PEP Students From White Marl Primary Ready For High School

The St. Catherine-based White Marl Primary and Infant School has achieved 89 per cent placements on Pathways One and Two in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations.

Principal of the institution, Lavine Sinclair-West, says the achievement signals that the vast majority of the 62 students who sat the exams are leaving primary school “academically strong and well prepared for high school”.

“With forty-five per cent performing at the highest level, Pathway One, these are the students that are strong, and they are ready. Forty-four per cent of the students demonstrating solid competence, that is Pathway Two, have surpassed expectations, and showcase what is possible through strategic leadership and a nurturing learning environment and a strong home-based partnership. We got there through intervention,” the Principal tells JIS News in an interview.

In the PEP exams, children are placed on one of three Pathways, designed to meet their level of competence. Pathway One is for students who are performing satisfactorily, the second Pathway is for children who have some form of delayed learning, and the third is for students with special needs.

The Principal points out that her hard-working and dedicated team, through “deliberate data-driven intervention”, teacher mentorship, and wellness programme, embraced technology in achieving the results.

“We have reached out to our guidance counsellor, and we have made sure that the parents are on board and the entire community, and the dedicated staff of the school, working diligently – this has done well for the community,” she shares.

This year’s PEP results show gains, with more than 60 per cent of students falling into the proficient or highly proficient category for Mathematics and Language Arts. The results are for students who had their introductory years into primary learning affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which prompted schools to switch to online learning.

Mrs. Sinclair-West says with the success path that the institution is on, community members who once looked to other schools, are now “looking at White Marl as the school of choice”.

“I have seen that. They are now coming in to register their children. They want to get in, and you hear them talking about it,” she adds.

“We have what we call the early bird programme. Teachers come in early, students are encouraged to come in early as well, and we also have some motivation when it comes to early bird. We have to ensure that they understand the importance of education, and what is happening, so we have to get the entire team on board – teachers, staff and parents. These are some of the things that we do to ensure that we are ready for the exams,” the Principal tells JIS News.

Grade-six teacher at the school, Tamzeene Eccleston Blake, says the teachers rejoiced with parents over the success, and it was a team effort.

“We do not want to take the success for ourselves, because we saw the efforts of the parents as well and all the teachers who participated,” she tells JIS News.

Top Student, Shanoya Wright, who will be going to the Wolmer’s High School for Girls, says she is elated at the success, and as she envisions becoming a paediatrician, she is thankful to the teachers, because they are “very encouraging and helpful and hardworking”, she tells JIS News.

Her mother, Carlene Brown, says the effort of the teachers played a big part in the PEP exam results, as they stayed at school until late to teach the children.

“They also encouraged us to make a set time for her to study, to set out which subject she was going to study, and the keen engagements were of tremendous help,” she tells JIS News.

Top Male Student, Nathan Downer, says his achievement resulted from the support of his parents, and the teachers helped “me strive for excellence and achieve my goals”.

“Even when students fail, they (teachers) keep on trying with you until you achieve your goals,” he tells JIS News.

For his mother, Lavern Downer, excitement overtook her when she learnt that her son got the school of his choice – St. Jago High School.

“I was not surprised because I know that I did my best as a parent. I ensured that he got all tools for work, and I also ensured that he did extra lessons, and it worked out well,” she says.

“Everybody was excited for Nathan, because since he was at the Infant Department, he was doing well. White Marl has been doing well throughout the years. We always get good passes from there. Big up to all the teachers from the infant to the primary. Everybody did their best, and I just pray and hope that they continue to do their best,” Ms. Downer says.

The school has a population of 358 students, 20 teachers, and a capacity for 550 pupils.

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.