TH E GRAYD O N IAN
SEN TIN EL Vol. #14
EXCELLENCE EXEMPLIFIED
WORLD SKILLS COMPETITION Tamea Small and Rho-Andrea WarnerSmith took part in the World Skill competition. The finals were held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (L.E.S.C). In the category of hairdressing, our very own Tamea Small emerged victorious. From that skilled field, Tamea Small elevated Graydon Sealy to the level of EXCELLENCE. Graydon Sealy has once again set the bar high and we will aim to keep it there. Well done girls! Tamea, keep on aiming for excellence in your chosen field.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Shawn Agard – December 8th Nadia Bourne – December 10th Candice Richards – December 12th Cassandra Edghill – December 19th Derrick Lashley – December 21st Yvette Griffith – December 25th Melissa Bynoe – December 28th
NOTICES
TERM II – 6TH January 2020 MONDAY 9:00 a.m. - Management Meeting 10:30 a.m. - Year Group Meetings TUESDAY Full Assembly Form Sessions – Periods 1 - 4
WEDNESDAY Year Prayers
THURSDAY Form Prayers
FRIDAY Full Assembly 3rd Year Form Level Meeting
Every Christmas prefects of Graydon Sealy Secondary School distribute Christmas Hampers to the seniors in our community. Prefects from our school have been doing this for twenty years. The Christmas Hampers Project was the brainchild of Reverend Esther Willoughby, a former Year Head and Prefect Mistress of the school. Every year at Christmas time, prefects collect foodstuff and toiletries from fellow students, community businesses and alumni and pack the hampers. During this time the prefects are coached in project and event planning by Ms. Williams, the Deputy Prefect Mistress, who took over the task from Rev. Willoughby and Dr. Denise Charles. For the next two weeks, GSSS families will be asked to give generously. Students then give their donations to their form prefect or form teacher. This year we engaged in succession planning as some of the junior students donated their time as they assisted with the packing of the hampers. This project culminates with the prefects along with the Prefect Master, Jerome Stuart and Deputy Prefect Mistress, Cheryl Williams, delivering the hampers to the senior members within our school community. Truly an example of Graydon Sealy Excellence!
On Saturday, 7th December 2019. The students of the small business class took part in the Small Business expo at the St. Gabriel’s School. The students arrived at 7:30 a.m. to set up for a prompt 8:00 a.m. start. The students under the supervision of their teacher, Brian Parris, certainly did Graydon Sealy proud. The students represented the following three businesses: Sweet and Elegant was represented by Shonell John, Alyssa Hunte and Jakayla Joseph; Sensational Accessories by Nyesha Mayers, Tiffany Kinch, Shari Weekes and Ravonda Broomes; Coco Mix was ably represented by Tyrell Sealy, Raquan Bispham, Makail Gittens and Simeon Gilkes. The students did a brisk trade and dare I say, learned quite a bit from their practical business experience. Well done!
HEALTHY YOUTH THROUGH PHYSICAL EXERCISE Graydon Sealy Secondary School held its annual H.P.Y.E. day on December 3rd, 2019. Regular classes were suspended to allow students and staff to take part in the event. Students and teachers alike began the day with the mass warm-up activity on the Garrison Savannah, this was then followed by a dancercise session in the auditorium, netball, volley ball, road tennis and cricket. Kudos to the Physical Education department for helping to keep health and physical activity foremost in the minds of our Graydon Sealy family. Good Job!
H.Y.P.E. DAY this year was another success. This initiative is indeed a positive step towards building the level of camaraderie that is ideal in schools; camaraderie among students, teachers and the entire school community. Building bonds like this helps to foster relationships that surpass the school lives of the students and teachers. We get to relate to each other on a different level and this allows us to use this foundation to build bridges towards academic and social success. Well done Graydon Sealy, another proud display of EXCELLENCE.
My wish for Christmas is World Domination. Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha! Ha!
My Christmas wish is that all of my students do well in their S.B.A.’s.
I really want a hamster and hamster food for Christmas.
My wish for Christmas is a ling vacation.
I really want to get a phone for a friend for Christmas.
My wish for Christmas is lots of love and good health. I really want a bicycle for Christmas.
My wish for Christmas is PEACE within the school.
This year saw the brainchild of Stephanie Chase, helping to bring our staff closer together. This simple act to get staff to attempt to motivate each other saw some teachers exercising their creative bones. Many teachers took this activity to heart and totally embraced it. It was truly a beautiful thing to watch on Friday as the Secret Santas were revealed and gifts were exchanged. Well done Stephanie!
From the Desk of the Deputy Principal
The 7 Best Ways to Avoid Teacher Burnout
To My School Family, This has been a long term. It is time to step
Teacher burnout is one of the biggest problems facing the American education system today.
back and recharge your batteries. You need to be at your best if you expect to give your best and get the best results from your students. It’s Christmas, for those of you who celebrate the season, enjoy the festivities, commune with family and generally do what you need to do get you back to one hundred percent. Think of your body as your cell phone, it’s time to power down and plug in the charge cord to get you back to optimum capacity. To my colleagues at Graydon Sealy Secondary, I wish you the very best for the season and I hope the new year brings you all that you hope and wish for. Have a blessed and wonderful Christmas, Yuh hear! Shyrelle
In its worst-case scenario, burnout means you lose the will to teach. Students wear you down instead of energizing you. Every Sunday is a slog where you dread the next morning. When teachers get burnt out, everyone loses. The teacher, administrators, students, and even colleagues all feel the effects of one teacher losing their passion. So how do you keep your passion alive in an age of strict standards, individualized education, and other teaching challenges?
These seven methods are all proven to help prevent teacher burnout: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Stay healthy Indulge in personal time Talk to your colleagues Recognize what you do well Prepare ahead of schedule Leave schoolwork at school Make yourself a priority
When you use them together, you can get through a school year (and even a single day) while staying happy.
By Chris Zook November 2017 https://www.aeseducation.com/blog/7-best-ways-to-avoid-teacherburnout-in-2019