Rusea’s High graduates urged to pursue excellence
RWESTERN BUREAU: USEA’S HIGH School held its annual graduation ceremony at the Jockey Complex in Lucea, Hanover, last week Thursday under the theme ‘Believing We Can, Believing We Did, Believing We Will’.
A total of 122 girls and 71 boys made up the Class of 2013 and were presented with high- school certificates, diplomas, and special awards during the ceremony. Of the 193 graduates, 110 gained distinctions in at least one subject at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) level.
Outgoing principal, June Thompson, told Western Focus that she was satisfied with the performance of the students, which was a result of their commitment to their schoolwork, as well as the support given to them by their parents and teachers.
“I was pretty pleased because the students really did very well. There are some areas where some students could have got better grades, but there is always room for improvement. We had persons getting eight distinctions, and so on. I think the work of the teachers, the students, and their parents – as a support group – really worked out well,” said Thompson.
“We also have to commend those who did the NCTVET, and for the first time, we had a few students entering for the City and Guilds, and they, too, were also successful,” she said.
“As the outgoing principal, I think I can say that objectives were met, and while we still have that cohort of students that we still have a concern about, one must realise it’s what they put in that they get out,” Thompson added.
In her address to the Class of 2013, Thompson encouraged them to continue the good work, set their goals, and strive to go on to tertiary education.
“If you have not reached that point financially to access tertiary studies, then try to acquire a job, do some savings, and then look out for all the grants and the loans, and so on, because CSEC and CAPE (Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations) qualifications are not the last points, but the first in the upper educational ladder,” Thompson said.
TOP STUDENTS
Akili Samuels and Janice Deans, who are now lower sixth-formers at the school, emerged the top male and female student, respectively, of the 2013 cohort.
Samuels, who sat 10 CSEC subjects, gained distinctions in seven – biology, electrical technology, English language, English literature, French, mathematics, and Spanish. He also took home the Most Exemplary Male Student, the Student of the Year, and the Most Outstanding Male Student in Foreign Languages awards.
Deans, who hails from Cave Valley/March Town, was also the Class of 2013 valedictorian. She sat and passed 10 CSEC subjects, gaining eight distinctions in biology, electrical technology, English language, English literature, geography, human and social biology, mathematics, and physics. She also received the departmental awards for geography, biology, physics, and mathematics, as well as the Academic Excellence and the Most Outstanding Student in Mathematics awards.