PRIZE GIVING SPEECH October 17th, 2013

Honourable guests, Mr.Cash, Mrs Berry, Chair of our Board of Governors, fellow Board members, staff,
parents, students and friends.
Welcome to our annual Prize Giving.
It is my honour and pleasure to highlight for you the many achievements of the Warwick Academy
students over the 2012/13 academic yea.
It has certainly been quite a year filled with exceptional highlights as we continued to celebrate the 350
th

birthday of our school. In the first very busy term we had Random Acts of Kindness, Rhodes House won
the Swim Meet for the first time since 2002, we held our Annual Golf Tournament at Riddells Bay Golf
and Country Club with a record number of teams, we sold paintings at our Art Auction assisted by the
incredible talents of the local artistic community. I would like to thank them all for their support.
We enjoyed the talents of our drama students at the Shakespeare Festival and our major production
Cabaret more about those later, we dined with much entertainment at our 350
th
Gala Dinner at the
Southampton Fairmont, we enjoyed the WAPTA Christmas Fair, the Winter Music Concert, the Walk and
Run for Warwick, Open Day and in our quest of becoming an International Centre of Educational
Excellence and exposing students to global issues and perspectives we became the first school in
Bermuda to be a Human Rights Friendly School entering into a partnership with Amnesty International
Bermuda We will be piloting this project for three years and will serve as a model for other interested
schools in Bermuda. In the process, we join a network of 21 Human Rights Friendly schools from around
the world.
In December we ended our 350 celebrations with our final assembly when we buried our Time Capsule
which will be reopened in 2062 when the 400
th
anniversary is celebrated. And that was only the first term!
In January 2013 we all gave a sigh that the 350 year was over but there was also a feeling of excitement
as we moved into the next chapter of our schools life. Mock examinations in January paved the way for
what were our best examinations results in the history of the school leading to a double celebration that
started in July with record breaking International Baccalaureate results and then the Year 11 students
followed up in late August with our best ever IGCSE results.
The IB results included Matthew Wedlichs 44 and Anna Dobsons 41 out of a possible 45 point total and
a 92% pass rate overall for the Diploma our best ever. On top of the excellent results were a wonderful
selection of outstanding Universities - in the UK: Cambridge University, University College London,
Warwick, and Exeter; and in Canada: McGill, Guelph, Waterloo, Toronto, Western Ontario, and British
Colombia. 100% of our graduates gained entry into their first choice university and Anna Dobson became
the first Bermuda educated student to directly enter Cambridge at undergraduate level. All these factors
are a real measure of our success.
In terms of the I/GCSE results 100% of our students passed in 8 and more subjects. Fiona Dobson and
Daniel Hetzel each achieved 9 passes at A*. This is the first time in the schools history that any students
have achieved all A* grades at I/GCSE.
93.22 % of the students passed with grades A* - C in 5 and more subjects which included English &
Mathematics, a science, a humanity and a foreign language. Of special note is that 36% of all the grades
were at the A* and A grade.
You will hear more about these wonderful students and their achievements as the evening continues. I
would like to mention that these results do not just happen they are the outcome of hard work from both
staff and students and the level of trust and respect that is built up between them.
We welcomed 9 new staff to the school last year and continued with our two sport and club sessions on
Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, where in addition to the usual school sports we also offer everything
from kayaking , to golf, salsa and horse riding. We continued to expand the use of our Frog Virtual
Learning Environment and we changed our school data base system.
The past year was also a very successful one for our Music Department. Under the guidance of Mr.
Hayward and Mr. Swan in the senior dept. and Mr. Bishop in the primary section our musicians were very
busy. We had very enjoyable Winter and Spring concerts, and our jazz band produced yet another CD this
one featuring the vocals of Year 11 student Christa Wright. We hosted a concert with Duke University
Concert Chorale and played at City Hall as part of the Bermuda Festival Series of Events as well as
attending workshops with festival performers.
Mr. Hayward, Mr. Bishop and students Owen Siese, Anna Dobson and Dylan Hollis played with the
Bermuda Philharmonic.
