CPEA

This was the week for the Caribbean Primary Exit Assessment – so it was crunch week for the 6th graders. During the first term, the students and their parents selected their top 5 secondary schools that they would like to attend. They can choose any school on Grenada and the two smaller islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique. This test will determine if they get their top pick.

There are public and private primary and secondary schools in Grenada. Even though my school is a Roman Catholic school it is part of the public system so the students will almost certainly go to a public secondary schools. All primary students, public or primary, take the CPEA at the same time.

The teachers and students have been working hard to prepare for the test. Some students looked a little stressed on Tuesday. The teacher let the students relax on Wednesday. The students also received prayers from a protestant minister and the priest.

The test covers four areas: math, language, civics, and science. The students took the test on Thursday and Friday. There was no school for the rest of the primary students. Teachers, not 6th grade teachers, were selected to proctor the test in other schools. The rest of us stayed away, so no pictures of the test proper.

Students working on last minute reviews

And with the help of teachers

Teacher overseeing a flurry of activity

There are about 2,000 students taking the exam. I was told that the top 500 students in the country are guaranteed to get their first choice in secondary school.

Those that don’t place in the top 500 are assigned a school on their list of 5 based on a number of factors – such as registrations and capacity of the school and the distance that the child would have to travel. I guess it is possible that siblings might end up in different secondary schools.

One final note: the family is responsible for transportation and some school fees. Once the school is selected it is difficult to transfer. So again, students feel a lot of pressure to do well on the test and get their first pick.

During lunch I'm available to help students - Wednesday one of the youngest students can to practice sight words

Free time!


So I had Thursday and Friday off. And I’ll have Monday off as Whit Monday, the Monday after Pentecost.

On Thursday I did some laundry, some reading, and went on a walk in the direction away from Grenville. I don’t often head that way. My plan was to walk 2500 steps so the round trip would be a bit over 2 miles if the pedometer on my phone estimated my stride right, although as it was uphill and down that is questionable.

While on the walk I noticed a kite flying high in the sky. As I got closer I noticed the power lines.

Kite flying in the distance

Kites no longer flying
On Friday I had a Peace Corps meeting in St. George’s so I headed there. One meeting was in Grand Anse so while the 6th graders were working on their test I spent a little time at the beach. Tough life for this volunteer.

Grand Anse beach

Near one end of the beach

At the very end of the other side of the beach

I walked the beach and a bit around town and then up to the office. I also needed to pick up a prescription but the pharmacy didn’t have it, so part of my walking was wasted. However, that side trip put me over the 5 mile mark. And yes, I recently decided to track how much I’m walking!

Today, I’ll be the second reader at Mass. Happy Pentecost for those following the Roman calendar.


Love always,
John

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