SHOTS IN THE DARK 2 students hurt in overnight shooting at Md. high school

Feb. 4, 2015: Officials enter Frederick High School. (AP)

Two students were shot outside a Maryland public high school Wednesday night while a basketball game was being played inside causing panic as parents rushed to the scene to make sure their children were OK.

The Frederick High School students were flown to a Baltimore hospital. The injuries they suffered did not appear to be life-threatening, Frederick Police Capt. Richard Hetherington said. He did not know the ages or gender of the students.

Hetherington said the shooter or shooters were still at large early Thursday.

Frederick Police Department Lt. Bruce DeGrange told FoxNews.com the shooting took place at 8 p.m. and the authorities immediately locked down the building.

Officers took about 200 people who were at the game into the cafeteria. Police secured the building and questioned witnesses, Hetherington said. Students were released to their parents in the parking of a nearby bowling alley.

Frederick High School junior Sofia McCluskey said she was watching the game and heard a muffled shot. “Someone yelled, `Yo, they’re shooting,”‘ she said. “And we just ran as fast as we could.”

She and her friend, Stephanie Sanchez, said they ran to the locker room and were taken to the cafeteria, where they waited and were briefly interviewed by police.

Sanchez said it was a frightening experience. “I was, like, shaking the whole time. I still am,” she said.

Dejuan Jones, a sophomore, said, “You would expect it to happen at a varsity game, but it was like a JV game,” he said. “Nobody hardly comes to those.”

Frederick County Public Schools officials tweeted that all other staff and students were safe and accounted for.

The high school has about 1,300 students. The district said that the school would be closed Thursday for students.

FoxNews.com’s Karl de Vries and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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SHOTS IN THE DARK 2 students hurt in overnight shooting at Md. high school

UWI students take top spots at US Student Leadership Conference

By Balford Henry, Senior Staff Reporter

Saturday, January 31, 2015 | 1:20 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Garrick Donaldson and Rashaun Kanute Watson, undergraduate students in the Department of Government at the University of the West Indies, Mona took first and second places respectively at the Charles E Williams II Advanced Leadership Institute annual Oratorical Contest in the USA.

The contest was staged at the 27th South-western Black Student Leadership Conference on Saturday, January 24 at the Texas A&M University. The UWI was also presented with an award for International Recognition.

The subject this year was, “Homicide is the leading cause of death amongst African American youth ages 15-24″.

Black youth in the US are 10 times more likely to be victims of homicide than their white peers. On August 9, 2014 an unarmed 18-year old African American male, Michael Brown, was shot 6 times and killed by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, as Brown and a friend were approaching the sidewalk. After his death the photos of Brown that were used, not only, portrayed a negative image of Brown; but young black males over all.

Mainstream media and commercial advertising continue to portray African-Americans in stereotypical roles with anti-black images. How did you believe the media framed the shooting of Michael Brown and why? Do you believe this situation stood for the justice and equality our nation prides itself on?

The Charles E Williams Advanced Leadership Institute (ALI) is a special forum specifically for seasoned student leaders who have demonstrated their abilities at their own colleges.

ALI pushes these students to take it to the next level. This limited enrolment programme is held in conjunction with Southwestern Black Student Leadership Conference (SBSLC), but provides a more in-depth workshop line-up and one-on-one attention.

The UWI participants received a generous contribution from the principals office.

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UWI students take top spots at US Student Leadership Conference

Mexico students "not in mass grave"

15 October 2014 Last updated at 01:55 The disappearance of the 43 students has shocked Mexicans and led to violent demonstrations Mexico’s attorney general says DNA tests have shown that 28 bodies found in a mass grave are not those of a missing group of students.

Jesus Murillo Karam said further tests were being carried out on four other recently discovered grave sites.

The 43 students went missing three weeks ago amid violent protests in Iguala, south of Mexico City.

Mr Karam said 14 more police officers had been arrested, accused of handing the students over to a drugs gang.

About 50 people have been arrested in connection with the students’ disappearance, with the vast majority being local police officers.

The officers are believed to have been working for a drugs gang, known as the Guerreros Unidos.

