JIS: President of the National Parent-Teacher Association (NPAJ), Dr. Lennon Richards, is calling on parents to enforce the dress code that schools have established for students.

 

Delivering the keynote address at the St. Catherine-based Kitson Town Primary School’s annual school-leaving exercise on July 2, at the Kitson Town Baptist Church, he also cautioned against skin bleaching, emphasising its attendant health and identity issues.

 

“Parents, it is very important that your children are well-attired,” he told the gathering, adding that once the manner of dress is known to the school community, the children should not be allowed to leave home wearing clothes that are not acceptable to the institutions.

 

He called on fathers to stay close to the schools their children attend, and for all parents to do regular checks of their children’s school books, and to be “very mindful of the friends that your children keep”.

 

Dr. Richards, who gave personal awards of $10,000 each to the Top Female and Male Students of the Year, Nicollette Spencer and Chesnut Coombs, said the school-leavers must become “champions among their peers”.

 

Meanwhile, Chairman of the school Board, Reverend Norva Rodney, told the gathering that the school is on a “trajectory, and progress is being made”.

 

The Chairman said once communities in the area “show a positive appreciation for what is being done at the school, the institution will deliver”.

 

For her part, Acting Principal of the school, Janice Yates, said there is much to be celebrated, as despite the “newness” with the Primary Exit Profile (PEP) examinations, students have been placed in schools of their choice.

 

“We are confident that our children will succeed, wherever they go. Students, remember your responsibility and to push towards excellence. Go forward with the discipline that we have sought to instil in you,” she urged.

 

CAPTION: President of the National Parent-Teacher Association (NPAJ), Dr. Lennon Richards (right), speaks with Top Female and Male Students of the Year, at the Kitson Town Primary School in St. Catherine, Nicollette Spencer and Chesnut Coombs, at the institution’s annual school-leaving exercise, held on July 2 at the Kitson Town Baptist Church. Also pictured (from left) are Chairman of the school Board, Reverend Norva Rodney; Parents – Nicola Spencer, James Spencer, Garfield Coombs and Avril Owens, and the school’s acting Principal, Janice Yates.