Late nights, early mornings, hours of studying and many other sacrifices have finally paid off for five students on the island who are the top five performers in the 2014 Grade six National Assessment exams.
Donyelle Riviere of the St Martin Primary School came in first on the island while Janae Rabess of the same school was second. Aleisha Roberts of the Convent Preparatory School was third, Ludovic Robinson of the Roosevelt Douglas Primary School came in fourth and Kelsey Anthony of the St Martin Primary was fifth.
Dominica News Online met up with the students who all reported that they were all elated with the news of their success.
“I was excited and I realized that all the hard work that I did paid off because I remember I spent many nights not sleeping, doing homework, studying and preparing for the exam,” 11-year-old Riviere said. “I had to cut off television and study every afternoon since I had a lot to study and a lot of homework. I would stay up late on weekends and I would wake up tired.”
She added that she wants to attend the Convent High School in September and wants to become a veterinarian in the future.
According to her although she knows that she is a hard worker she was surprised with the results.
Riviere thanked her parents, teachers and her family for their support.
Rabess said that she was shocked when she heard that she was second on the island.
“I worked really hard but I never thought that I would get a scholarship but now here I am, I came in second on the island,” she said. “I always had a passion for reading novels and my parents had to take away the novels so that I could focus on my work more.”
Rabess noted that Composition and Mathematics are her favorite subjects and revealed that she hopes to attend the Convent High School in September.
She pointed out that although she wants to be an author she is keeping her options open.
Roberts of the Convent Prep explained that she too was very happy when she heard the results.
“I want to take this opportunity to thank God and my parents and all my family that helped me to get where I am now. I did a lot of past papers and studied for a very long time and all that work really did pay off,” she remarked. “My favorite subject is Math.”
Roberts encouraged other students who do not like Mathematics to keep practicing.
The only male student among the five top performing student, Ludovic Robinson said he heard the news of his fourth placement in the exams from his teacher on Friday morning.
“I was overwhelmed and happy,” he stated.
Robinson said he studied very hard but found time to pray in between hitting books.
He thanked his parents and teachers who he said “kept pushing me on.”
Young Robinson wants to be a policeman like his dad and wants to be involved in sports in the future.
He hopes to attend the Dominica SDA High School in September.
Anthony, who place fifth, said that she wanted to attend the Convent High School and wants to become a gynecologist.
She said her preparations for the exam were tiring because she stayed up late at night studying.
“After getting a scholarship and coming in 5th on the island I saw that staying up late at night was worth it,” she said. “I want to tell other students do not be lazy at your work if you want to be successful keep on studying and try harder.”
Proud Principal of the St Martin Primary Brinette Moreau attributed the students’ success to the teachers of the school and the dedicated parents.
“When our students do well we are all happy and I am very happy for all the teachers because they work hard from grade K, all the way to grade 6,” she said. “A Child does not get a scholarship only in Grade 6 it begins from grade K and even from preschool when the parents start working with the children, you must have the child willing to learn and the parent ready and willing to assist.”
Congrats to all those who tried their best on the Grade 6 National Assessment. Some worked very hard and didn’t achieve their goals. However remember that this is just the beginning. It’s a motivation for u to work even harder. There are some really bright children out there who may not have received scholarship or bursary due to some circumstances…. I want to say that your grades is not necessarily a reflection of your intelligence. Some have received more practice than others in exam techniques etc.. and some are really drilled for the G6NA. So just be the best that you can be and put GOD in everything that you do – and this is what you called success.
congrats to Ludovic Robinson! You’ve made us all proud at RDPS. Keep up the excellent work!
Congratulations to you all.
Remember, you are the future of tomorrow.
P,s. The young man is so cute. What a gorgeous smile!
Congrats to you all ….Such intelligent kids but most of them get lost in the system afterwards…It is time for the education system targets these kids and get them into special programmes where they can be groomed into specific career paths and given scholarships to pursue specific fields of study that the country needs. That is the only way we can safeguard our future….
What is the yearly cost of a scholarship for a student.
Congratulations to all the students who did the GSNA. Thiis is the beginning of another chapter in your life. Special congratulations to those who obtained scholarships and bursaries. To the others…Remember there are so many scholarships and bursaries which can be awarded..Just continue to work hard. To the many teachers who contributed to the success of these students from Pre-school to Grade Six we say THANK YOU and may God continue to give you the patience to endure. Special thanks to the teachers at St.Martin’s Primary. You go above and beyond.