The shallow mass graves were found on the outskirts of Iguala earlier this month

On Tuesday, police said the gang’s leader, Benjamin Mondragon, had killed himself when he was about to be arrested during an operation by Mexican security forces in the state of Morelos.

The missing students all attended a teacher training college in Iguala, some 200km (125 miles) south of Mexico City.

The college has a history of left-wing activism but it is not clear whether the students were targeted for their political beliefs.

Renewed hope

They disappeared after deadly clashes with the police on 26 September in which six people died. Eyewitnesses reported seeing them being bundled into police vans.

Will Grant, the BBC’s Mexico correspondent, says confirmation the missing students were not found in mass graves will give their families renewed hope.

Many of the families are camped out in Iguala waiting for answers from the local authorities.

On Monday, crowds of fellow students and teachers from the teaching college set fire to Guerrero state headquarters in the city of Chilpancingo.

They are angry at a perceived lack of progress in the investigation and have called for state governor Angel Aguirre to resign.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has vowed to find and punish those responsible for the disappearances, saying the incident was “shocking, painful and unacceptable”.

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Mexico students "not in mass grave"

Mexico bodies "not all students"

12 October 2014 Last updated at 01:38 The disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College students has shocked Mexicans Some bodies found in shallow graves near the Mexican town of Iguala are not those of students missing after clashes with police, the state governor says.

The 43 students were last seen being pushed into police vans after a protest in Guerrero state on 26 September.

“I can say that some of the bodies, according to the work of forensics experts, do not correspond to the youths,” said Governor Angel Aguirre.

Prosecutors believe police turned over the students to a drug gang.

The gang was linked to the family of Iguala’s Mayor Jose Luis Abarca Velazquez.

He, his wife and his head of security went on leave after the clashes and have not reappeared.

A formal search has been launched for them.

Mr Aguirre has promised new developments in the investigation over the next few days.

“I have big hopes of finding our young students alive. That is why we have now entered a new phase in the search for them,” he said.

The clandestine graves were located in the outskirts of Iguala following an anonymous tip off.

Twenty-eight burnt bodies were retrieved from the pits. Forensic experts are still working to identify all of them, said Mr Aguirre.

‘No impunity’

The students all attended a local teacher training college with a history of left-wing activism.

Federal forces have disarmed local police and taken over security in the town of Iguala Parents of the students joined the search for their loved ones, but many fear the worst at this stage

Six students were killed in two separate shooting incidents during the protests in Iguala, which lies some 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Mexico City.

But it is not clear whether they were targeted for their political beliefs.

Some think that they may have angered a local drug gang called Guerreros Unidos by refusing to pay extortion money.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Mexico to demand government action to locate the students.

President Enrique Pena Nieto went on national television to promise to identify and punish those responsible for the disappearance.

He described the incident as “shocking, painful and unacceptable” and said there will be “no impunity”.

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Mexico bodies "not all students"

Mexico bodies "not all students"

12 October 2014 Last updated at 01:38 The disappearance of the 43 Ayotzinapa Teacher Training College students has shocked Mexicans Some bodies found in shallow graves near the Mexican town of Iguala are not those of students missing after clashes with police, the state governor says.

The 43 students were last seen being pushed into police vans after a protest in Guerrero state on 26 September.

“I can say that some of the bodies, according to the work of forensics experts, do not correspond to the youths,” said Governor Angel Aguirre.

Prosecutors believe police turned over the students to a drug gang.

The gang was linked to the family of Iguala’s Mayor Jose Luis Abarca Velazquez.

He, his wife and his head of security went on leave after the clashes and have not reappeared.

A formal search has been launched for them.

Mr Aguirre has promised new developments in the investigation over the next few days.

“I have big hopes of finding our young students alive. That is why we have now entered a new phase in the search for them,” he said.

The clandestine graves were located in the outskirts of Iguala following an anonymous tip off.

Twenty-eight burnt bodies were retrieved from the pits. Forensic experts are still working to identify all of them, said Mr Aguirre.

‘No impunity’

The students all attended a local teacher training college with a history of left-wing activism.

