~ Students to be encouraged ~
SOUTH REWARD--Milton Peters College (MPC) officials had a positive outlook on the first day of the new school year on Monday with representatives of the school's three streams highlighting their intent to go the extra mile to motivate students to strive for excellence.
The island's largest high school welcomed more than 250 new students in the various streams on Monday. The students met their new teachers and mentors and some engaged in exercises to become familiarised with their peers as a means of starting the new year on the right track.
A total of 78 new students entered the PKL/PBL section. These former Sundial School students chose to follow the business or technical streams and were transferred.
PKL/PBL Head Vital Carty said that when his generation was growing up, self-motivation was high and youngsters in that generation saw excellence as the only option. However, he said that youths today needed to be motivated. He said there was a higher need today for educators to change their operating method and encourage youngsters to study more. "We have to show them that someone cares, because sometimes they don't get that at home," Carty told this newspaper shortly after welcoming his batch of students to the school.
"I want to encourage parents to also reach out to their kids and pull them up when it is needed. There are many students who just need that extra push."
Mark Soree, who heads the HAVO/VWO stream, said he would be maintaining the level of strictness in the stream and would encourage students to be more responsible.
He said students had to realise that the importance of adhering to deadlines and following rules, as this would help them when they left the school and embarked on their other challenges in life. He said students had to understand that, for example, there would be consequences if they didn't hand in a paper on time. A total of 51 new students joined HAVO/VWO this year.
He would also like students to become familiarised with the school and the relationships between the various subjects taught.
He also plans to continue to place heavy focus on the Dutch language, as this is always "a very difficult point." He said students generally spoke English in their home and social environments and only spoke Dutch while in the classroom. "They also have to sit their exams which are written in Dutch and they do it. We want to improve their Dutch, so students will be getting extra Dutch lessons and extra Dutch conversations."
With 125 new students joining the TKL stream, Head Silvia Carty has her hands full. "We are pretty maxed out," Carty said on Monday. "We are filled to the limit. We maybe have five more spaces," she said, referring to late registration.
An English teacher is still being sought for the TKL stream. Additionally three teachers are out on maternity leave and are expected back between this month and next month.
Silvia Carty remains positive in her outlook for the rest of the academic year. She said alternative arrangements had been made to alleviate the effects of the teacher shortage. "My expectations are positive. I expect to do better than last year," she stressed.
She plans to place emphasis on encouraging students to have a positive attitude towards themselves. "I want students to exude a positive attitude among themselves and we won't just be telling them this, but we also plan to show them. I want to create a sense of 'I want to achieve' among students," she said.
Silvia Carty said brainstorming sessions would be held on how this goal could be achieved and how everyone could support each other in the school and work as a team.
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