Alexandra School celebrated its 130th anniversary as the beacon of the north on Tuesday, putting behind the violent incident that occurred the day before and focusing on moving forward to greater, positive things.
At a special Founder’s Day service in the school hall, many students and past students got the opportunity to showcase their talents and reflect on the school’s legacy as a pillar of the Speightstown community, under the theme Rebuilding With Purpose.
During his remarks, principal David McCarthy said that while the stabbing on Monday impacted the campus, it could not mar the reputation or derail the development of the learning institution over the years. While disheartened about the bloody fight that left a 15-year-old boy injured, he encouraged the school body to put the past behind and focus on advancing forward.
“All of us need to be lifted up on this occasion – not only because it is the 130th anniversary of the Alexandra School but because of what we have been going through as a school in recent years . . . . You will experience difficulties of some kind at some point in your life and what do you do? Do you stop, do nothing and not go forward? No, you still continue because when you endure and you lift yourself up as you go up, you will see those stars of success . . . . Put what has happened behind; we are not forgetting because we have to learn from it,” the principal urged the students.
“What we had yesterday was traumatic; we are going to use today as a reset button to lift the school up through song, through prayer and through speech, so that by the end, we should be back seeking and reaching the stars of success and endurance against an onslaught of behaviours that we do not wish to see ever again in this school,” he added.
Guest speaker Pastor Troy Bovell gave the students an energetic and heartfelt speech, telling them they were capable of doing and becoming anything they envisioned.
He encouraged them not to be swayed by peer pressure and to always try to make the right choice instead of what may be a popular decision at the time.
Speaking about his personal experiences in school, Bovell told the students that he never gave up and was able to make something of himself, even though many thought little of him.
He said there were core teachers who believed in him and helped him walk a path of success.
During the ceremony, past student Mercedes Blackett and student Isaac Brome received the Spirit of Ax Award for their positive and outstanding qualities.