Federal forces have disarmed local police and taken over security in the town of Iguala Parents of the students joined the search for their loved ones, but many fear the worst at this stage

Six students were killed in two separate shooting incidents during the protests in Iguala, which lies some 200km (120 miles) south of the capital, Mexico City.

But it is not clear whether they were targeted for their political beliefs.

Some think that they may have angered a local drug gang called Guerreros Unidos by refusing to pay extortion money.

Thousands of people have taken to the streets across Mexico to demand government action to locate the students.

President Enrique Pena Nieto went on national television to promise to identify and punish those responsible for the disappearance.

He described the incident as “shocking, painful and unacceptable” and said there will be “no impunity”.

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Mexico bodies "not all students"

Marie Cole Memorial Primary students get new tablets

Launtia Cuff, Star Writer

Students at the Marie Cole Memorial Primary School in North East St Elizabeth were beside themselves with excitement as they received their new tablets courtesy of the tablets in school programme.

Of the 38 schools across the island that have been selected, Marie Cole is the first in Region 5 of the Ministry of Education to receive devices through the programme.

Implementation Supervisor for the programme, from E-learning Jamaica Company Limited, Dorothy Thompson, said that it was necessary to give the technology directly to the students as in some cases when they were given to the school students still do not have enough access.

This way she said, would better ensure an improvement in numeracy and literacy but to ensure that students were brought up to par with international students in terms of being able to access information using digital means.

Have access

“The Universal Service Fund provides Internet access to the schools and to the community so the community can have access to check their email, go online and be able to be involved in this digital world that we are in,” Thompson said.

Principal, Delmas Smith, said parents and teachers must monitor the students’ use of the tablets to ensure that they were being used for the primary purpose of learning.

Although the programme made provision for each registered student at the school to receive a tablet some students were not able to receive as parents or guardians did not show up to sign for the devices.

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Marie Cole Memorial Primary students get new tablets

Good grades in Guilds ... Spalding High students excel in London exams

George Henry

Owen Battiest, head of department, stands with some of his students who were successful in their 2014 sitting of the City and Guilds Motor Vehicle Engineering examinations. From left: Kimannie Daley, Francine Delisser, Kenardo Johnson and Rojay Burrell.

GEORGE HENRY

STAR Writer

Thirteen students at the Spalding High School in Clarendon are elated following their successful sitting of the 2014 administered City and Guilds Motor Vehicle Engineering examination.

THE STAR has learnt that not only are the students and the members of the Industrial Arts department at the school happy about the success, but that the entire school is proud to have been informed that the school has achieved the best results among other schools in the parish this year.

Owen Battiest, the head of Department, is elated for their success, especially because the cost to sit the examination was very high. He said the students had to come up with $10,000 to sit the London examination.

“The students were successful because they were all highly motivated, and it made teaching them very easy. They learnt with very little resources; hence, my elation at their success,” said Battiest, adding that the use of technology in the delivery of the course and extra classes also contributed to their success.

Battiest called on the Government and corporate Jamaica to assist the school in getting well-needed tools – an old motor vehicle among other things – to assist in better preparation of other students. He believes the school can do much better if more resources are acquired.

Francine Delisser, the lone female student in the group, told THE STAR that she felt great knowing she was able to pass the practical subject. The fifth former added that she has a love for motor vehicle engineering from she was attending primary school.

“I spent quality time studying the subject, and it has resulted in me passing with a credit certificate,” said Delisser. She plans to further her studies at the Jamaica German Automotive School in Kingston after graduating.

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Good grades in Guilds ... Spalding High students excel in London exams

Students protest BYU"s beard ban

A group of Brigham Young University students is protesting the Mormon church-owned school’s ban on something its namesake once sported: a beard.

About 50 students, some donning paper beards, biked, skateboarded or rollerbladed their way from the Provo City Library to campus during the “Bike for Beards” protest on Friday night.

“I love BYU. I love being a student here,” protest organizer Shane Pittson said. “But the rule on beards I find particularly outdated.”

The 23-year-old international studies major and other students have launched a petition drive to get the school to lift the ban.

