–Attorney-General tells MHS ‘Class of 2016’

By Vanessa Braithwaite

MINISTER of Legal Affairs, Mr Basil Williams put it best when he said recently that nothing worthwhile having is without its ups and downs.
“Everyone wants to achieve greatness, but few want to endure adversity,” he said. “Many shrink in the face of difficulty and throw in the towel… Adversity is needed in order to propel us to greatness,” he told graduands of Mackenzie High School at their recent ‘Speech Night’ exercise.
As guest speaker, Williams, who is also the country’s Attorney-General, was accorded a rousing welcome, and, not wanting to disappoint, he reciprocated by leaving his audience a thought-provoking message.
He began by congratulating the school for hanging in there, in spite of the odds, for 70 long years, and producing some of the greatest minds this country has ever seen.
“This is a great school; it has produced great people and will produce even greater persons,” Williams said, but in order for this to happen, students and teachers alike must overcome the inevitable, which, in his books, is adversity.
He, therefore, congratulated those students and teachers who would have done so and still excelled, given that Linden is a town that would have had its fair share of adversity over the years.

EMBRACE ADVERSITY
Using his own experiences to drive home the point, Williams said:
“I embrace the adversity; I embrace the stress. So, if they think that they are attacking me, I embrace the challenge and I conquer… I had to fight many battles and many struggles, and if I had given up, I would not have been here as a practicing lawyer.”
He, however, cautioned that overcoming adversity is easier said than done; but that with help and goal-oriented work, it can be achieved.
As such, he tasked those present in a position to do so to help the school rise again to its former glory, and the student body to be confident and self assured; to study hard so that they will be the future leaders of the country above all else.
One way of doing so, he advised, is by taking advantage of the many scholarships available at both local and international tertiary institutions.

SUCCESSFUL YEAR
Head Mistress Acting, Mrs. Carlotta Nurse reported that Mackenzie High School has been successful at both academics and sports this past year. The overall pass rate was 84% at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations, and an analysis of the results has shown that MHS has done very well for itself, despite the many challenges it has come up against.
A total of 25 students received Grade Ones in Mathematics, while the overall pass rate stands at above 70%. English A raked in a total of 39 Grade Ones, with an overall pass rate of 90%.
The school also raked in an impressive 100% passes in Agricultural Science, Building Technology, Clothing and Textile, EDPM, and Food and Nutrition.
Over 90% of the students who wrote the exams in 2016 passed Economics and English A, while 80% passed Biology, Caribbean History and Geography.
The school has also copped eight of the Region’s top 10 spots, with the top business student gaining seven Grade Ones. The Caribbean Advance Proficiency Examination (CAPE) also saw noticeable success, with 100% overall passes in several subjects. These include Agricultural Science, Caribbean Studies, Chemistry, Communication Studies, Environmental Science, Geography, Law Unit 1, Management of Business, Mathematics Units 1 and 2, Physics, and Sociology Units 1 and 2.

OVERALL PERFORMANCE
The top CSEC student for 2016 was Asher Marks from the business stream, while Ornissa Gordon was honoured as the top CAPE performer. They were both honoured as not only the top performers for the school but for the entire Region 10.
Given this exceptional performance, MHS was honoured with the 2016 Most Improved School award.
The school also retained this year’s Inter-Secondary track and field championship record, and won the National Basketball Championship for 2016.
Several teachers were honoured for producing excellent results at both the CSEC and CAPE level.
Mr. Kevin Bonnette received the award for Best CSEC Teacher, while Mr. Douglas Gittens received the award for the Best CAPE Teacher.
Business teacher, Miss Shamaine Gravesande copped the Teacher of the Year Award.
Since its establishment to now, Mackenzie High has evolved in many ways. It now has 764 students with 52 teachers; it has also widened its curriculum of between seven and eight subjects and is now offering between 15 to 23 subjects at the CSEC level.