Excelsior High School Past Students Donate Half a Million to Alma Mater
Twenty -five (25) students from grades eight to thirteen (8 – 13) at Excelsior High School off Mountain View Avenue were on Monday (October 2, 2017) presented with a combined scholarship of $500,000.
The funds were raised by the school’s past students’ association and are intended to help high-performing students with the purchase of books, uniforms, bus fare, or meals. The funds will be administered by the counselling department.
At a brief handover in the school auditorium, Alexander Robinson, chairman of the Excelsior High School Past Students’ Association (Excelsior PSA) Scholarship Committee, explained the goals of the scholarship and welfare programme.
“We intend to relieve the parents of some of the financial burden for the students who are performing well academically, knowing that it is a journey and that the needs are on several levels,” he said.
Principal Deanroy Bromfield saw the donation in a larger context.
“We plan to get back to being in the top 10 Jamaican schools in academics and sports in the very near future and with the support of our past students in Jamaica and in the Diaspora, we know we will succeed,” he said in a message congratulating the parents and students.
In her remarks, Excelsior PSA President Vilma Gregory shared plans for the association’s upcoming mentorship programme and pointed out that “the focus will be on facilitating improved learning outcomes with students who fall below the academic targets, while fully maximising the possibilities of digital learning technologies, under the guidance of our dedicated teachers”.
Dean of Academic Studies at Excelsior Lorna Gordon also addressed the students and parents and expressed satisfaction with the scholarship awards. Vice Principal Colleen Walker chaired the event and encouraged the students to maintain the high standards for which they were being recognized.
Sourced and first published in the Jamaica Observer
