Welcome back to School

A Message from the Hon. Elvin James J.P., M.P., Minister of Education.

Principals, Teachers, Parents, Students,

Welcome back to school for the 2009/2010 academic year.

I encourage students to apply themselves to their studies and to take advantage of the many opportunities, activities and scholarships available through the public education system.

Reform of Education continues to progress well with the hiring of several key personnel, including the new Commissioner of Education Mrs. Wendy McDonell.

A new Board of Education has also been established, and they are taking very seriously their role of ensuring that a quality public education is available to everyone in Bermuda.

We have identified and will be implementing a new curriculum, the Cambridge International Curriculum in the Bermuda Public School System.

While teaching of the full Cambridge curriculum will not take place in every classroom in every school until September 2010, the training of teachers, the review of resource materials, the development of new time tables and other implementation activities h already begun.

During this school year we will ensure that every teacher is exposed to the new curriculum and understands their role in delivering the content to students. We expect that many teachers will take advantage of what they learn and begin putting it to use in their classrooms this school year.

The Cambridge International Curriculum has many positive features, but one of the most important is that it provides periodic evaluations which provide detailed feedback on the student's strengths and weaknesses before they progress to the next level.

Also don't forget our website: www.moed.bm which contains useful information about Public Education in Bermuda as well as news, information on schools, a blog that members of the community can participate in, and important dates in the academic calendar.

Let me offer my best wishes to all in the education community for a successful academic year. We in the Ministry will be working hard to ensure all your needs are met, and we expect students, teachers and parents to do their part in ensuring public education becomes the first choice for education in Bermuda.

Finally, we should aspire to the words of Marian Wright Edelman: "Education is for improving the lives of others and for leaving your community and world better than you found it."