Communique from the Chair of the Board
We have extracted comments from
a communiqué received from Marilyne (Leung) Trotz,
Chair of the Board of Governors, at the 2006
Prize Giving exercise of St. Rose’s High School.
Mine is a very simple mandate this
afternoon – to say something about the Board, what
it has been doing and what it proposes to do or
initiate during this academic year.
Since assuming office in July of last year
which makes the Board now only 1 year and 4 months
old, still a toddler, we have tried to carry out our
responsibilities in spite of all the constraints
that have faced us. I want publicly to
acknowledge the hard working members of the Board
who are themselves full-time employees, some
self-employed., yet they have sought to find the
time in spite of their overcrowded schedules to go
the extra mile, in keeping with the undertaking they
gave when they agreed to be members of the Board.
Before I make my substantive presentation, I would
just like to observe that I am most
disappointed that we are not able to hold this Prize
Giving exercise in our own Auditorium because
repairs are still going on way beyond the
anticipated date of completion of works.
We sincerely hope that this work will be completed
with expedition. We are most grateful
under the circumstances to the Board of St.
Stanislaus College for coming to our rescue.
For those of you who were not yet with us
last year and to re-apprise those of you who are old
stagers, I just wish to recall that in July 2005,
the Government named this School a Board School, by
a Special Act, which in principle empowered the
Board to manage and administer the School.
However, since this Board is not financially viable
and does not have a core of full-time staff, it has
interpreted this mandate to mean that certain
tasks remain under the purview of the Ministry
of Education, such as bearing costs related to
salaries of staff and repairs and maintenance of the
premises This interpretation has become even more
apt, given the fact that the Board, contrary to
expectations, has not received any subvention from
the Ministry of Education for last year nor this
year and we are not sure what the situation will be
for 2007.
That having been said, the Board has sought
to make its contribution within the limits of its
capability. It has assumed
responsibility for the entire process of appointment
of staff below the top administrative levels, for
determining policy and for generally overseeing the
management of the school.
We could not have carried out our
task without the abundant generosity of the overseas
chapters of our Past Students’ Associations in New
York and Toronto which are vibrant and dynamic and
whose unqualified commitment to their Alma Mater is
to be commended. Their
recognition of the contribution the School made to
their lives should serve as an incentive to us all
and especially to those who are graduating and will
soon join the ranks of Past Students of St. Rose’s.
I urge you to remember your old school.
I also wish to thank our Local Alumni Association
for its financial contribution and to hope that with
an injection of new blood, it will be resuscitated
from the state of dormancy it is now in.
We also wish to record our appreciation to our
benefactors, particularly the Guyana Post Office
Corporation and numerous firms and individuals who
have responded to our appeals.
With assistance provided by those persons
and organizations I just mentioned, we were able to
do a number of things for the school since we took
office. These include: providing
the Marian Wing with water supply through the
erection of a trestle, tanks and the acquisition of
a pump; providing medals and trophies for the
Athletics Meet; providing awards for Distribution of
Awards at Speech Night last year and this year; the
acquisition of Risograph and Sharp
photocopiers; refurbishment of the staff room,
including electrical works and installation of
carrels for the teachers; acquisition of books for
the library; ensuring that every student in the
school has a combination desk and chair, which meant
supplementing the complement that existed; fencing
the agricultural plot,; removing graffiti from the
walls of the school and general manicuring of the
premises; organizing counseling and guidance for
students, on occasion. We hope to
systemize this service, underwriting the salary of a
full-time caretaker, underwriting a monthly
honorarium for an accounting specialist to maintain
our books.
Our plans for this year include commencing
work on the following:
Refurbishing the Biology, Physics and
Chemistry Laboratories, the Home Economics room, the
Library and the Industrial Arts Room. We
are awaiting completion of the repairs to the School
being carried out by Government before we submit our
final plans and estimates to Toronto and New York
which have committed themselves to this project.
Clearly, a massive job is envisaged here which may
not be completed within this academic year, but we
hope to make a start in the New Year.
Repairing the wash room facilities for
staff -- the GPO which years ago adopted the
School is financing this project. Providing
water for the building that houses the computer room
and library; Organisation of a Retreat for Teachers.
As you can see, our plate is full.
I would like to advert, however, to the
vandalism that continues to occur in the school
compound. We are not certain who the
perpetrators are. I refer to the
constant breaking of the pipes and fittings leading
to the water supply in the Marian Wing.
It is most discouraging when we install equipment to
have it vandalized. I would also like to
refer to the breakdown in discipline on occasion,
for example rowdyism, occasional substance abuse and
unauthorized absences from school. The
Board would wish to see such phenomena eliminated.
