Lester Vaughan School kicks off 25th anniversary celebrations

Under the theme, Twenty-Five Not Out, the Lester Vaughan School, on Friday kickstarted its 25th anniversary celebrations with a Founders Day service.

The very first head boy of the school, Jason Watson who gave the featured address, had a word of caution for the students about the choices they make.

“You first have to start with one thing in order to make a mark … it starts with making the right decision,” he said to the packed hall at Cane Garden, St Thomas.

“Your future depends on that decision. The decision you make now, affects and impacts your future,” he added, pointing to the example of homework, which when done is an important step towards attaining CXC.

“Some how you forget to do your homework but let’s link it to your future, after you forget to do your homework and you go back to school, baring in mind that the marks from that homework is dependent on if you go forward,” he said making the point that such decisions can negatively or positively affect their future.

“Your decision to not do your homework or your SBA stops you from getting that mark or that opportunity for that dream job. That dream job that you got or wanted can put you in a position to make decisions but now you don’t have that job and you can’t make those decisions that you wanted  to make to change or influence the lives of others.”

First Head Boy of Lester Vaughan Jason Watson had a word of caution for the students.

He told the students that the choice of simply not making proper decisions can impact on their future.

“We need to make the right decisions from the beginning because your decision now affects what happens to you down the road.”

Meanwhile, Principal Anthony Alleyne in his address said that the success of Lester Vaughan through the years was built on the shoulders of hardworking staff and students.

While referencing the school’s motto, Per Scientiam Adolescimus – Rooted in Knowledge We Grow, which suggests that each student must be firmly planted in the basic knowledge of every discipline attempted, Alleyne pointed out that it seemed students lived up to the meaning of that.

Principal of Lester Vaughan Secondary School Anthony Alleyne.

While referencing the impact of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Alleyne said he found that his staff pulled out all stops in teaching through the trying period.

“It was rough but we’ve made it and we are here to [show for it], I can safely say, despite the strong headwinds we have risen to the tasks and persevered. We have committed to never giving up on ourselves, our children or our school,” the principal added.

“Here 25 years later, standing proud and ready to [face] the next 25 years.”

For this anniversary year, Alleyne said that many celebrations would be continuing into the rest of 2022.

There were performances by present and former students and  the launch of a new school song by the revamped School Choir. (MR)