The Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School on Thursday, December 12th, made history as it hosted another annual Speech Night in the cheery ambiance of the Christmas Season.
The event which was held at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium attracted a modest crowd from the community —including parents and well-wishers — who had to come to show their respects to those students who had been selected on the basis of their academic achievements, and who would be awarded for their outstanding accomplishments.
To open the event at 7:30, a prayer of invocation was made by Bishop Dr. Samuel Daniel, who is a Counselor at the School. This was followed by the introduction of the Master of Ceremonies, Rev. Wilmoth Hodge, after which the school’s Steel Orchestra and its Concert Band impeccably rendered the National Anthem and the National Song respectively. The school choir then delivered a rousing rendition of the School Song, “Our Eyes Have Seen the Vision”.
Many who attend these speech night functions usually come with great interest to hear the Principal’s Report which generally gives detailed information as to the “state of the school”. But before this was presented, the audience was entertained by several Christmas selections from the Concert band and the Steel Orchestra that augmented the Yuletide spirit in the atmosphere.
By the time the Principal, Mrs. Rita Celestine Carty, took the podium, the spirit of Christmas had pervaded the auditorium through top-notch serenades by both the orchestra and the band.
Mrs. Carty cordially welcomed all, and she proceeded to give the long-awaited report. She commented: “This report chronicles the experiences of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School for the academic year 2018-2019 – the first under the charge of Mrs. Rita Celestine-Carty who assumed the position of Principal on August 13th, 2018. It is also the second year of operations under the Shift System occasioned by the passage of Hurricane Irma in September 2017.”
She continued: “The Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School continues to operate from five sites: Campus B, Campus A, the Workshop Initiative in Secondary Education (WISE), the Pupil Referral Unit (PRU) and DOVE 2. The Sixth Form continues to be housed, for the most part, in rented space upstairs the Lake’s Building across from Campus A.
“Much maintenance work was completed over the 2018-2019 school year to improve the available infrastructure. During the period of October to January, much of this work was focused on the Science Department. A maintenance man was employed to improve the lighting and storage spaces at the Science Labs at both Campus A and B. The ventilation system was given some much-needed attention. The chicken coop used for activities related to Agricultural Science was also extended. The fencing was repaired around the agricultural plot. A greenhouse was also added to WISE.
“The infrastructure of the school was also much improved by the donation of and refurbishment of the two computer labs at Campus B by Flow through the Rotary Club of Anguilla. The new labs were turned over in January 2019.
“Work was also completed on the former Environmental Health Unit building at Campus A which now provides much-needed space for the Career Guidance Unit — and offices for two of the school’s counselors who had been without a stable place from which to operate since the passage of the Hurricane.”
Following her account of the maintenance work carried out at the school, Mrs. Carty gave an overall description of the school’s management: “The Management of ALHCS included the Principal, three Deputy Principals, two Senior Teachers and the Coordinators of WISE and PRU. They make up the Senior Management Team (SMT).
“The Deputy Principal for Campus B, Mrs. Octavia Melsadis Fleming, retired officially in June 2019, but was retained until the end of the school year. The fact that the longstanding Deputy Principal, Curriculum, Mr. Worrel Brooks, was due to retire near the beginning of the new school year (October 2019) was also a fact not overlooked.
“The Middle Management Team is made up of sixteen (16) Heads of Department and five (5) Heads of Year. The management focal points were laid out in the ALHCS School Development Plan 2018-2020. This document, shared with all staff and other stakeholders, is considered a living document and was continuously revised to reflect feedback received from users and reviewers. The enclosed Work Plan was used to guide and report on activities and initiatives enacted during the year.
“The teaching staff of the ALHCS was one hundred and twenty-three (123) strong at the beginning of 2018-19 and at times augmented by substitute teachers.”
The Principal then drew attention to the student population. She
stated that at the opening of school in September 2018 it stood at 1,130 students, 569 being boys and 561 girls, including the newly admitted 185 Form 1 student
from its feeder schools, 2 students from private institutions and 8 students from overseas.
Mrs. Carty had much praise for the performance of the students in the 2019 examinations at CXC, CAPE and CSEC levels. She said: “This year, for the first time, the vast majority of CXC examinations were taken as e-exams. For some years, this has been the case of Paper 1 multiple choice examinations, but this mode was extended to short answer and essay type questions which feature in Paper 2 exams. All CAPE examinations were completed online in 2019.”
With a sense of pride, she then announced that eighty-six percent (86%) of the subject entries presented for General Proficiency resulted in grades I to III — which was up from 79% in 2018, 75 % percent in 2017, eighty (80%) in 2016, seventy-six percent (76 %) in 2015 and 78% for both 2014 and 2013.
She went on to report that eighty-four (84) percent of the subject entries presented achieved grades I-V in the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examinations (CAPE). Over the previous five years,” she noted, “the comparative figures were 86 % in 2018, 84 % in 2017 and 2016, 80% in 2015 and 85 % in 2014. Forty-three (43) percent achieved grades I-III matching the 43% in 2018. The rate was 38% in 2017, 37 % in 2016, 20% in 2015 and 36% in both 2013 and 2014.” She then interjected: “We are very proud of these students and the teachers who prepared them — and all of the students for the various examinations at the various levels.
While Mrs. Carty heartily congratulated the achieving students, she did not leave any stone unturned to strongly insist that the school needs the help of parents and guardians to assist with the challenges brought on by defiant and unruly students who have gone to the extent at becoming even physically violent in school. She commented: “Although there is always a majority of students who choose to be cooperative and compliant, at times the atmosphere was negatively tainted by the few who made it a habit to show little or no respect for authority, as they use profane language, without compunction, and are ever willing to engage in violence with their peers.”
Admirably though, some 223 awards were issued to students in recognition of their outstanding academic accomplishments in 2019. Recognition was also given to retiring Deputy Principal of Campus B, Mrs. Octavia Melsadis Fleming, as well as Deputy Principal, Curriculum. Mr. Worrel Brooks. In addition, four other retiring teachers, namely: Mrs. Doreen Richardson; Mr. Corvette Richardson; Mrs. Euridith Brown; and Mr. Roland Hodge were all recognized for their longstanding service and their dedicated tenure at the school.
To wind the night down, the School Choir sang the traditional Christmas carol, “Go Tell it”, while “All I Want for Christmas” was played with excellence by the Concert Band — and an exuberant medley of tunes was rendered by the Steel Orchestra, lighting up the auditorium with even more of the spirit of Christmas.
Closing remarks were made by the Master of Ceremonies and the Vote of Thanks was given by Ms. Laesha Samuel.
Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