Our drama department under the leadership of Mr. Jones had two very successful productions. The first
for the Shakespeare Festival was The Taming of the Shrew. They stole the show and really proved what
consummate performers they are with a very slick cast who were always in character, looked to be having
fun on stage and were very, very amusing. My thanks go to Mr. Jones and our guest director Mr. Robbie
Godfrey for their time and talent and innovative production.
This was followed by Cabaret which was a total success playing to a full house every night. The
accolades that poured in were just like this example;
Words fail me! The production last night was incredible - the talent, the set, the costumes and the
professionalism of the group was amazing, hard to believe it is just high school.
I would like to thank Mr. Chris Jones our director, the cast ably led by Matthew Wedlich, Christia Wright
and Keiran Hamilton, Russell Conyers, India Wilson, Anna Dobson, Noah Marshall, Damon Rosati,
Morgan Swan, Ben Barnett and Zachary Myers, our student Tech Team who are just amazing,
choreographer, Deputy Head Girl, Melanie Mendonca, Mr. Kent Hayward, Dylan Hollis and the
musicians, Mr. Shardlow and Mike Kirk for their super set and all involved in making the show so
successful. It is very sad to think that this was the last time we will see Keiran, Matt, Morgan, Melanie
and Anna performing as Warwick Academy students in a Warwick Academy production as they all
graduated in June. I thank them all for the many hours they have devoted to the performing arts at
Warwick Academy and wish them all success in their university lives after WA.
Not to be outdone the Upper Primary production under the direction of Mrs. Amanda Ingham and Mr.
Davidson Bishop, in February was also an outstanding success and we added a new event to the calendar
last year in primary We had a Ceillidh with Scottish dancing by the students, a piper and a grand time
was had by all. My thanks to Mr. Custodio for implementing what will now be an annual event.
Our artists had similar success. In the Student Art Competition at the Bermuda National Gallery; Liam
Flannery Y5 1st place with Maleia Howard Y6 in 2nd place
For Middle School
Y9 - Hannah Mallon 2nd place
For Senior School
Y13 - Kamryn Minors 1st place
Y10 - Timothy Claude 3rd place
Olivia Moore in Year 11 won her category in the Wattpad an online book competition against hundreds of
entries and in April Hannah Marshall entered a world-wide art contest put on by HarperCollins and the
band One Direction. From thousands of entries she was one of the 42 winners from around the world. The
contest was available to all individuals aged 13 and over (including adults). Entrants had to create a piece
of artwork that included their national flag. Hannahs piece is featured on the inside cover of One
Directions Biography which has quickly become a best seller.
On October 20th, Mrs. Paula Wight and a team of 15 volunteers from Bermuda Overseas Mission
travelled to the Dominican Republic to build homes for Habitat for Humanity. Several of our students
went along Jasmine Lee (Y12), Morgan Smith (Y12) Daylon Johnston (Y10), Kamryn Minors (Y13) and
Brinae Godwin (Y11)
Russell Conyers had a placement in a hospital in Tanzania where he was able to shadow doctors working
there in all areas of a busy hospital and he was also was one of the winners of the Alliance Franaise
competition receiving as his prize, a 3 week trip to the South of France
Chas Smith our Deputy Head Boy last year was chosen from thousands of athletes to go to the IAAF
Centenary Gala in Barcelona last November. On the evening of the Denton Hurdle Awards Chas had a
double success when he was the recipient of the Denton Hurdle Award and then he jumped over two
metres in the high jump at the National Championships. He followed this up with Carifta and Island
Games successes. My congratulations are also extended to Kirstin Saltus, who was the runner up in the
girls division of the Denton Hurdle awards.
We again had a large number and wide variety of sporting successes and my apologies that due to time
constraints I cannot name everyone who was involved.
In the BSSF Primary School Tag Rugby Tournament the primary boys team won while Johnathon Alves,
Ferdinand Arnold, Peter Calow and Rory Crofts travelled to Canada as part of the U16 Bermuda Rugby
Football team
We had a number of students who travelled to Kingston Jamaica for the CARIFTA championships
Madelyn Moore, Jesse Washington, Shannon Hassell, Emma Harvey, Vaughn Rowse, Alexander Pilgrim
and Shannon Botelho all qualified for the Swimming Championships while Chas Smith for High Jump
and Ethan Philip for Long Jump also qualified.
