 |
| Convent of Mercy 'Alpha' Academy Class of 2017 |
CONVENT OF MERCY “ALPHA” ACADEMY - GRADUATION, SUNDAY, JUNE 25, 2017
ADDRESS BY JEAN LOWRIE-CHIN
Salutations
As I look out at the Sacred Heart Building I remember that rainy day when we were having a 'beret war' and suddenly there was a hush in the room - our Principal Sister Mary Bernadette had entered. She looked at us, shook her head and said, 'You know, they say the rain brings out the animal in you!' (laughter)
It is indeed a great privilege and
honour to be addressing the Convent of Mercy
“Alpha” Academy
graduating class of 2017. It is exactly
fifty years since I stood on these
grounds to receive my Alpha High School
diploma from the then Bishop John McEleney.
And now you, my dear graduands are part
of this strong and beautiful tapestry which is
Convent of Mercy “Alpha”
Academy.
You carry the ‘Alpha DNA’ – you can
shine out the compassion and courage of that great Jamaican woman, Justina
‘Jessie’ Ripoll, founder of Alpha. Yes, it was a Jamaican lady just like you, who
founded Alpha .
 |
| Brilliant, dynamic Principal, Mrs Kali McMorris |
As history tells us, there was great
suffering among the ex-slaves and many passed away leaving orphaned
children. Jessie Ripoll led the first resident,
a little orphan girl, to Alpha Cottage, the site of the now Sacred Heart
building on May 1, 1880.
Sr. Mary Bernadette Little’s History of
Alpha “You Did It Unto Me”, describes the hardships
that Jessie and her team
faced as the population of the Alpha Children’s Home grew.
Jessie Ripoll entered the Order of the
Sisters of Mercy who arrived in 1890 to support her
work and later joined the order and took the name
Mother Claver.
These 40 acres were not enough to
contain the zeal and passion of Jessie and the Sisters of Mercy for educating
Jamaicans of every walk of life.
 |
Sister Theresa Lowe-Ching presents
an Award to an outstanding Graduate |
This zeal that took them
islandwide. So there was I, a six year
old in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, when our ambitious
widowed mother of
humble means decided that her two eldest should go to the best school in
town. That school was run by
none other than Alpha’s Sisters of Mercy and we were
welcomed by Sr. Mary Veronica Doorly,
yet another brilliant
Alpha graduate who was Principal. When my mother
remarried and we moved to Kingston, she and our Dad
were sure of one thing: their children would go to
Alpha.
Then there is St. Catherine High, also
founded by the Sisters
of Mercy, from which we have two distinguished
graduates: none other than the Prime Minister of Jamaica, Most Hon. Andrew
Holness and the Archbishop of Kingston, Most Rev. Kenneth Richards. Their dynamic Principal Sister Mary Paschal recalls four boys being sent to her office and she notiiced that one of them was young Ken Richards. "You're a good boy",
she said. "You can go back to your classroom." Archbishop
Ken loves to tell that story!
How blessed we were – and YOU are - to be schooled in an environment where the
emphasis was not only on education but also on the responsibility we have as
Christians to look out for the less fortunate.
I know your outreach activities
continue, and I congratulate Mrs. McMorris, the faculty and
staff - including my fellow Mercy Associate Mrs
Velia Espeut - and all of you graduands for living our Gospel. Indeed, our
National Pledge requires this dedication of our love and loyalty
to our people.
Dear graduands, it is this spirit of
giving, inculcated in me by my parents and my teachers at Alpha, to which I
ascribe my business success.
I was working for an ad agency which
sponsored an outing to the Pegasus Hotel for the National Children’s Home. I noticed that the children were given only a
sweet snack and
asked if they could be served hamburgers. The response was that the budget could not
include it.
 |
Board Chairman Mrs Joyce Archibald
rewards a top Graduate |
So, inspired by the Alpha motto to be
“Good and True”, I went to the Marketing Manager and offered free PR Services
in return for the meal. They accepted,
The Pegasus received great publicity and a few months later, they offered me my
own office in their hotel in exchange for PR services. This was how PROComm started in January 1979.
And so, the first of three messages that
I ask you to take away today is that you live your National Pledge and your school
motto, nurturing generosity of spirit.
Some of you may be wondering how I can
be sounding so positive when Jamaica is faced with so many challenges.
This is my second message to you: there is power in positivity fuelled by prayer. I will never forget when Sr. Mary Bernadette
Little of blessed memory, said to our Fourth form class “ You are a powerful
class and I want you to think big”. With
these words, she woke up our confidence and optimism.
So I say to you the class of 2017, that you
are a powerful class and you have been equipped to think
big. You have been moulded by your
proud parents and guardians who are here witnessing your graduation and who have
made countless sacrifices
to take you to this milestone in your lives.
If they did not think big for their
children, you would not be on this stage today.
You have been prepared to step forward with the same courage and resolve
that they have for you. It is said that
no one can stretch a dollar like a Jamaican mother and some of you have
witnessed such miracles.
Here at Alpha, as a fifth former, I
experienced the power of positivity and prayer that morning when my mother was
admitted to KPH for surgery. I had
slipped out of assembly to pray
in the Chapel and there saw my sister Frances,
a sixth former also on her knees.
Our Dad was wheelchair bound so at
break-time we called home to check on him.
Lo and behold our Mother answered the phone! At about the same time that we were on our
knees right there in Christ the King Chapel, they were examining her and could
not find the lump in her breast! She was home, healed and hearty! Such is the power of prayer!
And so that brings me to my final
message: please remember the words of a
wise person who said, “It is not happiness that makes you grateful, but
gratitude that makes you happy”.
When we realise that education is
considered a luxury for girls in some countries, there is
much for which to be
thankful. When you consider the support
group that did not give up on you, give thanks!
 |
Graduate Leila LaFayette
makes a presentation to
Teacher Ms Kadian Parkinson |
Our Alpha class of ‘67 is planning a
Reunion dance in Florida in November – we give thanks that most of us are still
around –
and that we can still dance!
Give thanks dear Graduands to that great
and good God who has blessed you with this very special day in your lives. It is in
thanking God that we remain humble,
knowing that everything we have is a gift of the Lord’s mercy.
I close by saluting the VVIPS of today –
YOU dear graduands. Please know how much
you are loved and admired.
First you made your family proud by
gaining a place at this very special school that continues to rise in the
rankings of Jamaica’s top high schools.
You have tackled the tough examinations,
trained for various sporting events and attended a range of spiritual exercises
as
you participated in the building of mind, body and spirit.
Today, as you stand here, you deserve
the accolades and commendations!
In every sphere of Jamaican life, there
are graduates of the
Convent of Mercy “Alpha” Academy who
hold high office.
Like them, you Convent of Mercy “Alpha”
Academy Class of 2017 can make a difference
in the future of this country.
Our motto “Ad Verum et Bonum” – to the
good and the true, is one that can take Jamaica
out of a cloudy past and into a
bright future.
You have the blessings of the saints of
Alpha, strengthening your strides and taking you to heights that you had never
dreamed possible.
My heartiest congratulations to you,
your caring families and Teachers.
May God continue bless you and our
beloved Alpha!
Ad Verum et Bonum – Here’s to you, The
Good and The True!
Thank you so much!
