The nominations are in! And the judges will have a difficult time selecting the next Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year due to the outstanding candidates from around the country nominated, according to Ricardo P. Deveaux, Bahamas Primary School Student of the Year Foundation (BPSSYF) president and founder.
"There is not just one student that stands out," said Deveaux. "There are at least 18 students that are in your face, so the judges will have a very difficult time this year – including some extremely good candidates from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands. These students are impacting communities and doing things with regards to the environment. These students have not just picked up a cause for the student of the year, they have been engaged in these activities since second grade and impacting their various communities."
The awards ceremony takes place on Friday, June 10 at Evangelistic Temple at 5 p.m. The nominees will receive their medals on Friday, June 9.
Deveaux said one of the overarching goals of the foundation in selecting the primary school student of the year is to choose a student who is not engaged in an activity simply for an award, but one who has always impacted and will continue to impact their communities.
One such student was Caden Smith who launched 'Red Nose Day' to raise funds to help stamp out hunger in The Bahamas, and continued with her project throughout high school.
Deveaux is also excited that judges will be selecting from a 122-field nominee – the most nominations since 2018 when the foundation had 121 nominations.
There are 65 students from Grand Bahama and the Family Islands in this year's pool.
"The exciting part about this – for the first time in a long while, we have a nominee from every island except Ragged Island and Rum Cay," said Deveaux. "The numbers show that the interest in the awards program is growing and schools are identifying their students to be recognized in this program that awards the best and brightest in sixth-grade students."
Even though every student in the program has their eye on the top prize - the $7,000 scholarship – since 2018, the BBSPYF has offered every nominee at least a $1,000 scholarship.
With 122 nominees, the foundation needs a minimum of $200,000 realistically to ensure that each students receives a scholarship this year. The pressure is on the foundation to ensure that they maintain this standard with the increase in students.
Last year, there were 102 nominees. In 2001, there were 100 nominees; in 2000, there were 105 nominees.
"We were able to give each nominee a $1,000 scholarship for those years and now we are looking at 122 nominees, so the foundation is knocking on all doors," said Deveaux in an effort to ensure that they do.
In 1987, the first year of the awards program, 31 students representing all New Providence schools were nominated. Their prizes were trophies with Vashti Darling, that year's winner, receiving a $100 book voucher and a trophy.
In 1988, Andrea Moultrie, the second winner, received a $1,000 scholarship from Atlantic Medical. An anonymous benefactor from Lyford Cay afforded the foundation the opportunity to present the first runner-up with a $500 scholarship.
With sponsors buying in to the vision of the program, in order to be fair to Darling, the foundation directors revisited the initial result, six years later, and awarded Darling a $1,000 scholarship which she was able to use while in 12th grade.
Over the years, the scholarship award has gradually increased. In 1999, the top student, Tiffany Moncur, received $1,500.
In 2001, Kenny Roberts received $2,000.
George Zonicle received $5,000 in 2006.
Taran Carey and James Boyce, top students in 2007 and 2008, respectively, received $10,000 each, the most awarded ever.
After those years, in 2009, the foundation made the decision to cap the top award at $7,000 moving forward, as they did not know if they could sustain an annual $10,000 top prize.
Deveaux said they also do not want people to just view the program as a means to a scholarship and only want to enter for the scholarship – but as an awards recognition program.
"This is why we prefer to recognize all students with at least $1,000," he said.
All scholarship awards must be used for secondary school only. And if a child isn't going to a private school for secondary education, the scholarship funds can be used to purchase school books, a computer, or tools needed for school. Each awardee has up to three years to use the funds, according to Deveaux.
Each primary school is eligible to nominate one sixth-grade student for the awards program.
In selecting the ultimate winner, the judging panel making the decision takes an all-encompassing approach to candidates - scrutinizing everything from the child's academics, to leadership, and community involvement from as far back as third grade. The award is not meted out necessarily on what the nominee might have started doing in their sixth-grade year and year of their nomination.
"[Judges] are looking for a child who has been consistent," Deveaux previously told The Nassau Guardian.
"This child didn't just start to pick up academically in sixth grade, nor did they just in their final year of primary school, develop or start a program. This was something they would have done for over a period of time - and they are well versed in it."
Deveaux said the ultimate winner's portfolio reflects a child who was engaged in their project/platform from as early as third or fourth grade.
After their child's nominations, many parents find themselves scrambling to give their child a project or platform, after receiving their school's nomination. Ideally, Deveaux said that is not how the process works.
"For us [BPSSYF], what we have a concern with is schools waiting until they get an application to identify a student. What we would like to encourage primary schools to do on an annual basis is have an internal competition in school, looking over what a student has done from grades three, four and five, so that in grade six, that person could begin working on presenting a portfolio. If you identify this child, who has been doing this over this three to three-and-a-half-year period, when the application comes out in October or November [of their final primary school year], the child doesn't have to be rushing."
Deveaux said the nominee should be a well-rounded, standout student, and doesn't necessarily have to be the smartest student with the 4.00 grade point average (GPA).
