Adventists carry on tradition of sharing fellowship; presenting stationery to 11-plus students

You are destined to succeed.

This was the message given to visually-impaired student Ashton Hoyte and his fellow Workman’s Primary School classmates, as they were presented with school supplies just in time for Tuesday’s Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination (BSSEE) also known as the 11-Plus.

Principal of Workman’s Primary, Sandra Downes, told the students to put their faith and trust in God during the exam because despite challenges, they will be successful.  

“We are destined to succeed, all of us are. By God’s grace even before we were formed in the womb, we were destined for success. God has a plan for you. You are going to another school. It might look like a mountain, but it is not. God has asked you to go and he is going with you because you are his children.

“So note that when you make that step, God is going to be with you. Whether you are going to St George [Secondary], you are going to Harrison College, wherever you are going to, God has given you that place,” she told students as they received the items from the members of the Workman’s Seventh Day Adventist Church during Saturday’s fellowship.

The church has been making similar presentations to the school annually over the last 20 years.

Above: Visually-impaired student Ashton Hoyte, seen here flanked by his mother Kelia Phillips and Principal of Workman’s Primary, Sandra Downes.

Meanwhile, Kelia Phillips, mother to Ashton and who has been teaching at  Workman’s Primary for the past 13 years, said that the path to this point in her son’s educational journey has not been easy, but she has always kept the faith and she believes her son is prepared for the next step.

“As with everything you get challenges [and] it definitely was not easy. We had to learn and relearn a lot along the way. We did get some assistance, some of it we had to push really hard for, but we made it this far and I think he is ready.”

Though Phillips admitted she is always sure to provide the support and extra push he may need during the course of his studies, she said she tried not to put Ashton under any pressure with his studies. 

“I’m confident yes but what I try not to do is to push him any further, because I do want that when he gets to secondary school, he is still able to function at the level he is at. Right now we would have worked on things that challenge him, but nothing to push [and] push to say ‘well you got to get 100’. That has been our strategy.”

Though Hoyte has challenges with his sight, his mother reveals that he remains highly active in a number of extracurricular activities, saying:  “He plays blind cricket, he is now learning to swim [and] he likes to drum.” (SB)