Grief at St Hugh’s, Mico Practising
It is 12 noon and Renee Evans, an integrated science teacher at the St Hugh’s High School slowly marks test papers for a group of first form students as she sits on a chair in the school’s staff room.
Among the papers was that of 12 year-old Codeon Bartlett, who along with her seven-year-old sister, Terry-Ann Robinson of Mico Practising School died in a motor vehicle accident in Cross Roads.
Codeon, who started high school last September, earned a B+.
“She was a bright girl and you can see the evidence here,” Evans said, pointing to the results on Codeon’s test paper.
“She was very friendly and cooperative, she added. “I am in shock, sad at best. Her death makes me realise the value of life, you don’t know when or how you are going to die.”
Codeon’s form teacher, Ionie Gray, echoed those sentiments.
“She was very pleasant and quiet, assertive and had good qualities,” Gray told the Observer, noting that Codeon was especially involved in conducting devotions.
According to Gray, the news of Codeon’s death brought her an “instant headache”.
“It has been painful ever since I realised that it was actually Codeon who was involved in the deadly accident,” she cried. “And it is even harder when I see the empty chair in her class.”
But Gray had to lend support to her students who are equally shocked and devastated.
Eleven-year-old Sabrina Cain was probably the worst affected. She was Codeon’s best friend.
“I feel very sad,” she cried. “She was the first student to talk to me when I entered this school in September and she would always wait on me after school.
“I never expected her to leave me so soon, her family does not deserve this,” she sobbed.
“I couldn’t believe the news. She was a nice girl and she was so happy in devotion yesterday (Wednesday),” added Vanessa King, another of Codeon’s friends.
Tenil Copeland and Kadian Hammond added that Codeon was “nice and always smiling”.
Meanwhile, the school’s director of learning, Daphnie Morrison said while she did not “know Codeon personally”, the accounts given by other teachers suggested that “she was a lovely girl with a great deal of potential”.
“She came here with high marks from the GSAT (Grade Six Achievement Test) examinations,” she added.
The incident, she said was a “terrible tragedy” that left her staff, especially those who taught Codeon, in grief.
“They are devastated,” she said, noting that the first form students, and especially those from Codeon’s class were getting grief counselling.
Nearby at the Mico Practising School, a bag occupied an empty chair beside seven-year-old, Romone Rose in Grade 2h. Up until Wednesday, that chair, between Romone and Adrian Williams, was occupied by one of their good friends, Terry-Ann.
“I cried when I heard she was dead,” said Adrian who claimed he was Terry-Ann’s boyfriend.
Earlier the almost 30 students in his class drew pictures of Terry-Ann as instructed by the class’s assistant teacher, Tamika Mallette.
But being Terry-Ann’s best friend, seven-year-old Christina Silvera felt she should do a little more than what the teacher instructed.
“Dear Terry Ann,” she wrote.
” I remember the times we played, talked, walked, had fun and had good times. I remember the day I saw your face and we looked alike. I thought we were growing up together. We loved each other every day. We had lunch together. Now we don’t have those times anymore. Terry, I love you and Yendy loves you too. We all love you, Terry. Terry, we miss you.”
“I feel very, very sad that Terry-Ann is not here anymore,” Christina told the Observer.
Terry-Ann, according to her teacher, Cynthia Patterson, was a popular student and a leader.
“When you think of her, you think of the early morning sunshine,” Patterson said.
“She was a leader and the light of anywhere she went. You couldn’t do anything to make her sad and she was there for the other students when they were down.”
Another teacher, Dawn Smith, added: “She called me ‘Auntie’ because she established a close relationship with me after she learnt that I had previously taught her father. She was a leader, loving and very popular.”
Meanwhile, principal Lennox Peart said the school had lost “one of its leaders”.
“I personally have lost a daughter and a friend. She was a popular student, everyone knew her and that’s why everyone is affected,” he told the Observer.