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Jayden Channels Grief into Top GSAT Marks

By: , June 18, 2018

The Key Point:

For St. Andrew Preparatory School student, Jayden Ebanks, achieving the top marks for his school in the 2018 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) is bittersweet.
Jayden Channels Grief into Top GSAT Marks
Photo: Adrian Walker
Top performing student in the Grade Six Achievement Test at St. Andrew Preparatory School, Jayden Ebanks, gets a high-five from teacher, Phyllis Ramsay, after receiving his results.

The Facts

  • Jayden, who will be attending Wolmer’s Boys in September, scored 100 per cent in Mathematics, 100 per cent in Social Studies, 99 per cent in Language Arts, 98 per cent in Science and 12/12 in Communication Task.
  • His mother, Deborah Poyser, passed away last October after a period of illness, just a month after he started grade six.

The Full Story

For St. Andrew Preparatory School student, Jayden Ebanks, achieving the top marks for his school in the 2018 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT) is bittersweet.

Jayden, who will be attending Wolmer’s Boys in September, scored 100 per cent in Mathematics, 100 per cent in Social Studies, 99 per cent in Language Arts, 98 per cent in Science and 12/12 in Communication Task.

While Jayden, his family members, friends, teachers and the entire school community are reveling in his success, there is one person, who is not around to share the joy.

His mother, Deborah Poyser, passed away last October after a period of illness, just a month after he started grade six.

Jayden channeled his grief into his exam preparations and feels that his mother would have been proud of his results.

He tells JIS NEWS that his achievement is for “my mom.”

He says he is looking forward to attending Wolmer’s. “I feel good. I am looking forward to going to Wolmer’s because it has a good sports programme and is also good in academics,” he notes.

St. Andrew Preparatory Principal, Janet Walsh-Davis and teacher, Phyllis Ramsay, who were with Jayden when JIS NEWS visited the school last week, say they are very proud of him.

Mrs. Walsh-Davis, who fought back tears as she hugged Jayden, says she knows his mother would have been extremely pleased as well.

“Jayden epitomizes what St. Andrew Prep School is all about – strength of character. Jayden’s achievement means so much more to me than you can imagine. In the middle of getting ready for the GSAT exam, he lost his mom, who was his biggest champion. Everything that you see here is his mom.

“When I tell you that she was the best parent, she parented this child, she taught him how to stand on his own, so all of what you see, he did on his own,” Mrs. Walsh-Davis says.

She informs that Jayden is a lover of sports and plays football and tennis for the school. She says his mother was very supportive and would be present at every match to cheer him on.

“She was involved in everything. When her son was involved in football and table tennis, she was on every bus leaving with all the children. She wasn’t the parent who was just for her son. She was for every other child that was going out; always supportive. It didn’t matter how late they were out there, she was there with them,” she says.

Mrs. Ramsay adds that Jayden never missed a class, and would come to her for any information he may have missed during extra lessons that would coincide with sports competitions or practice.

“Most times he does his home work before he leaves school. If he does not understand something, he is coming to me and not leaving until he understands. If he has to shed a tear or two, he’s going to shed a tear or two, but he’s not moving until he understands,” Mrs. Ramsay says.

“With all of what he goes through…he is the only one from my class receiving perfect attendance. Despite everything he did not miss a day,” she stresses.

Mrs. Walsh-Davis and Mrs. Ramsay commends Jayden’s father, Eric Ebanks for his love and unwavering support.

“He is not lacking anything… he’s not lacking in terms of support,” Mrs. Ramsay says.

Last Updated: June 18, 2018

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