University spokeswoman Carri Jenkins said students agree to its grooming standards before their first day of class and the beard ban was set in place by students.

“It’s nothing against beards. It’s just how we choose to represent ourselves at the university,” she told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Brigham Young and many other early leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints grew beards as they aged. A statue of Young in downtown Salt Lake City depicts him with a beard, but another at BYU shows him clean-shaven.

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Students protest BYU"s beard ban

College facilitates students after fire

George Henry

The Assemblies of God Bible College in Christiana which was destroyed by fire in August.

GEORGE HENRY, STAR Writer

The administration of the Assemblies of God Bible College in Christiana, Manchester, is trying to facilitate students who are currently enrolled at the institution, following a fire which completely destroyed offices, classrooms and living quarters on August 27.

According to academic dean at the college, Reverend Margaret Mills, the fire was caused by an electrical problem and not from the burning of wasps as was being claimed by persons in the Christiana area. She said this has resulted in severe displacement for staff and students. Mills said students are now having classes at the nearby church hall and that living accommodation for male students is now on the church premises.

Mills said arrangements were made to have female students housed at the New Vision Children’s Home in the area. However, she said the female students opted to stay at the church to save on travelling expenses. She added that classes were not held for two weeks, but that there was resumption on September 8.

She pointed out that the building and its contents were not insured, and that it will take at least $100 million to have a new building constructed and to be back in full operation.

The academic dean noted that the Bible College which opened its doors in 1984 to train ministers of the Gospel currently has 34 full-time students. The college has nine persons on staff.

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College facilitates students after fire

School admin to offer aid to displaced students

Chad Bryan, Staff Reporter

The administration of a school in the Corporate Area is claiming that it offered to aid students in registering at another institution after they were displaced because of the halting of their CXC and CAPE programmes.

On Tuesday, several disgruntled students turned up at the school demanding the return of monies they paid for uniforms, registration and tuition.

Persons claimed to have paid more than $10,000 for tuition and other costs. Others claimed to have paid twice the amount.

migrate

“They have been stalling us,” an individual who spoke on condition of anonymity claimed.

One parent stated that because of the issue, she will have difficulty finding another school for her daughter who is soon to migrate.

“I have to be up and down looking for school and it is late now,” she said. She added that she also wanted reimbursement for the school uniform bought.

Rushing to calm the disgruntled individuals, the administration says it has been making restitution to the students. They say the CXC programme was stopped since the monies collected could not fund the programme adequately.

The institution also said that it is willing to reimburse those who spent money purchasing uniforms as well as getting them into another institution.

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School admin to offer aid to displaced students

International foundation awards scholarship to local students

The Lynne Mitchell Foundation, based in Miramar, Florida, has awarded its second annual scholarships to Brianna Blair, Goldie Bourne and Ricardo Greaves formerly of Seaview Primary School in Southfield, St Elizabeth.

All three students earned a US$2,500 scholarship to attend their respective high schools.

The students were chosen for the award based on their excellent academic records and the leadership qualities they brought to light in their stellar scholarship essays. Each student will continue to earn the scholarship yearly in US$500 increments, provided they continue to demonstrate strong academic progress and extra-curricular leadership skills.

“We are so proud of their accomplishments,” said Marlene Gordon, president of the Lynne Mitchell Foundation, which was created to honour a Miramar resident of the same name. “We wish them continued success in their future endeavours.Our hope is that they will excel and use their talents to make a positive impact in the lives of others.”

Blair now attends St Elizabeth Technical High School, Bourne the Hampton High School for Girls and Greaves Munro College.

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International foundation awards scholarship to local students

Students using garden as sex spot

Contributed Glitzy Hair Operations Manager, Mitzie Harriott-Moodie (second left) hands over a cheque to Glenda Harris. Sharing in the moment are Janelle Pinnock (left) and Wendy Russell. The handing over took place at Glitzy Hair’s Clock Tower Plaza location recently.

Andr? Williams, STAR Writer

When Jermin Culley read the article ‘Tumour endangers young man’s life’ in THE WEEKEND STAR of July 31, 2014, about the plight of medullablastoma patient, Kabul Rochester, 21, without thinking twice he decided to make a contribution.

