Sandys Secondary Middle School was understandably agog as students, teachers and parents gathered for the school's first-quarter honour roll assembly after the long summer holiday.

In order to place on the honour roll, academic merit students must pass all subjects and have an average of 75-79 per cent. Honour roll students must pass all subjects and have an average of 80-89 per cent.

A total of 122 out of the 260 enrolled at Sandys received recognition for their academic performance during the first quarter of the school year. This amounts to 47 per cent of the student body.

Of the 122 students, ten students received the highest academic award, placing them on the Principal's List. Those students passed all subjects and attained an overall average of 90-100 per cent.

Eight of the Principal's List students were M1 students. There was one female student from M2 and one male student from M3. The student with the highest academic average was Jordan Bascome, an M1 student whose academic average is 97 per cent.

There were a total of 45 students in M1 who earned honour roll certificates and nine were academic merit students.

In M2, 23 students earned honour roll certificates and 12 were academic merit. Among the senior members of the school, 17 were honour roll students and 12 received academic merit.

Parents and guardians who helped pack the auditorium did not hide their pride at seeing their young ones go to the podium to receive their certificates from the guest speaker for the special assembly. He was R. Andre Bassett, a former Sandys para-professional.

Mr. Bassett is currently a master's degree student at the University of Alabama, with an ultimate goal of becoming a lecturer at the Bermuda College.

He captivated the audience by sharing his own personal story of having qualified in no fewer than four different fields and owning his own home by the time he was aged 30. He was entertaining and shared a message of encouraging students to "invest in striving to be the best".

Deputy principal Mrs. Karen Raynor organised the special assembly, but executive members of the school's Student Council ran it.

Council president Glenn Simmons was master of ceremonies; vice-president Shannon Davis introduced the guest speaker; the secretary Jadiyah Bailey offered a scripture and a moving prayer.

Treasurer Maurraisha Burgess explained the criteria for the honour roll and public relations officer Shanya Bashir introduced team leaders. All five student leaders did an excellent job.

The Music Department at Sandys provided the entertainment. The Sandys orchestra and the M1 choir performed renditions of a Christmas song under the direction of music teacher Troy Washington.

The entire special assembly proved to be most uplifting and encouraging; and the consensus of parents that in a climate of serious concern about our youth, one need only to visit Sandys Secondary to see excellence in action.

Principal Dr. Timothy Jackson encouraged parents to be vigilant about talking with their children daily, and developing relationships, which would help to sustain them through tough times. He stressed that it takes all stakeholders to ensure the success of the students and thanked teachers for their hard work and dedication.

Pictures by Ira Philip show students filing into the special assembly, president of the student council Glenn Simmons in action, and guest speaker R. Andre Bassett as he captivated his audience of parents, teachers and students.