Retired Headmistress, Wendy Chichester- Norville, is a ‘Special Person’

Aug 09, 2020 News, Special Person

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Remaining resourceful and dedicated to a noble cause…

By Rehanna Ramsay

According to the Merriam Webster dictionary, “a calling is a strong desire or duty to a particular vocation, especially one that is driven by divine influence and geared towards helping others.”
This definition so aptly describes how Mrs. Wendy Ann Chichester-Norville feels about her career as an educator – a path she chose to follow as a teenager and continued into retirement.
This week’s ‘Special Person’ who many of her colleagues and students simply refer to as “Ms. Chichester,” is probably best known for her role as the former Headmistress (HM) of the New Diamond/Grove Primary School.
However, her work in the nation’s education sector spans in excess of three decades and started in 1982 at Long Creek Primary School on the Soesdkye/Linden Highway.
In fact, for most of her career, Ms. Chichester taught at several primary schools, particularly those along the East Bank Demerara (EBD) corridor before retiring in January of this year.
She spoke to Kaieteur News candidly about her career — something which brought her immense satisfaction throughout the years.
In fact, Ms. Chichester lists the “Grade A” performances of students at the National Grade Six Assessment (NGSA) Examinations amongst her treasured accolades.
For her, being able to play a role in raising the academic and physical standard at the New Diamond/Grove Primary School is one of her proudest moments.
“I was happy to help make the New Diamond/Grove Primary School one of the top performing and child friendly public schools in Region Four,” she said.

In addition to these accomplishments, Ms. Chichester describes herself as a conscious, creative and loving wife and mother. These roles, she said, have allowed her to explore the creative niche she inherited from her parents.
Ms. Chichester draws, paints, and sews. The retired HM also does her own plumbing, upholstery, masonry, electrical work, carpentry and even her own joinery.
And in 2017, she said, “I covered my own chairs and built my wall divider which became viral on Facebook.”
As such, she boasts a beautiful home for her family of three.
EARLY IMPRESSIONS
Born on 29th December, 1965 at Grove Village, East Bank Demerara, Ms. Chichester is the fifth child and eldest daughter to her parents Neville and Eudora Chichester.
She explained that the family lived for the first six years of her life at Grove before they relocated to Long Creek on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway in 1971.
She recalled that Long Creek was a farming community where “my father had obtained 10 acres of land to cultivate crops.” But for the young Chichester, it was paradise.
“Long Creek was my first life changing experience. As a child, the natural scenery, flourishing farmlands, the black water creek and the friendly people were a taste of heaven for me,” she said.

As such, Ms. Chichester said that she bonded with her environment.
The country life, she explained, also gave her the scope to dream, cultivate and create.
Though her father worked as a fireman, she noted that the family often farmed.
“We planted acres of pineapple, pumpkins, corn, citrus and other fruits and vegetables. We also reared Creole fowls and meat birds as part of our subsistence. My father also hunted and fished to help take care of the household.”
This was something she adapted to help provide for her own family later in life.
Ms. Chichester said, however, that her earliest impression of what a teacher is came after she entered the Long Creek School system.
There, she met Ms. Joan Hinds — her first teacher.
According, Ms. Chichester, “it was Ms. Hinds who helped me overcome many learning challenges due to her excellent teaching strategies and love for children.”
“She gave me the self- confidence and feeling of self-worth as she unlocked the potential I never knew I possessed,” Ms. Chichester added.
In addition, she noted her eldest brother, Brian Chichester, was also a teacher at Long Creek Primary School.
Ms. Chichester said that “I admired the way he dressed and his passion for teaching. It was he who walked me to work on my first day and who taught me my first professional ethics. I also believe that I was greatly inspired by my own teaching sessions at home with my younger siblings.”
With the support of her family and teachers, Ms. Chichester moved quickly through the school system.

After writing the Common Entrance Examination, she went on to obtain a place at the Covent Garden Secondary School. Impressing on her that education is the key to unlocking many of life’s successes, Ms. Chichester’s parents ensured that she obtained her CXC certification in 1982.
Shortly after completing secondary school, by then a teenager, Ms. Chichester said she was offered a teaching job at the Long Creek Primary School.
A CALL TO TEACH
Ms. Chichester said that she quickly took up the offer since it was the career she longed for.
As she answered ‘the call,’ Ms. Chichester soon realized that teaching was something she wanted to do for the rest of her years.
As such, she soon obtained her trained teacher’s certificate from the Cyril Potter College of Education (CPCE).
She later followed up on her desire to be more qualified by reading for a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in English (History being her Minor) at the University of Guyana (UG).
Shortly after completing UG, Ms. Chichester was promoted to Senior Mistress at the Grove Primary School in 2005.
She explained that before that, she taught at the Craig Primary School for several years — there she gained most of her experience.
With the right kind of professional mentorship, Ms. Chichester said that she was able to take on bigger roles in the school system.
Among them, was a promotion to Deputy Headmistress (DHM) at Eccles Primary School and later at the North Georgetown Primary School.
However, faced with many challenges including difficulties travelling from her home at Craig East Bank Demerara (EBD) to the city, Ms. Chichester prayed for a solution.
However, there were no vacancies for her along the East Bank Demerara. But it was while listening to a T.D Jakes’ sermon she was inspired. In the sermon, he said, “‘there may not be a position for you, but God will create a position’.”
She said it was this that strengthened her trust that her prayers will be answered.
In 2012, a golden opportunity presented itself with the construction of the New Diamond/Grove Primary School.
Based on the recommendations of a friend, Ms. Pamela Browne Young and the District Education Officer, Ms. Stembeso Grant, she was hired as the first DHM of the New Diamond/Grove Primary School.
As part of the team, Ms. Chichester joined the other teachers working late into the nights to organize and realize a vision of making the New Diamond/Grove Primary School one of the top performing schools, not just in Region Four but in the country.
She said that under the superb leadership of Ms. Browne and the support of staffers, the Parent-Teacher Association and the Officers of the Region Four Department of Education, the school took its first leap towards becoming a top performing school.
In 2014, after Ms. Browne retired, Ms. Chichester was given the opportunity to become the next head teacher of the school. She continued in that post until she retired this year.
‘RETIRED NOT EXPIRED’
Though, she took a proverbial bow from the public school system on January 1, last, Ms. Chichester still continues the work of an educator.
Ms. Chichester stated “Many of us may be familiar with the statement ‘retired but not expired’, well that’s me. My retirement date also became the date of my new appointment as Principal of the Canadian School of Arts and Science.” The school is also located on the East Bank at Diamond.
For Ms. Chichester, the school is somewhat a new experience.
She believes nonetheless with Jehovah’s guidance and help, along with the support of her staff and parents, the Canadian school will receive great results in the near future.
Besides work, Ms. Chichester has been a loving wife to Allan Norville for over 30 years.
The couple has been blessed with two beautiful children, Alana Norville, a trained teacher at the Friendship Secondary School and a son, Alonzo Norville, who is a police constable who is attached to the Diamond Grove Police Station.
The retired HM is also a doting grandmother to baby, Aria Raine, with whom she spends most of her leisure time.
Asked about her advice to those who are thinking of joining the teaching profession, Ms. Chichester said, “Go for it, for the rewards of teaching are invaluable and as Henry Adams states, ‘A teacher affects eternity: he can never tell where his influence stops’.”
“For me,” she added, “being a teacher is the best choice I have ever made and if I had to live my life all over again I would definitely choose to be a teacher again.”

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