Chairman of PALS, Oliver Clarke, chats with Maysha Thomas and Laticia Reid, students at the Falmouth All-Age School in Trelawny recently. Mr. Clarke, along with other PALS representatives and former Tourism Minister Francis Tulloch, had paid a special visit to the school to have first hand knowledge of the programme's progress.
WESTERN BUREAU:
TERRY KELLY and Ishema Gichie didn't just graduate from grade six recently, they were crowned King and Queen of Peace.
Students of Falmouth All-Age School in Trelawny, the two became royalties of peace at the school's recent annual graduation ceremony.
The top peacemakers in their class, Terry and Ishema won the crowns for their involvement in the Peace and Love in Schools (PALS) programme.
They also topped the categories for best behaviour and attendance at PALS meetings since last November.
During a meeting at the school recently with PALS Chairman and Managing Director of The Gleaner Company Ltd., Oliver Clarke, and other PALS representatives, Terry said the programme had contributed immensely to his moral values.
"PALS teaches me how to love, share, how to be a mediator and how to help others," he said.
In response to a query from former Tourism Minister Francis Tulloch at the meeting, teachers involved in the programme suggested that awards be given to students rather than to the teachers for their contribution.
Mr. Tulloch had contributed to the PALS programme in Western Jamaica during his tenure in office.
"If we do not get the co-operation of the teachers it will never work. So far, however, it has been the only programme of this sort which has shown some sort of success," Mr. Tulloch said.
Speaking at a meeting, Icylin Harding, Senior Children's Officer for Western Jamaica, who represented Ambassador Marjorie Taylor, noted that teachers realised that children sometimes took problems from their homes into the schools.
To address this the Children's Services Division has been focusing on parenting skills and "we have been taking the mediation programme to parents through our parenting skills training," she said. "We are willing to continue taking the message to parents, because this can also help to alleviate the problems."
Giving an overview of the programme, Principal Talbert Golding said that aggression was one of the school's main problems, but there had been a significant reduction in aggressive behaviour with the introduction of the PALS programme.
"It has benefited me personally in my administrative duties, while the training that teachers have had and are still getting is also helping," Mr. Golding said.
PALS general manager Janilee Abrikian said a two-day session was in the works for teachers, after using the Super PALS Two programme, to produce a document showing how they integrate PALS lessons in their core subject areas.
"Peacemaking is a way of life," she said. "Something as basic as creating a sense of welcome, safety, being nurtured, as well as meeting the needs of children who come with a lot of baggage is a part of the programme without picking up a work book," she said.
Also making their contribution at the recent meeting were Steward Garwood, Project Manager for Super Pals Two, Neville Hammond, Chairman of the Falmouth School Board and student Camoy Nephew, a PALS mediator at the school.
Noel Thompson Photo
