PHILIPSBURG:--- It is with great pride and gratitude that Founder Julienne Augusty, Board, Management, Staff and Students of the Charlotte Brookson Academy of the Performance Arts (CBA) announce their second consecutive year of excellence in reference to the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate examinations (CSEC) administered by the Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) as well as the GCE (Cambridge) Dutch exams.
For the academic year 2016-2017 the CBA senior students left their mark and placed the bar high for the lower forms to follow. In the academic year 2017-2018 a total of thirty (30) students wrote their final examinations (CSEC) and secured for their school an overall passing rate of 98.3%. On the Dutch Cambridge exams they captured a passing rate of 93.8%. Our students gave a stellar performance and proved that they did not only work towards passing: they worked towards achieving excellence.
CBA students obtained a spectacular 100% passing rate in the subjects English A, Mathematics, Spanish, Electronic Document Preparation Management, Social Studies, Chemistry, Biology, Principles of Business, Principles of Accounts, Visual Arts, Music, Theatre Arts and Human Social Biology. In the subject Integrated Science they captured a passing rate of 80%. Over the various subjects a cumulative of 55 grades one (I) were captured, 41grades two (II), 24 grades three (III) and 1 grade four (IV). All but one student passed the Cambridge Dutch exam with grades A, B or C.
It was the first time that a large cohort of CBA students wrote the CSEC examinations in Mathematics and they captured 9 grades one (I )with 5 straight A-profiles. In English A they performed remarkably by securing 11 grades one (I) of which 10 were straight A profiles out of a total of 18 students.
With this exceptional showing CBA students have captured a place of prominence in the educational landscape of St. Maarten and its students have soared like eagles above the hardship, adversity, humiliation and roadblocks that they encountered along their climb to success. These students and their teachers are the embodiment of perseverance, hard work, resilience and determination. Their steadfastness was crowned with triumph!
James Turner, a great educator once said: “No significant learning takes place unless it is built on relationships.” CBA’s Dream Team consisting of teachers, management and staff proved that indeed students truly “do not care what their educators know, unless they know that those educators truly care” (Educator Alberic Arrindell). Our students’ success bears testament to what St. Maarten’s youngsters are able to accomplish when given opportunities, nurturing, guidance, attention and care. They are shining examples of the sky being the limit for any school when instilling self-esteem, self-worth and confidence.
We teach our students to have a spirit of gratitude and so on their behalf we would like to thank all those who believed in CBA. In this context it would be remiss of us not to reveal that our academic success also came as a result of a collaborative effort among secondary schools on St. Maarten. As a fledgling school that has only recently turned six and with students and teachers, being our only assets we reached out to other schools on the island for assistance when necessary and our requests were never turned down. They shared with us their expertise, their facilities and of late, even their teachers. Hence we would like to thank the Board and management of the St. Maarten Academy, the Board and management of the St. Dominic High School, Learning Unlimited, the Milton Peters College and the University of St. Martin. Our students could not have accomplished this feat, especially in the areas of Science and Mathematics, without you. We would also wish to thank the Board and management of the Cultural Center, in particular Ms. Kaishah Peters and Ms. Ramona Thomas at the John Larmonie Center: two institutions which in so many ways became extensions of our school as they sheltered and opened their doors to our students. We could not have achieved this success without your kindness and generosity.
Last but not least, we give thanks and praise to our Heavenly Father for looking over our children, for protecting them and their teachers and for providing the school with management and leadership that was forward thinking, creative, resourceful and innovative enough to be able to cater adequately to the social, emotional and educational needs of our students.
At this point the Management and Staff of the Charlotte Brookson Academy will end the first chapter in the book describing our journey, with the following statement: “The first six years were not easy, but they were worth every single step that we took, every hurdle that we crossed, every tear that we shed. The struggle was worth it all because it made a dramatic difference in the life of our first cohort of students. We assisted them to believe that they could.....and they did. We are so very proud of them all!”
