Ardenne Prefects' Association: Optima Week 2016

Hope your Easter has been off to a good start. One of the Prefects' Association's projects - 'Operation SPRUCE' will take place on Tuesday, March 29, 2016 from 8 am-1 pm. Come out with your Clubs and Societies and give your support as we clean and beautify areas of our second home.

P.S: Bring a change of clothes that you don't mind getting dirty, walk with a note from your parent/guardian. Take your snacks as well, but refreshments will be provided.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE

ASHANTI, JADEN-DANIEL, LENNOYA (8-3)

WHO DO YOU SURROUND YOURSELF WITH AND IN ALL HONESTY ARE THEY REALLY GOOD FOR YOU?

LENNOYA: I have a mixed group of friends……Some may be seen as good company and the others may be seen as bad company. The good ones influence me to do good but I have some that sometimes influence me to do bad.

ASHANTI: I have a mixed group as well. The influences are in between.

JD: I surround myself with a mixed group as well but I don’t succumb to the bad influences because it is better to get my education than to waste my time, only to become a bag juice seller.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU LAUGHED SO HARD IT HURT?

LENNOYA: (Laughs) Yesterday when a 9th grade boy fell right by the Oasis.
ASHANTI: Today in HF class when I said I wanted to name my child Jamira Gray and Sashana suggested this elaborate plan for Bryshere Gray [Empire’s Hakeem] to be the father.
JD: When exam results came out and my friend swear seh him study for his test but sadly failed all of them.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE

MALYCK MALCOLM (13-3)

YOUR GREATEST ADVENTURE AT ARDENNE?

MALYCK: My greatest adventure at Ardenne………………. would probably have to be my involvement in the Ardenne Prefects Association because it has been a lesson and a blessing. It has taught me to hone my leadership skills, it has taught me diplomacy, and independence. Most of all it has taught me how to maneuver relationship within a professional scale and a personal scale.

IF YOU COULD BE ONE OTHER PERSON AT ARDENNE WHO WOULD YOU BE AND WHY?

MALYCK: I don’t wanna sound self-righteous or pompous, but I don’t think I would want to be anybody else because the development and growth that I’ve gain from my experiences, think it has shaped me into someone who appreciates myself and me as an ardennite. So I don’t feel the need to be someone else because of my own experiences.

WHEN YOU FIRST CAME TO ARDENNE DID ANYTHING TERRIFY YOU?

MALYCK: Yes, the school itself, because in truth and in fact I didn’t want to come to Ardenne at all. Ardenne was supposed to be my 3rd choice for GSAT, but my 6th grade teacher made a little mishap and Ardenne became my first choice. So the idea of going somewhere you didn’t really want to go to was terrifying because it felt like being thrown into a ‘lion’s den’. But I can now see where it was for the greater good.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE

CAMILLE THORPE
(PAST STUDENT AND SCQ COACH)

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
CAMILLE: I’m a very relaxed person. I love to laugh. I love to talk to people and I love to read….so yeah that’s it.
WHO DO YOU LOOK UP TO AND WHY?
CAMILLE: I don’t have one specific person that I look up to but I’m the type of person where if I see a female that is independent and doing very well for herself and striving to be successful that’s a person I look up to because I aspire to be that one day.

DO YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A LIKEABLE PERSON?
CAMILLE: Yes…I really do. I like to talk to people. I like to engage people in conversation especially students. I really enjoy encouraging them and motivating them in the hopes that they can do I what I’ve done and achieve the goals…for example that’s why I coach School’s Challenge Quiz.

Photographs from Ardenne High School's Ardenne Prefects' Association Optima Week 2016 celebrations under the theme ' '

Prefects'/ Optima Week 2016 has come to an end and the Association would just like to extend gratitude to every stakeholder involved in the planning, preparation and ex*****on of it all. To the Head Prefect Nominees, we salute you for your commitment and hard work because we know it was not an easy feat.
Special thanks to our Supervisors Ms. Marie Lewis and Mrs.Tamecia Adams-Robinson as well as Mrs. Malcolm-Wright, Mrs. Julia Baines, Rev. Ellis, Mr. Goldsmith and every other teacher who was involved. Additionally, special commendation to Jordanne Brown, Brianna Lindo, Mrs. Troyann Hackett-Brown and Ms. McKenzie who spearheaded the decorations.
To all the Prefects who assisted in one way or another, it was greatly appreciated. This week could not have gone well without all of you.

With that said, we can proudly say that Prefects' Week was a successful one and as our hardworking Publications Department boasts, 'Teamwork makes the Dream work', well this was proven over the course of this week.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE
KENNEIL JACKSON (12-3)

-WHAT IS THE MOST EXCITING THING THAT HAPPENED TO YOU TODAY?

KENNEIL: Today?.......aum……… (laughs) Wah kinda question dat?................aum……… I guess………I got to sit in Ms. Rufus’ class…...ohh…...ohh and Tamoi seh she loves me!

-SO WE KNOW YOU WERE SICK LAST YEAR, WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?

