The Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC) honoured eight outstanding educators in the Lower Corentyne area on Thursday in its annual Bank of Nova Scotia Tribute to Teachers Programme.
This was the second time the Club was hosting the programme where the teachers were selected by their peers for the Teacher of the Year award. The 2009 awards were organised by several of the Club’s female cricket teams. Those honoured are Phoebe Hazel of Belvedere Primary, Brenda Hunte of Rose Hall Town Nursery, Yolet Kingston of Ankerville Nursery, Paul Perreira of Rose Hall Town Primary, Nermala Sewdat of Port Mourant Secondary, Imran Ally of Lower Corentyne Secondary, Deborah Tombran of J. C. Chandisingh Secondary and Basant Singh Persaud of Corentyne Secondary School.
The awardees were selected based on attitude, discipline, attendance, relationship with other staff, involvement in sporting activities, role model status, students’ performances and ability to work beyond the call of duty. Each of the awardees received two gifts and a Certificate of Excellence. Ally was declared Teacher of the Year. In his address he said the honorees were grateful to those who recognised their work.
RHTYSC Secretary/CEO Hilbert Foster hailed the awardees as true heroes of the education system. He said they are dedicated role models who sometimes work in a hostile environment. Foster also challenged the teachers to continue to set high standards and to always strive for excellence.
Personal Banking Officer at Scotiabank New Amsterdam Branch, Marcelle Brown said the Bank was pleased to be included in the programme. She said Scotiabank believes in giving back to the community, in which it operates and takes its corporate responsibilities very seriously.