BLACK RIVER, St Elizabeth — Like many other Jamaican schools, Black River High has to deal with the two-shift system and other negatives.

However, new school leader, Principal Theobold Fearon, is bubbling with confidence as he gets set for the start of the new school term tomorrow.

“The school is full of possibilities, there is great potential here. The school has done very well in mathematics and English, and I have found extremely dedicated teachers who are willing to work hard,” Fearon, formerly principal of Godfrey Stewart High, told the Jamaica Observer by phone.

Fearon is replacing retired educator Valencia Honeyghan, who served at Black River as interim principal for a year, following the secondment of former Principal Roderick Harley to the Ministry of Education.

Like Fearon, Honeyghan — who had come to Black River after leading Bishop Gibson High in Mandeville — had rich praise for the teaching staff when the Sunday Observer visited at the start of the summer holidays in July.

Despite the shift system which cuts into study time and makes extra-curricular activities extremely difficult, as well as other down sides such as cramped and inadequate classroom, laboratory and administrative space, “Black River High teachers know how to improvise and cut and carve”, Honeyghan said.

Limitations notwithstanding, Black River High, with 1,794 students and 94 teachers, had done well, achieving impressive grades in mathematics last year, Honeyghan said.

“We have done our fair share academically. Last year we had three students among the top 10 in CAPE integrated maths and our Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate students are doing well too,” she boasted. “It shows good work is going on here, even with handicaps.”

And while the high cost of sport has badly affected performances and even forced the school’s withdrawal from some competitions in recent years, Honeyghan pointed to an outstanding record in the performing arts.

In fact, students and teachers active in music, drama and dance were invited to New York in August to perform at celebrations related to Jamaica’s Independence anniversary.

For Honeyghan, expansion of classrooms, laboratories, administrative offices — including space for the principal, vice-principals and staff, which are so cramped that sometimes “we can’t find space to turn” — should be a priority.

A gift of four classrooms from the Government of Japan is in the pipeline and, when complete, will be a big help as the school gets closer to the long-promised termination of the shift system in Jamaican schools.

“Four classrooms will still not be enough, but it will help us to do some form of staggering (of classes),” she said.

Located just west of the coastal town of Black River, St Elizabeth’s capital, Black River High sits on 16 acres of land which school leaders point out provide plentiful space for expansion.

“Everyone has to understand that when you have overcrowded classrooms some students are going to be left behind,” Honeyghan said.

As he takes the reins, new Acting Principal Fearon says he will be among those holding the Government to its word to speedily replace the shift system which, he said, was not only a direct hindrance to student development, but adversely affects teachers’ ability to plan.

However, Fearon said that even with the space and logistical limitations, he will be working closely with his teaching staff to help students be the best they can be.

“I know schools on straight day that are not doing as well as Black River High,” he said.

As is always the case in the education system, much of the onus is on teachers, he said. “Teachers have the potential to inspire and motivate students… or we can turn them off and demotivate them to Jamaica’s peril,” Fearon said.