Patricia’s girls score big

Patricia Ho Koon has been principal of the well-kept, hillside school on Belmont Circular Road since 1992.

“I came after Sr Regina, who really set the tone for the school, and for all to follow and try to maintain it, and in 1997 Providence became a seven-year school,” says the very proud principal.

There are parents who want their children there, where discipline is of paramount importance.

“I know very clearly what I want,” says this diminutive woman. “The school is the only place where some of these children get any discipline.”

Ho Koon has always been attached to the Cluny nuns through her primary and secondary school education and then came straight to Providence after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Botany and Zoology, at the University of the West Indies. With the burden of administration she only teaches “from time to time if we are short.”

Started by the Cluny Sisters as an intermediate school, before attaining secondary school status, academics have not been made the great focal point, yet somehow or other, says Ho Koon, “our children in the midst of this, achieve without us pushing them. We are getting a 94 to 99 percent pass rate because we only did five subjects, but now we are doing eight subjects, which shows that they can do just as well as other first choice schools. It was not necessarily thought to be a prestige school when I started although some parents went towards a Catholic atmosphere, the nuns, and we still have two Sisters Mary Jean and Vanessa at Providence.”

Smiling to myself, I was beginning to believe that Providence is the land of “petite” teachers as Karena Amow, the teacher very instrumental in starting the sixth forms in 1997, joined us. She teaches the new CAPE Caribbean and Communications Studies.

Seven years into Advanced Level examinations, Marissa Leung won a National Open Scholarship and President’s Medal in 2004.

And in that same year Providence emerged winners of the Under 15 Girls’ Secondary Schools football league, and Knockout Champions beating archrivals St Joseph Convent PoS; and were Intercol Girls’ National Champions in 2005.

There have been many other academic and non-academic achievements, especially in football, swimming and hockey.

On the academic side, 2005 was also a good year as Candice Jaglal placed tenth worldwide in the

A level exams in Literature. Mercedes Marcano placed first in CXC Spanish, Alyia Dookie first, in the island in accounting at CAPE and Cherisse Hoyte placed first in the World Food Day Essay competition.

The records show that from as far back as 1936 Providence won the Shield of Honour for the Best English Essay of intermediate schools; and prior to 1972 Helen Wilke won the Jerningham Silver Medal for placing first in the island at the Cambridge O’level examination.

Ho Koon is proud of her school of 586 students and 39 staff members, especially as many of her students leave after Form 5 and go on to win scholarships in other schools.

“Over the years we have focused quite a bit on making changes in the curriculum to offer our children wider choices in technical/vocational subjects, although the staff had a fear that we would sacrifice technical/vocational in favour of academics.

We did not as we have kept a wide academic curriculum and any child is able to find a basket of subjects that she can cope with.

“Students are given every encouragement as we try to provide as much as possible so they do not feel they are not getting what other schools give. What other schools offer, Providence can offer them. Yet we do not put them under too much pressure to achieve academically but I let them know I expect them to achieve and they have not disappointed me.

“We have to have faith because they are going to be leaders and movers when we retire. We feel sad when some fall through the cracks but every school has to face this. We try everything to not let it happen but sometimes it does because there are many, many extraordinary factors out of our hands that attribute to this.”

On the subject of CAPE which has replaced the Advanced Level exams, Ho Koon left the answer to that “open.”

She did say that the transition was not too hard on her school and there were 100 per cent passes at first year with one student placing first in accounting.

“So I would not say that it has been extremely, extremely challenging to the point of despair.”

Then, too, Providence has very small sixth forms and so would not experience the difficulties other schools talk about.

Space is the problem because of the mountain terrain, flat areas are limited and small if the school is to expand to ideally allow all students to be able to stay on to sixth form if they so wish.

“Science is the hot favourite but we have only one main lab and one specialist lab, but it really would be nice if the children could stay and continue on with the full range of A level subjects. Children will gripe but basically they like to stay together. We have good students, good teachers but we have nowhere to expand,” said Ho Koon.

Photos by SUREASH CHOLAI