GRADUATION ADDRESS MRS. SHARMAINE EUGENE PRINCIPAL VIEUX-FORT COMPREHENSIVE SECONDARY SCHOOL My Princes and Princesses, I repeat to you today --------- what God said in his word in Deuteronomy 31:6 – “Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he (it is) that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.” I say this to you because I have heard you over the past months wondering what life would be like after graduation. Some of you said that to you graduation means no more exams, no more papers, no more boring books to read, no more teachers on your backs, but of course you don’t mean that right? Then I‘ve heard others say that graduation means I have accomplished, I am determined, I am capable and I am able to succeed in spite of. To you I say ‘Bravo’ that is the attitude that will determine your altitude. However, to those who said and are still saying I don’t know, what will I do, where will I go, I don’t have, I say to you “Be strong and of a good courage” (Repeat verse above). So as you depart today, be sure that you are “Departing to serve with Dignity and Pride”. Graduation is a highlight in our lives from time to time. I am sure that you could still remember graduation from Primary School or better still from preschool. Did you see yourself here today on those graduation days? This is not your first graduation and my prayer is that it will not be your last. So, I want to implore you to take something positive with you from one graduation to the next. One graduate, Maricar Reyes said “The word graduation means more than a ceremony for me. It means changes in my life, to reach a higher stage of my life, the time to become a new person, the time to grow up, the time to follow my dreams and to separate responsibilities from fun. Another graduate, Seth Cohen, who referred to graduation as a commencement, meaning a beginning, said “This commencement from high school is our first hardship. Our first real separation from something we enjoyed. That it is all the more reason to leave, to experience new things, new people, new ideas and to challenge your own opinions and ideas and find something else you enjoy in life and pursue it.” Yet, another graduate – Zicbee said – “The most significant thing that graduation means to me is that I learnt a great deal about myself. These years have shown me that I do indeed have what it takes to pursue my dreams and achieve my goals”. What do all of these graduates have in common here? A positive attitude. They have discovered and are ready and willing to do something about that discovery. My Princes and my Princesses, what have you discovered about you over these years? Have you discovered that school was something you enjoyed? Have you discovered that you were destined to experience new things? Have you realized that you were meant to meet new people? Do you realize that you have grown up? Have you learnt anything about yourself? Do you want to find something else you enjoy in life and pursue it? Then, I say to you, graduation should not only mean no more exams and no more boring books to read, it should mean more, much more. Search yourselves, dig deep and find what graduation really means to you, so that as you leave, you will “Depart to serve with Dignity and Pride.” You have said rather emphatically that over the past years you have grown up. While you were growing up, we were growing as a school community. Over the past year in particular: On the Administrative level, we acquired our first male Vice Principal in the person of Mr. Elicious Cyril. Also, our first female Shop Director Mrs. Eldrana Daniel was appointed. In addition, the members of our teaching staff are all qualified first aiders. We all participated in a workshop planned by the Disaster Preparedness Division and are now Certified as First Aid Responders. At our graduation last year, our Prime Minister and District Representative promised that if we raised 50% of the cost for a school bus, he would match it for us to get that much needed means of transportation. In February, 8 months later, he delivered. We now have a 15 seater pit bull, thanks to our Prime Minister Dr.Anthony,on behalf of the staff and students ofVieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School, I thank you. (Let us now put our hands together to show our appreciation for this gift). It would seem that this is the forum to state our needs and make requests, so let me paint a picture for you. Imagine us here next year without these tents and in their place a beautiful auditorium, well covered and well ventilated, no fear of the elements of nature. This is a great need Dr.Anthony and we know that you can help us to make this a reality. If next year is too soon for us to have the entire building, the ground breaking ceremony will be fine and I thank you in advance for this. Also, this year, marked our 50th anniversary as a school. To date, we have had an opening ceremony with a mini exhibition in October. We honoured Mr. Louis George who was one of the first students of this noble institution in November. We hosted a Barbeque and Games Night in December and a very successful Miss Campus B pageant in June. Thanks to all who made these events possible. There will be a reunion for the first set of graduates in August. Our Prime Minister is part of that group. He is one of our golden boys. These events go until October this year. It’s one year of celebrations from October 2012 to October 2013 for past and present