“It was a no-brainer,” he explained. “I was moved almost to tears by the story and I knew that I had to do my part in helping out this family.”

Culley’s staff at Glitzy Hair in Clock Tower Plaza, Half-Way Tree, said their boss has a ‘soft heart’ and is a great philanthropist.

“This isn’t the first time he is doing something like this. Mr Culley loves to give. He gets a deep satisfaction from helping out those who are less fortunate. We weren’t surprised when he came into the store holding a copy of THE STAR and instructed us to make contact with Kabul’s mother because he was going to offer some financial assistance,” Operations Manager Mitzie Harriott-Moodie disclosed.

Although Culley prefers to give quietly, this time he was persuaded to do something a little less private, in the hope that others would be encouraged to make a contribution.

“Perhaps, there are some persons who might not have seen the original article, but they will see this one and it will move something in them, just as it did to me, and we can all put hands and hearts together to help make life a little easier for Kabul and his mother, Glenda Harris,” Culley stated.

A smiling Harris was extremely grateful for the contribution and had words of praise for the management and staff of Glitzy Hair.

Rochester was diagnosed with the rare brain tumour, medulloblastoma when he was just 13.

He has undergone several operations since then. However, the cell disease that forms the tumours can only be eradicated through a treatment called craniospinal radiation, available only at the Radiation Oncology Centre of Jamaica.

Harris is his sole caregiver and she is facing dire financial hardships as she struggles with mounting medical, utility and food bills. The two live in a dilapidated one room structure in Hope Bay, Portland.

Anyone who wishes to assist Kabul and his mother Glenda, may do so via The Kabul Rochester Fund, First Caribbean International Bank a/c # 1001465219

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Students using garden as sex spot

Tablets for top readers - Digicel awards five students from western Jamaica

Contributed Javaede Stevens and Shaday Ellis of Wilson’s Run Primary are very excited to about their new tablets.

Five students from western Jamaica have reason to celebrate with the news that they are being recognised by the Digicel Foundation for strides made in their reading levels.

Javaede Stevens, Orlando Scarlette, Mikilah Fernandez, Hue-Mario Malcolm and Shaday Ellis, were identified under the partnership with the Ministry of Education, Digicel Foundation and United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The top performers from Petersfield Primary in Westmoreland, Lucea Primary in Hanover and Wilson’s Run Primary in Trelawny stepped out ahead of the more than 14,000 students enrolled in the first cohort of 32 schools from rural Jamaica.

Each awardee’s school fees will be covered until they complete their primary education. They also received a $50,000 educational grant and an Android tablet computer.

Javaede Stevens said; “I am so happy that I can use my tablet to learn more.”

Blossom Rhoden, mother of Orlando Scarlette, shared: “It is so important to know what is happening with your children. Orlando loves his teacher, and she has given me so much support in helping him do better in school.”

In addition to the improvements they have all made in their reading levels since being enrolled in the enrichment programme during the last school year, the students have also shown development in other areas including behaviour in school, manners and other subject areas outside of the programme.

Kareen Malcolm from Wilson’s Run Primary says; “I am elated that these students are being recognised even way up in the hills.” Many of our students are from poor socio-economic backgrounds and may not have opportunities like those being given through this award.”

The enrichment programme was designed in collaboration with the Ministry of Education to provide academic intervention for low performing students in primary schools. It seeks to foster improved performances by diagnosing and strategically treating students’ identified learning needs.

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Tablets for top readers - Digicel awards five students from western Jamaica

UWI students excel at Texas leadership contest

TWO members of the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Department of Government High Achievers’ Society (HAS) placed in the top five of the 26th annual Charles E Williams II Advanced Leadership Oratorical Contest at the Southern Black Student Leadership Conference in Houston, Texas earlier this month.

The two are Renee Osbourne and Cleopatra Parkins.

The conference, which was themed ‘Leaders over Limits’, focused on developing the youth leaders skill sets and characteristics, to aid in motivating them to achieve goals and objectives despite societal and personal limitations.

