All Saints Primary School in New Amsterdam, Berbice not only produced the top student for the entire Region Six at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA), but also the third and fourth placed students as well.
Travis Isaacs Jr, 11, topped the region while his peers, Jahiem Hutson and Cassandra Kippins, both 11 years old as well, copped the third and fourth places, respectively. Isaacs, who attained 525 marks out of a possible 535, gained a place at Queen’s College, while Hutson 516 marks and Kippins 515, have been placed at the Bishops’ High School.
The All Saints Primary School has three Grade Six classes. Isaacs was taught by teacher Kamla Sooknanand, while both Hutson and Kippins were taught by teacher Ann Beraspat.
Speaking with Stabroek News, Beraspat said she was very elated by the news as she knew “both of them would have been in the top and they have made me proud.” Their successes, she said, were not without sacrifices. “We normally have them come in earlier than usual in the morning, stay in at middays and stay back after school in the afternoons,” she revealed. When asked why this was done, Beraspat explained it was “necessary to reinforce some of the topics and help them develop in their weak areas.” The full support of the PTA also played a vital role in the school’s success, she added.
Head teacher of the school Basant Jagdeo recalled that when the school secured four top positions, including the number one spot in the region at the 2014 NGSA exams, he had predicted it would be the beginning of a new era for the school, and this year’s success is that “vision becoming to materialize.” Jagdeo applauded the teachers of the classes, whom he said “worked assiduously to have these children perform exceptionally well.” He noted too that administrative supervision played a vital part in having the school’s dreams realised, as he “was very vigilant in seeing that work was done and done to a certain standard to achieve this today.”
Isaacs, an aspiring architect, said he and his family watched results on the National Communications Network (NCN) where they learnt he was among the country’s top performers and the news was greeted with much excitement. Isaacs is ranked number six overall in the country.
Though excited by the news, Isaacs admitted it was not surprising as he had “studied hard, took extra lessons and worked past papers” to excel. Describing his daily routine leading up to the exams, Isaacs said he would “wake up early at 05:00hrs and then I study for one hour and 15 minutes. At 06:15hrs I would start get ready for school and after I come home from school, I would eat something and then I would go to extra lessons from 03:30hrs.” Isaacs attended extra lessons five days a week and he was vigorously taught the core subjects. However, his life was not all studies as he was allowed to play video games, his favourite pastime, on the weekends. A lover of Mathematics, Isaacs said he found Social Studies challenging and noted he was very tense in the exam room. Nevertheless, he was “confident in my abilities and knew I would have topped.”
Declaring that he “most definitely will be attending Queen’s College,” Isaacs thanked his family, friends and teachers for their support and help and encouraged the upcoming NGSA class to “work hard and study and get help from the teachers.”
Isaacs’s father, Travis Isaacs Sr, could not help but beam as he related that he and his wife knew their first born was brilliant and destined to do well. “We were looking forward for the results and when his name was announced as the top student [for Region 6] our house erupted in screams,” he said. The older Isaacs expressed joy in the fact his son “was able to accomplish his dreams” and partially attributed his success to preparations made since he was a toddler. “Your child’s learning is a continuous process, and we start with him from play school to now; we were there to help him and encourage him and provide whatever is necessary for him to learn and grow,” he explained.
Giving a bit of advice to parents and guardians, the senior Isaacs said he has seen the fruits of “working with children from early, even in the womb” and opined that “when you work with them early you will be able to push them forward.” He further urged parents to become more involved in their children’s education, and “stop complaining about the system or the government, just play your role – be involved in their school lives, connect with the teachers, get to know where your child is lacking so you can accommodate for that.”
Though named the second best performer for his school and the third for the region, Hutson couldn’t help but be somewhat disappointed in his placement. He was aiming for a spot at Queen’s College. All the same, the aspiring brain surgeon took the news in stride. Smiling sheepishly, Hutson stated that he had to study hard and make sacrifices like “give up television and video games” but admitted he didn’t make too many sacrifices, as he “use to take peaks at the television to watch Steve Harvey shows and 7th Heaven [re-runs].”
Hutson disclosed that he was not nervous when he wrote the exams, and that he especially enjoyed the Science papers. “I’m fascinated with science and that’s why I want to be a brain surgeon; the things the brain can do just fascinates me,” he exclaimed. After taking the time to thank “all those who were involved in getting me into a good school,” Hutson advised his fellow pupils to “study more, push yourself but not too far to cram your mind.”
The very poised Kippins, who is the fourth top performer in Region 6 and the third for her school, said, “I wouldn’t exactly say I expected to gain fourth place, but I was very excited when I got the news.” For Kippins, preparing for the NGSA exams was very hard, as she “had to wake up very early in the morning and go late to bed in the night to make time to study.” In addition to this, she took extra lessons six days a week. The sacrifices paid off as they enabled her to remain calm in the exam room knowing that she was fully prepared. As such, Kippins didn’t find any of the subjects particularly challenging. Her only source of disappointment in the NGSA exams was that she wanted to attend Queen’s College. Not sure whether she will be attending Bishops’ High or seeking a transfer to a school in the region, Kippins said she will definitely be working towards becoming a doctor.
Kippins’ mother was “quite ecstatic over her results” and stated that she is “very proud of her and I’m glad she excelled….” According to Kippins, the entire family was there to support her. “We stayed up with her, studied with her and encouraged her, and she did well too, because sometimes she got up on her own to study,” she explained.
