The 1994/96 year group of St Mary’s Senior High School has received a remarkable commendation for giving a face-lift to the school which saw its gate at the dining hall and parts of the school walls around it impeccably renovated.

The group which has produced an array of professionals and businesswomen of diverse expertise permeating all facets of life and scattered across the globe was equally extolled for giving back to the school in time of need including the successful co-hosting of the school’s 69th Speech and Prize-Giving day.

Mrs Grace Mansa Eshun, Headmistress of St Mary's Senior High School on behalf of the school’s Board of Governors, staff and students gave the group a rapturous praise for their noble initiative which has helped put smiles on faces of the entire student body at the occasion of the school’s 69th speech and prize-giving day held at its premise located at Korlegono in Accra on Saturday February 9, 2019.

“Your desire to give back to the school is evident in your time, efforts and financial resources that you have spent in giving a face-lift to the school. As you walk down on memory lane to your time at St. Mary’s as students, I wish you fond memories –the friends you made, the cliques you formed, the pranks and episodes worth enacting”.

The colorful event which began with a cadet parade performance by students was graced by the Greater Accra Regional Director of Education, Dr Hilda Eghan, hosts of chiefs and traditional leaders including present and past students of the school, as well as representatives of various heads of schools in the Greater Accra Region.

The school currently boasts of a student population of 1,290 made up of 852 boarders and 438 being day students with a staff strength of 112 workers which comprise 61 teaching staff and 51 non-teaching staff.

Delivering a speech to mark the ceremony, Headmistress of the School, Mrs Grace Mansa Eshun appealed to all parents and guardians to collaborate with the school to ensure effective grooming of students to become self-disciplined.

She identified inadequate staff accommodation and the rehabilitation of the weak perimeter walls of the school, which made it easy for people to access the school’s compound any time as “three main challenges of grave concern” the school is battling with.

“People living nearby have easy access to the school since they need very little effort to climb over the wall to carry out all sort of undesirable activities”.

“Out of a staff of 112, only eight (8) teachers and two (2) non- teaching staffs are accommodated on the compound, this challenge may lead to attrition of staff when offered accommodation in equally good schools”, Mrs Eshun averred. She therefore appealed to all and sundry to come on board and support the school.

St Mary’s SHS registered 345 students in the 2018 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE), out of which 255 candidates passed in all eight subjects, 73 students passed in seven subjects, 12 in six subjects and with six passing in five subjects, respectively. With the exception of Core Mathematics, the average pass mark for the 23 subjects that the students registered to write were from A1 to C6, which was 90 per cent.

According to the headmistress, the performance of students in Core Mathematics remains a big challenge, although the percentage pass for core mathematics at grade A1 to E8 was 82 percent which showed that only 55 percent passed with grade A1 to C6, describing the move as ‘worrying’.

President of SMOGA 1994/96 year group, Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah in her speech expressed gratitude to all her colleague executive member (both past and present), the committee chairs and all ladies whose toil and spirits of volunteerism contributed to the success of the school’s 69th Speech and Prize-Giving day ceremony which was marked with pomp and pageantry. She encouraged her peers not to be complacent in their efforts but to strive harder and continue to support the school to achieve the desired development.

Delivering her concluding address as the chairperson of the ceremony, Major Bernice Ama Darkoa Khemchand, the Second-in-command of Defence Signal Regiment of the Ghana Army and a former student of the school pledges the support of SMOGA towards helping solve the infrastructural problems and other challenges outlined by the headmistress and the school prefect in their delivery.

“As old girls, it is our responsibility to give back to the school in order to further the aims of the school. By so doing we will see the school grow infrastructurally which will in turn help support and improve the learning experiences of the next generation of students”.

She entreated parents to do more to support the smooth running of the school irrespective of the ‘no fee’ or free SHS initiative, adding, “the school will always welcome contributions from parents that will assist in giving your own wards the best things that can come home”.

While commending the award winners for their academic prowess, she urges all students to adopt the three cardinal pillars of the school: “Embrace your gifts” (set yourselves apart from the rest), “Enhance your gifts” (improve yourselves) and “Embrace your failure” (don’t be afraid to fail but failure should propel you to succeed) in all their approach to life to help them unleash the needed potentials to impact the world.

Some deserving students whose performance in the 2018 WASSCE propelled the school to a greater height were presented with various awards for their hard works.

Ms Franka Adjei-Yeboah was named the best WASSCE student for the school after she obtained 7As and 1B2 in the 2018 WASSCE examination.

Ms Naomi Aboagye Dacosta, a Science student was given a special recognition for emerging the overall best student for Form Three.

The ceremony also witnessed presentation of awards to some deserving teachers including members of the school’s non-teaching staff for their immense contribution towards the development of the school.