Hundreds of Palmdale Primary students gathered in a tree-shaded courtyard this week as the bright lights of TV cameras and the attention of top education officials, teachers and classmates shone on the best and brightest and encouraged all.
In an assembly sponsored by BOB with other corporate support, 160 students from grades one through six were honoured for their achievements and Palmdale Primary got top marks for its overall performance.
“Palmdale Primary students not only performed on grade level in reading, but an overwhelming majority in Grades 4, 5 and 6 performed above grade level,” said Ministry of Education Permanent Secretary Elma Garraway, calling Palmdale one of the top-performing primary schools in the country. Her comments about improvement in education extended well beyond that courtyard bathed in sunshine and celebration.
“I am very pleased to announce that we have turned the corner with 85% of our students in New Providence now reading at or above grade level and we will soon be turning our attention from literacy to numeracy,” said Mrs. Garraway. It was news that brought rounds of applause even from little ones to whom the word numeracy meant less than the cartoon character Dora but who, caught the spirit and clapped till tiny hands ached.
From the musical numbers, including a tribute to Whitney Houston with The Greatest Love of All, to the symbolic dance, from words of inspiration to Principal Mary Mortimer’s pronouncement that the morning was “a celebration of love and excellence,” the assembly had a serious underlying message: those who did well, who passed five BGCSE’s and maintained a 3.0 average could go to The College of The Bahamas absolutely free.
“The message is for every one of you sitting here today: College is possible,” said District Superintendent of the Northeastern District Dressler Sherman. “Strive for success. You have places to go.”
Perhaps no one touched students’ hearts more than the surprise speaker of the day, BOB Marketing Manager Michael Basden who told them a short story of how he, having grown up in humble surroundings, got to go to college, went to the United States, worked on Wall Street and came back to The Bahamas to work at BOB.
“I love my job,” he said, “and you can have a job you will love one day if you stay in school, study hard and most important, continue to treat each other with kindness. You, too, can go to college and you know one thing else — You rock!”
The award-winning bank known for its community involvement presented every honour roll student with a personalized gift bag filled with pencil boxes and other goodies and surprised the 12 students who made the Principal’s List with an additional prize — a $25 VISA gift card for each with every boy or girl’s name embossed.
