2014 mghs psa newsletter

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MERL GROVE HIGH SCHOOL PAST STUDENTS’ ASSOCIATION
90TH ANNIVERSARY NEWSLETTER
Our Mission
V O L U M E
I S S U E
N O V E M B E R
1 6 , 2 0 1 4
To provide support
and guidance to the
school community
to fulfil the school’s
mission.
INSIDE THIS
ISSUE:
MGHS Celebrates 1
90
Message PSA Ja.
2
President
Outstanding Past
3
Students
Schedule of Events 4
MERL GROVE HIGH SCHOOL CELEBRATES 90
Message PSA Ca-
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nadian Pres.
MGHS PSA Presidents
67
Wall of Fame
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The Merl Grove High School (MGHS) founded in 1924 by Nathaniel Speid and
daughter Mirriam Speid who became MGHS’ first principal, celebrates its 90th
anniversary this year— 2014. Originally a co-ed institution classes were conducted in The Little Red House accommodating approximately 50 students.
Today the population stands at approximately 1,400 with a multiplicity of
buildings named in honour of individuals who provided sterling contribution
towards its development. The school’s motto:
“Labor Omnia Vincit” Hardwork Overcomes all Difficulties
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President’s Message—Jamaican Chapter
During this celebratory season of our school’s 90th
anniversary, I cannot help but reflect on our accomplishments over the past years. Despite the various
challenges, we have had many triumphs. Most notably, the Welfare and Mentorship Programme.
Contact Day enables interaction with Grade Six students. LASCO continues to partner with us in our
Breakfast Programme to provide breakfast to some
of our most needy students. The Association has
provided scholarships and bursaries worth millions
of dollars to cover tuition for present and tertiary
students.
I am pleased to share some other highlights of the Association’s success. This year saw the introduction of
the Lance Smith Memorial Scholarship Fund, providing scholarships and bursaries to our younger sisters.
These will be presented at the Prize-giving Ceremony; including the Miriam Speid and Joyce Taylor Award
for Sports awardees. On Labour Day, the Grade 10 block was given a much needed transformation; classrooms were painted and tiled with work continuing; while the perimeter wall received a well deserved
‘paint job’ and a mural of The Little Red House, the Association’s birthday gift to the school.
I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all past students locally and in the Diaspora who have contributed in form or fashion to enable us to accomplish our objectives and by extension,
our mission. Special mention is being made of our Class of 1963 sisters who have rubbed shoulders with
us this year to accomplish our goals. A big thank you to the Board of Management, school administrators
and staff for their unwavering support to the Association. Our expression of gratitude and love to the Parent Teachers’ Association who have partnered with us both in cash and kind through the years.
Our deepest appreciation to the organizations and sponsors who contributed to making our celebration a
success. Finally, a big ‘thank you’ to the 90th Anniversary Committee which worked tirelessly behind the
scenes.
Welcome home to past students from the Diaspora who will join us in this milestone celebration!
While we have accomplished much this year, there is still so much work to be done. May God continue to
provide guidance as we forge ahead; with Him we can achieve ‘all things’.
Elizabeth Watson (Dr.)
President MGHS PSA Jamaica
November 16, 2014
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Expressing Gratitude
The PSA records its gratitude to the Associated Gospel Assemblies, teachers, administrators and ancillary workers for their sterling contribution through the years. Special
mention of our longest serving Board Chairman: Dr. Alfred Sangster (1961- 2008)
We acknowledge the tremendous contribution of past and present principals:
Miriam Speid
(1924-1959)
Carroll Dawes
1959-1960)
Muriel Lynch
(1960-1968)
Guess Who
Ellorine Walker (1969-1980)
Enid Kerr
(1980-1993)
J Barbara Martin (1993-1998)
Vera Nugent
Amy Allen
(1998-2002)
(2002– 2011)
Carol Alexander ( 2011 –present)
Outstanding MGHS Past Students—Wall of Fame Inductees
Aloun N’dombrt-Assamba
Diane Robertson
J. Barbara Martin
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In Our News
90TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS– Schedule of events

Sunday, November 16—The PSA along with the MGHS Community will kick-off the celebrations with a
Thanksgiving Service at 8:00 a.m. at the Rehoboth Gospel Assembly, adjacent to the campus.

Monday, November 17— PSA Day—come out and join past students ‘don’ their school uniforms as they interact with their younger sisters.

Tuesday, November 18— Distinguished Past Student Aloun N’Dombet-Assamba, High Commissioner to the
United Kingdom takes the podium at the Karram Speid Auditorium at 5:00 pm in her delivery of the KarramSpeid Lecture.

Wednesday, November 19—MGHS’ Annual Prize-giving in the Karram Speid Auditorium at 9:00 p.m.

