UPDATE: St. Martin’s Primary student tops 2022 Grade Six National Assessment

St Martin Primary School student, 11-year old Danelle Ferreira, has topped the list of performers in the 2022 Grade Six National Assessment.

The results were released on Monday by the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training, and National Excellence.

“I am very excited today and at first I couldn’t believe it,” Ferreira said during an interview with the media shortly after receiving her results.

Ferreira explained that for her, the exam wasn’t really challenging, and she ensured that her work was always done.

“I studied; I got help from my teachers and parents,” she stated.

She wants to attend the Convent High School in the new academic year.

An elated mother, Anne Marie Ferreira said the results did not come as a surprise to her.

“I am a teacher by profession and it’s something that I expected, because of the amount of work that Danelle put into her studies here at the St Martin Primary School from the time that she entered grade K,” she noted.

Mrs. Ferreira continued, “The preparation did not start in grade 6, it started from Grade K where I introduced her to how to go about doing her work.”

She advised parents to work with their children from the get-go and once that foundation is laid, everything else falls into place.

“At the end of every term, a parent receives a report card and on that report card you see areas where your child is weak,” Mrs. Ferreira explained. “What do you do as a parent? Are you going to wait for the teacher who has 30-something in her class, to address that issue?”

She added, “The onus is on you as parents to do something to assist your child, because we have too many brilliant students who are falling through the cracks because they lack parental support.”

Twelve-year-old Jonathan Theophille who placed second, said he feels “relaxed and excited/happy” about his achievements.

He thanked his parents and teachers for helping in the preparation for the exams.

“My mother helped me; she prepared topics for me to read and also my afternoon teachers, Mrs. Pinard and Mrs. Robinson and also my class teacher Mrs. Harris, who was dedicated and made sure we were ready for the exams,” he said.

He wants to attend St. Mary’s Academy in the new academic year.

Theophille also wants to be a ship captain in the future.

He urged students who will write the G6NA to focus on their exams, take time to go through their questions.

“Hard work always comes through determination and our devotion,” Theophille noted.

Twelve-year-year Makayla Horsford of the St Martin Primary School who placed 3rd on the list, said she is excited and proud of herself, because all her hard work paid off.

“It has been challenging, but the encouragement from my teachers and parents helped me to never give up, I kept on pushing and it paid off,” she said. “I am very happy about that.”

Her high school of choice is the Convent High School.

“I expect to learn more and push harder and do my best when I enter high school,” Horsford said.

She wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up.

Her advice to other students who will be writing the G6NA next year is to, “work hard and never give up.”

Eleven-year-old Jehovanny Hill of the Berean Christian Academy secured the 4th position in the top ten list.

“I feel good and I feel like I would have never gotten that position without the help of very important people in my life,” he said. “My teachers, parents and friends helped me to study.”

In terms of preparation for the exams, Hill indicated that he did a lot of past papers.

He said Science was the most difficult subject.

Hill wants to attend the Dominica Grammar School in the new academic year.

His main dream is to be a massage therapist.

Hill’s message to other students who will be writing the G6NA next year is to, “respect your teachers, study hard” because according to him, this will help them in the future.

Twelve-year-old Sienna Andrew of the St Martin Primary School who placed 5th on the list said she feels ecstatic.

“I feel happy and I am proud of myself and my classmates and the other grade 6 classes at my school,” she stated.

Andrew explained that the exam this year was slightly challenging, some questions she had to brainstorm and analyze, “but above all, I knew my work; I studied hard.”

Andrew mentioned God as being the center of her studies as well as her parents and teachers who helped during her preparation.

“It’s good to know that I have people believing in me,” she said.

Andrew wants to attend the Convent High School in the new academic year as she continues her academic preparation to become a doctor in the future.

The other five students on the top ten list are Naima Sorhaindo of the Goodwill Primary School, Currelle Etienne of The Paix Bouche Primary School, Kai Ke of the Christian Union Primary School, Emmanuel Drigo of the Convent Preparatory School and Osa-Marie Hunter of the Pioneer Preparatory.

Proud Principal of the St Martin Primary School, Brinette Moreau, said this year has been challenging and the school had to rely on parental support to assist the students.

“This year was really tough on the students and the teachers, because you had to be doing content online, so it has really been a struggle, but I think that we had enough meetings with our parents to give them the importance of supporting the students. So this year more than ever we relied on parental support to help the children,” she remarked.

She said the students who are at the top have always been at that position in the school from Grade-K, “so these students have always been working so I congratulate them.”

At the St Martin Primary School, students are always taught about the importance of prayer.

“You can’t do anything without God and we always tell the students we begin our day with prayer,” Moreau stated.

“And whenever we feel left out we continue to pray and with our student dying the same week of exams we had to rely more on God than any other time in our lives,” she explained. “We had a good prayer service with the children, we prayed with them, we asked our parents to pray with them and I think that helped them to focus on the day.”

She congratulated their parents for helping them and their teachers who did a phenomenal job in getting the students ready for the exams.

Meantime, Principal of the Berean Christian Academy Sarah Thomas said she is very excited because Jehovanny has been strong throughout.

“Jehovanny has always been determined and when we started the school year online he faced various challenges that none of my other students faced and I saw him push through that,” she explained.

Thomas continued, “At certain times he had to move around, but he was persistent; he was at it and he had really great parental support.”

She added, “I think that is key to any child’s success.”

According to Thomas, he worked hard and his achievement is a testimony not only of his capability, but also his hard work.

This year, a total of 854 students were registered for the G6NA, however 840 students wrote the exams on Thursday 23rd and Friday 24th June.

On the basis of this year’s results, the Government has decided to award scholarships to all students who obtained a total of 18, 19 or 20 points, that is four As OR 3 As and 1 B OR 2 As and 2 Bs OR 3As and 1 C.

Bursaries are awarded to students who obtained totals of 16 or 17points, that is 2 As, 1 B and 1 C OR 1 A and 3 Bs OR 3 As and 1 D OR 3 As and 1 E OR 2 As and 2 Cs OR 1 A, 2Bs and 1 C OR 2 As, 1 B and 1 D OR 4 Bs.

Consequently, 78 students were awarded scholarships and 93 were awarded bursaries.

The amount allocated to scholars and bursaries for textbooks and stationery is $1000.00 and $700 respectively.