Eleven 6A and 115 Year 5 students graduated from the Albena Lake- Hodge Comprehensive School on Wednesday, October 20. The event was held at the Rodney MacArthur Rey Auditorium.

Graduating students of the ALHCS

Minister of Education, Edison Baird, delivered an address in which he congratulated the graduates. “Students, you have every reason to celebrate,” he told them. “The fact that you are here, is an indication that you have studied hard, obeyed the rules, demonstrated a positive attitude and it has paid off. This ceremony marks a triumph to what was undoubtedly an arduous task.”

Pathfinders heralding the graduation procession

He had a word for other persons as well. “Parents, teachers, counselors, you too must celebrate. These students are here, not on their own strength, but because you have given them good instruction, you have guided, molded, supported and encouraged them. You have shared their trials and ensured that they would not give up. Their success is also your success.

Section of the audience

Mr. Baird, a former secondary school teacher, continued: “Anguilla has every reason to be proud. 126 young people now have the basic building blocks to become future leaders. Some have gone on to Sixth Form. Some will enter the workforce and others will go on to college and university. In the current economic climate, there may be those of you who will experience difficulty in finding employment, but I encourage you to seek other ways of engaging yourself constructively and to practice the virtues of patience and tolerance that were instilled in you at the Albena lake-Hodge Comprehensive School. Ladies and gentlemen, sitting before us today are Anguilla’s future. From where I stand, their faces assure me that we can face that future with confidence.”

Students in performance

Former ALHCS student, Tara Ruan, now a lawyer at Caribbean Juris Chambers, delivered the feature address. Speaking on the topic “Leaving Legacies – Moving Forward”, she urged the graduating students to create a legacy in four areas, the first of which was leadership. She urged them to stand firm in what they believed in, what was right, truthful and pure. She identified education as their second legacy and encouraged them to further their learning. “There is the Community College, long distance education and university opportunities on Anguilla,” she said. “Seek out these opportunities and pursue them. A strong education is a necessary tool to catapult you into a successful future.”

Graduating students and others

Thirdly, Mrs. Ruan urged the graduates to take stock of their attitude. “Get rid of the eye rolling, hand-folding, neck gyrating,” she stressed. “It gets you nowhere in this life…Whatever you do next, bring to it a willing attitude. Be willing to go the extra mile. Be remembered as the good-natured person with a positive attitude."

Finally, Lawyer Ruan advised the students to pay attention to their deportment. “Your deportment is not just the way you dress: it is the way you talk and behave. Be decent. Be modest,” she told them. “Do not attract the wrong attention by the way you dress." In general, she called on them to make good choices in life, and congratulated them on their graduation.

Principal of the School, Ingrid Lake, commended the students for their success in the 2010 May/June examinations and for following the basic rules and regulations which ensured their participation in the ceremony. “Class of 2010 (6A and Year 5) on behalf of all your teachers, I must boldly say it was a privilege to have shared in your development or to have touched your lives in some way,” she said.
“I urge you to continue to demonstrate respect for yourselves, for others, for the environment and for rules and regulations. You can and should be better vehicles through which decency and order can return to all our institutions. Continue to be actively involved in your communities. You have a responsibility to be engaged in nation-building and to leave this treasured rock, we call Anguilla, a better place than how you found it.”

Mrs. Lake commended all parents and guardians for the support and encouragement they gave the students and requested them to continue that assistance in order to enable the youngsters to fulfill their dreams.

The programme, chaired by Christopher Richardson, Room Division Manager, at CuisinArt Resort and Spa, was interspersed with a number of musical selections by the ALHCS Concert Band, Choir and Steel Orchestra. The Valedictory Speech was delivered by Mikeela Skellekie. Various business places in Anguilla donated awards to outstanding students.

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