Friday, November 20— Fun Day and Talent Exposition

Saturday, November 21— Banquet and Awards Function at 7:00 at the Terra Nova Hotel, Waterloo Road.
Organization and History
The Merl Grove High School Past Students’ Association was formed in early 1950s; Elsie Sayle was one of the first
Presidents. The Association exists to play an active role in the development of present students. It serves to assist
in the improvement of the school’s physical structure, to promote and protect the image of the Merl Grove High
School community and to facilitate a cohesive relationship between past and present students and other stakeholders of the school.
The MGHS PSA plays a vital role in the growth and development of our dearly beloved alma mater. The Chapters are
located in: Jamaica, Canada, North Eastern America and New York. A cadre of outstanding and committed past students
has presided over the various chapters over the years leading a group of proud Merlgrovians in the quest of providing
support to the school and a range of benefits to our younger sisters. We give God thanks for those who have worked
tirelessly through the years to accomplish our Mission.
In this our 90th year of existence, we pay tribute to the late J. Barbara Martin, past student extraordinaire, principal and
stalwart. The Canadian Chapter has named the Barbara Martin Scholarship in her honour while the school’s bookshop
Nu-Mart is named jointly in her honour along with past principal Vera Nugent. It would be remiss of us to omit mentioning the quality leadership given by past and present head girls, the prefect body and student council presidents.
We remember at this time Mr. and Mrs. Swaby
our caretakers.
The uniforms have changed over the years;
we still recall the days of the jippy-joppa hat.
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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE CANADIAN CHAPTER
The Canadian chapter of the Merl Grove High School Past Students’ Association had been a dream of Immediate Past President, Claudette Cameron
-Stewart, since 1994. She tried on a number of occasions to form the association and, through the years, encountered many difficulties. Instead of
giving up, Claudette was determined to conquer the seemingly impossible
task of forming a past students association.
In 1999, the dream was realized and the Chapter was officially launched
with the help and advice of J. Barbara Martin and with help from a few other founding members.
On Saturday, May 27, 2000, the Canadian group held its first annual fundraising reunion dinner and dance in Toronto,
Canada. It was a huge success. The guest speaker was Mrs. J. Barbara Martin, the association’s mentor who not only
attended Merl Grove as a student, but later returned to serve as teacher, vice-principal and principal.
In 2003, the Merl Grove High School PSA (Canadian Chapter) launched a scholarship programme to assist current students who are academically gifted but come from families who lack the resources to easily fund their daughters’
schooling. Of course we named the scholarship in honour of our mentor Mrs. J. Barbara Martin. Each year, a new
scholarship recipient is chosen at the beginning of second form and gets funding until she graduates at the end of fifth
form. The money the student receives covers her auxiliary fees, lunch, bus fare, uniform etc. for the four years. In a
short span of 10 years, the association has been able to assist over 30 girls and has given more than $5 Million Jamaican Dollars in scholarships and bursaries.
The scholarship serves as a springboard for our girls to develop confidence in moving forward without worrying
about their situation, thus breaking the cycle of poverty in their families. We consider it a privilege to assist these
girls and they have not let us down. They consistently get grades that put them at the top of their class, do extremely
well in their CSEC exams also participate in a wide variety of extra-curricular activities to make them well-rounded individuals. The year the student graduates we try to bring her to Toronto to attend the fundraising dinner and dance so
she can, in her own words, say thanks to the supporters and sponsors who have consistently contributed to her schooling and help to make her flourish and develop her potential.
The Merl Grove High School Past Students’ Association (Canadian Chapter) will continue to assist our “little sisters”.
They are why we do what we do. “The Tradition Continues…”
Suzette Lawrence-Hermit
President
MGHS Canadian Chapter
November 16, 2014
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P AGE
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MGHS PSA PRESIDENTS
JAMAICA
Elizabeth Watson (Dr.)
1983-84, 2001-2006,
2011-2014
Maureen Swaby– Samuels (Mrs.)
1995-2001
M
E
R
L
G
R
Monica Taylor (Dr.)
June Coward-Fearon (Mrs.)
O
2008-2011
1990-1992
Diane Robertson (Dr.)
Dianne Edwards
V
E
H
I
G
H
2006-2008
S
C
H
O
O
L
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P AGE
NEAC
Andrea McDonald-Black (Mrs.)
2004– present
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CANADA
Suzette Hermit Lawrence (Mrs.)
2009– present
M
E
R
L
G
R
O
V
NEW YORK
Sharon Wilson (Ms.)
2010-2013
E
Claudette Cameron (Mrs.)
1999-2009
H
I
G
H
S
C
H
O
O
L
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THE LITTLE RED HOUSE
MGHS PSA JAMAICA
Merl Grove High Sch.
77 Constant Spring Road
Kingston 10
Address Line 4
Email:
mghspsaja24@gmail.com
Website: www.mghspsaja.co,
Motto: Labor Omnia Vincit
‘Hard Work Overcomes Difficulties’
NATIONAL RESPECT AGENDA CAMPAIGN—Mentorship Programme
The National Respect Agenda Campaign is a component of the Jamaica
Resocialization Programme (JRP), a national strategic intervention
mechanism geared at transforming students’ behaviour and promoting
national re-socialization in values and attitudes; ultimately ”Making
Jamaica the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do business”.
The programme was implemented at Merl Grove on March 14, 2014 with much excitement and fan-fare, spearheaded
by our Alumni Association president Dr. Elizabeth Watson and Principal Mrs. Carol Alexander along with nine (9) fired
up and dedicated mentors pledging to invest time, knowledge and resources to our Alma Mater. All mentors were presented with their instruments of appointment during a ceremony at Kings House on March 28. The program is now in
its second phase (8th month) and has been going well.
WALL OF FAME AWARD
The above is a joint initiative of the Jamaican, Canadian, North America and New York chapters which have to date
recognized individuals who have served MGHS excellently in any capacity, alumni who have done well nationally or internationally and professionally and staff who have served with excellence for a minimum of ten (10) years. Current
Wall of Fame inductees are: Miriam Speid, Nathan Speid, Albert Karram, Enid Kerr, Elsie Sayle, Alfred Sangster, Edith
Rhone, Gloria Grant, Joyce Taylor, Peter Garth, J. Barbara Martin, Aloun Assamba and Diane Robertson. This year’s
awardees will be announced at the awards banquet.
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