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was doing better academically than the writer suggests....robotics etc.
COPIED FROM FACEBOOK.
Gentlemen... the JC Old Boys AGM is scheduled for this Saturday March 8 at the College. As you know, I'm one of the candidates vying for the Presidency in the election to be held on the day, but 5 days out, i want to implore you, all 1,692 of you, to do something other than vote for me on Saturday (although I'd appreciate that as well).
Now before I begin and before you threaten to chase me out of the village with pitch forks and torches, allow me to paint a picture of the JC that I went to in order to give you a better insight into my thought process. I started JC in 1986. A year later we won the Schools Challenge Quiz, and in 1989, we had the distinction of being the first school to have BOTH the Jamaica Scholar AND the Rhodes Scholar come out of JC. (As far as i know, this is still a record but if I'm wrong, i'm sure one of you astute historians will correct me). By the time i was about ready to leave JC, the school was a conveyor belt for Lawyers, Doctors, Politicians (okay maybe we'll leave them out), Leaders in business and commerce, and about every other important endeavour of life that you can imagine. We still hadn't won manning cup since the 1970s however, and had just started to climb back to the ascendency of Athletics at Champs. Who can forget that bitter Saturday night in 1991 when we were told we lost champs by 1 point, and the sweet sweet taste of victory a day later when we found out that there was a mistake with the tallying of points and we were actually winners by the slimmest of margins.
Now flash forward to 2014. As i sat down last week and suffered through JC's decapitation at the hands of Camperdown in the School's Challenge Quiz 2nd round, something occurred to me:
Whenever there is BAD news coming out of the school about JC, it usually centers around academics (CXC/CSEC passes, prison schools, SBA cheating scandals, etc) but whenever the news is EXCELLENT, it centers around sports or some other extra-curriculat activity (Manning Cup, Walker Cup, Olivier Shield, Gibson and Champs victories in 2011 alone, last years dominance in Football, 2nd at Champs. etc).
Now, please, relax your grip on that pitch forks a bit, and don't light that torch just yet. This is not a call to abandon our sports programs or destabilise the great things we are doing on the field or on the track at 189 Old Hope Road. Rather, it is a call for the same levels of energy and enthusiasm to be directed to our academic program. JC's excellence in sports was no accident. It is the result of proper planning, excellent management and dedicated JC old boys who pour their time and their talents into the various sports programs. But it is also down to the demand that we as Old Boys place on them. We need to start desiring similar levels of achievement in the classroom because as a high school, we will always be judged by the quality of education that we give to our boys. Everything else is secondary. There is so much more that we as Old Boys can do to bring JC back to the days of academic glory: Our boys need mentorship, books, uniform, advice, exposure, guidance, bus fare, lunch and sometimes, just to know that someone cares about their future and wellbeing, things which we know are all too often missing from home.
Now, as a first step, i don't expect all of you to come and deliver weekly extra-lessons in advanced trigonometry nor explain how events in Austria precipitated attempts at Italian unification. What I'm suggesting rather is that we start to look at what it takes to create a healthy learning environment at JC: books, clean classrooms, well nourished minds and bodies, a sense of safety and security, good administrative support, excellent teachers... and then determine in what ways we can individually assist in plugging those gaps. Yes, i know that many of you are quietly doing your part and making a significant impact as such. And i am grateful for that. But there is so much more that we could achieve with a more coordinated, more systematic, more synergistic approach. The JC Old Boys Association is part of that solution. It is your first point of contact in beginning this process of identifying and matching the schools needs with your abilities and talents. If we can begin with this first crucial step, then i am confident that we will be able to extend JC's glory days way past November and April each year, and well into June/July when its time to hit the books.
See you guys on Saturday.
COPIED FROM FACEBOOK.
Gentlemen... the JC Old Boys AGM is scheduled for this Saturday March 8 at the College. As you know, I'm one of the candidates vying for the Presidency in the election to be held on the day, but 5 days out, i want to implore you, all 1,692 of you, to do something other than vote for me on Saturday (although I'd appreciate that as well).
Now before I begin and before you threaten to chase me out of the village with pitch forks and torches, allow me to paint a picture of the JC that I went to in order to give you a better insight into my thought process. I started JC in 1986. A year later we won the Schools Challenge Quiz, and in 1989, we had the distinction of being the first school to have BOTH the Jamaica Scholar AND the Rhodes Scholar come out of JC. (As far as i know, this is still a record but if I'm wrong, i'm sure one of you astute historians will correct me). By the time i was about ready to leave JC, the school was a conveyor belt for Lawyers, Doctors, Politicians (okay maybe we'll leave them out), Leaders in business and commerce, and about every other important endeavour of life that you can imagine. We still hadn't won manning cup since the 1970s however, and had just started to climb back to the ascendency of Athletics at Champs. Who can forget that bitter Saturday night in 1991 when we were told we lost champs by 1 point, and the sweet sweet taste of victory a day later when we found out that there was a mistake with the tallying of points and we were actually winners by the slimmest of margins.
Now flash forward to 2014. As i sat down last week and suffered through JC's decapitation at the hands of Camperdown in the School's Challenge Quiz 2nd round, something occurred to me:
Whenever there is BAD news coming out of the school about JC, it usually centers around academics (CXC/CSEC passes, prison schools, SBA cheating scandals, etc) but whenever the news is EXCELLENT, it centers around sports or some other extra-curriculat activity (Manning Cup, Walker Cup, Olivier Shield, Gibson and Champs victories in 2011 alone, last years dominance in Football, 2nd at Champs. etc).
Now, please, relax your grip on that pitch forks a bit, and don't light that torch just yet. This is not a call to abandon our sports programs or destabilise the great things we are doing on the field or on the track at 189 Old Hope Road. Rather, it is a call for the same levels of energy and enthusiasm to be directed to our academic program. JC's excellence in sports was no accident. It is the result of proper planning, excellent management and dedicated JC old boys who pour their time and their talents into the various sports programs. But it is also down to the demand that we as Old Boys place on them. We need to start desiring similar levels of achievement in the classroom because as a high school, we will always be judged by the quality of education that we give to our boys. Everything else is secondary. There is so much more that we as Old Boys can do to bring JC back to the days of academic glory: Our boys need mentorship, books, uniform, advice, exposure, guidance, bus fare, lunch and sometimes, just to know that someone cares about their future and wellbeing, things which we know are all too often missing from home.
Now, as a first step, i don't expect all of you to come and deliver weekly extra-lessons in advanced trigonometry nor explain how events in Austria precipitated attempts at Italian unification. What I'm suggesting rather is that we start to look at what it takes to create a healthy learning environment at JC: books, clean classrooms, well nourished minds and bodies, a sense of safety and security, good administrative support, excellent teachers... and then determine in what ways we can individually assist in plugging those gaps. Yes, i know that many of you are quietly doing your part and making a significant impact as such. And i am grateful for that. But there is so much more that we could achieve with a more coordinated, more systematic, more synergistic approach. The JC Old Boys Association is part of that solution. It is your first point of contact in beginning this process of identifying and matching the schools needs with your abilities and talents. If we can begin with this first crucial step, then i am confident that we will be able to extend JC's glory days way past November and April each year, and well into June/July when its time to hit the books.
See you guys on Saturday.
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