As we strive to create an environment in
St. Rose’s for growth and development to take place,
for our students to fulfill their potential and for
the School to maintain its rank as one of the top
schools in this nation, we need the cooperation of a
number of players.
Firstly, the students themselves who need to buy-in
to what is being done for them, to be proud of
themselves and their school and to be vigilant over
maintaining the premises.
Secondly, the staff whom I must
commend for the hard work they perform in trying
circumstances of inadequate remuneration must
be even more committed to supervising and nurturing
those entrusted to them. Thirdly, you
parents need to join hands with
us in seeing that your children live up to the
standards we are trying to set by encouraging
them to respect themselves and others and to
maintain a wholesome school environment.
We ask, parents and guardians,
for your moral support in our endeavours.
I could not end this presentation without
saying a word of gratitude to the Government which
has responded to our vigorous interventions by
undertaking major repairs to the School.
There is a significant difference between what we
found when we took office and what exists now.
Let us all commit ourselves this evening to keep our
environment intact, and to be our neighbour’s keeper
in this effort.
Let us inculcate discipline and the quest
for perfection as a way of life. All for the honour
and glory of our School motto – SERVIAM which
translated into English means “I shall serve”.
GREETINGS FROM ST. JOHN BOSCO ORPHANAGE
The Sisters, Administrator, Staff and Boys
of St. John Bosco Orphanage in Plaisance,
mailed us a Christmas Card which read : May
God Joy, Hope and Peace be with you and your family
this Christmas and in the New Year. Thank you
for your kindness and generosity to our boys.
With Warm wishes and prayers, signed Grace Daniels,
Administrator.
|
2006 Pre-Christmas Dance Big Success !
The theme this year was “Hollywood”.
Elizabeth (Gobin) Solomon took that theme
and decorated the hall accordingly. There were
posters from big Hollywood movies posted on the
walls while the tables were dressed with white table
cloths and a black overlay. The centre pieces
were martini glasses, white elbow length gloves, and
pearls or disco ball ornaments in gift boxes.
Then there was a slide show running on the backdrop
of the stage with portraits of the big movie stars
of the past and the present.
As our guests arrived they stepped on to a
red carpet where paparazzi photographers, Terry Kim
Katchay and Howard Welshman recorded their entrance.
And our guests looked magnificent—they took
the Hollywood theme and ran with it. There was
much glitterati and ‘bling bling”; some guests went
one notch higher— there was a top hat, great coat
and cane - a Foxy Brown impersonator,
Cleopatra, a Mexican personality, various
interpretations of Miami Vice outfits, ladies in
grand capes, etc.
All in all, our guests took a lot of time
planning their wardrobe and seemed to have fun in
the process. We will print copies of the
photographs for anyone wanting a copy (for a nominal
fee) and will post some of the photographs on our
website for viewing.
Our DJ (Bad Lad) along with Richard Luces
and his four piece band kept the floor filled at all
times and, while their job is not an easy one,
generally the consensus was that everyone had a good
time. Disc Jockeys and musicians
can never please everybody all of the time, but if
they can please most of the people, most of the
time—they can be considered to be “batting 100”.
Photos below show some of our
patrons as they walked in to the dance. We
will be posting other photographs on our website
shortly.
MESSAGE FROM THE
PRESIDENT
As I come to
the end of my first term I would like to
thank everyone on the Committee for all
their hard work and dedication. I have
accepted a second term confident that
their dedication will still be there.
Elizabeth (Gobin)
Solomon will not sit on the committee in
2007 and her unfailing dedication and
hard work while on the committee will be
greatly missed by us all. We
have managed to extract a promise from
her that she will continue with the
decorations for our pre-Christmas
dances. Thank you Elizabeth.
Thanks also to
our members and friends for their
continued support of St. Rose's — there
is still a lot of work to be done.
On behalf of
the Committee and myself I hope you and
your families enjoyed a Very Merry
Christmas and wish you good health,
wealth and happiness for 2007.
Remember,
Christmas is JOY - Jesus, Others,
Yourself
Tessa
(King) Ng-See-Quan
|
;)
Christmas
has come and gone again, that wonderful and
magical time of the year when we embrace our
families and friends with the joy and wonder of
Christ’s birth. How fast the months have gone
by. We are certainly living at an unprecedented
and frenetic pace and our lives are not as
leisurely as our parents and grandparents have
enjoyed.
Congratulations
to Monica (Serrao) Gomes
on the birth of a granddaughter, Madison Leigh
Malloy-Gomes on November 23rd to her son Neal
Gomes and Kelley Malloy. Madison was 7
lbs, 14 ozs.
a.m.
weighing 5 lbs. 8 ozs. Proud parents
Melissa and Carlo are doing well, while the
grandparents are extremely excited.
