St. Elizabeth Technical High School
Encyclopedia
St. Elizabeth Technical High School (ST.E.T.H.S) is a secondary school
in the Santa Cruz
plain
s in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
, West Indies.
of building a Technical
High School in Santa Cruz was initiated by the Santa Cruz Citizen's Association in 1958. Various representations
were made to the Ministry of Education and Kaiser Bauxite Company. These institution
s soon realized the importance of a Technical School and the latter donated twelve acre
s of land and a grant of ten thousand pound
s from the Ministry
to start the project
.
The then Minister of Education, Hon F. L. Glasspole decided that Saint Elizabeth Technical High School be built, opening date being early 1961. The first batch of students were even chosen before the ground breaking ceremony.
Before the physical
school existed Mr. E. G. Roper was appointed principal as of January 1, 1961. The school opened with 110 students on October 10, 1961 housed in one building. Under the direction of Mr. Roper a School Choir
and a sports program was developed.
The school encountered problems in the early years, such as lack of equipment, insufficient water supply and insufficient boarding accommodation in the community. The members of staff together with Kaiser Bauxite Company contributed twelve thousand pounds to help alleviate the problems.
In 1962 evening classes commenced with an enrollment of 36 students. A year later Kaiser Bauxite Company lent tents and the second intake of students was made possible. At the end of the summer term the Workshop, Arts and Craft, Laboratory, and Home Economics blocks were added to the school building.
On January 27, 1964 112 new students were admitted and in September that year a new classroom block was completed and for the first time, students registered on the first day of the term. In 1962 the Administrative staff moved from two to four and the Academic staff from seven to twenty-five.
Esso Standard Oil Company donated funds for a Movie Projector, Power Saw and other equipment. The Emanuel Brothers of Santa Cruz gave two scholarships, one for a boy in Agriculture to the Jamaica School of Agriculture and the other for a girl to pursue Home Economics at Church Teachers College, Mandeville.
In 1966 Mr. E. G. Roper left to take up a position as Headmaster at Kingston Technical High School and was succeeded by Mr. J.C. Wray. Mr. J. A. Pottinger was appointed principal in 1970 to replace Mr. J. C. Wray who left for Alcan. In 1987, Mr. Samuel Watson became the principal of the noble institution until his retirement in 1999. From 1999 - 2008, ST.E.T.H.S was please to have their first female principal, Mrs. Dorothy Samuda. The school is now content with one its youngest principal since May 2008, Mr. Keith Wellington.
The student enrollment rose to Five hundred and thirty-eight with Fifteen Forms. In 1971 the Ministry of Education started construction of the Junior Secondary Department. In 1972 the student enrollment stood at Eleven hundred with the completion of the Junior Secondary Department. The curriculum was consequently widened to include such subjects as Arts, Science, and other Industrial and Vocational areas. The Board of Governors allocated funds for the construction of a road, the installation of electric fans in the auditorium, and the fencing of the playing field.
In 2007 the ST.E.T.H.S cricket
team captured the Headly Cup, making it 20 times they have won the cup after four consequtive losses to former champions Holmwood Technical High School. The team had held the cup for 19 years.
Secondary school
Secondary school is a term used to describe an educational institution where the final stage of schooling, known as secondary education and usually compulsory up to a specified age, takes place...
in the Santa Cruz
Santa Cruz, Jamaica
Santa Cruz is a town in Saint Elizabeth, Jamaica, on the A2 road connecting Black River to Mandeville. A minor market village until the 1950s, the development of nearby areas for bauxite mining stimulated its growth in the 1950s and 1960s, as did the establishment of the St. Elizabeth Technical...
plain
Plain
In geography, a plain is land with relatively low relief, that is flat or gently rolling. Prairies and steppes are types of plains, and the archetype for a plain is often thought of as a grassland, but plains in their natural state may also be covered in shrublands, woodland and forest, or...
s in the parish of St. Elizabeth, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, West Indies.
History
The ideaIdea
In the most narrow sense, an idea is just whatever is before the mind when one thinks. Very often, ideas are construed as representational images; i.e. images of some object. In other contexts, ideas are taken to be concepts, although abstract concepts do not necessarily appear as images...
of building a Technical
Vocational education
Vocational education or vocational education and training is an education that prepares trainees for jobs that are based on manual or practical activities, traditionally non-academic, and totally related to a specific trade, occupation, or vocation...
