Exploring Ewarton High

TAKING ITS name from the St Catherine community in which it is located, Ewarton High School is in the Youthlink spotlight this week.

CO-CURRICULAR INVOLVEMENT

If there is ever a school that has so many things going on that our photographer was kept happily busy for the entire visit, it’s this one! Ewarton High prides itself on the social and extra-curricular involvement of its students, with a host of clubs such as 4-H, Science Club, Dance Society, Girl Guides and others.

Past student and current principal Jacqueline Simpson-Huntley, in her fifth year in office, told Youthlink, “The students that we get at Ewarton High, in terms of the GSAT placement, are those that are average and more so, below average, so we have a lot of challenges.” She continued, “We try to unearth potentials in terms of the extracurricular activities.”

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

And from unearthing those potentials, the school can celebrate several notable achievements which fulfil their motto, ‘Strive Amidst Adversities’.

“The adversities are many,” admitted

Simpson-Huntley, “but, despite all of those, we still try as a school. We have entered a number of competitions, where we won two major awards from Wisynco. We entered a Go Green biodiesel project with them, where we created a biodiesel plant, and we used cooking oil to make gasolene to operate the bus.”

She said the students also entered and won a competition where they pitched to Wisynco a need for a breakfast programme that would greatly assist needy children. Ewarton High is also a strong contender in the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission Festival competitions, having entered 11 pieces this year, each of which earned a medal.

FOR THE FUTURE

“Our vision is to become a centre of excellence and a school of choice,” reiterated the proud principal. If there is anything she could change about Ewarton High, it would be “the image and perception of the school”.

She explained, “I want persons to look beyond the

building. I want to get the community out of the frame of mind of the Ewarton Secondary that they would have known. I want them to see the strides that we have been making and judge us against those, as opposed to a name.”

Until then, Simpson-Huntley’s other mission is to get the school on a straight day, having already moved from the shift system to an extended day.

“Grades seven to nine are here from 7:50 until 2:10. The grades 10 and 11 are here from 8:30 until 3:10. It’s one hour apart but it is a grave challenge, because I have an entire grade every year that is roaming, meaning that they do not have a form room.”

With the extended day, several concerns for the students’ safety, academic well-being and their ability to participate in afterschool activities are eased, but there is still a dire need for a straight day.

“In order for that need to be realised, we must get an entire block,” the principal said. “We need at least six classrooms and two additional bathrooms for the students.”