BISHOP'S CENTENARY COLLEGE - (St. Cecilia's) - Towards Life More Abundant Prospectus For Parents, Students and Teachers

BISHOP’S CENTENARY COLLEGE
           (St. Cecilia’s)

Towards Life More Abundant

                Prospectus
        For Parents, Students and Teachers

Vision:
To be a School of Choice for SEA students. To be a School of Excellence in
education, commitment, diligence, and integrity.

Mission:
To attain academic excellence and bring out talents in our students that will enable
them to develop mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually.

School Motto:
Towards life more Abundant

                          National School Prayer

Praise be to You, Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, and all that is in it. We
thank You, O Father, for the opportunity which You are giving us to increase our
knowledge.
May Your Divine grace enable us to study hard and use what we learn for the good
of our fellow citizens. We pray that You free us from selfishness, lust, greed, anger,
and hatred.
Warm our hearts with love, fill our minds with understanding and strengthen our
will in the face of all difficulties.
Help us, O Father, to make our beloved country of Trinidad and Tobago the kind of
place you want it to be:
   - A place where human dignity is respected,
   - Where equal rights are accorded to all citizens,
   - Where hard work is encouraged and rewarded
   - and where You O God, reign supreme.

School’s History

Bishop’s Centenary College is an Anglican Secondary School for girls. It was founded by the
Bishop Anstey Association in the Centenary year of the Diocese in 1972.

Nearly fifty years ago when this school was instituted, the expressed aim was to give a second
chance to pupils, who in the national Common Entrance Examination, were not deemed capable
of benefiting from the academic courses offered in the then existing five year and seven year
schools.

The school was established to provide a sound education for girls in both academic and vocational
disciplines. It is managed by a Board of Management in conjunction with the Bishop Anstey
Association. The current chairman is Ms Grace Talma.

The Ministry of Education has accredited the school as such, the staff is invited to attend
workshops and seminars organized by the Ministry of Education for the upgrading of their skills.
They are thus enabled to become more effective in preparing students for their examinations.

Fee paying parents were able to grasp the opportunity to show that it is not only those picked out
as the most promising pupils at ages 10-12 who would succeed in academic courses and go on to
tertiary level education. This college has, in its forty-five-year history, produced graduates at every
level and in a diverse range of careers, a record of which the college is justly proud.

Twenty-five years ago, the college accepted the further challenge of enrolling 14+ students placed
by the Ministry of Education for two-year courses leading to C.X.C. Examinations.

In the year 2000, our school enrolled seventy-five Common Entrance students sent to us by the
Ministry of Education. This was to assist with the policy of free Secondary Education for all. This
challenge has been embraced.

Caribbean Examinations Council (C.X.C); is the Governing Body for all Examinations.

Bishop’s Centenary College
(St. Cecilia’s)
28-30 Roberts Street,
Woodbrook

       628-6609
Website: https://bishopscentenarycollege.com
Email: bishops.centenary@gmail.com

PRINCIPAL                               Mrs. Loretta Davis

VICE PRINCIPAL                          Mrs. Akai Webster

ADMIN ASSISTANT                         Ms. Nicole Sankar

                                  PROSPECTUS
ADMISSION

   a. Students who wrote the Secondary Entrance Assessment (SEA) AND
      obtained a place in Secondary school through placement by the Ministry of
      Education .

   b. Private Students will be admitted based on an Entrance Examination in
      Mathematics, English Language and Creative Writing.

   c. Students who have already completed two or three years at a secondary school
      but are clearly in need of three years education before attempting the
      Caribbean Examinations Council (C.X.C) Exams.

OVERSEAS STUDENTS

Students from abroad are accepted at any level if there is space in the form requested,
and the student’s record is adequate to support the request. All Foreign Nationals
must have a valid Student Permit before registering at the school.

PRIVATE STUDENTS FEES

ALL FEES ARE PAYABLE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TERM and no
later than the last day of the week in which school is reopened. FAILURE TO
ADHERE TO THIS WILL RESULT IN THE STUDENT BEING TAKEN
OUT OF CLASS AND PARENT NOTIFIED TO COLLECT THE STUDENT
IMMEDIATELY.

MAINTENANCE FEES

All Students are required to pay a Maintenance fee of five hundred ($500.00)
dollars per academic year. This fee is to help with the general maintenance of the
school.
There are three terms as follows –
CHRISTMAS TERM                       September – December
EASTER TERM                          January – April
TRINITY TERM                         April – July

Fees for form five students taking examinations must be paid in full by the end
of the second term of the academic year of the examination. Failure to do so will
result in parents being called into the school by the Principal.