KENNEIL: So the challenges………………. The whole experience has been on my mind lately. I still get flashback as to everything that happened. And I really don’t like needles……...so I remember all of the needles going into my body…. Mi have dreams bout dem tings deh still….so I guess those were the challenges. How I overcome it now…………the support of my parents, my brother and all of mi kidz (laughs)[friends] really helped me overcome I guess.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE
MS. HYACINTH MILLER
(VICE PRINCIPAL OF STUDENT AFFAIRS)

-HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT ARDENNE?

MISS MILLER: I have been at Ardenne since January 1996…………. So that would be 20 years now.

-IF YOU HAD TO DESCRIBE YOUR EXPERIENCE AT ARDENNE IN ONE WORD, WHAT WORD WOULD YOU CHOOSE AND WHY?

MISS MILLER: Fulfilling. Because I think I was called to teach and based on the experience that I’ve had with different kinds of children it has really been fulfilling. It’s marvelous to see when you have taught something and the reward you receive when you see that the students are learning………. It’s the most amazing thing that can happen.

-HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH FAILURE?

MISS MILLER: I treat it as an event that I may have to try a different approach in order to improve on somethings so that next time around you can gain the fulfillment you desire.

-YOUR SCARIEST MOMENT AT ARDENNE.

MISS MILLER: When Mrs. Tyson called the staff together in the boardroom to tell us that she was leaving Ardenne. I was scared because I have a fear of the unknown and I wasn’t sure what direction the school was going to take but thank God that the continuity that the school needed was fulfilled by another capable person.

Lip Sync Battle takes place tomorrow. Channel your inner Beyonce and take the stage! Sign Up now!

In full effect! Ardenne's Best Dance Crew tomorrow afternoon. Come out and support.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE
TAMOI (12-3) KRYSAN AND KEMAI (12-4)

-HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN A SCHOOL RULE AND WHICH ONE?

KRYSAN: Yeah………… nuff (laughs)
TAMOI: lemme tell yuh……. Walking in the out of bounds area, carrying phone……. skip class.
KRYSAN: Same……. Which other school rule is there………………………...I think that’s basically it.
KEMAI: I don’t know (laughs)………...I have to think…………. I guess I walk in the out of bounds area and I carry my phone sometimes.

-WHAT WAS YOUR MOST EMBARRASSING MOMENT AT ARDENNE?

KEMAI: (laughs) One time when I was in grade 7 I was using the bathroom but I never did really lock the door [of the stall] (laughs) and then this girl jus buss open di door while I was on the toilet and she was like “LAWWD! YAH SIT DOWN PON DI TOILET!” (laughs)……So yeah I think that was my most embarrassing moment.
KRYSAN: lemme tell you what had happened…yuh know the tree that had the benches near the library gazebo right?......... so there was a log there and I was standing on it and chillin and the log turn over and it was during lunch time and the log turnover with me and I fell right on my buttocks and everyone saw, all of the people that were sitting under the tree and they were just laughing and I just had to be like you know what I’m gucci but on the inside I was like crying but I didn’t. So I was like I just have to suck it up and go to class.
TAMOI: the only embarrassing moment I can remember is the time that I fell but only two people saw and it was on Heritage day when they mixed it with fun day and there was this rope that was attached to the bounce-a-bout …………………………... so I was walking and I felt CUTE and then I tripped over the rope and fell on my face and I just want to stay there and just lie down.

HUMANS OF ARDENNE
MS. COLLEEN FINLAYSON (MS. JANET)
(CANTEEN EMPLOYEE)

-HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED HERE?

MISS JANET: Nine years.

-IN THOSE NINE YEAR WHAT ABOUT ARDENNE DO YOU LOVE?

MISS JANET: The teachers and students are very cooperative, and I just love working at Ardenne.

-WHAT AT ARDENNE MAKES YOU SMILE?

MISS JANET: Cuz of the students dem, some of them come with a pleasant smile and when they are disciplined and they have manners. So when I see them coming so politely, I can’t help but to give them a smile.

MRS. JOHNSON
(SECURITY GUARD)

-DO YOU ENJOY YOUR JOB AT ARDENNE AND WHAT DO YOU ENJOY ABOUT IT?

MRS.JOHNSON: I do enjoy my job here……and what I really enjoy about being here is being with the students most of all because I really have to look for them because as you know some of them don’t have any mother, any father, some of them don’t even carry bus lunch money to school and in many other ways you really have to look out for them.

-WHAT INSPIRES YOU ABOUT ARDENNE?

MRS JOHNSON: Yuh see when the students dem really achieve their goals that really inspires me and how some of the teachers really work along with them. And when I really encourage them and see dem on the stage in there [the auditorium]. Some of the times I have to really drape them up and get them back in line but when I see them in prize giving it brings a little joy to me and tears to my eyes, yuh know.

Continuing our Humans of Ardenne Series...

MRS. TROYANN HACKETT -BROWN
(ADMINISTRATION)

-HOW LONG HAVE YOU WORKED AT ARDENNE?

MRS BROWN: I’ve worked here for what………... 7 or 8 months. I’ve been here since June of last year.

