The Caribbean Examiner IN THIS ISSUE REGIONAL TOP AWARDS Kiron 05 Prizes Bring Tears of Joy Neale to Top Awardees 08 CXC partners with P10 institutions to offer awards 10 My BVI Experience 12 In Their Own Words 14 Kia Persaud ‘returns thanks’ 16 Barbadian is Top CAPE Student in 2009 20 From Regional Top Awardee CXC NEWS to Rhodes Scholar P36 24 Record numbers 22 Where are they now? write January CSEC Exams WI 25 CXC and UWI Open Campus U Sign MOU H COURTESY 27 British Virgin Islands hosts P 41st Meeting of Council PHOTOGRA P24 28 CXC and IRP Launch Past Paper Booklets 30 CXC and US Universities Sign Articulation Agreements Cover Photograph 34 CSEC General Proficiency Rhodes Scholar Kamal Wood FEATURES Additional Mathematics 36 Biological Evolution in Caribbean Classrooms 42 The Classroom – Pan In Education THE CARIBBEAN EXAMINER is a publication of the CARIBBEAN EXAMINATIONS COUNCIL © (CXC) EDitor-IN-CHIEF: DR DIDacus JULES • EDITOR: CLEVELAND SAM • LINE EDITORS: MAUREEN GRAZETTE & MARCELDA AUGUSTE Please send your comments to: THE CARIBBEAN EXAMINER, CXC, THE GARRISON, ST MICHAEL, BARBADOS Website: www.cxc.org • E-mail: [email protected] • YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5mlGr7EIHU Check out Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) page on Facebook ISSN 2071-9019 www.cxc.org MAY 2010 3 The Caribbean Examiner REGIONAL TOP AWARDS Prizes Bring Tears of Joy to TOP AwarDEES Regional Top Awardees are in high spirits as they pose on the steps of the Government Administration Building in Tortola The Master of Ceremonies announces her Theresa, like the other 14 Regional Top Top Award over the last four years. Year after name and award and she walks proudly to the Awardees was attending the Regional Top year, students from the 166-year-old institution stage to collect her CSEC plaque, a dictionary Awards Presentation ceremony at the HL Stoutt have won the award which recognizes the most from Longman Publishers, and two envelopes. As Community College in the British Virgin Islands outstanding performance in the May/June sitting she walks back to her seat and settles down into to receive their CAPE and CSEC prizes. Although of the examinations. the bucket seats at the HLS Community College most did not show the outward emotions that And 2009 was no different. For the fourth Auditorium, she opens one of the envelopes. Theresa did, the feelings were the same as one by consecutive year and for the seventh time overall, Water immediately springs to her eyes. She one they graced the stage to collect their prizes a student from Queen’s College, Guyana was the takes out her cell phone and calls her parents and basked in their moments in the spotlight; recipient of the award for the Most Outstanding in Jamaica, “I won a scholarship to UWI!” she spurred on by the rapturous applauses of fellow Performance Overall in the Region in CSEC. exclaims, unable to hold back the tears. awardees as well as their parents who traveled to This time it was the diminutive Kia Persaud, This is the story of Theresa Cann; a student the BVI to partake in the celebrations. whose performance was worth more than her of Bishop Gibson High School in Jamaica, who weight in gold. Kia achieved Grade I in 14 subjects received the award for the Most Outstanding QC Guyana Dominates with all ‘A’ profiles: Agricultural Science (Double Performance in Visual Arts, 2-Dimensional The name Queen’s College Guyana has Award), Biology, Chemistry, Electronic Document work. become synonymous with the CSEC Regional Preparation and Management, Economics, www.cxc.org MAY 2010 5 The Caribbean Examiner achieved Grade I in 11 subjects, including Grade I in six Business Education subjects – Economics, Electronic Document Preparation and Management, Principles of Accounts, Principles of Business, Office Administration and Information Technology (Technical). The other subjects in which she achieved Grade I were English A, English B, Integrated Science, Mathematics and Social Studies. Jamaica Copped Three Awards Norman Tai of York Castle High School copped the award for the Most Outstanding Performance in Technical/Vocational Education. Norman achieved Grade I in nine subjects and Grade II in one subject. He achieved Grade I in four Technical/Vocational subjects – Electrical and Electronic Technology, Building Technology (Construction), Informational Technology and Technical Drawing. Norman also achieved Grade Professor E. Nigel Harris, CXC Chairman presents Staurt I in English A, Mathematics, Physics, Social Dr Didacus Jules presents award to Jovel Lewis Deoraj with his prize Studies and Spanish and Grade II in Visual Arts. He achieved only two ‘Bs’ in his profile grades, English A, English B, French, Geography, Human the remainder were all ‘A’ profiles. entitled “Metamorphosis”. and Social Biology, Information Technology Theresa Cann of Bishop Gibson High School The award for the Most Outstanding (Technical), Mathematics, Physics, Social