THE Alumni of the St Elizabeth based Bethlehem All Age and Infant School honoured some of its veteran educators and past students, at an inaugu ral dinner on August 17, with proceeds in aid of a computer laboratory at the institution.

“These teachers have taught many of us, and the students respect them. They have helped us to be who we are today. For the past students who have helped (the school) tremendously, the focus was to prove to the people in the community that Bethlehem is a good school. We have produced some brilliant scholars, and we really wanted to appreciate them,” said president of the group, Frank Marshall.

The dinner was held at the Bethlehem Moravian College in the parish, and those honoured were Enid Betton, Dr Sheila Campbell-Forrester, Ena Campbell, Beatrice Kavanaugh, Audley Gouldbourne, Lancelot Rainer, and Dr Patrick Bennett.

Dr Campbell-Forrester, who recently retired as Jamaica’s chief medical officer, told the gathering that the honour from her community and school has made her very “happy”, and called for individuals to work for improvement of their communities, and the entire nation.

“Your formative years are so important in whatever happens to you, so I am grateful to Bethlehem school for nurturing me. I have to give honour to the institution for what I have achieved. All of us have a responsibility to pass on the knowledge that we have, and to share whatever little we have towards the development of our present generation as the future. Whatever we can do to make our old school a better place, and to make Jamaica a better place, I encourage us all,” she said.

Guest speaker and principal of the school, James Folkes, said the institution “continues to perform creditably academically”.

He announced that an initiative to boost education at the school will be launched in September, and lauded the past students for their sterling contribution to the institution.

“It is noteworthy to mention that of the ten teachers on staff; fifty per cent are past students of this institution, and I want to publicly say that I believe that our past students are second to none, in supporting this school,” he added..

“As we look forward for the beginning of a new school year, I am pleased to announce that an enrichment centre to boost our literacy and numeracy level will be established by the Digicel Foundation next month. In addition, a building plan is now at the parish council for approval for the building of a new sanitation block for the infant department,” the principal said.

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Retired Chief Medical Officer Dr Sheila Campbell-Forrester (right) receives a plaque from Frank Marshall, president of the alumni of the St Elizabeth based Bethlehem All-Age and Infant Schoo at a re-union dinner on Saturday at the Bethlehem Moravian College, in Malvern. (PHOTOS: JIS)

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James Folkes, principal of the Bethlehem All-Age and Infant School in St Elizabeth, delivering the keynote address at a gala re-union dinner held at the Bethlehem Moravian College on Saturday.

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Some of the past students of the St Elizabeth based Bethlehem All-Age and Infant School who attended Saturday’s re-union dinner.