Principal Mr. Colin Greene
Teachers
Students of the Princess Margaret School
Good Morning!

It is always a pleasure for me to return to my roots – my home of learning - my Alma Mater the Princess Margaret School. I am here as a proud family member of a prestigious learning institution.

As Prime Minister of this wonderful country of ours, I have no hesitation in expressing pride in being counted among the fraternity who made good use of the opportunity to learn, to study and think at Princess Margaret.

Over a period of eight days, we are celebrating Family Enhancement Week.

The purpose of Family Enhancement Week is to foster in our nation, the recognition that as important as anything the government can deliver, perhaps more important than anything government can provide, will be the warmth, the caring, the security, the togetherness, the tolerance, the love, and the acceptance, and the shared religious faith that make families strong; and individuals strong.

Strong families at home make a strong nation. Strong school families make a strong nation.

The theme for our week of celebrations is “Celebrating Families, the Strength of the Nation,” with a sub-theme of “Nurturing a Culture of Peace.”

Strong families are not born, they are built. It takes dedication, and great strength of character of members of the family to build strong families.

One aspect of building strong families is the need to recognize that there is a mighty source of strength and goodness that we should tap into. The connection to that source of strength and goodness is through Prayer.

Connecting with God through Prayer is the petrol for combating the obstacles and potholes that we face throughout our daily lives. Your family devotions at home before you get to school and also when you arrive at school are designed to energize you and open your minds to learning in an environment filled with love and respect for each other.

Many of you would have heard of the visit to our shores of the naval carrier the USS George Washington. It is one of a dozen aircraft carriers of its size and capabilities in the world. It forms part of the United States combat activities and military strategy.

I make reference to the USS George Washington only to point out that praying as a family is like a structured military strategy. For the USS George Washington, a perfect military strategy would be to concentrate attacks on the targets which are the greatest threats.

Targets such as radar installations, ammunition and weapons depots are targets for attacks in a conflict. Praying as a family is the military strategy that defeats the negatives that prevent the growth of peace among us and within us.

As a family, we are also called on to enrich our lives with positives. As young people, you must recognize that only though healthy lifestyles that we can have a strong nation. Healthy lifestyles mean caring for your bodies via the absence of drugs, alcohol, pre-marital sex, obscene music, language and videos.

Recently, my attention was drawn to the lyrics of two songs by two very popular musical artists.

A section of the lyrics of a song, Follow me Gansta, by rapper 50 cent goes like this:

“I keep hearin' niggas is happy, the D's come, niggas wit guns
When I'm out on bail, ridin' wit' some new ones
Big got hit in that passenger seat
Now I'm ridin' 'round in that passenger seat
Come near the whip, I'm blastin' my heat
It don't take long, for my juvenile delinquent thinkin' to sink in
The consequences mean nothin', those semi auto's is bustin'
Crack sellin', predicate villain, spit big words but I can't spell 'em
Put a shot to your melon, that'll keep you punk from chillin'
Then I got that nine and a fo'-fo', that H2 is never full
My last gun shipment got the whole hood strapped
Now all I got is two 380's and a nine
Nigga you can knock and tell the cops but you're dying'”

A section of the lyrics from the song “Bad Man” by Elephant Man goes like this:

“Enemy, enemy,enemy see di enemy ah come Bus it up,Bus it up, Bus it up watch dem ah run Greet dem, greet dem, greet dem see di enemy ah come Mi ah capri dem till me kill dem an di hole a dem done.”

I am sure that these lyrics are quite familiar to you and some of you probably think that rappers and dancehall stars who drop such lyrics are your superstars. Lyrics from such songs are negative influences not only on our families at home, but also our families in school and on us as individuals. As young people you must strive to engage in and fill your lives with those things that can help to make you lead productive and healthy lives.

My government is concerned over the recent reports of violence among our young people; especially in schools and I sure that many of you are also concerned.

If allowed to go unchecked it will do untold damage to our nation. My government’s zero tolerance policy on those who persist on making the learning environment unsafe will be enforced. Those who want to learn will learn and those who don’t and create mayhem in our schools will be removed.

Just as my government will not tolerate anti-social behaviour, you too must not.

One way to combat anti-social behaviour is to enrich your lives with pure thoughts and actions.

Be role models to your fellow peers and do positive things that will impact the lives of those around you. Develop a habit of cultivating peace at all times.

As students you can play a major role in ensuring that your school family remains a strong family and our nation a strong one.

- Be your brothers’ keeper and assist where you can to prevent anti-social behaviour. Enlist the help of an adult or your superiors here at school at all times.

- Students of the upper forms can be positive mentors to new students and students in the lower forms

- Provide help to your classmate who may be weak in a particular subject matter

- Be the extra eyes for your school to bring back those who have become truants

- Be the extra hands to help your fellow students, teachers and principal and,

- Be proud of your school

During the remainder of this week as we celebrate Family Enhancement Week, let us work together as members of one society to strengthen our families.

That is the best way to make our nation strong.

While you are here at Princess Margaret School, I also call upon you to make the most of the time you spend here.

The first requirement is that you should think for yourselves. Think positively.

Recognise that you are here preparing to entire a world filled with racism, sexism, ageism and many more unfortunate elements of life.

Prepare yourselves for that reality.

Be conscious of the fact that it will fall to you to reshape the world that we now manage on your behalf.

To meet that obligation, learn to live and learn. Make learning an exciting experience.

My government will continue to do all it can to ensure that your learning experience provides you with the opportunity to be all that you can be.

We are committed to investing in education. We will continue to work towards upgrading our schools and tertiary institutions. We will continue to upgrade our technical schools and provide the latest technologies to function in the modern world.

Our goal to transform the nation into an intelligent nation will be realized.

Let us move forward as a family. A strong family, committed to building a strong nation in peace.

May God bless us all. Thank you very much.