Studies received the award for the Most Outstanding Performance in Humanities went to Jovelle and Spanish. Performance in Visual Arts, 2-Dimensional work. Lewis of Holy Name Convent, Port of Spain, Kia also received a special honour at the Theresa drew a portrait of a young lady seated Trinidad and Tobago. Jovelle achieved Grade I awards ceremony, a standing ovation for her with her head supported by both hands. in nine subjects, all with ‘A’ profiles. Her subjects excellent Vote of Thanks speech. Excelsior High School’s Shantal Pellington included five Humanities subjects – Caribbean She was not the only Queen’s College received the awarded for the Best Short Story History, French, Geography, Social Studies and student in the spotlight on 3rd December. submitted in the English A General Proficiency Spanish. She also achieved Grade I in Biology, Her classmate Padminee Roshundatt, also examination. The budding journalist’s story Chemistry, English A and Mathematics. flew the Queen’s College flag high. Padminiee was based on a photograph which depicts a little received the award for the Most Outstanding girl who appears to be reading a book to a little Prizes Performance in the Sciences. She also achieved boy. The story uses the flashback technique to The awardees were presented with their Grade I in 14 subjects including six Science poignantly narrate the events of a happy sibling prizes at a ceremony which was held in the British subjects – Agricultural Science (Double award), relationship which has been interrupted by the Virgin Islands (BVI) on Thursday 3rd December Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Human and Social tragic death of the persona’s sister. 2009. The prizes included a full scholarship Biology and Integrated Science. Additionally, she to The University of the West Indies to study achieved Grade I in English A, English B, French, Montserrat’s First any discipline of their choice at any one of the Geography, Information Technology (Technical), Karishma Dhera of the Government university’s campuses, a cash prize of Bds$5000.00 Mathematics, Spanish and Social Studies. Secondary School in Montserrat placed the for the Most Outstanding Candidate Overall and Sonya Yacoob, another student from island on the Regional Top Award stage for the Bds$500.00 for the winners of each category, Guyana, of the New Amsterdam Multilateral first time. Karishma received the award for the a plaque and a dictionary with CD ROM. The School, won the award for Most Outstanding Most Outstanding Performance in Visual Arts, students also received an all-expenses-paid trip Performance in Business Education. Sonya 3-Dimensional work. She constructed a relief to the BVI to attend the ceremony. Honourable Dancia Penn has the attention of the CXC delegation as she greets the top awardees 6 MAY 2010 www.cxc.org The Caribbean Examiner Prizes Bring Tears of Joy to Top Awardees Regional Top Awardees and their parents at the presentation ceremony www.cxc.org MAY 2010 7 The Caribbean Examiner REGIONAL TOP AWARDS CXC partners WITH INSTITUTIONS to OFFER awarDS First, there was the Regional Top Award for outstanding performance in CSEC. In 2006, the Council added the Dennis Irvine Award and Regional Top Awards for outstanding performance in CAPE. Now, in an effort to recognize more of the region’s top performers in a diversified range of disciplines, the Council has teamed up with other institutions and agencies to offer other regional awards. CARDI Award for Outstanding Performance in Agricultural Science The Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute (CARDI) in collaboration with CXC introduced the CARDI Award for Outstanding Performance in Agricultural Science in 2008 after discussions between the two regional organisations. The winner of the 2009 CARDI award is Joshua Hammichand, a student of St Joseph’s High School, Georgetown, Guyana. In addition to achieving Grade I in Agricultural Science (Double Award), Joshua also achieved Grade I in English A, English B, Mathematics and Principles Dr Brent Hardt, Chargé d’Affaires at the US Embassy, Barbados presents prize to Lena Taupier of Business, with A’s in all subject profiles. of St Joseph’s Convent, St Lucia Joshua was presented with his monetary prize of US$250.00 at the Guyana Agriculture Accounts, Principles of Business, Social Studies Mr. D.R. Seckinger, an officer with the Week opening ceremony in October by Dr and Spanish. She was presented with her prizes US Embassy and Jennifer Lafond, Permanent Arlington Chesney, Executive Director of at a ceremony at the Ministry of Education in Secretary in the Ministry of Education and CARDI. March, 2010. Human Resource Development presented the prizes to Sidney at the St Mary’s Academy on CXC/US Embassy CSEC Awards Barbados 25 February. CXC and the United States Embassy Brittany Evason of St Winifred’s School in Barbados have teamed up to offer the US won the award for Barbados with eight Grade Is.