At the Philipsburg Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church, we believe in the Bible’s teachings found in Numbers 6:27, “Put my name upon the children of Israel and I will bless them,” and in Deuteronomy 28:10, “And all the people of the earth shall see that thou art called by the name of Jehovah.” We embrace the ideal penned by Ellen G. White, “Higher than the highest human thought can reach is God’s ideal for His children.” Today we reflect on the result of prayer and diligent duty, and can conclude from our students’ achievement at the various school leaving examinations, this year, that God performed wonders.
At the elementary level, our students performed remarkably at the FBE Exams held earlier this year, where a total of nine (9) students wrote the examinations at four (4) elementary schools. At our SDA School, our student, Liliana Jack, graduated as the school’s valedictorian – we thank God!
At the secondary school level, our six (6) students were spread across three examination systems (Dutch, American and English-CXC):
- Two students followed the Dutch System. At VWO, the highest level, Thalia Booker successfully completed her course of study. And at the VSBO, Sherlon English was successful during the May/June examinations. Thalia has since commenced medical studies in the Netherlands.
- One student, Chevaugh Redan, followed the American System. She was successful in the AP Examination and has been awarded a number of scholarships to continue her studies. She has opted to study in the United Kingdom.
- Three students followed the English (CXC) System and we have recently received the results of the CSEC and CAPE Examinations for the year 2019. Our three students (Philipa Cummings, Nigel Adriana and Mark McAlmont) have been numbered among the 5 best performing students in the CSEC examinations, at the St. Maarten Academy. These three students were featured in one St. Maarten newspaper, The Daily Herald, for contributing to that school’s achieving a historic number of straight A-profile passes, this year.
Philipa, the daughter of our SDA School Teacher, Sister Christine Cummings, and Deacon Kevin Cummings, emerged as the overall top performer for her school – having written 13 subjects, including Additional Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Cambridge Dutch. Although she was ill during the English examination, Philippa achieved a whopping 10 subjects at Grade 1 level, with triple ‘A’ profile passes. Nigel Adriana wrote 12 subjects and earned a remarkable 10 at Grade 1 level, with 9 triple A-profile passes. Having written 12 subjects, Mark McAlmont achieved a total of 9 subjects at Grade 1 level with 7 triple A-profile passes.
Both Nigel and Philipa are pursuing under graduate studies at the University of the Northern Caribbean, in Jamaica, while Mark is pursuing an Associates Degree in Applied Mathematics at the St. Maarten Academy, CAPE Division.
As a church community, we join with these students and their parents in saying, “To God Be the Glory.” We give God the glory because it is He who allowed their lights to shine before men, that they may see and glorify our Father in heaven.
This year, the Philipsburg SDA Church prayed for 17 examination candidates. We applaud our students for their hard work and commitment to both God and their academics – what a mighty God we serve!