St. Andrew High Celebrates 85^th Anniversary

Present and past students, teachers and parents turned out in their numbers Tuesday (September 21) to celebrate St. Andrew High School for Girls’ 85th anniversary, under the theme “Living the Vision – Changing the World.”
As part of the commemoration, the school officially opened the new Cecelio Park, a landscaped green space with flora, waterfall, gazebos and inspirational messages created to engender positive socialisation. It was designed by past parent, Maureen Chang, and built at a cost of over $1 million.
Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness, lauded the school’s efforts in not only providing quality education for students over the past 85 years, but in also working to provide an environment conducive to learning. He encouraged the students to continue to strive for excellence and to live up to the achievements of their predecessors.
The Minister also implored them to use the park wisely, and to take care of the space and their wider environment.

Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness (left), listens to Principal of the St. Andrew High School for Girls, Sharon Reid, during the 85th Anniversary Commemoration Service on the school grounds, Cecelio Avenue, Kingston on Tuesday (September 21).

“This park is something you should be proud of. Please accept my congratulations and commendations for the work that the PTA (Parent Teachers’ Association), the school board and past ladies of the school have accomplished,” he said.
Principal of the school, Sharon Reid, said the creation of the park was made possible by generous donations from parents, teachers, students and well wishers.
She remarked that the success the school continues to enjoy has been made possible, over the years, by the tremendous level of team work among stakeholders.
“St. Andrew High School for Girls has, over the past 85 years, been an example of high levels of achievement that only can be attained when all members of the school family work together for the benefit of the children,” she stated.

Supernumerary Minister, Jamaica District Conference, the Methodist Church in the Caribbean and the Americas, Rev. Dr. Hyacinth Boothe, and General Secretary of the of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Dr. Collin Cowan, jointly unveil a plague at the official opening of Cecelio Park at the St. Andrew High School for Girls, Cecelio Avenue, Kingston as part of the school’s 85th anniversary celebrations on Tuesday (September 21). Looking on are from left: Minister of Education, Hon. Andrew Holness; park designer and past parent, Maureen Chang; and Principal, Sharon Reid.

General Secretary of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, Dr. Collin Cowan, remarked that the outstanding achievements of past students of the institution were a clear illustration of how vision and dreams can be made into reality.
He encouraged the girls to emulate the work of those who have gone before them; to have vision and to use that vision to transform their society and the world.
“Vision is to be able to see beyond the range of sight, to be able to see beyond the ordinary. It is to be able to have a sense of where you are, but to be able to see where you want to go,” he said.
Dr. Cowan also encouraged the teachers and parents to speak positive words into the lives of their students and children every day, in order to set them on the right path.
The St. Andrew High School for Girls was opened on September 21, 1925 as the Jamaica High School for Girls. In October 1929, when the school qualified to become a Government Grant-Aided Secondary School, the name was changed to St. Andrew High School for Girls, starting with 153 students. It was established as a joint effort between the Presbyterian Church of Jamaica and The Wesleyan Methodist Church.