One of the most anticipated events of the Grade 11 (Fifth Form) calendar has come and gone but will remain in the hearts, on the minds and on the tip of the tongues of the over 700 persons that were in attendance at the graduation exercise that took place on the 28th of June 2009 at the Kingston Parish Church.
Well done to the hardworking members of staff that made this particular graduation exercise one of the best ever in the 84 year history of the school. Since the implementation of the Mock Exam criterion some years ago, this year marks the largest ever graduating class of 172 out of a possible 245 students in comparison to the previous record number of 137 out of 248 recorded last year.
The function got underway a little after 2:00 pm. The program ran smoothly even though at one point in the proceedings, the announcer had to stop to ask anxious parents and well wishers, who wanted to simply get a glimpse and a photo of their son, to clear the aisles of the church so that the young men could return to their seats in the same order that they came up to collect their diplomas.
After the procession of the Graduates, Father Abner Powell opened the proceedings with a prayer which was followed by the principal’s remarks by Acting Principal, Mr. Everton Burrell. The reflections began; the first one was about their time spent at KC, the second one about God which was done as a sign language performance and the other about the teachers. These were done by Owen Waugh, Wayne Blackwood and Ray-Anthony Chin, and Steven Jackson respectively. A most moving and meaningful speech, even rivalling that of the guest speaker, was done by Stefan Brown the 2009 Valedictorian. The Graduating Class did the song ‘Do I make you proud’ by Taylor Hicks and they did what everyone expected them to do, they brought the house or rather in this case the church down.
Guest Speaker Dr. Seymour Douglas and Mrs. Douglas
I did not hear the address to the Graduates by the guest speaker, Dr. Seymour Douglas, an Old Boy from the Atlanta Chapter, because of my involvement in the organization of the day’s events. Dr. Douglas was well received though as I can hear persons even today talking about what he said in that church. After the handing out of the certificates by Mrs. Tasheika Douglas and Miss Jodi-Ann Gordon, Xavier McLaren gave the vote of thanks. The Graduation Pledge, the Candle-lighting Ceremony and a selection by Miss Stephanie Tulloch all followed before Father Powell ended the day with another prayer.
There were some special awards on the day and among them was that to the special honouree Mr. Guy Riley who has been a member of the Kingston College teaching staff since 1978.
The special awards included that of the Principal’s award for the student of the year which was given to Glenroy Murray of 11 DeCarteret, the Vice Principal’s award for the most improved student given to Mikhail Gordon of 11 Clark and the Coordinators’ award for the most co-operative student which was given to Ray-Anthony Chin from 11 MacDonald. Other awards that were given out included the Form Teachers’ Awards and subject prizes that were given to the students who performed the best in each subject in the Mock Exams.
Graduates Taking the Graduation Pledge
As the Graduates walked in two by two to the musical interlude by tenth grade student Alex Taffe at the beginning of the ceremony, they left in the same fashion to the song ‘Go Forth With God’ at the end. This year was indeed a success and the aim is to make every year better so be on your guard and look out for the Class of 2010 in our special 85th anniversary year.