In the Senior School Track & Field Championships Chas Smith tied for CHAMPION boy in O16
category and Kirsten Saltus gained an overall second place finish in these championships. Perhaps the
most impressive win was the U16 relay team of Arriek Douglas, Ethan Philip, Tez Terry and Ajani
Tucker surprising everyone with a comprehensive win in the 4 * 100 relay. Warwick Academy came a
very credible third overall.
In the Middle School Track and Field 2013 we saw wonderful results! The girls Over 13 team won
overall as did the U13 boys team. We had winning runs from Paige Bruton, Gabby Arnold and Nico
Barclay Jayden Ming, and Alex Pilgrim. Sajan Harvey won Champion Boy in the U12 division with a
first place in both the 800m and 1500m finals.
In the Front Street Mile Alex Pilgrim and Nico Barclay were our top performers and we entered students
in all age groups. Nico Barclay then represented Bermuda in Jamaica having earlier medaled at BSSF
high school challenge and in the NACAC Cross Country Championships
In golf Brady Cordeiro, Benjamin Barnett Alex Mason, Daniel Hetzel and Cory DeSilva had a year of
successes both with Junior Golf and competing against adults as I know to my cost.
In sailing Chase Cooper had a fabulous year with a series of excellent results that included the Dick
Kempe Trophy for the top local sailor in the Gold Cup Regatta. He along with Owen Siese, Joe
Arrowsmith and Tayte Stefaniuk represented Bermuda and Warwick Academy at the Orange Bowl
Regatta in Miami.
We have had outstanding successes in swimming at all age levels and both genders. This year the
primary team won overall at the interschool event while Madelyn Moore, Vaughan Rowse, Shannon
Bothelo, Alex Pilgrim and Emma Harvey had successes in the Trunk Island Swim, the Round the Sound
Race, Carifta and the Island games. Madelyn won 2 gold and a silver medal at the latter
Our Middle School Boys teams really did us proud in volleyball and basketball winning interschool
volleyball for the 6
th
year in a row and basketball for the 8
th
year. The Senior School Girls again won the
inter school volleyball championships.
Riley Correia and Kaleb Tota enjoyed show jumping success both locally and overseas and Gabi Arnold
won the Caribbean Cycling Road Race Cycling Championships. Jude and Brittan Moseley, Alex Pilgrim,
Matthew Oliveira and Emma Harvey were all winners in local triathlons
I am pleased to report that we had representatives on all the Bermuda ALL star teams and Deondre Trott
was selected for the BSSF Football Select Tour College Showcase.
Tabytha Hofheins, Samantha Soares, Trinity Wilson and Gabby Vincent represented the island as part of
the Bermuda Gymnastics Team
We were also well represented in Squash with 4 students on the team that went to the Canadian Junior
Squash Championships in Niagara Falls and at the BCS IBM Squash Championships Dylan Pratt won the
Men's Plate Final. This was a huge achievement for a 12 year old.
Kaylah Ming was selected by the BLTA to represent Bermuda in tennis at the ITF World Junior Tennis
Competition in Santo Domingo in March. Keiran Hamilton and Shannon Botelho travelled to Baltimore
with the Boys National Volleyball team
At both boys and girls sections Warwick Academy once again dominated all levels of badminton
Our Track and Field Sports Day was a great success with Robertson emerging as the overall winners.
There were some super individual performances and the following students were overall winners in their
age categories were :
U13 Sean Tucker and Madelyn Moore
U15 David Darrell, and a tie for girls champion - Paige Bruton and Yanni Gibbons
O15 Chas Smith, and a tie for girls champion Sharri Weldon and Kirstin Saltus
35 Students from Warwick Academy received their Bronze Awards and 10 received Silver Duke of
Edinburg's Award . Kyle Trott was our representative in the Alpha Beautillion. Anna Dobson won the top
student award at the intensive environmental Nonsuch Island Natural History Camp. Gabriella Arnold,
Taylor Sousa, Jessica Mihelcic and Lindsay Fisher represented Warwick Academy in New York at the
UN International Schools Conference.
