ST Andrew High School for Girls last Friday unveiled its newly created flag in a solemn but celebratory ceremony that displayed the institution’s deep respect for God and its commitment to Jamaica.

The inaugural hoisting of the school flag — designed by Deputy Head Girl Kathryn Lawrence — also served as the launch of the school’s 90th anniversary celebrations which, Principal Sharon Reid told guests, will run for a year.

“This flag is a symbol of respect and true devotion,” Reid said before the standard was blessed and hoisted on one of two flag poles in the small roundabout just inside the school’s Cecelio Avenue entrance.

“In a short while when we witness the school flag unfurl beside the Jamaica National Flag we call upon all members of the school family to be mindful of the strong correlation between loyalty to school and loyalty to our country,” Reid added.

“Wherever we are in the world, ours is the task to always find ways to contribute positively to the strengthening of our school and our nation,” she said.

Education Minister Ronald Thwaites, in his address, urged the students to be guided by the spiritual lessons imparted to them and which reside deep in their hearts to build the social competencies and academic excellence that represent their heritage at the school.

He praised the school for its tradition of excellence and said that there are three ingredients to an excellent education.

The first, he said, is doing well academically.

“St Andrew High School has long distinguished itself in this regard, and I urge you to move with the times and to do as I know you are doing, which is to expand your curriculum so that not only the pure sciences, the humanities are offered, but some of the useful, technical competencies, which will make you ready for work and disposed to further education,” Thwaites said.

The second ingredient, he continued, is social competence. “This morning I have admired the precision and decorum of the Rangers. I have admired the graciousness and the winning smiles of those who have greeted your guests… and I recognised the sharp discipline and happy faces of those seated in the audience.

“Part of our education here is to affirm the dignity of each one of you, and the beauty that God has placed within you,” Thwaites said.

“Young women of Jamaica, follow the example of the ethics and standards of St Andrew High School for Girls. We don’t need to bleach our skin or to put on somebody else’s hair in order to be beautiful,” he said, eliciting loud applause. “It is your generosity of spirit, it is the freshness of your smile and it is the acuteness and resplendence of your personality that will cause you to become happy and attractive in your lives.”

The third ingredient Thwaites listed was “spiritual awareness, for us not to believe that each of us is the centre of the world, but to recognise that it is in co-operation, it is in loving care for one another, and particularly for those who are challenged, who are weaker, that we find happiness. [And] that it is in faithfulness and love that we are examples of the good life”.

He paid respect to the alumni and elicited laughter by saying “This is one of the few places where you can still refer to them as old girls”.

Then added: “You can do so because they know who they are, and there is no nomenclature that can demean their dignity and their pedigree. And while others are oversensitive, they are proud and return to where their intellectual and social navel strings have been buried, and say to the school that there is a covenant of mentorship, of relationship, of support, of heritage shared, and to be exhalted between you, the present students, and they who you can look upon with pride.”

Thwaites also used his address to pay tribute to the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands and the Methodist Church which cofounded the school, saying that 90 years ago they were “not accustomed to what is now called ecumenical action, but have maintained a tradition of jointure in this institution and provide a living, vibrant example of how persons of Christian faith and their organisations should come together in order to lift up the Lord’s finest creation — the human spirit”.

The programme, for which St Andrew alumni and noted former broadcaster Elaine Wint served as master of ceremonies, was executed with military precision.

The school hymn was led by three members of the choir — Ashley Anderson, Taniel Campbell, and Lois-Anne Hall.

Prayer was offered by Rev Astor Carlyle after which Marjorie Hyatt, chair of the board of management, gave the official welcome.

Following the principal’s remarks, Deputy Head Girl Davia Blake led the student body in reciting the School Mission and Statement of Purpose, after which seven members of the Drama Club — dressed in the school’s uniforms since 1925 — performed verse as they engaged in the ceremonial presentation of the flag.

The principal, after receiving the rolled flag from Deputy Head Girl Lawrence, presented it to the Rt Rev L Christopher Mason, moderator of the United Church, and Rev Christine Benguche, acting president, Jamaica District Conference, Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, who both asked God’s blessing on the standard and prayed that good governance, ethics, and accountability will continue to be evident in the affairs of this school.

“May tolerance and respect be evident in the face of differences, and may the soaring of the flag inspire pride, loyalty and honour within our students,” Benguche prayed.

Thereafter, Head Girl Arielle Ashley, a Ranger, collected the flag from board chair Hyatt and marched with her squad to one end of the roundabout, after which she walked to the flag pole and, in approximately one minute and 20 seconds, had the flag fluttering in the wind.

“A truly historic occasion,” was how Principal Reid described the event in her earlier remarks.

“When the decision was taken by the 90th Anniversary Committee to ask students to submit designs for a school flag, I do not think that any of us realised just how significant a role this flag would play in the 90th anniversary celebrations and also in the life of the school community,” she said.

“It is now clear to me that, once again, the Lord went ahead of us and orchestrated this entire exercise. The design selected by the committee was most certainly inspired by the Lord. The symbolism behind the creation of this design embodies the true spirit of the St Andrew High School family and we commend our Deputy Head Girl Kathryn Lawrence for the care she took in its creation.”

Reid said that in discussing the flag-raising exercise with the students she was very pleased with their responses when asked about the significance of a flag to the community.

“One student described the flag as a symbol of identification; it says to everyone that this set of people are a unique group with features and characteristics that distinguish them from others,” the principal related.

“Another student said that the flag symbolises for a people their great achievements. It reminds them of the struggles they have gone through and also of the many blessings they have received on their journey together.

“Another said the flag is a symbol of pride in who we are, and it serves as a rallying call to all members of the family, our community, to come together and work hard to ensure that the rich legacy that we have inherited is passed on from one generation to the next.”

She told the guests that at the end of the discussion she reminded the girls that “within the context of this world it is only independent nations that have the privilege of flying their own flag, and that prior to our Independence it was the British flag that was flown in Jamaica”.

“When you are in a position to create and hoist your own flag it gives you a strong sense of self and a confidence in who you are as a people,” Reid added.

She said the hoisting of the flag serves as a clarion call to all members of the St Andrew High School family to come out in their numbers and support the activities planned for the year-long celebrations that are scheduled to begin on September 21 with an anniversary service in the school’s garden theatre.

“There is indeed much to celebrate — 90 years of stellar growth and achievement, 90 years of investing in the lives of beautiful young ladies who graduate to become leaders in their various walks of life, both locally and internationally,” Reid said.

“We believe that our founding fathers and mothers, and all who have gone before would be pleased with our progress. However, there is still much more to be accomplished. I believe that the sentiments expressed in the theme for the 90th anniversary celebrations [Enriched, Empowered, Abounding in God’s Favour] encapsulate the reality of those of us who are privileged to be a part of this school community — whether as student, teacher, support staff, parent, or friend. For through the St Andrew High experience we have all been enriched, empowered and are truly abounding in God’s favour.

“May our school flag serve as a constant reminder to us of the rich heritage that we share. I am confident that with God’s help there is nothing that can stand in the path of success for those who are called to live the ‘life more abundant’.”