High School in Santa Cruz was initiated by the Santa Cruz Citizen's Association in 1958. Various representations
Advocacy
Advocacy is a political process by an individual or a large group which normally aims to influence public-policy and resource allocation decisions within political, economic, and social systems and institutions; it may be motivated from moral, ethical or faith principles or simply to protect an...
were made to the Ministry of Education and Kaiser Bauxite Company. These institution
Institution
An institution is any structure or mechanism of social order and cooperation governing the behavior of a set of individuals within a given human community...
s soon realized the importance of a Technical School and the latter donated twelve acre
Acre
The acre is a unit of area in a number of different systems, including the imperial and U.S. customary systems. The most commonly used acres today are the international acre and, in the United States, the survey acre. The most common use of the acre is to measure tracts of land.The acre is related...
s of land and a grant of ten thousand pound
Pound (currency)
The pound is a unit of currency in some nations. The term originated in England as the value of a pound of silver.The word pound is the English translation of the Latin word libra, which was the unit of account of the Roman Empire...
s from the Ministry
Ministry (collective executive)
A ministry refers to a collective body of government ministers headed by a prime minister or premier. Although the term "cabinet" can in some circumstances be a synonym, a ministry can be a broader concept which might include office-holders that do not participate in cabinet meetings...
to start the project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...
.
The then Minister of Education, Hon F. L. Glasspole decided that Saint Elizabeth Technical High School be built, opening date being early 1961. The first batch of students were even chosen before the ground breaking ceremony.
Before the physical
Physical
Physical may refer to:*Body, the physical structure of an organism**Human body, the physical structure of a human*Physical abuse, abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm...
school existed Mr. E. G. Roper was appointed principal as of January 1, 1961. The school opened with 110 students on October 10, 1961 housed in one building. Under the direction of Mr. Roper a School Choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
and a sports program was developed.
The school encountered problems in the early years, such as lack of equipment, insufficient water supply and insufficient boarding accommodation in the community. The members of staff together with Kaiser Bauxite Company contributed twelve thousand pounds to help alleviate the problems.
In 1962 evening classes commenced with an enrollment of 36 students. A year later Kaiser Bauxite Company lent tents and the second intake of students was made possible. At the end of the summer term the Workshop, Arts and Craft, Laboratory, and Home Economics blocks were added to the school building.
On January 27, 1964 112 new students were admitted and in September that year a new classroom block was completed and for the first time, students registered on the first day of the term. In 1962 the Administrative staff moved from two to four and the Academic staff from seven to twenty-five.
Esso Standard Oil Company donated funds for a Movie Projector, Power Saw and other equipment. The Emanuel Brothers of Santa Cruz gave two scholarships, one for a boy in Agriculture to the Jamaica School of Agriculture and the other for a girl to pursue Home Economics at Church Teachers College, Mandeville.
In 1966 Mr. E. G. Roper left to take up a position as Headmaster at Kingston Technical High School and was succeeded by Mr. J.C. Wray. Mr. J. A. Pottinger was appointed principal in 1970 to replace Mr. J. C. Wray who left for Alcan. In 1987, Mr. Samuel Watson became the principal of the noble institution until his retirement in 1999. From 1999 - 2008, ST.E.T.H.S was please to have their first female principal, Mrs. Dorothy Samuda. The school is now content with one its youngest principal since May 2008, Mr. Keith Wellington.
The student enrollment rose to Five hundred and thirty-eight with Fifteen Forms. In 1971 the Ministry of Education started construction of the Junior Secondary Department. In 1972 the student enrollment stood at Eleven hundred with the completion of the Junior Secondary Department. The curriculum was consequently widened to include such subjects as Arts, Science, and other Industrial and Vocational areas. The Board of Governors allocated funds for the construction of a road, the installation of electric fans in the auditorium, and the fencing of the playing field.
In 2007 the ST.E.T.H.S cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...
team captured the Headly Cup, making it 20 times they have won the cup after four consequtive losses to former champions Holmwood Technical High School. The team had held the cup for 19 years.
Emblems
- Colours: Gold and Royal Blue
- Motto: "Work and Integrity"