Congratulations to all the children who wrote the exams and a special Congrats to the top performers.
congrats top five and those that did not make it keep studying and continue to keep doing well
congratz. especially to my friend Donyelle u really worked hard and keep up your good work.
congratz to the others
Congratulations to all the students who wrote the exam. Hats off to the top performers those who did not make it to the top remember you have five years of secondary school ahead , it’s not how you start but is how you end.
Congrats to the students, their teachers and their parents.
Its a prideful occasion.
why dose St. Martin children want to go convent nah? what happen to st. martin sec??? thye have good principal wi.
Hey…Convent is number 1. Just love that school
congratulations to the top 5 and also to the other students who did their best. I would like to wish every one of them the best in their years to come and pray that they keep up the good work. congratulations.
congrats and hats off to all those who placed top five and all the others who sat the national assessment. u still got a long way to go. congrats to mr. Robinson, job well done. p.s…. ur dad is not a policemen, my child. he is a cadet instructor.
whats happening to our boys. I would really like to see our boys competing better.
Congrats to the top performers. Congrats also to the St. John’s Catholic Primary School – 6 scholars and 7 bursars…
Keep on working hard.
God’s blessings as you continue your educational journey
Congratulations. Great job. You are all destined for greatness. Stay focused and God bless you all.
Congratulations to all the students who were successful at this year’s exams . Special congratulations goes out to Adalia Esprit of the Goodwill Primary school who got four A’s. Wow!
Is it a crime to say that we must put God first in all we do? I ask because of a thumbs down on one of the comments who encouraged this and positiveness as opposed to doom and gloom. Congratulations to all of you my dear and to all the others who passed this exams… All the Glory belongs to our Heavenly Father!
yh ny skool came out 1st
May our students continue to strive for excellence and never forget to reach back and share their success with others.
Thumbs up and continue to aspire to higher heights and keep focus!
congrats to all
my main concern is why are children having sleepless nights???
That’s my main concern too! Sleepless nights? I don’t get it.
Good question Anonymous. My child got a scholarship and her year in Grade 6 was balanced. She never had a sleepless night and she participated in all extracurricular activities as before. Sometimes I believe parents drive children to an extreme point just to say they were number one, two or three.
But was your child number one ??
I didn’t think so… Sleepless nights isn’t bad… By the time they get to high school and university the will be accustomed. Excellence comes with sacrifice and if the child learns that very early then he/she will be better off.
This is just a metaphor. I don’t think they went the entire night without sleep.
Congratulations to all the top achievers and to all those students who were successful in the exams. Keep up the good works and may god continue to guide and protect all of you ,your parents and teacher
congratulation on your success as you all keep climbing the steps in life .. remember these words to this song
I know I can
Be what I wanna be
If I work hard at it
I’ll be where I wanna be
This is so refreshing. However, I am saddened by the inference that can be drawn by the number of comments made on this article. Needless to say if this were about politics…………………….. That is the importance our people place on education. That explains a lot!
So true principal! As a teacher I get offended when only the immediate teacher is recognized…recognition must be noted from preschool to grade six…
CONGRATULATIONS to all the students’!
This is so true . Every teacher who touched the lives of theses kids should be congratulated . CONGRATLATIONS TEACHERS !!!!
Congrats to Ms. Riviere. B for ? Lol!!
Good for you girls and boys, your faces are glowing with comfort and peace–not the gloom and doom which I read about on DNO, day in and day out, from those whose mind is plagued with negativity
I hope that all of you will continue with the attitude like that of Aleisha Roberts who did not forget to put God first, as she said “I thank God and my parents”
Way to go all of you; and remember that without Jesus you can do nothing, but when you have His guidance, and you are obedient to them, He will do wonders through you.
Congrats to all of our students. Continue to work very hard, this is just the beginning of your academic pursuits. Keep the same zeal as you move on to Secondary School.
congratulations to all the students for performing .may they continue to do better at the secondary level
Well said Janae. Auntie is proud of your accomplishments. Congrats to you and all the top performers from the various schools.
Congratulations to all the students. Thumbs up for RDPS! Praise the Lord! Alleluhia for Ludovic’s success! Watch out DSDAS! It’s only just begun! Greater things are in store!
Lord, bless all the children and continue Lord to wash over them all. Amen
Congratulations to all the kids from every school.