students, stakeholders and well wishers. Our Inter-house Competition this year was keenly contested as usual and Clarke Houseemergedthewinners. CongratulationstoClarkeHouseandTeamVFCSS, without whom this would not be possible. A special thank you to every staff member from both the academic, non academic and ancillary divisions. Thanks for all your hard work. Now, for other achievements this year, our school, the Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School won the following awards: The Most Outstanding Student in English Language in St. Lucia is Kesan Samuel. The Most Outstanding Student in Mathematics is Dalsha Lafeuille. The Most Outstanding Student in Agricultural Science is Stacey John (she also placed third in the entire Caribbean for CSEC). Stacey and Dalsha are now first year A’Level students at this institution while Kesan is one of the graduands here today. She and 10 other students wrote English Language and English Literature in Form 4. They are all graduating today. They made us very proud when they got 10 ones, five of which were distinctions and one 2 in English B and ones and twos only in English A. Let’s put our hands together to congratulate these individuals and wish them and all the others continued success. In the Music Department Shan Lucien, one of our form three students, placed first in the National Solo singing competition while our School’s Choir placed third at the National Choir Competition. The Science Department received a second place award at the Upper Secondary level at the National Science fair while the students at the tertiary level placed third. In the Geography Department K. C.Aimable placed 3rd in the Geographical Indication Logo Competition organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In the Sports Department, we are once again the National Inter-Secondary School’s Track and Field Champions. This was made possible of course with valuable contributions from graduands here today. Samara Edward and Ryhym Adolphe are two of the athletes who took our breath away on the tracks and who along with others like Jeanackie James, Jeanac James, Dave Harry, Emma Raymond and Naji Mitchel brought the trophy home once again. Home to the best school on the island. Then, our swimmers did us proud when Christian Andrew led our Swimming Team to become the National Secondary School Champions. Our Under 19 footballers, shone like the stars when Jamille Goodman and Dorman Edward and the rest of the team brought the gold home. Our Under 19 netballers and basket ballers placed 2nd this year. Thanks to Kervina Serieux, Dru Serieux, Christian Tobierre and the rest of the team. Our Under 16 netballers came in third making our Sporting events this year very exciting and successful. Our cricketers persevered through bad weather and overcame the obstacles. With Dorman Edward and Jamille Goodman at the helm once again, they sailed to victory and Naim Monrose captured the tennis prize on more than one occasion. Natasha Poleon was our Carifta Track and Field representative in the Bahamas, while Christian Andrew and Mark Emanus represented us on the swimming team. At the National Sports Awards Ceremony, this school Vieux Fort Comprehensive Secondary School received the award for the best school in sports on the island. Special Thanks to the Physical Education Department. So, grandaunts, your touch has just been added to the touch and the marks of all those who have graduated from this noble institution. As you go forth look back from time to time and as you step from one graduation to the next, think of what graduation means. It should mean something to you and it should leave something with you. In the words of Gary Harper, a recent graduate,“It’s interesting that the Graduation ceremony is referred to as a commencement ceremony. Commencement means beginning, so graduation is not the end of something as much as it is the start of something -------- hopefully something new, exciting and fresh. It means, there is an opportunity for you to become something you dream about. You should be developing into young men and women who are learning that the first real key to success is unselfishness. So often people think only of themselves at the cost of hurting others or neglecting others, and actually, in the long term, they find themselves empty because they were selfish. The second key to real success is servanthood. Serving others is what enables a person to experience gratitude, appreciation and a sense of community. The third real key to success is Love. Listen, you don’t have to like everybody. For that matter you can like just a few people. But we’re commanded to love everyone. Regardless of colour, ethnicity, language or background, every one of us has been given the opportunity to be loved and it begins by us loving ourselves, others and Jesus. You should be thankful for life, your family, your friends and the opportunity to give back. That is what Graduation should mean. It is a time to give back.” As you grow up and move up, look back and give back. Graduate with grace. “Depart to serve with Dignity and Pride.”I end by leaving this scripture verse with you Phillipians 4:8 “Finally my Princes and Princesses whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise worthy meditate on these things. I thank you all, I love you all and will miss you all.
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 00:45:55 +0000
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