another type of investment: an investment in knowledge; in other words, a commitment to knowledge, a commitment to continued education, a commitment to learning. It is important because banks and financial institutions are collapsing, many of the world’s largest countries are experiencing economic recession on unprecedented scales, many people are losing their jobs, crime is on the rise and many people, the world over, are increasingly concerned solely with their own selfish needs. In an environment like this, it is necessary for us to invest in things which are most important and eternal and knowledge is just a thing.”
Featured speaker, Rev. Peter Hill
Rev. Hill challenged the graduates to make their investment now and do so without regret.
“Do not put it off until tomorrow. As you graduate, you now have the basic tools which you need, a high school education. You have worked for the last five years to get this. Use it. Use the skills and the knowledge that you have learnt in your classes and apply them to your life and your circumstances. Nothing you have learnt has been a waste of time.”
The complete speech of Rev. Peter Hill is available below in flash format for viewing and listening.
Twenty-three (23) students did not qualify for graduation.
Among the graduants, the following were the top achievers and their achievements:
Denzel Coipel – Valedictorian, awards for Biology, Mathematics, Information Technology, Academics for Form 5-1 and the DOMLEC award for Physics
Griffin Carty Benjamin – Student of the year award, awards for determination and perseverance, outstanding academic achievement, English and Computer Science
Shera Joseph walked away with the Harris Paints Award for Business, Jays award for discipline, outstanding academic achievement, subject awards for French and Social Studies and Form 5-3 prize for academics.
Other students receiving awards were Binta Newton (Royal Bank award for business, subject award for Integrated Science, Form 5-2 award for academics), Mitchelle Tavernier, Joshua Lloyd, Kathlyn Paul, Josia Boyd, Shanis Lawrence, Richardson George, Kawana Moise, Kenrick Jean-Jacques, Nazik Royer, Yisrael Jno Baptiste, Nyahita John, Gladys Bardouille, Stephanie Harve, Shpen Samuel, Jessica Green, Asha Vital, Menelik Paul, Imran Paul, Hubert Lawrence, Yannilson Bowers, Josiah Baron, Kwame David, Rhonia Bertrand, Howell Shillingford, Fenton Matthew, Jennin Defoe, Jacinta Francis, Melissa Bonnie, Chelsea Toussaint, Shereen Laronde and Tamanthia Joseph.
