Education Minister applauds Sweetings Cay students
SWEETINGS CAY, Grand Bahama – Minister of Education Science and Technology, the Honourable Jerome Fitzgerald visited the far eastern community of Sweetings Cay last Friday to personally congratulate five students who had outstanding achievements in their first sitting of the Bahamas Junior Certificate (BJC) Exams.
Accompanied by the Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Mr. Fitzgerald led a team of senior education officials to the small fishing village.
In what has become a yearly scholastic achievement at the Sweetings Cay All Age School under the watchful eyes of principal Mr. Balram Dhani, all senior students performed exceptionally well in their BJC exams.
Quite outstanding was 2012 class valedictorian Mr. Justice Tate who secured six “A’s” in English Language, General Science, Health Science, Religious Studies, Social Studies and Mathematics.
Shania Smith was also outstanding in the above named subjects. She secured four “A’s” and two “B’s” in the exams. Malik Thomas was also the proud recipient of two “A”s” and Four “B’s”. Kimberly Tate scored two “A’s” and three “B’s” and one “C” to her credit.
Also joining the 2012 graduates to collect her honours from 2011 was Rickeeya Willams who picked up “A’s” in General Science, Health Science, Social Studies, and Mathematics, and “B’s” in English Language and Religious Studies.
Addressing a gathering assembled at St. Michael’s Anglican Church for the 2012 Commencement Exercise, Minister Fitzgerald said “when you look at the results here from these five young people, many of us here have been around schools that graduate thirty people out of Grade Nine and you can’t get fourteen A’s out of thirty students, much less out of four or five, and so I think these five students deserve and overwhelming round of applause.”
The Education Minister took note of the efforts of young Mr. Tate, pointing out that he was academically challenged at his enrollment in the All Age School. He said the school principal and his wife worked with the student for three years and assisted greatly with Mr. Tate’s academic progress to date.
“It really speaks to this overwhelming power of redemption that exist today, and no matter what we think of students it is stories like this for teachers, administrators, for parents, even policy makers like myself, that help to instill in us that we have to do whatever we can for every single student no matter what their background, no matter what their abilities are because in each of them is a special talent and gift that God has given them and we have to find a way to bring that out.”
He went on to applaud the efforts of the parent and teachers assembled and the community itself saying that “there is no way that these kids can achieve what they have achieved, and do as well as they could unless it was a total community effort. And so Sweetings Cay, you all need to be commended because at the end of the day, it is obvious to me that education now in Sweetings Cay has now become a value, and not just a priority.
“It has become a value that you all are beginning to instill in your kids at a young age of the importance of education,” he said.
Addressing the graduates and touching on the theme for the occasion: My choices will shape my destiny; The Minister informed that “education really is the great equalizer.
“It does not matter what your background is, socioeconomic, what your religion is, the colour of your skin, which key island or country you were born in or grew up in, or what school you went to, but education, and attaining education will be the catalyst that moves you forward because it is blind of all of those things. It acknowledges and accepts and promotes hard work, diligence, respect and the perseverance to succeed.
“And so I want to encourage all of you to continue doing what you are doing and making your parents proud,” he told the graduates.
Continuing, the Minister said that “you always have to put God first in your life, and as you get older, you will understand why that is important, because you will meet obstacles in your life, you will trim down, you will fall down, you will buck your toe, buck your head, you will cry sometimes over problems that you don’t think you could solve, and a lot of time you just have to get on your knees, put you hands together, pray to God to get you through it.”
He also told the students that they have to move now with a sense of urgency as it relates to education.
Minister. Fitzgerald again told the students how proud he was of their accomplishment, and the community as a whole.
“It is an example of what can happen throughout our country. It gives me the inspiration to be inspired to continue on the quest and the job and the direction that we are going in the Ministry,” he stated.
TOP STUDENT – Mr. Justice Tate was the top student at the Sweeting Cay All Age School. The young man passed six subjects will all A’s in his first sitting of the BJC exams. A special Commencement Exercise for the school was held this past Friday. Education Minister the Honourable Jerome Fitzgerald, and Minister for Grand Bahama, the Hon. Dr. Michael Darville traveled to Sweetings Cay for the event. Left to right in the photo are school principal Mr. Balram Dhani, Grand Bahama Minister Darville, top student Justice Tate and Education Minister Fitzgerald.
Thanks Mr. Dhani OUTSTANDING SERVICE – The residents of Sweeting Cay presented Mr. Balram Dhani with a gift for the outstanding job he is doing as principal of the Sweetings School All Age School. Left to right in the photo are: Hon. Dr. Michael Darville, Minister for Grand Bahama; Mr. Dhani; Mrs. Zelma Tate and the Hon. Jerome Fitzgerald, Minister of Education.
By SIMON LEWIS Bahamas Information Services
