Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. – Matthew 5:9
WE HAVE HEARD over and over that commissions of inquiry are a waste of time, money and that nothing ever comes out of them.
But the Frederick Waterman Commission of Inquiry set up by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart into Alexandra School was necessary since nothing had been done about the problem for many years.
It was not a waste of money or time and I support it. We are getting action on some of the recommendations in the report but the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union is not happy with these actions.This union had called for the separation of principal Jeff Broomes but I believe that it got more than it bargained for.
It is a case of winning the battle and losing the war.
I support the transfers – for you could not move the principal and not the teachers. During the inquiry the public was given an insight into some of the problems at Alexandra, where some of the students were very disrespectful to some senior teachers.
We also heard that there was a Team Jeff; this was wrong. Students should never be used against teachers and that was just what was happening. If those teachers had remained, what would have become of Team Jeff?
Mr Orson Alleyne has been moved to Alexandra and Mr Broomes to Parkinson Secondary. What is all the fuss about? I am sure that people in the Public Service are transferred from time to time. What about permanent secretaries? Are they not transferred?Come on, teachers, get on with the job of teaching our children.
60 years of ministryTwo clergymen are celebrating 60 years of ministry in the Anglican church. They are retired Bishop of Guyana Reverend Randolph George and Rev. Lionel Courtney Gormandy, who is also retired.Gormandy served in the Diocese of Barbados at St Clement’s and St Swithin’s, and the church of St Matthews and The Resurrection from 1963 to 1966. He assists at the Church of St Barnabas, Apostle and Martyr in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.Educated at Codrington College, Barbados, after a curacy at St Peter and St Philip The Less, George spent a decade in England. He became Bishop of Guyana in 1980 and held that position until 2009.I wish them well on their anniversary.St Paul’s festivalSt Paul’s Anglican Church, Bay Street, St Michael, under the rectorship of Reverend Canon Wayne Isaacs, will start its Patronal Festival on Sunday, January 20, with Jamaican priest Reverend Monique S. A. Blake-Campbell as the conductor and preacher for the week.Blake-Campbell is the rector of St Ann’s Bay Parish Church in the diocese of Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.Epiphany of carolAn epiphany of carol service will be held at St Michael’s Cathedral on Sunday, January 20, at 6 p.m. The St Michael’s Cathedral Choir with John Bryan (organist and choirmaster) will be in attendance. Admission is free.50th anniversaryThe 4H movement will mark its 50th anniversary with a service at St Thomas’ Parish Church on Sunday, January 20, at 9:15 a.m. Funeral serviceThe funeral service for the late Cleaveston “Toby” Browne will take place tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. at St John’s Parish Church. Please remember the Browne family in your prayers