In the Teen Awards Anna Dobson won in the Category of Outstanding Academics and Courtney Clay
won in the Category of Visual Arts
We also took part in the Youth Harvesting Conference at XL and Lindsay Fisher won the top prize, while
Khaleb Tota and Jesse Washington received Junior Athlete Sponsorship Awards to support their sporting
ambitions in equestrianism and swimming. We were represented at the Universal Day of the Child
Awards by Kylah Hall, Hayley Dill and Lindsay Fisher.
We were also very active with our Community involvement. Year 12 & 13 students entered the 2013
Island Challenge, and we had large numbers in the National High School Challenge, the Argus Crime
Stoppers 5k walk and road race, we entered the Friends of Hospice Walk, and had numerous students take
part in the St. Johns Youth Choir Christmas Concert, the 2013 Green Day video competition, the
Butterfield Student Challenge and the Earth Hour Essay Competition as well as the Partner Re Dollars for
Hours project. We supported the Salvation Army Age Concern, Mdecins sans frontiers, The Coalition
for the Protection of Children, Marine Science day, Red Cross, Eliza Doolittle society, Making Hunger
History, the Kirf School in India, Ocean Support foundation, Argus Walks the Walk, St Baldricks, the
Caitlin End to End, Bermuda National Trust, PALS and established a relationship with BUEI where
students assist with the Lionfish exhibit and also work with younger children in their education section.
Students were successful in the Math Olympiad, the KPMG Challenge. The Year 8 Science fair was a
great success with an exceptional quality of displays on show and we had a very enjoyable International
Day organized by the MFL Dept.
Our schools parent /teacher association, WAPTA, had another very busy and successful year under the
leadership of Jennifer Frias. This hard working group of parents and teachers held a Bingo night, a
Christmas Fair, sponsored students to attend the United Nations Schools Conference in New York,
organized a raffle and very successful Quiz Night and Movie Night as well as selling Christmas trees and
having a stall at the Agricultural Exhibition. They also sponsored an excellent presentation for parents
about gangs in Bermuda, financially supported 5 primary staff to pursue professional development in the
UK and raised the funds to renovate one of our science labs. We are indeed indebted to the hard work of
all our parents on this committee whose support enables us to provide resources for our students and
teachers we would not otherwise have.
I would also like to recognize the work of Caroline Mullholland and her team of parents for running our
second hand clothes store, my head boy, girl and deputies last year, Matthew Wedlich, Anna Dobson,
Melanie Mendonca, Azaria Smith, Keiran Hamilton and Chas Smith, as well as Jane Vickers and Terri
McDowell in our Development office, the ladies of the Clothing Mart, Gary McCullough and his facilities
team.
The commitment of our teachers and support staff is what enables the school to have the diverse
successes that it enjoys. The staff always willingly gave their time to run extra-curricular activities in the
afternoons, evenings and weekends, not to mention the overseas trips that staff organized during their
vacation time when the school was closed ski trips, a soccer trip, trips to Iceland, Washington DC, and 2
Year 6 trips to name just a few.
I would personally like to thank the staff and our hard working Board of Governors, my very committed
management team, parents, friends and alumni who help us with every aspect of school life from forward
planning and fund raising to coaching our sports teams. My sincere thanks to you all.
Warwick Academy is a school that expects high levels of achievement in all areas from its teachers and
students. Tonight we honour the many achievements of our student body but especially the academic
honours they have achieved. It is a time honoured tradition that we announce the Principals list and First
Honours students at our Prize Giving ceremony. Principals list and first honours students - when I call
your name I would ask you and your parents to stand and remain standing until I have read all the names
in each group.
Principals List
1
st
Honour Students
Ladies and gentlemen, we will continue to work together to uphold the strong academic standing, the
tradition of social growth, the development of an international perspective and the nurturing of personal
and team skills and abilities as well as mutual respect as we strive to live up to the motto of our school
Quo Non Ascendam.
Students of WA you are the very best marketing tool I have ever seen you are our very best
ambassadors. Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening.