Dion Mangali tops Region 6 at NGSA

Jul 02, 2011 News

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…Cumberland Primary steals show, again

By Leon Suseran

No Berbician appeared in the top 20 performers in this year’s National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) results but one young man is still overjoyed. He has done his school proud by attaining the coveted Top Regional Performer spot.
Dion Mangali gained 527 marks and has qualified for Queen’s College. The student hails from Cropper Primary at Albion. He was in Georgetown when he heard the news from his grandmother in Berbice.
Mangali, who wants to become a scientist in medicine, told Kaieteur News that he felt very happy knowing that he topped his school and region.
He said that he studied for two hours a day and even watched television. He thanked his teachers, parents and grandparents for support.
He loves reading and ‘Hardy Boys was the last book he read.
Mangali’s mother, Nalini Mangali, said that her son’s hard work has paid off. She encouraged other parents to coach their children and pay attention to their education. “He’s a child that. Every afternoon, he always revised what the teacher taught him during the day,” she said.
Being her only son, she has not decided whether she will send him to a school in the city but did not rule out the idea.
His teacher, Sharon Appadu, was all smiles during the interview. She too was excited. It was not the first time she had a top student for Berbice.
Six years ago, Saphia Haniff had topped the region. The school also had students within the top 10 in Berbice.
Her top student, Dion, was a hard worker, she stated. He always was punctual and did his homework on time.
“He was always like that all the time during his six years here at Cropper. He was bringing ‘first’ all along in the class but the competition was stiff in my class,” Appadu said.
She gave a lot of extra lessons, worked a lot of exam papers and School News with the students. The secret to her success, the teacher said, was how the teacher’s methodology. “You give them time to play,” she added.
Cropper Primary had 140 students entering the NGSA this year and there was 95 per cent passes, with 10 students being awarded city schools.
Over at Cumberland Primary in East Canje, there was celebration, too. The school secured the remaining top performers for Berbice.
Shemuel Carmichael gained the Number Two spot in the region with 526 points. The 12- year- old lad of New Street, Cumberland, was awarded a place at Queen’s College. He felt very excited and was very confident that he would have done well.
The aspiring engineer studied from 05:30 hrs each day and expressed thanks to God and his teachers, as well as his parents. “I had to get up early in the morning”, he reminisced.
Sandra Thuesday, was the third in Region Six. She said that she “feels overjoyed” at the results. The lawyer-to-be received the news in school on Thursday.
With 525 points, she too is heading to Queen’s College.
Garadha Yashwardeo who achieved 519 points, stuck to a rigid study schedule each night.
She is fascinated about becoming a flight attendant in the near future. Their teachers, Salima Jahoor, said that she did a lot of practice work with the students from the newspapers and School News.
“Their parents cooperated, and they [the students] were willing to work. Whatever you pushed them to do, they were always ready to do it.” That was the secret to the successes, according to the teacher.
She added that the teachers have lifted the standards of the school, thus improving the results over the years.
Ms Sharmaine Beaton, another NGSA teacher at Cumberland Primary said that she felt a sense of accomplishment because “I have worked and it has proven to be fruitful”.

The performance of Cumberland Primary this year, she said, is credited to the hard team work of the teachers and “ensuring they completed the curriculum,”
Bibi Mondel Chand, who achieved fifth highest points in Region Six, got 518 points. She is heading to Bishops’ High School.
She stated that she knew she would have done well because she studied for three hours each night. She also had to stop watching her favourite programmes on TV. Chand wants to become a teacher.
And sixth place in the region, Nikita Dhanpat, 12, scored 517 points and was awarded a place at the Bishops’ High as well. She thanked her class teachers. Her favourite subject is Mathematics. She too wants to become a teacher.
Her class teacher, Ms De Freitas referred to her as a “very disciplined, very motivated, interested child” who “was always there in the morning, very early”.
Nikita was always “one who wanted to do well”. “We wish them well in the high school”, the teacher added.
“They were the disciplined set, in terms of punctuality, regularity and behaviour.
They had the support of their parents, also. Those were the parents that were visible in school; and we did a lot of practice work with them too. She is proud and that their hard work has finally paid off.
Head mistress of the school, Ms Jacquelyn Jonas, said that 98 students sat the exams and 33 were awarded places at senior secondary schools in Berbice, while 17 are heading to senior secondary schools in Georgetown, a marked improvement in the school’s continuous climb to achieve academic supremacy over other primary schools in the Region.
She praised and thanked God for the huge success which the school achieved. “At Cumberland [Primary], we’re a very cooperative staff and our teachers are very dedicated, competent and it’s a mature staff. We practise child- friendly schools and it is evident in our results this year”, she noted.
Acting Regional Education Officer of Region Six, Mrs Zaira Hussein, said that 2,252 students sat the NGSA this year. Even though she was still analyzing the results she said, “We have seen improvement”.
A bit disappointed that Berbice was left out of the top spots this year, Mrs Hussein added that she is still satisfied and noted some of the better performances across the region. Naomi Latchman of Corriverton Primary; Renisa Mickle of St Therese; Vanessa Ramnarine of Tain Primary; and Shemon Gittens of Auchlyne Primary were among the students in the top 15 in Berbice.

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