THE GIRLS have done it again.
THE President medal winners for 2018 are Sadhana Balladin of St Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando and Amrita Singh of Lakshmi Girls’ Hindu College.4 

They were among the pupils of girls high schools who took the lions’ share of 376 national scholarships in 2018.
The list was announced by Ministry of Education Anthony Garcia on Thursday at the ministry’s office in Port of Spain, live on social media.
The schools which took the most scholarships was St Joseph’s Convent in Port of Spain (41), St Augustine Girls’ High School (34), Naparima Girls’ High School (31), Lakshmi Girls’ High School (24) and St Joseph’s Convent (18) in San Fernando.
The tops boys’ schools which were awarded scholarships were Hillview (35), Naparima Boys’ College (31), Presentation College Chaguanas (19), and Presentation College San Fernando (18)


Also awarded scholarships were - Couva East Secondary school (four), Debe Secondary School (one), St Francois Girls’ College (one), St George’s College (one).
Garcia identified St George’s College and Queen’s Royal College (QRC) as two schools which “normally do very well” but did not this year.
“QRC is not among the schools which have been awarded scholarships but I am sure that in the future they are going to improve. It has been a school that has been one of the bastions of academic excellence in the past. These things happen. Sometimes we have a year does not do too well but I am sure that the principal and students are going to step up to the plate next year and when these scholarships are being awarded they will be among those. Some schools that did exceptionally well for example St Joseph’s Convent, Port of Spain”, said Garcia.


He said overall that “most of our students have done well”.
Garcia said: “While we glorify and we are very happy with the performance of our students and we are very happy to know that we can award substantial number of scholarships, Cabinet was also very concerned about the apparent imbalance in terms of the number of scholarships that are awarded in particular areas of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In Natural Sciences 188 scholarships were awarded and Mathematics 103 students received scholarships.
Garcia said that Cabinet decided to appoint an Inter-Ministerial committee that will do an in-depth analysis of the award of scholarships. In future scholarships should be closely tied to our developmental needs.
“In other words there are some areas to the continued development of our country and every opportunity should be given to our students so that they can do further work in these areas and this can assist us in the development of our country", he said.

Beverley Ramsey–Moore has been voted as the new president of Pan Trinbago.
Mrs Ramsey-Moore, current manager of Petrotrin Kat-zen-jammers Steel Orchestra, received 116 votes to beat out the other 7 candidates at the organisation’s internal elections on Sunday.
She replaces embattled incumbent Keith Diaz and has become the first woman to be in charge of the national pan body.
Ramsey-Moore contested the Pan Trinbago elections under the Team-Rebuild banner.
Mrs Ramsey Moore said her first order of business will be to review Pan Trinbago’s constitution with a particular focus on separating the powers of the executive and administrative arms of the organisation.
Former Port of Spain mayor Keron Valentine finished second with 54 votes.
Other candidates included Darren Sheppard, Keith Byer, Thecla Forde-Rodriguez, Vernon Morancie and businessmen Lawford Duprey and Robert Amar.
Source:  102FM

Less than a week af­ter say­ing a fi­nal farewell to Win­ston “Mighty Shad­ow” Bai­ley, the ca­lyp­so fra­ter­ni­ty is mourn­ing the death of an­oth­er vet­er­an ca­lyp­son­ian in Win­ston ‘The Orig­i­nal De Fos­to Him­self’ Scar­bor­ough.
Scar­bor­ough, one of this coun­try’s most pro­lif­ic ca­lyp­so com­posers and en­ter­tain­ers, suf­fered a heart at­tack this morn­ing. He was 64. He had been bat­tling heart dis­ease and was hos­pi­talised sev­er­al times in re­cent months due to the con­di­tion.
De Fos­to’s last pub­lic ap­pear­ance was at the fu­ner­al of fel­low ca­lyp­son­ian Win­ston “Mighty Shad­ow” Bai­ley on Tues­day at the Queen’s Park Sa­van­nah and had even joined oth­er mem­bers of the fra­ter­ni­ty in a mu­si­cal trib­ute at the end of the ser­vice.
De Fos­to was aban­doned as a ba­by and grew up in the Tacarigua Or­phan­age. It was there, very ear­ly on, that his mu­si­cal tal­ents were dis­cov­ered and nur­tured. Even­tu­al­ly, he learned to read and score mu­sic.
He made his pro­fes­sion­al singing début in 1976 with Chicks Come Out to Play and over the years had com­posed and per­formed many pop­u­lar ca­lyp­soes, in­clud­ing ones spe­cial­ly writ­ten for the steel­band. Four Lara Four, co-writ­ten with the late Mer­chant, was played by the 1995 Na­tion­al Panora­ma win­ner, Amo­co Rene­gades.
Oth­er Panora­ma hits writ­ten by De Fos­to in­clude Firestorm and Pan Lamen­ta­tion, which helped Trinidad All Stars win the ti­tles in 2002 and 2007, re­spec­tive­ly and Pan­do­ra and War which helped Ex­o­dus Steel Or­ches­tra score back-to-back vic­to­ries in 2003 and 2004.
De­Fos­to nev­er won the Na­tion­al Ca­lyp­so Monarch but came close on more than one oc­ca­sion. In 2000, he placed sec­ond with Pan Forever­more and One More Kitch­en­er and in 2007 with Po­lice Mon­ey. De Fos­to al­so placed third in 2010 with In A Palace State of Mind. Source:  Stabrock News

​Any­one from T&T who has dined on au­then­tic In­di­an dish­es, im­me­di­ate­ly re­alis­es that In­do-Trinida­di­an cook­ing is a Caribbean ex­pe­ri­ence all on its own and owes as much to its evo­lu­tion in the west as its ori­gins in the east. Short­ly af­ter the ar­rival of In­di­an In­den­tured Im­mi­grants as a source of cheap, re­li­able labour, Trinidad's Colo­nial Gov­ern­ment, un­der Lord Har­ris (1846-54), re­alised that the new­com­ers had by ne­ces­si­ty, to be fed on food that they were ac­cus­tomed to in In­dia or else they would suf­fer mal­nu­tri­tion.
Thus, large quan­ti­ties of food­stuff be­gan ar­riv­ing in the colony. Pad­dy rice (Trinidad was al­ready fa­mil­iar with cre­ole hill rice or red rice, grown by ex-Amer­i­can black sol­diers of the Com­pa­ny Vil­lages), split peas (dhal), ghee, and cur­ry spices, all orig­i­nal­ly sourced ex­clu­sive­ly for the In­di­ans, be­gan to find their way in­to shops and soon formed a foun­da­tion­al part of the na­tion­al cui­sine.
For new In­do-Trinida­di­ans, the com­mis­sary of their as­signed es­tates was sup­posed to sup­ply them with food ra­tions and cloth­ing for the first year of their five-year con­tract. This manda­to­ry reg­u­la­tion was of­ten ig­nored, and some un­scrupu­lous planters even de­duct­ed the cost of the ra­tions from the pit­tance paid to the In­di­ans. Strict­ly speak­ing, the stan­dard al­lowance was as fol­lowed: For every male over 18 years of age per month: 45lbs of rice, 9lbs dhal, 1/4 gal­lon ghee or co­conut oil, 1 1/2 lbs salt, 6 lbs salt­-fish, 2 lbs onions and chill­i­est. Women and chil­dren re­ceived half the ra­tions of men.
At the de­pot for in­com­ing In­di­ans (up to 1917) at Nel­son Is­land, pro­vi­sions for the tran­sients con­sist­ed of rice, pump­kin, fresh­ly-slaugh­tered mut­ton, and cha­p­at­tis. Most es­tates al­lowed the In­di­ans pro­vi­sion grounds to sup­ple­ment the ra­tions. Where gar­den plots were al­lot­ted, and on small home­steads af­ter their con­tracts ex­pired, the im­mi­grants grew an abun­dance of food, which by the 1880s had made them the pri­ma­ry source of veg­eta­bles, root crops and milk in the is­land.
Man­goes were a key in­gre­di­ent, orig­i­nat­ing of course in In­dia, as were sev­er­al va­ri­eties of squash, in­clud­ing jhingee and lowkie. By in­fus­ing the bare in­gre­di­ents of the com­mis­sari­at is­sue with cur­ry and adding the boun­ty of the veg­etable gar­dens, whole­some talka­rees were cre­at­ed.
These were large­ly en­joyed on­ly by the In­do-Trinida­di­an com­mu­ni­ty as good, hearty peas­ant fare un­til the ad­vent of the roti-shop in the 1940s. With the com­ing of thou­sands of Amer­i­can sol­diers to the army and air­- force bases on the is­land, roti and cur­ry found a new and en­thu­si­as­tic con­nois­seur.
Per­haps the great­est ex­am­ple of cul­tur­al fu­sion and the flag­ship of In­do-Trinida­di­an food is the ubiq­ui­tous dou­bles, which was born in the 1940s when an en­ter­pris­ing ven­dor named Mr Ali com­bined cur­ried chick­peas (chan­na) with two fried dough slices (bara) and gave Trinidad and To­ba­go its sta­ple fast food.
To­day, roti, dou­bles and oth­er In­do-Tri­ni fare has spread to Eu­rope and Amer­i­ca through the di­as­po­ra, and re­mains as wild­ly pop­u­lar as ever.
Source:  Virtual Museum of T&T 2012

St Joseph's Convent Port-of-Spain has topped all schools for national scholarships. with a whopping 41, which includes 24 open and 17 additional.
The full list of scholarships-by-school, was released by the Ministry of Education today.
Hillview College was second best with 35 scholarships and St Augustine Girls High School, third with 34.
Couva East Secondary was the top government school with four scholarships.

The University of the West Indies Seismic Research Centre (UWI-SRC) has announced that yet another earthquake has struck near Trinidad and Tobago. Waiting for it to be verified.

Michele Mohammed has broken a tradition that is 155 years old. The recently appointed vice principal at St Mary’s College (CIC), Port of Spain, is the first woman to ever hold that position in the history of the school. “Sometimes I still think I’m dreaming. But you know God is good and he knows why he does what he does,” she told WMN. “I know I’m breaking ground here and paving the way for other women to feel confident to come forward and apply for other positions like these.”
Mohammed acted in the position for two years before she was appointed in June. “I understand that it is a role of service and I want to be able to serve in the best way that I can. I consider it a real privilege to be in this position and humbled by it,” she said of her appointment.
The former head of department of Modern Languages now has an even bigger role to play in the lives of the 1,100 students and 81 teachers in her charge.


“Among my core duties are to ensure that classes are supervised at all times and the safety of the school,” she outlined. But she also still takes a hands-on approach. “I still teach because I believe it is important to be on the ground with the teachers, to understand what they are going through. I have a religion class and sometimes stand in for a Spanish or French teacher when they are not here, seeing that that is my area of expertise.”


But even though the job, like any other, comes with challenges, Mohammed knows what she is about because she has been an educator in the secondary school system for about 25 years. Her teaching career began at Corpus Christi Girls’ College in Diego Martin, then took her to Malick Secondary School where she taught for seven years.
“The transition was difficult at first because the boys presented a greater challenge. They were less focused than the girls and wanted to do more outdoor things and less in the classrooms. Sometimes they would get into fights and I tried to deal with it on my own, so I wouldn’t have to be running to admin all the time.” She said she learnt how to talk to and guide them. “I adapted because I grew up with brothers. I realised I had some sort of skill in me to interact with boys and to them. Those challenges helped me grow as a person.
“I remember one time I tried to physically part a fight but was advised not to ever do that again,” she chuckled. “But what I find and really love about boys is that they are quick to forgive. They do not hold grudges.”


The mother of two teenagers said although she enjoyed teaching at the other two schools, she absolutely loves working at CIC. “It is quite different. I enjoy being here because I am Catholic, and it is a Catholic school, so I am able to put my faith into practice more with the students.”
One of her biggest challenges since assuming role of vice principal, she said, is the bombardment of issues to be addressed. “The number of things that come to you at once. From the children, the teachers, parents. I have learnt how to prioritise, to put things in perspective. That is the major challenge. Deciding what needs attention now and what can wait,” she said as she attended to the sixth person to knock on her door during her interview with WMN. “This is how it is all day. This is just part of what my job entails.”
Strangely though, the VP position was never part of her career plan. “I did not see myself in this position. I was quite content as an HoD.” But with the retirement of the former VP she was advised by a member of the Holy Ghost Fathers Board to apply for the position.


“He spoke to other teachers as well and advised them to apply. I was hesitant because I knew it would have been a great task. I felt that I would have been under more scrutiny by virtue of the fact that I am female. And I was not certain that my application would have been taken seriously, although I am qualified for the position. I thought that maybe they would not have wanted a female at this level. It’s a very traditional school.”


Nevertheless, she interviewed with both the Board and the Ministry of Education and was successful. “Times are changing, and people are looking at females differently and realising that we can in fact do the job. I think we bring balance. The principal (Nigel Joseph) is allowed to see things through my eyes and me through his. I bring a kind of nurturing style of leadership. But I do know when I have to be stern. I can be that way as well.” She said the staff, student body and parents seem happy with her appointment.
Still though, she feels that she is under the microscope. “I feel that I’m being closely watched, but at the same time I know I’m being supported. I get words of encouragement from the different stakeholders. Word of acknowledgement that I’m doing a good job.” Asked if she sometimes feels pressured to toe the line, she said, “I suppose that happens everywhere. I must say that my principal gives me a lot of autonomy. He allows me to make decisions and sound them off with him. Most of the times he supports it. But this school is bigger than the principal and me and the staff. We are answerable to the Ministry of Education and the Holy Ghost Fathers Board. Most major decisions have to be approved by the Board.”
Mohammed and Joseph are currently working on several projects she believes will enhance the development the young men in their charge. “One of the main areas would be making our student more socially conscious of what is happening in the world around them and in their country. Making them empathetic and inculcating in them the desire to serve and help those that are less fortunate. It takes a lot of talking and good examples. I think we have to model what we want from young people.”
She firmly believes that curbing the prevalence of sexual violence against women must begin in the home and be extended to the schools. “Raising better children most definitely starts in the home and extends to the schools. We have to work in tandem with the home to inculcate values of respect to women and vice versa. We try as an institution. We hope the home is doing its part.”
As for the next step in her career? “I am not certain. I have no regrets taking up this position and I feel happy in it.” As for applying for the position of principal when Joseph retires, Mohammed insists it is not a consideration right now. “I have acted as principal on more than one occasion but it’s not something I’m considering at the moment. I will need a greater revelation from God where that is concerned.”
Source:  Newsday, October 2018