Hosanna Prep bags three gov’t scholarships

WESTERN BUREAU:i

Montego Bay’s Hosanna Preparatory School has again come up trumps in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations, with three students – Tenese Mowatt, Derwin Hamil, and Tanner Reid – winning government scholarships.

Principal Doreth Chambers said that Hosanna Prep’s continued success is due to the productive collaboration among the school, the students, and their parents, who have remained consistent in aiming for the highest standard possible.

“We have to attribute this kind of success to the kind of partnership that exists between the home, parents, school, and students. When you are saying the same thing, being on the same page, and you understand where we are all headed, usually you cannot fail,” said Chambers.

Eleven-year-old Tenese and 12-year-old Derwin, both prefects, distinguished themselves as the school’s top girl and top boy with PEP scores of 390.7 points and 389.9 points, respectively, out of a possible 400 points. Tanner, who is also 11 years old and a prefect, was the school’s second-highest performing male student with 389.8 points.

Caught off guard

Tenese, who will be attending Montego Bay High School for Girls in September, told The Gleaner that she was caught off guard when she learned of her exam placement and that she was a scholarship recipient.

“It is really an overwhelming feeling. I did not really expect to get the government scholarship, and I did not expect to score this high in the exam, but I did,” said Tenese, who enjoys crocheting in her spare time.

“I am still trying to grasp the magnitude of the situation because getting a government scholarship is a really big deal. I am really proud of myself for doing it,” said the young girl, who has not yet decided on a career path.

Derwin, who will be attending Cornwall College and wants to become a historian or a lawyer, said he, too, was surprised when he got his PEP result.

“My result was really unexpected because before I went into grade six, I was not really top of the class. I was an average student. Preparing for the exam was really hard as I had to go to extra lessons every single day except Friday, and on the weekends, some of my friends and I went in groups to study,”he said.

Tanner, who will also be attending Cornwall College, described his PEP result as what he expected based on all the work he put in.

“Honestly, it feels really good to get this score, but at the same time, it did not feel that difficult. I feel like I expected it to happen because I have been doing well for a while now, and I feel like all the hard work has paid off,” said Tanner, who enjoys playing video games and watching television. “I am thankful to my parents and my school family for assisting me because without them, I would not be able to do this.”

The three government scholarships bring to 25 the total such scholarships won by students since the school opened its doors in 1999.

This year, 32 scholarships winners were announced by the Ministry of Education when listing the top-performing students across Jamaica. Twenty eight of the 32 got Government of Jamaica scholarships.

Shammy Green-Dawkins, the grade six teacher at Hosanna Preparatory, attributed the performances of the three awardees to them engaging in healthy competition over who could get the best grades.

“These three students are among a number of students who have always excelled in class. They pay keen attention to detail, they ensure the work is being done, and they have different methods of studying, so they will ask each other questions,” said Green-Dawkins. “I can tell you that they are very competitive students, and they try to outshine each other at all times. I think that is what contributed to their performance in this exam.”

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com