Somerton Primary And Infant Ready For New School Year

Principal of Somerton Primary and Infant School in St. James, Lally Stewart Reid, says the institution is in a state of readiness for the start of the new school year.

He noted that all staff are in place and except for some “final touches” work on the school plant has been completed.

“We’re basically ready in terms of infrastructure. We’re still doing some minor preparations… some painting… but overall, we’re ready. We have teachers in place and support staff in place,” Mrs. Stewart Reid told JIS News in an interview.

She noted that incoming grade-one students will be engaged in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s Grade One Individual Learning Profile (GOILP) assessment during the week of August 26.

“All the staff will be out to get that done and we will also be doing the Ministry’s registration for all grade-one students,” she informed.

The principal told JIS News that the school will continue its focus on improvements to literacy and numeracy.

“We have done a reading programme where all the classes were engaged. Our school has been doing it over a period… and the first thing we do in the morning is to have our students engage in different reading activities,” she outlined.

Mrs. Stewart Reid told JIS News that the school is looking to build on its extracurricular achievements from the last academic year – first place in the Jamaica 4-H Clubs poster competition, and fourth in the primary school football competition.

The principal said the school will also continue to nurture community partnerships.

“We have a group called the Somerton Reconnection Group, which has been awarding bursaries to graduating students and others in need,” she informed, adding that Labour Day activities this year saw significant contributions from parents and community members.

Mrs. Stewart Reid told JIS News that the school plans to reintroduce murals on the premises, expand extracurricular offerings, and enhance professional development for teachers, particularly in numeracy and literacy.

Looking ahead, the principal is optimistic about the future of the institution, noting that, “we want to keep improving our students’ performance and look forward to even more achievements in the upcoming academic year”.