Lacovia High School

Lacovia High School (COBY) is a government-owned, co-educational, first-to-sixth form, non-traditional, secondary school located in Lacovia in the parish of St Elizabeth, Jamaica. According to Go-Local Jamaica, an online branch of the Jamaica Gleaner newspaper, Lacovia High has recently been noticed by the upper echelons of society. The school has outperformed a number of other well-known similar institutions, with some students sitting CXC and CSEC exams passing in as many as ten subjects.[3]

Lacovia High School
Location
Lacovia, St Elizabeth

Jamaica
Coordinates18.0802°N 77.7607°W / 18.0802; -77.7607
Information
MottoPer Ardua Ad Astra
(Through Toil to the Stars)
Founded1970
FounderGovernment of Jamaica
School districtMinistry of Education Region V [1]
ChairpersonMr. Fitz Gerald Rowe
PrincipalMr. Ricardo Bennett
Grades7 - 13
GenderCo-educational
Age12 to 18
Student to teacher ratio21:1[2]
Hours in school day07:00 - 17:00
Campus size8 acres (3.2 ha)
NicknameCOBY (See Lacovia)

History

Founded in 1970,[4] when the Hon. Edwin Allen was minister of education,[5] the then Lacovia Junior Secondary, was built by the Jamaican government on eight acres of land to accommodate 650 students from Lacovia and surrounding communities.[4] Over the years the school has changed its name several times[4] as it gradually aligned with traditional high schools.[6]

Many changes and additions have been made to the school building during its nearly 40 years of existence with the most recent block of classrooms completed in 2006.[4] The construction of the new block was financed by the Ministry of Education Youth and Culture at a cost of $JA 14,931,030.75.[7]

Prior to its upgrade to high school status, Lacovia was a relatively unknown entrant in high school competitions. The school now takes part in several inter-school competitions at parish, regional and national levels.

Today

The school accepts students from the parish of St. Elizabeth and from areas within the borders of neighbouring parishes.[4] Almost all CSEC subjects are offered by the school plus other recognized certificates such as NCTVET[4] with Spanish is offered to CSEC level.[4] Over 1600 students attend the school, taught by a staff of over 74 teachers working two shifts.[2]

Lacovia High school has modern science, food and nutrition and computer laboratories funded by the Jamaican government.[4]

Despite achievements in sports and academics, one of the most valued qualities of the school is its comparatively high standard of discipline.[4]

Curriculum

The school offers a broad educational curriculum encompassing academic subjecta, vocational training, sports, and various extramural clubs and societies.[4] In its early years, the school provided vocational training in subjects such as auto mechanics, cosmetology, home economics and plumbing.[4] Today, after undergoing several government driven changes, Lacovia High School operates as a traditional high school, focusing on all subject areas of secondary education, while still offering training in vocational subjects.[4]

Extracurricular activities

Students at Lacovia High have access to clubs and societies that include: 4-H Club, DaCosta Cup, Cadet, Red Cross, ISCF, Netball, debate, Girl Guides, Headley Cup, and a quiz club (Schools’ Challenge Quiz, Food and Nutrition, Science, and Heritage).[4]

The school topped Zone E match tables in the 2008 DaCosta Cup, ahead of former champions St. Elizabeth Technical High School and Munro College.[8] The Lacovia team earned a place in the semi-finals and finished third nationwide.[9]

In 2008, Lacovia High advanced to the third round (top 16 schools) in the TVJ’s Schools Challenge Quiz competition. The Lacovia team's performance in the quiz matches augmented the nation's positive view of the school.[4]

That same year, the school won the national art competition sponsored by the Scientific Research Council of Jamaica (SRC).[4]

In recent times, the school has repeatedly won several competitions including: the Associations of Science Teachers of Jamaica (ASTJ) quiz and Exhibition, the 4-H Achievement Day parish competitions, the St. Elizabeth Credit Union Debate[10] and the St. Elizabeth Heritage quiz.[4]

Emblems
The 2008 art team and coaches display their trophies and certificates, and provide examples of contemporary uniforms.
ColourAquamarine
MottoPer Ardua Ad Astra (Through Toil to the Stars)
UniformGirls at the school wear a blouse and tunic in the lower grades) or a blouse and skirt in the upper grades.[4] The blouse of one school shift is blue plaid, while the other is plain white. Tunics and skirts are plain blue.[4] In the past, senior girls wore a yellow skirt and white blouse.[4] Boys on both shifts wear khaki with epaulettes (grades 7–9) or ties (grades 10 and 11).[4] The epaulette or tie is either plaid or plain blue and corresponds with the girls uniform to differentiate the two shifts.


Principals

From its inception to date, Lacovia High has had seven principals:[4]

Mrs V M Falkner1970–1977
Mr A J Farquharson1977–1985
Mr Moses L. Dodd1985–1994
Mrs M L Samuel1994–1996
Mr Curlew Williams1996–2003
Mrs Ruby Whyte2003–2010
Mrs. Hope Morgan

Mr. Ricardo Bennett

 2010–2018

2018-Present

Mr. Williams is credited with improving the school's science program, while his successor and current principal, Mrs. Whyte has improved the image of the school in the parish and the country at large by encouraging entry to as many inter-school competitions as possible. She has also increased staff motivation resulting in higher CSEC passes and other benefits.

  • Intra-school cheerleaders competition.
  • 2007–2008 Schools' Challenge Quiz team.
  • 2007 Heritage Quiz winners.
  • 2008–2009 Schools Challenge Quiz team.
  • Winning Association of Science Teachers of Jamaica 2005 Science Quiz Competition Junior team and coach.
  • 2008 ISSA/Pepsi/-Digicel daCosta Cup third-placed team.
  • 2001 Co-op quiz team. All four went on to the University of the West Indies.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-01. Retrieved 2009-10-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Ministry of Education list of schools
  2. Ministry of Education Profile of Schools 2008/2009 Archived 2009-12-29 at the Wayback Machine.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-07-11. Retrieved 2010-05-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Go-Local Jamaica
  4. Interview with principal Ruby Whyte on 2009-05-11.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-07-03. Retrieved 2009-10-21.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Jamaica Teachers' Association (JTA) news.
  6. Names used: Lacovia Junior Secondary, Lacovia New Secondary, Lacovia Comprehensive High and Lacovia High.
  7. http://www.ocg.gov.jm/website_files/contracts_endorsed/awards-july2005.html Office of the Contractor-Generals
  8. "Lacovia tops Zone E". Go-Local Jamaica. Kingston, Jamaica: Gleaner Company. 2008-09-24. Archived from the original on 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  9. Frater, Adrian (2008-11-14). "Lacovia, St James in last eight". The Jamaica Online Star. Gleaner Company. Archived from the original on 2011-07-23. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  10. "Holmwood Wins 2006 CU Debating Challenge". Youth News. Jamaica Co-operative Credit Union League Limited. 2007-01-03. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
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