Heather Henry, Gleaner Writer
Principal of Mannings School, Bonitto White (right) congratulates Jahnavi Kakuturu following the annoucement of her Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results. She was awarded five distinctions and one credit. - CONTRIBUTED
BONITTO WHITE, principal of Mannings School, is retiring from the institution after 11 years of service.
A Munroe old boy, Mr. White came to Mannings from Munroe College where he taught chemistry.
In 1994, when he took up the post as principal of Mannings, he was immediately impressed with the students.
"They took over their clubs, organised activities; the students are excellent planners," he told The Gleaner recently.
During his tenure, Mr. White sought to nurture the leadership qualities the students displayed and helped them to become even more confident.
"I'm a friendly person. I walk by and talk to the students and they felt that I was approachable," he said.
Not only did he find the students impressive but the staff as well. Mr. White said he made the staff feel even more confident by allowing them to exercise their initiative.
He, however, was not happy with the academic performance of the school at the beginning of his tenure and took steps to rectify this. He pointed out that he insisted on monthly assessments of the students so that they would be aware of their academic progress. Additionally, he used assemblies to encourage the students to live up their potential.
TRAINED TEACHERS
With the full cooperation of the students and staff the school's academic performance improved. Mr. White credits the academic performance of the students to the fact that 70 to 75 per cent of the teachers employed to the institution are trained university graduates. He contends that this has a significant impact on the quality of the instruction that the students receive. Indeed this has been demonstrated in this year's Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) results in which the school received 100 per cent pass in mathematics and English and the technical and vocational areas and 70 to 90 per cent pass in the arts and business subjects.
While speaking to The Gleaner, Mr. White introduced Jahnavi Kakuturu, an exceptional student of Mannings, who aced the CAPE exams, obtaining five distinctions in physics, chemistry, biology, Caribbean studies and mathematics, with a credit in English literature. Jahnavi also has nine distinctions at the CSEC level to her credit.
The outgoing principal, in commending Miss Kakuturu, lauded her for making the school proud not only in the academic sphere but as a well-rounded student who extends herself outside of her academic interests.
The visible ease with which Mr. White and Miss Kakuturu related to each other was evidence of the close relationship that Mr. White had with his students.
As he leaves Mannings, Mr. White hopes for the continued improvement of the school's academic performance, increased usage of technology in the classroom and smaller classes.