The oratorical contest is aimed at challenging and stimulating the minds of participants, and providing them an opportunity to display their talents of speaking and interpreting their ideas on a specific subject. The competition was open to more than 600 students from over 50 universities across the United States. The Jamaican students were successfully placed in the top five, with Parkins placing second in the competition.

Their success has been welcomed by the Department of Government, given the new vision and focus of the head of the department, Dr Lloyd Waller, who has paid significant attention to youth development and mainstreaming. This has led to various new initiatives and a greater focus on advocacy for youth-led participatory programmes placing youth at the centre of the development process.

The department has also placed youths as the drivers of development and good governance. Its upcoming Research Day will feature a youth-led initiative, spearheaded by the HAS. The focus of HAS is that of Vision 2030′s Youth Perspective. The forum will consist of individuals with a vested interest in youth and youth development, as well as young leaders of the nation.

The Good Governance Society, under the theme ‘You think it, We do it’, will be participating in civic tours across Jamaican high schools, with the aim of educating students about various tenets of good governance, such as accountability, transparency, participation, the rule of law, the equity and inclusiveness, as well as how the Jamaican youth can play their role in preserving these ideals for the good of the nation.

The students were accompanied to the Texas contest by facilitator Shinique Walters. The Office of the Principal assisted in sponsoring the students to attend the conference.

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UWI students excel at Texas leadership contest

Students to benefit from Courtney Walsh Awards

THE presitgious annual Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence is considering adding a dimension where students will be recognised for their outstanding contribution to sports in tandem with academic excellence.

“This year, it is proposed that the Student Excellence Awards be introduced for nominees at the secondary education level. Schools will be asked to nominate one student who has displayed excellent qualities in academic performamce and represented the school in sport, while showing team commitment and good tenets for fair play,” according to the awards organisers.Should it be introduced this year, the winning students, who must be Jamaican nationals and currently in Grades 10 to 13 of secondary school, will get trophies, tablets and one year free Internet service.Also, the schools of the winning students will get a Supreme Ventures plaque and $250,000 award for development of a specified project to benefit the students and the institution.Meanwhile, nominations for the coveted and ninth annual Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence opened with a press launch at Cuddy’z Sports Bar and Restaurant, New Kingston Shopping Centre in Kingston on Thursday evening.In addressinng the function, Brian George, chairman of the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence Selection Committee, extolled the exemplary qualities with which Ambassador Walsh used to distinguish himself on and off the field of play.The Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence is presented annually to an outstanding male or female Jamaican athlete between the ages of 18 and 40, who has represented the country at the senior level.The award is administered by the CHASE Fund.Inaugurated in 2005, the award is based on the positive attitudes demonstrated by Ambasador Walsh, and which makes him an exemplary role model.For the main award, nominees must exhibit for consideration a history of outstanding achievement in their chosen sport, with notable achievements in the calendar year preceding the award; a spirit of sportmanship and goodwill, reflected by truthfulness, courtesy and respect when dealing with other players/competitors and administrators; amodel of sporting endeavour, dedicated to improving individual performance; hard work and excellence in competition; strong national pride; appropriate leadership skills; appropriate deportment; a high level of discipline and integrity, both inside and outside of the sports arena; and humility in the face of victory.A selection committee, comprising a representative each from CHASE, the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA), the Jamaica Olympic Association (JOA), the Jamaica Cricket Association; the Sport Media; the institute of Sports (INSPORTS), the Sport Development Foundation (SDF) and three directors from the CHASE Board, is responsible for processing nominations and selecting the awardee each year.Since the introduction of the prestigious award, eight top achievers whose consistently excellent performances are recognised in Jamaica and oversees have been honoured. They include: James ‘Jimmy’ Clive Adams, 2005; Deon Hemmings, 2006; Elaine Davis, 2007; Nehemiah Perry, 2008; Brigitte Foster-Hylton, 2009; Aleen Bailey, 2010; Dr Neil Gardner, 2010; Veronica Campbell Brown, 2011.(From left) Brian George, chairman of the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence Selection Committee; Dr David McBean, chairman Supreme Ventures Foundation; William ‘Billy’ Heaven, chairman of the Chase Fund and Ambassador Courtney Walsh at the launch of the awards at Cuddy’z Sports Bar in New Kingston on Thursday evening. (PHOTO: GARFIELD ROBINSON)

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Students to benefit from Courtney Walsh Awards

When students go missing

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When students go missing

Past students give back to Hillside Primary

ISLINGTON, St Mary — Hillside Primary School was abuzz with activity on Friday and yesterday, as residents of the Islington community turned out in large numbers to support a venture by past students to give the school a facelift.

