Beacon of the day | Head Girl Succeeds Near Bog Walk Despite Death Of Dad

Beacon of the day | Head Girl Succeeds Near Bog Walk Despite Death Of Dad

July 25, 2021 0 By Horace Mills

Head Girl at Spring Vale Primary School near Bog Walk in St. Catherine, Ashanti Armstrong, has been awarded a place at The Queens School – her first choice of secondary educational institution.

She earned her heart’s desire despite facing several odds, including the death of her father, Almanzo Armstrong, a construction worker who fell from a high building and died in Manchester in 2019.

Ashanti is heading to Queens with a placement score of 116.1 in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP).

She attained 90 percent in the Ability Test, and mastery of the Literacy and Numeracy components of PEP.

Although her performance in Language Arts was less than desired, the aspiring accountant earned the highest level of success (highly proficient) in Mathematics.

“I am proud of myself,” Ashanti declared.

Her feeling is shared by relatives, including her mother Janice Welch as well as her guardian and maternal grandmother Audrey Henry.

Her mother told The Beacon: “I am overjoyed seeing Ashanti’s grades and her performance in PEP… Being a single mom for her in the past two years has been rough. Loosing her dad in March of 2019 did not stop my child from putting out her best in her school through my difficult times being a single parent for three.”

Ashanti has not only been a standout in academics at Spring Vale Primary.

It is said that she displayed strong leadership qualities as Head Girl during classes held online due to the novel coronavirus (covid-19) pandemic.

Principal at Spring Vale Primary, Samantha Braham, said: “Ashanti was the Head Girl even in the virtual space. She was very disciplined and dedicated, and she applied herself well to any task given. She could not move past a problem until it was solved and she has the full understanding even if it meant [using up] her break periods. She, along with the entire Grade Six cohort at Spring Vale Primary, has done well and has made us extremely proud.”

In the meantime, Grade Six teacher, Jeffery Pindling, also spoke highly of Ashanti.

“Ashanti is a quiet, talented, steady performer who is always focused on the task at hand. She loves a good joke and has a healthy laughter but rarely shows emotion. She has an investigative mind and relishes the opportunity to discover new knowledge,” Pindling said. “In summary, Ashanti is a gem of a student who is destined for greatness despite the odds. I look forward to seeing her succeed.”


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