Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment students.

In Grenada, 1,727 students took the assessment at 53 centres across Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique; while in Anguilla, 223 students from six centres did the assessment.

The students wrote the final part of the CPEA, which was in the form of a multiple choice test. The other components of the CPEA were completed in school over the duration of the programme.

The students were assessed in three areas during Friday’s external assessment: English, mathematics, and science. This will account for 60 percent of their final grade, while the internal assessment completed in school will account for the other 40 percent.

In Grenada, Franka Alexis-Bernardine, Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, along with a team from the Ministry of Education, visited schools prior to the commencement of the external assessment.

Alexis-Bernardine described Friday’s first sitting as a “watershed moment for us here in Grenada.”

Noting that the CPEA is a work in progress, the minister said, “I think people understand the principle behind what we are trying to do. It’s important to remember that today is just part of the total assessment… that if a child, for any reason, is not able to perform well today, that does not mean he is not going to get into secondary, because there are other means of assessing his progress.”

Davis Adams, principal of South St George Government School, expressed similar sentiments as the education minister. Adams said it was a very proud moment for him as an educator.

“I am glad that I am in school to be part of this moment in Grenada’s history…” he stated. “We should embrace it with both hands and work the best we can that when our students get into secondary education they can be the best citizens of Grenada, Carriacou and Petit Martinique.”

“The CPEA pilot went very smoothly in Anguilla,” stated Colleen Horsford, CXC local registrar in Anguilla. “There was a noticeable increase in the number of parents who accompanied their children to the examination hall. This I believe demonstrates the importance parents have attached to the CPEA and the fact that they were very involved with the programme from its inception.”

Horsford attributed the improved parental involvement to the meeting the Ministry of Education and CXC hosted with parents at the start of the programme in 2011, which was attended by over 200 parents.

The CPEA assesses the literacies required by all students exiting the primary school system. The programme departs from the traditional one-shot test offered in the various primary exit examinations, and assesses the students over a period of time using various methodologies: projects, writing portfolios, book reports, can do skills, internal teacher-prepared tests and student-prepared tests.

Caribbean News Now

The prince studied the document but didn't sign it

The prince was visiting Lagan College on the outskirts of the city in the first engagement of a one-day visit.

During a presentation in the main hall, year eight pupil Michael Hare asked the prince to sign a royal pardon which would have “pardoned all year eight pupils from any homework not done.”

The prince studied the document but didn’t sign it.

Speaking to BBC’s Radio Ulster, Michael said he got the idea from history lessons.

“In history we’re learning about the Normans coming to Ireland and I think it’s Strongbow who gets a royal pardon from the king and that gave me the idea,” he said.

“I started sort of talking to my class about it and they said ‘yes really do it’ and then they sort of pushed me along to it and I said ‘yes I’ll do it’.

Michael said the Prince liked the idea.

“He said this is absolutely great – he was very enthusiastic and he said ‘very tempting, good idea’.

“But he said Ms McNamee (the head teacher) wouldn’t be very happy about it.

“It’s a tiny bit disappointing but I don’t really mind homework.”

BBC News

Thwaites...removing sexual offender teacher from classroom

In an article entitled Sex offender still teaching – Blunder leaves convict untouchable, it was revealed that Roger Hobbins was found guilty of indecent assault on the minor and was sentenced on January 19, 2012 to two years’ imprisonment suspended for three years in the Half-Way-Tree Resident Magistrate’s Court. The English teacher was also sentenced to do 360 hours of community service, specifically at a penal institution. However Hobbins still teaches at the High School in St Andrew.

In a release to the media Thwaites said he has taken steps to remove the teacher from the classroom with immediate effect. He said further steps are to be taken by the Board of Directors of the school in this matter.

“The Education Minister advises that this action has been taken in the interest of the welfare of the children. They should always be at the forefront of every educational institution.Minister Thwaites stated that the establishment of the Jamaica Teaching Council and the liscensing for all members of the profession, is urgently needed,” the release stated.

Thwaites also said when the Jamaica Teaching Council is established, and theComputerised Data Systems in place at the Education Ministry, the information on infractions and other matters of litigation, being pursued by hundreds of School Boards will flow automatically to the Ministry’s Executives.

Jamaica Observer

THWAITES... It is unlikely that there can be any direct subsidies to the schools Turn to

Education Minister Reverend Ronald Thwaites said that while he was aware of the difficulty facing some independent schools, it was unlikely that his Government would be able to provide any direct subsidy to them.

“I come to share with you what you know very well, that the schools are in a very difficult place, most of them. I receive many letters from preparatory schools indicating that their enrolment is diminishing; and we know why. Jobs are forfeited; we’ve lost over 100,000 jobs in the last few years,” Rev Thwaites told participants at yesterday’s opening ceremony for the Jamaica Independent Schools Association Principal’s Conference at the Sunset Jamaica Grande Resort in Ocho Rios.