Among the activities undertaken were painting, cutting lawns and cleaning drains.Acting principal of the institution Phyllis Williams-Miller was excited about the support that the school got, ahead of the start of the new school year.“The initiative is great. I am totally in for it and appreciative of the services. Hillside Primary School has many, many past students. For the past students to come in and to assist, it is a great move, a grand initiative. I am excited about it because it means that something is happening at Hillside,” Miller told the Jamaica Observer.Miller said students at the school have excelled over the years and so the much-needed assistance is expected to boost the students’ performance even more.“We aim to improve our literacy rates in keeping with the ministry’s standards. We always aim for 100 per cent,” she stated, adding that all her teachers held degrees, as the school tries to give the students the best.While the teachers are all highly-trained, Miller said that a facelift to the property will serve to enhance the learning experience.“I think it will enhance the whole ethos of the school, the morale, students will tend to feel better seeing the school bright, and we hope that it will go over to them; it will have that spillover effect and they, too, will feel that resilience come September morning,” she said.Miller explained that the past students were working assiduously to enhance the learning experience of the students at the school.“They are stepping up and pulling in, truly,” she stated.The Hillside Primary Alumni Association, United States of America Chapter, led the activities over the weekend.President of the association Glenford Nugent said that it was a pleasure for the members of the association to be giving back to the school, which will enhance the development of the community.“We did a fund-raiser in New York and so most of the funding comes from past students,” he stated.“We don’t do this to get praise but because we see it worth doing. We intend to get this bigger. What we are doing is to adopt the school,” he added.“This endeavour makes my heart feel good because this is where we all started out,” Nugent said.But it is not only about giving the school a facelift.Past student Cedric Davis, who is the initiator of the formation of the alumni association, piloted a project which saw the school receiving several computers last year.Davis, who operates the K and J diner in Pennsylvania, USA, said that the association was formed in the US after several past students came to a picnic that he hosts yearly and the decision was made to give back to the school, which has produced many outstanding members of the society.He explained that the past students intend to do even more for the institution and the wider community and there are now plans in place to host a fun day in the community next year.Davis, who has been living overseas for 26 years, said: “I just feel that I should come back and give back something to my school and my community so that’s what I am working on.”“The Government should be doing some things, but we can’t sit and wait on them. The ministry has many schools and so if we can do something, then let us do it for the people,” he stated.Davis said that he is now hoping that other past students will come on board to develop the community and the school.“We want to get in some of the past students who can help. So the people out there who can help, we would like to see them come so we can get this thing to another level,” Davis said.Williams-Miller said that several past students were working to have the computer lab fully functional with Internet access, and for the computers to be used in the learning process.“The only thing missing now is a multimedia projector,” Miller, who is also a past student, told the Sunday Observer.Miller said that the institution intends to “have a rigorous literacy programme using the computers”.“I am really happy that the past students’ association has taken on the challenge to fix the school for back-to-school,” senior teacher at Hillside Primary, Sylvette Williams-Hinds, said.Acting Principal Phyllis Williams-Miller along with members of the Hillside Primary Alumni Association Cedric Davis (right) and Glenford Nugent.These men, all past students of the institution spruce up the school’s wall with paint. (PHOTOS: RENAE DIXON)Cleaning the drains was also part of the activities.

