Graduating students of the Bridgetown Seventh-day Adventist Primary School were urged to pursue their dreams with discipline, give back to their communities, and remain anchored in their Christian faith, during a spirited send-off ceremony on Sunday.
Principal Dr Cheryl Weekes told the graduation ceremony at the SDA Complex in St Philip that the school’s activities aim to build children who care for their communities and live out their faith.
Dr Weekes stated that one of the major activities to encourage giving back to the community is their annual Week of Prayer and community outreach, where students prayed with neighbours, gave out fruit baskets and literature.
“For those three days, we ask our children to bring a contribution of at least $2 which goes to the specific association because we believe that our children must be community-minded and they must know that they have to be able to give to a cause,” she explained.
She continued that this year they also collected donations for Cancer Awareness Month, Down Syndrome Day and Autism Day. “This year we were able to collect a total of $1 200 to contribute to these three organisations. I think that is something good.”
She added that new programmes and extra support help students reach their full potential.
“During the academic year we were also fortunate to have a coding class offered and we intend to do that again for the next academic year,” Dr Weekes reported. “Not only did we do the sporting activities, but we also had remedial reading — two groups for those children who needed additional assistance with their reading… What I can say is that the facilitators have reported much improvement in the children from the start of the academic year.”
Featured speaker Cecilia Rock reminded the graduates that big dreams demand daily discipline.
“Big dreams only become a reality when small decisions are made daily,” she said. “Set goals. Lots of people set goals but do not write them down. No accountability, no checking, so they lose sight of them.”
She urged the children to guard their time and their focus as they head to secondary school.
She also encouraged them to read and engage in extracurricular activities. “Commit to learning something new or different every day. Read a few pages of a book,” she said, adding: “At the beginning of each week, write a schedule of your intended activities… This helps you to separate the important from the urgent. It prevents you from wasting precious time. Avoid procrastination. It is still the thief of time. Stay focused.”
She also encouraged limiting screen time: “Put your cell phone on a schedule. Do not allow it to be a constant distraction. It is addictive and controlling.”
Rock also had a message for parents: “You must make yourself available to your children and hold their hands as they navigate the next few years… Without your guidance, intervention, persistent and consistent prayers, their big dreams will fail, their bright lights will burn dimly, if at all.”
(LG)
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