Hosanna Prep bags 12 National Scholarships in 20 years

WITH A reputation for excellence, Hosanna Kindergarten and Preparatory based in Montego Bay, St James has won 12 national scholarships, covering both the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) and the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) to include several scholarships in its 20 years of existence.

Each teacher must have a clear understanding of their students’ capabilities and as such these scholarships are a result of the high standards that are placed on the teaching learning process coupled with the excellent working relationships of students, parents and teachers.

“There is a very strong focus on the academics at Hosanna Preparatory, which starts from Kindergarten 1. There is an intense focus on literacy, numeracy and critical thinking,” highlighted Doreth Chambers

“There is continuous assessment and evaluation to track students’ progress. The parents are actively engaged in the children’s learning as they are kept abreast through conferences or phone calls to rectify any challenges that students may be experiencing,” she continued.

High level of achievement can never be attained when the children reach the final lap of the journey, hence, there has to be constant communication and collaboration among the teachers from Kindergarten 1 straight through to Grade six to ensure that all grade level standards are met or surpassed.

“If for a year the school does not garner a scholarship that does not mean that students have not performed excellently. The records will show that in the exit exams, the class average has always been above 90 per cent,” she revealed.

In all of this, nothing is taken for granted. The trend was set from the first cohort of students who graduated in 2003; Craig Duhaney was our first scholarship recipient of the Victoria Mutual Building Society scholarship. He is currently a medical doctor at the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

Whether scholarship winners or not, when we track our students’ progress we are grateful that they are now successful and productive persons both locally and globally or they are pursuing further studies in their chosen fields. Wherever they are now and whatever they are doing, we are proud of their sterling contributions to Jamaica and the rest of the world.

Jonathan Morgan (third from left), head boy of Hosanna Preparatory School in Montego Bay, St James, with his Grade Six teacher Shammy Green-Dawkins (second right) and the school’s other four top performing students, from left: Joshua Waite, Anaijha Powell, Nathan Morris and Jada Glenn. Jonathan has distinguished himself by achieving a 100 per cent average in all five of the Grade Six Achievement Test’s focus subjects.