"It's about the child being well-rounded, involved in the community - and the child does not have to be involved in 100 activities, but some activities, demonstrating that they're not just book smart."
The title winner he explained is a national brand ambassador and a spokesperson for students.
BPSSY is a title that has been meted out for 26 years.
Deveaux said what he enjoys most about the program is seeing a past primary school student of the year title holder do well.
"When you can see former winners impacting the community, that is powerful," he said.
"I believe that while the student of the year awards program is truly an excellent form of motivation for our students, we look forward to students performing and demonstrating that their actions are in preparation for a successful future rather than successful participation in the awards program."
Parents grooming their children for the student of the year title, he said, is something they have also seen become "a thing". And he said in some instances, when the child is not selected by their school for nomination, the child and parents are devastated. However, Deveaux believes this should not be a thing that should be devastating to them, because the child's project or platform is something they would be doing regardless of whether they receive a nomination or not.
The foundation president said over the years, they have also seen situations where parents and school officials get upset when a student may not win or place higher in the ranking.
"The issue is that, usually, the nominee is used to being number one out of a field of 20 to 40 students, but now they are in a competition with over 100 students who have similar GPA of 3.75 or higher; involved in about six organizations; participating in church, civic and community organizations; organizing community service projects; and leaders in their schools, community and churches."
Each judge reviews and scores each student; scores are then verified by a certified public accountant and students are ranked according to their scores.
Deveaux said the judges are the only people to assess the students and determine what separates each nominee. He said the BPSSYF does not have a role in the decision.
Each nominee also submits a portfolio (with a maximum of 50 pages), reflecting their work and demonstrating the nominee's ability and critical thinking.
Deveaux said the portfolios they have seen over the years morphed from what was really the work of the nominee and their parents putting together, detailing all of their achievements, to where he believes they have parents spending thousands of dollars on a portfolio for submission, which he said speaks volumes.
"The judges aren't looking at how much money you spend on the portfolio, but for this to be the work of the nominee."
He also shared that they have seen it all with parents even submitting portfolios that are prototypes or three-dimensional. In the BPSSYF rules, it states that the dimension should not be larger than 12 inches by 12 inches; should be void of any mechanical nature; and limited to one presentation void of any flash drive or CD.
"These pop-ups ... all of that is a distraction, and that's not what a portfolio is - it's just documentation of your work. The most important thing is your achievements in your work in the portfolio itself."
The BPSSYF president said they are also not looking to see 100 pictures of a child doing a particular thing in their final primary school year, but rather images of the child engaged in their project over approximately three and a half years, and images of whether the child won an accomplishment for their project.
"But parents want to fill up a portfolio with something their child did in sixth grade, but that does not demonstrate something the child has done over the long haul."
Since 1997, the foundation has recognized over 3,000 of the best and brightest primary school students in The Bahamas, and awarded over $2.2 million worth of the scholarships and prizes.
BAHAMAS PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENT OF
THE YEAR PAST WINNERS
1997 - Vashti Darling, St. John's College, New Providence
1998 - Andrea Moultrie, St. John's College, New Providence
1999 - Tiffany Moncur, Carmichael Primary School (now Sybil Strachan Primary), New Providence
2000 - Sasha Bain, Walter Parker Primary School, Grand Bahama
2001 - Kenny Roberts, Spanish Wells All Age School (now Samuel Guy All Age School), Eleuthera
2002 - Zachary Lyons, Queen's College, New Providence
2003 - Tanielle Curtis, Sts. Francis & Joseph, New Providence
2004 - Saul Salonga; Mary, Star of the Sea Catholic; Grand Bahama
2005 - Shirdat Jadoo, Maurice Moore Primary School, Grand Bahama
2006 - George Zonicle, Bahamas Academy of SDA, New Providence
2007 - Taran Carey, Tarpum Bay Primary, Eleuthera
2008 - James Boyce, Hope Town Primary, Abaco
2009 - Khes Adderley, Temple Christian School, New Providence
2010 - Jared Fitzgerald, Xavier's Lower School, New Providence
2011 - Anna Albury, Hope Town Primary, Abaco
2012 - Nadja Simon, Genesis Academy, New Providence
2013 - Lauryn Rolle, St. Thomas More Catholic Primary, New Providence
2014 - Donovan Butler, Xavier's Lower School, New Providence
2015 - Samaiya Lundy, Sunland Baptist Academy, Grand Bahama
2016 - Lila Nottage, Lyford Cay International School, New Providence
2017 - Hannah Edomwonyi, Clara Evans Primary School, Andros
2018 - Remington Minnis, Eva Hilton Primary (formerly Oakes Field Primary School), New Providence
2019 - Lauren Scriven, St. Francis de Sales Catholic, Abaco
2020 - Hayley Wilson, Summit Academy, New Providence
2021 - Chelsea Smith, Windsor School at Albany, New Providence
2022 - Jerlea Adderley, Sts. Francis & Joseph School, New Providence
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