Charlotteville Methodist Primary School 2009 Graduation

The Charlotteville Methodist Primary School’s graduation held in June 2009 was a thing of beauty and Inspiration.

The appropriate theme of “Yes You Can” was a call to action — especially to the graduating class, but also to the teachers and community at large.

This call was echoed forcibly and passionately by the two main speakers – the principal and the quest speaker.

Stressing the theme of “Yes You Can”, the students were called upon by the Principal, Ms Gina Alleyne, and the guest speaker, Dr Verlene Bob Lewis to be all that they can be.

The speakers tried to instill in the students the confidence and knowledge that success is theirs if they worked hard enough.

The principal called on the teachers and the community as a whole to meet their responsibilities to the children head on. She further challenged them to re-examine themselves to be sure that they had done every thing in their power to meet those responsibilities.

In cajoling the community to shoulder its obligation to every child in the community, she even referenced an old African saying that “it takes a village to raise a child”.

Having summoned the teachers and the community to meet their higher nature, she turned her attention to inspiring the graduating class.

The principal’s message was a combination of a call to action, encouragement and inspiration.

The guest speaker, Dr Verlene Bob Lewis, was no less dynamic and even more fiery.

She delivered her presentation extemporaneously and used her own unique life experiences to encourage each person never to give up.

In developing the theme of “Yes You Can”, she referenced her own physical struggles and setbacks and what it took for her to succeed.

She advised that perseverance, love and trust in God can overcome any obstacle.

In her counseling, she also called upon parents to prioritize what is truly important.

She struck the right cords when she questioned “whether it was more important to spend money to buy the most expensive footwear or on books?”

She further counseled, advised and expanded on the following topics:

• Parents should still maintain discipline and hold their children to their obligations.
• Parents should be more involved in their children’s lives: know what is in the school bags; know what time their classes are over; know what time they should be at home.
• She shunned excuses for under performance. If you are a single parent, she called on you to work harder to ensure success instead of using it as an excuse for failure.

What a proud moment it was for the graduating students and for their parents as well!

It should also have given a sense of accomplishment to the teachers and a feeling of good will in the community at large.

Everyone left the afternoon proceedings feeling uplifted and fulfilled.

For all the people of Charlottville present on that auspicious occasion, “Yes You Can” were just not words borrowed from President Barack Obama’s political campaign during his presidential pursuit, but these words were now their own call to action and required their own obligation to answer.

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