Spring Village duo makes North Leeward proud

Davon Ellis and Najhalia Matthews are the toasts of the Spring Village Methodist School and the entire North Leeward community, as they are both among the top 10 performers in the 2015 Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment (CPEA) exams.

Both students tied for the fifth position overall, while Davon copped the top position for boys.{{more}}

Davon and Najhalia are in the same class and their teacher Jozel Campbell told SEARCHLIGHT that she is happy about the results, but she is not surprised, as she had the confidence that her students would do well.

Although Davon placed first for boys, he is not satisfied, as he “…really wanted number one.”

An avid reader, Davon says he wants to be a professional cricketer, like his idol Darren Sammy.

His favourite subjects are Math and Science and he credits his mom Hazel-Anne, who is a teacher at his school and his father David, also a teacher, for his success. The multi-talented youngster is also a budding artist.

Hazel-Anne said that she is elated and excited at her son’s performance. The proud mother said she had jitters waiting for the results, but she was not surprised by her son’s performance,, as he has always been a high achiever since he was in pre-school.

“Every day he comes home, he brings at least three books and I have to read those before he went to bed, so I always knew that he would be successful.

Davon will turn 12 in December.

Although Najhalia too was aiming for the top spot, she said she is satisfied with her performance. She placed fifth for girls and fifth overall.

Najhalia’s counts Science as her favourite subject and intends to pursue a career as a cardiologist.

Her mother, Moranda Matthews, a nurse at the Chateaubelair hospital, told SEARCHLIGHT that she was so excited when she heard the news of her daughter’s success, she couldn’t contain herself.

“I screamed and shouted; I still can’t get over it, even now,” the proud mother said. Moranda credits her daughter’s success to their faith in God and their family and hardworking teachers.

“You have to be involved in all aspects of your child’s life; you have to help them with school work, listen to them and go to the schools and talk to the teachers,” she added.

Acting head teacher Linson Kiel said that he is happy with the results and had confidence in class teacher Campbell, who attended most of the CPEA workshops and worked diligently with the children to ensure that they were well prepared.

Spring Village Methodist school has a student population of 110, with 56 being boys and 54 girls. Of the 15 students who wrote the 2015 CPEA exams, 12 were successful, with seven placing within the first 500 passes.(AC)