Maverley Primary School Makes Progress in Pep Examinations

Students at the Maverley Primary School in St. Andrew performed very well in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations, with progress over last year’s results in all subject areas, and the top-three students, who are boys, going to traditional high schools.

Describing the development as “beautiful”, Principal of the school, Valentine Spencer,  says  the grades of the students are “so good” that those who did not get their first placement choice have applied to traditional high schools and have been accepted.

“It is really good. We have a lot of proficient students compared to last year and that is good improvement,” he tells JIS News in an interview.

“Overall, it is the effort from the teachers, from the entire staff, I must say. We also had students from Immaculate Conception High School, who have been coming to the school on a weekly basis to assist the children with their academics,” the Principal tells JIS News.

Of the 44 students who sat the exams, 17 are on Pathway 1, an increase over last year, and 20 on Pathway 2.

Administrators at the institution have been taking the students on field trips and have also introduced Chess to the students.

“It is a great motivation factor. Chess must be a part of what we do at the school. So, the majority of our students from about grade three up are playing,” he says, noting that the games have contributed to the academic improvement.

Mr. Spencer says that the sport has helped with critical thinking and that “can account for the grades along with the other things that we have done”.

He tells JIS News that one of the students who passed for a traditional high school had difficulties in the past, as his father went to a number of schools and was turned down when he was moving from the rural area into Kingston.

The Principal says that the student was refused by other schools because of his poor grades, but  Maverley Primary accepted him, and he is pleased that the youngster won a scholarship based on his PEP performance.

Mr. Spencer says they place great emphasis on reading, and for the upcoming school year, they have already started to look at how the school can improve in reading, critical thinking, and Mathematics, and to get more parents involved in the life of the school.

“I have found that the children who are performing best, apart from their natural ability, with parental involvement they have stepped up above all the other students, and we would love for all the parents to come on board and follow the instructions that we are giving them,” he says.

The Principal underscores that from the work of his dedicated teachers and others, they want children to pass for their schools of choice, and “that is one of the things that we are celebrating this year – the number of students that have passed for their school of choice.”

According to Mr. Spencer, community and external support for the institution is huge, especially from past student Sandra Christie-Brown, Rotary Club of Trafalgar New Hope, political representatives, and the church community.

Grade-six teacher at the institution, Stacey Fridginate English, says the programme that led to the success of the students included teachers going to work early in the morning to “give them additional work, and during class time I would spend more time on the areas of weakness”.

“So, if they had a weakness in Maths, rather than spending one hour, I would spend two hours. Not only that; after school, I do some extra lessons. So, everybody would have to stay back for at least an hour to do additional work,” the teacher informs JIS News.

In addition, she says that regular communication is maintained with parents for them to provide the necessary supportive roles, such as monitoring homework projects, and keeping them informed on the progress of their children.

“Parents who are more involved, their students did way better than a parent who does not put out effort or is a no-show,” Mrs. Fridginate English tells JIS News.

Top Student, Caleb Newland, who will be going to Calabar High School, credits his success to studying hard.

“My mother, and my stepfather, they made sure I studied at least three times a day. Miss Fridginate did an excellent job in grade six, in teaching us, especially Science,” the  student shares.

Travaine Graham, one of the top-tree students, who will be going to Jamaica College, says he knew that he would be a top student because “I always come first in my class, I always get a high grade, and I always pray and study with my mom”.

Travaine’s mother, Afranci Brooks, tells JIS News that her son had to stay up until at least 12 o’clock and “we would pray together, and I always try to motivate him to study,” while lauding Mrs. Fridginate English for staying close to parents and guiding the students.

“There is never a day that even if him feel bad, if him don’t feel well, if he was not ill, where he couldn’t go to school; she will call and ask what was wrong with him. Once she felt like that was not a good excuse, she said, ‘Mommy, send him out to school’,” Ms. Brooks says.

The main objective of PEP is to enhance the academic and critical-thinking capabilities and creativity of students by the end of primary-level education. It commences with a series of assessments at grade four and ends in grade six. The three main categories are Performance Task, Ability Test, and Curriculum Test.