-WHAT HAVE YOU ENJOYED ABOUT ARDENNE SO FAR?

MRS. BROWN: So far I’ve really enjoyed interacting with the students, that’s what I enjoyed most of all. The different personalities I encounter everyday its really………...what’s the word I’m looking for……. it’s entertaining for one and it’s interesting. Sometimes it gets a little difficult but my personality allows me to interact well with each and every person and help them along the way.

-WHAT MAKES YOU SPECIAL?

MRS.BROWN: What makes me special?.......One…….my name………it’s not very common and I take pride in it………………………its Troyann Hackett and then I took my husband’s last name Brown along with it and I think that makes me very special. Also even though I’m very shy, I have a very lovely personality (laughs) and I believe that I’m very creative and artistic. So that’s makes me special.

Calling all the Past Students! Your support on Optima Day (March 9, 2016) at approximately 7:45-8:45 a.m would be greatly appreciated. Wear your Ardenne colours and come and celebrate with your Alma Mater during our grand parade.
Theme:

Come out at lunch periods to have your photos taken at the Photo Booth at the Undercroft with an array of baked goods for all your pastry needs.
Annndddd...after school is the newly introduced Scavenger Hunt; one like you've never seen before. Sign up at the Prefects' Room and remember to take your change of clothes.
Get reaadddyyy!

Next up in our Human of Ardenne Series is our Head Girl, Asheka Robinson and our Deputy Head Boy, Rasheed Peters.

ASHEKA AND RASHEED

-WHAT LESSON AT ARDENNE DID YOU HAVE TO LEARN THE HARD WAY?

ASHEKA: Well if I’m being honest…. nothing at Ardenne comes easy…. with every lesson there is some level of challenge. But for me… what stands out is the head girl role…I have learnt that being the head girl is not as easy as it seems on the outside. And yes I’ve admired past head girls like Ashleigh-Paige and I’ve seen how it is but for me I’ve learnt the hard way that you have persons on the outside who target the integrity of your immediate group, you have even some of the teachers who you would have thought would be supportive aren’t necessarily supportive and you have students waiting on you to fail. So I’ve learnt that you have to really exercise self-control, you also have to be willing not to sacrifice the person that you are whilst carrying out your duties. I’ve learnt the hard way that leadership isn’t as easy as it looks from the outside.
RASHEED: The lesson I had to learn at Ardenne was not to care as much of what people think about you and the things that you do especially in leadership. I think it’s easy to get caught up in what one person might say if you say this to them or how they would react if you did a certain thing. So I think that’s the lesson I had to learn both in my leadership personal life.

-WHAT’S ONE PHRASE YOU KNOW YOUR GONNA HEAR AT ARDENNE?

ASHEKA: (Laughs) well one phrase I kno I’m going to hear is “SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE AND THINGS THAT ARE GOOD FOR YOU!” And our principal tells us that everyday whether it’s over the intercom or during general assembly. But I think that the students take the saying for granted, when it’s actually really profound. It reminds us to really be careful of the persons we associate with and the activities we do because these things impact our character. And if we want to really portray the Optima lifestyle we have to be careful of the friends we choose.
RASHEED: “CHICKEN DON’T DONE FRY YET! 20 MINS”.

So tonight we are launching out 'Humans of Ardenne' series!
Yes, it's back from last year and even better!'

Humans of Ardenne is a spin-off of the world-renowned photojournalism page, Humans of New York. Ardenne students and staff will be photographed and they will answer a few question about life at Ardenne. So first up:

AMELIA AND KAYLIA from 7-2

-WHAT DID YOU THINK OF ARDENNE WHEN YOU FIRST CAME?

AMELIA: When I first came to Ardenne I thought it was amazing………. but now it’s a little boring.
KAYLIA: The first thing I thought of was that Ardenne was gonna be fun.

-HOW HAVE YOUR FRIENDS MADE YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE BETTER?

AMELIA: Like on a day when I’m absent from school and my teacher would give homework but when I come back and the teacher is being…………MEAN!!!..............and wouldn’t tell me about the homework because its due on that day, my friends would tell be about the homework and help me complete it.
KAYLIA: My friends have made it easier to learn because they make the classes fun.

-HOW DO YOU SPEND MOST OF YOUR FREE TIME AT ARDENNE?

AMELIA: I spend most of it with my friends…..…plus, I enjoy reading so I might go to the library and read.
KAYLIA: Hanging out with friends. Reading books. Going to the library

So Prefects' Week kicked off today with Fear Factor during the respective lunch times and bake sales throughout the day. The is in full effect and there's much more to come!

Get ready for the Scavenger Hunt and Photo Booth activity tomorrow!!

Face your fears tomorrow during all lunch periods.
We'll see who will come out as the Fearless Victors!

Almost here. Few hours to go!!!

It's TOMORROW! Come out and support the Fear Factor during lunch periods.

Are you ready???
Fear Factor opens the week at the Undercroft during all lunch breaks. Can you handle it?

Counting down!

WHO'S READY????

Prefects' Week commences next Monday, March 7 2016. Just 3 days to go.

Reflect, Renew, Reform: The Taking Form.