He pointed out that he was aware that the collection of tuition fees was increasingly difficult and that some schools were closing, but explained that it was not a matter of indifference by the Ministry of Education.

Pointing out that the country could not afford to lose any more school places at this time, the education minister encouraged private school administrators and the association to start dialogue with his ministry.

“We need more, not less, and if a private institution closes all that does is to put further pressure on the public system at that level. It is unlikely that there can be any direct subsidies to the schools,” Rev Thwaites told the school administrators.

“But the Ministry of Education remains open and invites the independent schools association to enter into discussion and negotiation with us now, we can relate to these institutions that are in difficulty to ensure that the stay open and that they maintain that stability that the system needs so much,” he added.

He told the conference that independent schools were a necessary part of the new set of partnerships in the provision of educational opportunities and urged the group not to think of themselves as being less cared for, optional, or disposable.

“The Government is anxious for your association to strengthen itself, and wishes to engage with you in an ongoing discussion where we share your concerns and you understand our ability and limitations,” Rev Thwaites said.

Speaking to the relationship between Government and private schools, the minister said that almost half billion dollars was spent last year to buy about 5,500 spaces in private secondary institutions for students who could not be accommodated in Government-run schools.

“We are aware that the amounts paid for those places may not be adequate, but they are probably the best we can do, and the plan is to continue to have this kind of partnership and to see where it can be expanded,” he emphasised

The education minister said that his Government is seeking to build a relationship of trust and accountability with the independent schools. He also pointed to the need for Government to share the talent and structure of independent schools in dealing with issues, including special education.

The three-day conference is being held under the theme ‘A Call to Action, 21st Century Schools: Change or Die’.

President of the Association Rev Sylvester O’Gilvie said the conference should provide a platform for academia, research, and leadership to work together and come up with ways in which they can be the catalysts for the change they wish to achieve in their schools.

O’Gilvie said it was important for educational leaders to not only appreciate the need to change their way of governance and education, but also to embrace its benefits wholeheartedly.

BY ALESIA EDWARDS
Jamaica Observer

Children under the age of 13 are not supposed to have Facebook accounts

This meant that children were getting involved in social media at too young an age, he suggested.

He added that parents had a responsibility to monitor youngsters’ online activity.

The comments came in a debate on “sexting” – youngsters sending explicit pictures to each other.

Mr Loughton, who has three teenage children, said parents had a responsibility to monitor youngsters online, adding: “Having a Facebook page, you should be at least 13 to do that. That is not legally enforceable.

“We know, and I know from personal experience, the temptations for younger children to set up a Facebook site and get involved with those social media.

“And I also know that in too many cases they do that aided and abetted by parents. So it’s not just a question of giving information to parents, it’s making sure parents are acting responsibly on behalf of their children too.”

When individuals set up Facebook accounts, they are asked to certify that they are 13 or over by entering a date of birth. If the date of birth shows them to be younger they are prevented from continuing.

A Facebook spokeswoman said it set the age limit for setting up accounts to comply with international regulations on children accessing social media.

It also said it applied more stringent protections and security settings for its younger users aged between 13 and 17.

‘Risk’

This involves limiting who can see what teenagers post on their accounts to people in their social networks – Facebook friends, friends of friends, and people they have a prior connection with.

“We maintain added protections and security settings for teens (age 13-17) that ensure their timelines and posts don’t show up in public search results,” Facebook says on its website.

Mr Loughton’s comments came as a Labour MP Ann Coffey urged the government and mobile phone companies to do more to combat “sexting” during a Westminster Hall debate.

The Stockport MP said youngsters who sent explicit images to their boyfriends and girlfriends risked having those pictures shown around playgrounds.

She said: “Once taken and sent, the sender loses control of these images and they could end up anywhere from being passed all around school to being viewed and passed on by paedophiles.”

‘No silver bullet’

She also claimed pornographic pictures willingly uploaded to the internet could be shared with the world without the subject’s consent, a practice known as “doxing”.

She added: “A key problem is that young people see the texts as harmless fun but they quickly lead to sexualised conversations and grooming.

“Because it is not face-to-face interaction, young people will also behave in a different way without realising the risks they are exposing themselves to until it is too late.”

She called on mobile phone firms to pay for advertising campaigns warnings youngsters about the dangers of sexting, and demanded more training for shop workers selling handsets.

Mr Loughton said there was “no silver bullet” to combat the problem, but added: “The concept of peer-to-peer sexting is now really raising its head and can have far-reaching consequences. That needs to be addressed.”

He said the government took “very seriously our responsibility to ensure the response in all areas of child protection and safeguarding is as effective as possible”.

BBC News