BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - Students and teachers of the present came face to face with the teachers and students of the past and they looked at one another across a fifty year span.
The seating arrangement in the Church made this possible. On one side in the choir loft sat the present uniformed students while directly opposite in the other choir loft sat the past teachers, Board members, and one student from the first batch of students the school produced when it originally started in 1961.
The present Principal, Mrs. Elizabeth Condell and the Minster of Education, Hon. Marcella Liburd, were seated in the middle symbolically bridging the gap between them.
This was the stage set at the Wesley Methodist Church, Basseterre, on Sunday October 30, 2011, when an Anniversary Thanksgiving Service started the activities commemorating 50 years of existence of the George Moody Stuart School (GMSS), also known as the ‘Factory School’.
That original student referred to above was Alastair Yearwood (of Inside the News fame) who, during the Reflections section of the programme, spoke directly to the present students and sauntered down memory lane to describe to them his experiences while he attended the school in the sixties.
Admitting he was naughty then (though making no admission if he still was), he remembered that teachers cared for him despite his naughtiness, and were responsible for laying down the moral code by which he still lives.
He asked the students to love and respect their teachers. He also recalled that it was at that school that he learnt to play cricket.
Unoma Allen, another past student who now lectures at CFB College, in recalling her activities there, paid tribute to Miss Pamela Wall who ‘challenged her vocal chords’ and may be responsible for her present day calypso singing.
She recalled that parents liked the school because it had small classes which meant that students could get individual attention. A very important aspect parents also considered then was that there was no corporal punishment.
She disclosed that students left GMSS with a ‘good perspective’; understanding that they should look out for one another; how to be frugal; to be courageous and not afraid of anything; and there was a place for Creole (dialect) and a place for Standard English.
In her reflections, Shenelle Crooke (a present CFB College student) spoke of the very welcoming atmosphere of the school, as did those speaking before her. She attributed her athletic ability to an early start there and she adequately summarized what the others also sought to put over when she said.
“You entered a school but when you left, you left a family”
Chairman of the proceedings Mr. Warren Thompson felt justified in encouraging parents to ‘Try GMSS first’ as he underscored the record of excellence held by the school as could be seen through their outstanding students.
He highlighted the students who gave ‘Reflections’ as well as Kaylor Bass, who sang beautifully- a song of redemption; Dr. Louise Lawrence and Mr. Christian Nathanial who were organists for the Service; also highlighted was present-day teacher (though not a past student) Mrs. Jillian Musgrave-Archibald) for her record of excellence in Netball over the years. Enough reason, repeated Mr. Thompson, for “trying GMSS first”.
Present students were active participants in the Service giving items in song and poetry, picking up the collection and introducing the main speaker, Rev Nasel Ephraim.
Guidance
Rev. Ephraim, in her address, focused on teachers. Viewing Teaching as a Ministry, she went on to implore teachers to ask for God’s guidance to enable them to become teachers who inspired, teachers of excellence and teachers who could speak the truth in love.
She insisted that teachers “teach more for transformation and less for transfer of information”.
Minister of Education, Hon Marcella Liburd stressed the need for all students to have healthy bodies as well as healthy minds and healthy spirits as these, she said, provided the real path to success.
A heartwarming and much applauded part of the service was the Presentations segment when gifts of appreciation were presented to former Principals, former teachers and to longest serving teachers.
Former students attending were thrilled to see them and it gave all the opportunity to again travel down memory lane and soak up the nostalgia.
Along with the church service, the school is also planning a number of other activities to celebrate their milestone including a march through the streets, a Cultural Display, a dinner, a talent explosion, a parents’ walk and a parents’ quiz.
The 50 year anniversary is being celebrated under the theme, “Pursuing Excellence through Quality Education”, and students fifty years on will continue to strive like those before them to live up to the school’s motto - “I am, I can, I ought, I will”.
