Anchovy High School kicks off 50th anniversary celebrations

WESTERN BUREAU:

THE ANCHOVY High School in Anchovy, St James, has launched a yearlong series of events to celebrate its 50th anniversary as an institution, starting with the recent swearing-in of its past students’ association’s 2022-2024 executive committee.

The swearing-in ceremony, which included the unveiling of the school’s 50th anniversary logo, was held at the school’s main campus on Thursday, January 13, under the theme ‘Positioned for Growth: In Pursuit of Excellence’.

Lavern Stewart, the principal of Anchovy High, pointed to the school’s mandate of seeking excellence in its activities as a hallmark of its historic milestone.

“This is our year of jubilee, our 50th anniversary as an educational institution, and we are indeed delighted that you have decided to share our first event of the year. For 50 years, we have been doing small things in an excellent way, and so as we come together this year, we will be celebrating the culmination of these small acts that have blossomed into excellence,” Stewart told Thursday’s ceremony.

In addition to the swearing-in of the past students’ association’s executive committee members, a thanksgiving service was held on Sunday, January 16, at the Mount Carey Baptist Church in the nearby Mount Carey community, with an address by host pastor Kevin Stewart.

Other planned activities to mark the school’s jubilee celebration include the renaming on March 22 of the school’s auditorium, other school buildings and classroom blocks. There will also be a presentation of desktop computers for the computer lab at the school’s Montpelier campus in September and an awards banquet on December 17 to honour persons who have made contributions of 25 years or more to the institution.

HUMBLE RETURN

Albert Ferguson, the president of the Anchovy High School Past Students’ Association, expressed great humility in his reappointment to the post, having served in the position during the association’s last administrative term.

“From experience, I have learned that leadership is demanding and challenging. But in humility and with great respect, love, and appreciation for my school, I will continue to give of myself in service to others,” said Ferguson. “I am extremely excited to lead the past students’ association, an important stakeholder group of our alma mater, especially at a time when Anchovy High School is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a school of choice in pursuit of excellence.”

Meanwhile, in his keynote address at Thursday’s function, Jamaica Teachers’ Association President Winston Smith advised the past students’ association members to do their part in building Anchovy High School for further greatness.

“As you seek to build, restructure, and enhance the growth and development of Anchovy High School, there will be many naysayers who will say ‘This is how we have always done it, this is how it should be done,’ but what they have done in the past did not bring them to where you want to be. You should aspire to be successful to have the job done, so sharpen your axe because a sharpened axe will cut faster than a dull one,” said Smith.