CURRICULUM

The school provides a broad based, general education for forms 1 – 3 in the following
subjects –

ART                                          MATHEMATICS

BIOLOGY                                      PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS

CLOTHING & TEXTILES                          SCRIPTURE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE                             SOCIAL STUDIES

ENGLISH LITERATURE                           HISTORY

FOOD & NUTRITION                             SPANISH

INTEGRATED SCIENCE              INFORMATION, COMMUNICATION, TECHNOLOGY

MUSIC                                        HEALTH & FAMILY LIFE EDUCATION

PHYSICAL EDUCATION (forms 1-2

At the end of the Form 3 level, students are expected to select C.X.C options.
Additional courses are available in the BUSINESS AND SCIENCE STUDIES via-

PRINCIPLES OF ACCOUNTS
PRINCIPLES OF BUSINESS
OFFICE ADMINISTRATION
E.D.P.M
ECONOMICS
PHYSICS
CHEMISTRY
BIOLOGY
INTEGRATED SCIENCE

Career Guidance both personal and social is provided to ALL STUDENTS. This
includes Time Management; Study Skills; Building Self Esteem; Career Planning;
Peer Group Understanding; Personal Development, and many other areas. All
subject areas whether they do or do not lead to public examinations are expected to
be taken seriously.

PRACTICAL SUBJECTS

Materials for ART, CLOTHING & TEXTILES and FOOD & NUTRITION
must be supplied by the Parents/Guardians.

GENERAL

REPORTS

Reports are given to ALL PARENTS/GUARDIANS at the end of each Term.
PARENTS/GUARDIANS who have not received reports should indicate this to the
school so that duplicate reports can be sent. Please notify the school in case of
telephone and/or address changes.

P.T.A MEETINGS

The Annual General Meeting is held in September. P.T.A Executive Meetings are
held at least once per term. P.T.A meetings are generally held once a month at 4:30
pm. Attendance at these meetings is important.

PARENTS DAY

Parents Day is held for all classes each academic year. This is an opportunity for
Parents/Guardians to meet with teachers and discuss the performance of students.
Attendance by Parents/Guardians at these meetings is mandatory.

ORIENTATION PROGRAMMES

These are held at the beginning of the Academic year in September for NEW
STUDENTS AND PARENTS.

EXAMINATIONS AND EXAMINATION RULES*

There are three (3) Terms in the School’s Academic Year.
  I. At the end of each term (December, March/April, July) students are evaluated
      and reports are issued to Parents.
 II. At the end of Term 1 (December) and Term III (July) students from forms 1-
      4 write formal exams.
III. In Term II (January-April), students are assessed continuously. No formal
      exams are written at the end of the term. Term grades are recorded in each
      Student’s Report.
IV. Form 5 students write Pre-CSEC exams in Term II.

EXAMINATION RULES FOR STUDENTS (INTERNAL, NCSE AND CSEC)

    MATERIALS ALLOWED IN EXAMINATION ROOM
    1. Students are to place bags, folders, and textbooks at the front of the class. ONLY
       BLANK pages and writing material are to be on the desk. Calculators and geometrical
       instruments are permissible ONLY when necessary.
    2. NO CELLPHONES will be allowed in the examination room. A breach of this
       regulation will result in immediate disqualification. CSEC Regulations RE: cell phones
       – the same.
    3. BEING SEATED
       Students are to be seated in the classroom at least TEN (10) minutes before the start of
       an exam.
    4. BORROWING
       Students are not permitted to borrow writing materials, instruments, erasers, staplers,
       and correction fluid during exams.
    5. COMMUNICATION OR DISRUPTIVE BEHAVIOUR
       There is to be absolutely NO communication during examinations i.e. NO
       LAUGHING, NO TOUCHING, NO TALKING, NO COPYING, OR PASSING OF
       NOTES, VOCALIZING OR OTHER DISTRACTING SOUNDS.

        Copying from or collusion with other candidate(s) in the examination room will result
        in cancellation of the results in that subject.
    6. ABSENTEEISM
        a. Students absent from an exam without submitting a written excuse will NOT be
            allowed to write a supplemental exam.
        b. Students on suspension during exams will NOT be allowed to write a supplemental
            exam.
    7. UNIFORM
        Students arriving for exams wearing incorrect uniforms WILL NOT BE ALLOWED
        TO WRITE THE EXAM.
    8. UNRULY CONDUCT
        Failure to obey instructions given by the supervisor/invigilator will result in
        disqualification.
    9. DISMISSAL AT END OF EXAM
        Students are to remain seated in the classroom for the ENTIRE duration of the exam
        OR until ALL students are finished, and ALL are dismissed at the same time by the
        supervisor.
    10. EXAM TIMETABLE
       Before the start of end of term exams, students will be issued copies of the
       exam timetable relevant to the subjects that they are doing. Students are

expected to familiarise themselves with their timetable and be punctual for
         exams.

INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

This is done by telephone calls, letters, or emails to parents and by verbal
reinforcement at school. Parents MUST ASK students about these on a regular basis.
Valuable information on the following will be given through these mediums.
            ALL                  -Unscheduled closure of school
            FORM 3               -Subject Choices/C.X.C Exams
            FORM 5               -Career Choices
            ALL: FORMS 1-5 -Field Trips and School events

EXTRA CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

The following are available:
CHOIR; DRAMA; ATHLETICS; FOOTBALL; HOCKEY; RUGBY and
HEROES FOUNDATION

All parents are expected to encourage their children to support one or more of the
above- mentioned activities.

SCHOOL RULES

SCHOOL HOURS – PUNCTUALITY
  1) School hours are from 7:45 am until 2:30 pm. Girls are expected to BE
     PUNCTUAL and to go home immediately after school, or other extra-
     curricular activities.
  2) Parents are asked to use the entrance to the school on Roberts Street, Port of
     Spain.
  3) Parents should not ask their daughters to wait at street corners near the school
     or elsewhere to await their transport home. The school is not responsible for
     girls who wait for transport outside the school’s gate. Parents are expected
     to collect students by 4:00 pm for the latest.

Students having arrived at school are not permitted to leave the school’s compound
for any reason before 2:30 pm. Lunches and snacks are available at the school’s
CAFETERIA.

ATTENDANCE – ABSENCE

Students should not be absent from school except in the case of illness or having
obtained permission from the Principal. Excused absences will only be granted by
the Principal in exceptional circumstances. All absences must be accompanied by a
written excuse, signed by the parent/guardian, sealed in an envelope, and presented
to the form teacher on the day the student returns to school.

Parents requesting permission for their daughter(s) to leave school before dismissal,
must do so in writing, or contact the school personally on the day.

HOMEWORK

Homework may take the form of written assignments, specimen reading set by
the teacher and/or personal reading and revision by the students. STUDENTS
ALWAYS HAVE HOMEWORK.

COMPLETED           HOMEWORK             SHOULD        BE       INITIALLED       BY
PARENTS/GUARDIANS.
Form 1& 2’s should spend at least 3 HOURS each night working at home. Form 3
should spend at least 4 HOURS each night working at home.
Fourth and Fifth Form girls should be capable of organising their preparation time.
More time should be devoted to homework, S.B.A’s and Assignments at the
weekend. It is better to work hard for a short time than to sit dreaming for hours.

NO MALES ARE ALLOWED TO VISIT STUDENTS ON THE COMPOUND
EXCEPT FATHERS WHO MUST BRING SOME FORM OF
IDENTIFICATION.

PROPERTY

Students must respect school property. The costs incurred by the school to repair any
fixture, inclusive of walls, furniture, lightings, etc due to wilful damage will be borne
by the parents of the student(s) causing the damage.
If it is necessary for students to have large sums of money on their person, it is
recommended that the money be given to the form teacher for safe keeping. Money
and other valuables (cell-phones and electronic devices) should not be left in
bookbags or desks.

DEPORTMENT

Students are expected to conduct themselves with dignity and decorum, when
wearing the school uniform, always, whether in school or out of school.

STUDENTS WILL BE SUSPENDED FOR THE FOLLOWING

Fighting, using threatening language towards students and members of staff, causing
bodily harm, displaying undesirable behaviour, using obscene language, theft,
disrespect to teachers and members of staff, disobeying school rules, vandalism,
bullying and any other type of behaviour documented in the National School Code
of Conduct.

If the student is suspended for a second time, both parent(s) and student will be
required to sign a behavioural contract with the school. After the third suspension,
the parent(s) would be asked to decide for their child to attend another school.

ILLNESS*

The school rules about illness are as follows:
1. Students who are ill must remain at home
2. No student who has an infectious disease will be allowed to attend classes, unless
a doctor’s certificate is given to the principal indicating that the student is fit to attend
classes at school.
Students must not attend school if anyone at home has an infectious disease. In this
case, a doctor’s certificate must be obtained and given to the school as proof that the
student is not likely to infect members of the school population.
Parents are asked to be responsible and notify the principal/school authority in cases
of infectious diseases.
If the principal is not satisfied with the health of a child, she may request a doctor’s
certificate to ensure that the child is fit for school.

