EDUCATION Minister Senator Ruel Reid on Monday lauded the achievements of the Half-Way-Tree Primary School, hailing it as a benchmark institution for other schools to emulate.

He lauded the cleanliness of the institution and described it as a “premium primary school in the country”. The education minister also congratulated the school on its Grade Six Achievement Test results, and said he was also proud of the fact that 95 per cent of the immediate past grade six students passed for the schools of their choice.

Half-Way-Tree Primary was one of four secondary and primary institutions that were visited by Reid and other members from the ministry during a tour on the morning of the new school year, which started formally on Monday. The other schools were Old Harbour High and Old Harbour Primary in St Catherine, and the New Day Primary and Junior High School in Kingston.

Reid stated that he was looking forward to spending a lot of money to improve the cafeteria at Half-Way-Tree Primary, noting that the ministry has a major project ongoing nationwide to improve school kitchens by purchasing new equipment, such as stoves, in order to provide first-class facilities that will ensure students get nutritious lunches.

Reid, who in his address said he was very excited about the new school year and the support the ministry has been getting from schools, added that the ministry was prepared to stand with schools and provide as many resources as they can to help in growth and development.

The minister said if he has his way, technology would be made available to all schools across Jamaica in an attempt to fast-track the productivity process. This, he said, would see teachers not having to go the paper route to mark registers and that grades could be uploaded online or emailed to parents on time.

Principal of Half-Way-Tree Primary Carol O’Connor Clarke said the first day of the school year started off fairly well because the institution was ready and prepared for the process. She explained that they welcomed 72 transfer students and 140 grade one students, which is around the same number of students welcomed yearly, in order to keep the population at a reasonable average following the departure of grade six students.

“For this year, we want to focus on our spelling…so we can be the next school to win the spelling bee; also, we want to hire a maths specialist and we are looking at some more extra-curricular activities for the students,” O’Connor Clarke stated.

“We have to ensure that each child is participating in a sport he or she likes; our athletics team did very well last school year, so we want to continue to place focus on that area because we want to build a rounded school, not just academics, but one where children can experience other things,” said the school principal.

With regards to new safety and security measures, the principal said the school will be erecting a perimeter fence around the back of the school so students will be able to watch and participate in after school programmes without going on the playfield.

“We have been doing well, so we give God thanks for that, [but] we want to exceed that level of excellence from last year. We place a lot on academics and discipline, so we want to maintain that and go above that this year,” O’Connor Clarke stated.

— Javene Skyers