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Past students give back to Hillside Primary

Gunfire erupts at Atlanta school, police evacuate students

Latest News

Tuesday, August 20, 2013 | 2:45 PM

MIAMI, Florida,  (AFP) — Scores of children were safely evacuated from an elementary school in the state of Georgia Tuesday as police responded to reports of shots being fired and arrested a suspect, authorities said.No one was reported injured in the incident involving an “active gunman” in the Ronald E. McNair Discovery Learning Academy in DeKalb County, Georgia near Atlanta.“There have been reports of shots fired. There are no injuries,” Melvin Johnson, the DeKalb County school board chairman, told WSB TV Atlanta.Teachers helped evacuate the school while police moved inside the building and apprehend the suspected gunman, who was not immediately identified.Children were then moved to the parking lot of a nearby Walmart superstore to be reunited with their parents.As the shooting unfolded, US President Barack Obama was coincidentally tweeting about the need to strengthen US gun laws.Like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/jamaicaobserverFollow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/JamaicaObserver

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Gunfire erupts at Atlanta school, police evacuate students

1,000 books for Western Jamaica students

News

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

HUNDREDS of students across western Jamaica are to benefit from over 1,000 children’s books which were presented to representatives of the Ministry of Education and Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) by passengers of the cruise ship, Festival at Sea, which docked in Montego Bay, St James, last week.The donation was facilitated by the San Francisco, California-based agency, Blue World Travel, in the United States, through its Children’s Book Drive, in collaboration with the operators of Festival at Sea.The project, launched some 21 years ago, enables passengers and other stakeholders associated with the agency and vessel to donate educational literature to youngsters resident in any of the towns or cities, and their environs, where the ship makes a port of call. This, is a kind gesture of gratitude to stakeholders at the destinations visited where the hospitality extended was deemed satisfactory.Addressing passengers from the ship and other participants during the handing- over ceremony at the Montego Bay Ship Terminal, JTB Regional Director Rose Marie Johnson expressed gratitude for the generous contribution, noting that the gesture is consistent with the agency’s ‘voluntourism’ initiative.— JIS

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1,000 books for Western Jamaica students

Region Six to get centre for special needs students

EDUCATION Minister Ronald Thwaites has pledged to identify funds in the next budget for the establishment of a special diagnostic and care centre for students with special education needs in Region Six.

Thwaites made the announcement on Friday while addressing teachers, principals and school board chairpersons at the Region Six Back-to-School Conference held at the Portmore Holiness Christian Church in St Catherine.Region Six encompasses the parishes of Clarendon and St Catherine.Thwaites, earlier this year, announced that three special care centres will be established in regions two, four and five by the end of this year.The facilities will be located at the Church Teachers’ College in Manchester; Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College in St James; and the College of Agriculture Science and Education in Portland and are estimated to cost the Government about $40 million.“I’m sorry that we haven’t been able to include a proper diagnostic centre in Region Six in this year’s budget, but I want to promise you, here and now, that in the next budget, whatever else we have to do, we’re going to set up a proper Mico-type care centre, whether it is in Old Harbour, Spanish Town or May Pen, to serve your parishes,” he said.Thwaites said that the centre, in addition to the other three diagnostic facilities to be established in rural Jamaica, will alleviate the need for parents to take their children to Kingston for assessment.He said that this will also lessen the demand on the services of the Mico Child Assessment and Research in Education (CARE) Centre, which is currently the only such facility in Jamaica.Thwaites stated that the move is in keeping with Government’s plans to revitalise and transform the education system with special emphasis on early childhood and special education.“We need to face the facts. We know that probably some 20 per cent of our children fall somewhere on this spectrum of mild to serious education deficiency for one reason or another.“Instead of putting them at the back of the class and instead of saying, ‘I can’t reach this person’, we need to increase the number of people in our schools, who have the capacity and the training to deal with those students, who are in difficult circumstances and who need to be diagnosed and have the appropriate therapy at the earliest stage possible,” he stated.Thwaites said that the centres will be properly staffed with professionals in the area of special education and will also serve as a training ground for teachers, who want to acquire skills in the field.He therefore urged school principals in the region to “start identifying those teachers in your school who have the heart and mind to be a special education teacher”.He said that there is a growing demand for special educators in Jamaica and he hopes to satisfy this need by 2016.THWAITES … we are going to set up a Mico-type centre

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Region Six to get centre for special needs students