STUDENT WELFARE

The Principal and Staff are deeply conscious of their responsibility in this area and
are always available to assist parents. Students are not permitted to leave school at
lunch time.
A phone is available should there be an EMERGENCY.

CELLULAR PHONES

Students are not allowed to use their cell phones during school hours, unless
authorized by a teacher who sanctions its use during class time for a lesson. Any
student found using their phones or any electronic device during school hours
without permission will have it taken away and returned to her parent/guardian at
the end of the school term.

The school will not be held responsible for the loss of any cell phone or device
belonging to students or visitors. Students are responsible for the security of their
possessions.

If the student does not have permission to use their phone, it must be switched off
before they enter the gate and switched back on only after dismissal. Cell phones
must not be seen in their hands or in their pockets.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

Uniforms are obtainable at the school and must not be altered in any way. Students
found wearing altered uniforms will be given a letter inviting their parents to come
into the school to have a consultation with the Dean. School skirts must fall 2” below
the knees. The school skirt is a 6-piece gore skirt and not a straight skirt.

The School Pin (with Logo) is part of the uniform and should always be worn on the
left side of the collar.

Details of the school uniform are given on the uniform sheet. No jewellery except a
watch and/or a graduation ring may be worn in school. Any extra jewellery will not
be permitted and will be confiscated. Girls are not permitted to wear nail polish
or make up to school.

They should not attend social or business occasions in their school uniform unless
they are representing the school. Students must wear full school uniform to school
and to all school activities.

SHOES AND SOCKS
PLAIN BLACK LOW-CUT SHOES with flat heels to be worn with white socks
which must reach at least 2” above the ankle.

TIES
Ties are sold at the school. They should be kept in good condition. A tie pin in the
House Colour is worn with the tie.
NOTE:
The National School Code of Conduct states on page 23 that:

      “It is the position of the Ministry of Education that all students should wear
      school uniforms and their grooming should be modest, clean and consistent
      with healthy, sanitary and safety practices…This requires a dress code that
      sets a positive tone and establishes a common standard.”

The Code of Conduct further states:

      “Failure to wear prescribed school uniforms and to be appropriately groomed
      as set out by the individual school rules is a violation of the National School
      Code of Conduct and will warrant the appropriate consequence.”

In accordance with the above, the following rules will be strictly enforced regarding
all students.

Hair MUST be natural or relaxed only. Hairstyles must reflect the conservative
image of a young female student and minimize distractions. No mature hairstyles
will be expected or permitted. The following are NOT ALLOWED:

   ●   Wigs
   ●   Weaves (curly, straight, long, short etc.)
   ●   Hair Extensions / pieces / additions, (whether clipped on, glued, or sewn)
   ●   Buns (whether clipped on, sewn, or attached to hair)
   ●   Beads, foil, coloured clips, or bands
   ●   Artificial colours or dyes
   ●   Bangs (hair on forehead or at the side of face).

Hair styles including braided hairstyles should be neatly groomed. All hairstyles
should always be pulled back and kept away from the face. If necessary, the hair
should be pulled back in one.

Please be reminded of the following with respect to the rest of the uniform.

   ● SKIRTS: To be worn loosely from the waist band. They must be long enough
     to be at least two inches (2”) past the knee when sitting.
   ● SHIRTS: To be loosely worn at the front, sides and back.
   ● ABSOLUTELY NO MAKE UP is allowed, including face powder.
   ● NO white baby or talcum powder must be visible on the chest or neck.
   ● EARRINGS must be small silver or gold stoppers only.

St. Cecilia’s Extra Curricular Activities

Heroes Foundation

The overall aim of the Heroes Foundation is to help young men and women develop
a greater awareness of self, the community, and the environment. Bishop’s
Centenary College first became a part of the Heroes Foundation in 2006 and to date
our involvement with the foundation has become a very close-knit one.

The Heroes Foundation has had a very significant impact on the students at Bishop’s
Centenary College. Team members take part in several activities and workshops
which help them to develop into well-rounded individuals. Among these are:

   ●   The annual Coastal Clean-up
   ●   Career workshops
   ●   The annual Sci-Techno Fest
   ●   COMESA workshops facilitated by NIHERST
   ●   Improvement Implementation Programmes at the school
   ●   Environmental Awareness Campaigns
   ●   Participation in the African History Quiz

The school and students have received several awards throughout the years through
participation in these projects. We look forward to inaugurating new members into
the Heroes community.

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