Our Lady's Catholic Primary School

Keep going.

Anyone has a full or in part video recording of any one of Our Lady's Living Stations that is close to the date Our Lady's closed.... say from 2010 to 2013.... if you can post it, please do so.... thanks....

Our Lady's School will live on in our heart of hearts.

Mr. Soncaire's Reflection (Religion Coordinator at Our Lady's) for this morning's Closing of the Gate Ceremony:

The most common introduction to the preface said or sung at Mass states: It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks, Lord, Holy Father, Almighty and Eternal God.

It is truly right and just, our duty and our salvation, always and everywhere to give you thanks….. always and everywhere….. always and everywhere….. in and out of season….

When a life has come and when a life has gone…..

In times of sorrow and in times of joy….

In new beginnings and in bittersweet ends….

Always and everywhere….

The 86 year long Season of Our Lady’s School has come to a close and we gather here today even in the midst of our sorrow or whatever else we may be feeling to give God thanks for the gift we have experience in being a part of this great school.

Even within the 86 year period of Our Lady’s there has been different times or different Seasons of change and of growth. I am a proud product of the Season I would like to call “The Glory Days of the 80’s”.

A time when the bell was rung by hand – “a ting a ling a ling”

When the welcoming words were said: “Good morning boys and girls…” and response issued: “Good morning Sr. Jones”; which would have more often than not been followed by the firm and gentle reminder: “My name is not Sr. Jones it is Sr. Joan.”

It was a time when the assembly line faced Young Street and the flag was brought out on a pole and held firmly by a senior student.

A time when there was no gate to pull and “able bodied” six graders (note the use of able bodied) took pleasure in barricading the entrance to the school early in the morning to deter vehicles from coming into the yard.

It was a time when this building behind me did not exist, when there was just but a one level building; when the office was connected to the staircase that is next to the music room.

A time when lunch ladies came in the yard pushing their trolleys filled with goodies like: chicken n fries, salty, sandwiches and various sweets. I remember Mrs. Davis who lived just around the corner. She served her lunch just over there under that tree and Mrs. Etienne who would serve her lunch under the tree next to kindergarten.

It was a time when hot patties and twists were the common snack of the day….

A time of many, many memories….

There are many lessons I took with me from Our Lady’s school during my time as a student; lessons like:

1. The importance of prayer
2. Of keeping one’s environment clean
3. The value of having respect and good manners especially toward those who are older than myself
4. That hard work and discipline are important tools for navigating through life
5. And finally, if you are going to eat meat on a Friday during Lent or as it is also called…. A “Lenten Friday,”… don’t bring it to school and worse yet don’t sit down in class, in front of a Catholic nun and try to eat it……. And just in case some of you may be wondering…. NO it was not me….

There is much to give God thanks for and I thank Him for affording me the opportunity to come back to Our Lady’s to work as an educator. My experiences over these four years will forever live on in my memory.

I leave you now with some words I recently wrote as a reflection for our Memory Book………..:

They say that all good things come to an end and this may be true; but I say: “Yes all good things may have their end, but their value and worth never ceases to be.” My dear administrators, fellow teachers, parents, students and all members of the Our Lady’s School Family, there is no need to cry, no need to weep, because as of today June 14, 2013, you belong to a “timeless legacy” that is Our Lady’s School.

No matter how long you have been a member of this great family, the spirit of Our Lady’s now lives in you. It is the same spirit that lived in our founders, our earliest administrators; former principals like Sr. Joan Anderson and Mrs. Fiordelisa Bain, in educational giants like Sr. Theresa Symonette, Mrs. Cynthia Mortimer, Mrs. Cynthia Moss, Mrs. Ellington, Mrs. Puckerin, Mrs. Verdell Williams, Mrs. Maudlene Soncaire, Mrs. Lily Joseph and Mrs. Lighbourne, Mrs. Barbara Tynes, Mrs. Erva Hall, Mrs. Ruth Strachan and many, many others. The spirit of Our Lady’s now lives in you. It is a spirit of growth and change – a spirit of faith, academics and service.

No matter where you may find yourselves in the coming year, dear family and friends of Our Lady’s, do remember to take into the world and to everyone you meet the spirit of the “timeless legacy” that is Our Lady’s School.

Please remember to join us today for the official closing of the gate ceremony

Please note that today, May 29, 2013 there will be no school for staff and students of all Catholic schools. Please stay tuned for further notices.

Come and celebrate with us at our 85th Anniversary Thanksgiving Mass which will be held this Thursday, November 22,2012 @ 9:30 am at the Our Lady's Catholic School.
See you there.