By Claudia Gardner:
Rusea’s High School’s Graduating Class of 1981, had a grand time on Campus II, a few Saturdays ago, when members of the cohort, many domiciled in North America and the UK, turned out in their numbers to reconnect with their classmates, which whom they share an indelible four-decade bond.
The group hails from the days when Rusea’s consisted of just one campus, and only the top students from the primary schools could cop a place at the prestigious institution, which was established in 1777.
The property which is located at Fort Charlotte, later named Campus II after the school was merged with the Hanover Secondary School building which became Campus I. Campus II now houses the grades seven and eight students, while Campus I houses grades nine to 13 and the principal’s office.
The Class of 81 meet-up which was held on Saturday July 11, was part of the celebrations of the cohort’s 40th anniversary, which marks their graduation in July, 1981.
From early in the morning, members of the group began cooking up a delicious storm outdoors, in anticipation of the arrival of their “foreigner” schoolmates, who were yearning for some old style Hanoverian cooking.
Soup, corn, fish, roasted breadfruit, some divine cornmeal and sweet potato puddings, jerk chicken a slew of fresh Hanoverian fruits, and a host of other dishes were there to delight the tastebuds of not only the 81 cohort, but anyone who dropped by was treated to some great Rusean hospitality.
Among the Class of 81 attendees at the event were CVM Television’s anchorwoman Kerlyn Brown; Lucea skills training Centre coordinator, Joan Stephens, Justice of the Peace Collin Johnson, businessman Arthur Grant, UTech lecturer Nathaniel Samuels and a slew of others, whose names can be found on the “detention list”.
According to the organizer of the event Garth Grant, weeks before, the members of 81, who live in Jamaica, had been turning out to their beloved school on Saturdays to spruce up the grounds, paint murals and give their support to the Principal Donna Anderson, who is also a graduate of the institution.
“So we are here every week, every Saturday doing work which is landscaping and gardening and the artwork that you see on the wall,” Grant told Negril Times.
“So, a few of our classmates who live overseas, had scheduled their vacation for round about this time, so we felt it would be a day just to relax – not do any heavy work, but just to have a little bit of fun and to celebrate. And because every week they are there (overseas) and they see all the streaming of all the activities (online)… and everybody get jealous because they are not here,” he continued.
He added: “So it’s really pulling the graduating class together in a real way because one thing is for sure, that this is the time when we should really give something back to Rusea’s based on all that it has given to us, you know.”
When asked about what made the class of 81 special, Grant had a lot to say, especially in reference to the fact that they became senior students when Jamaica was going through a turbulent period, and became close-knit as a result.
“I am not taking anything away from any other graduating class, but I think the time in which we went to school in the 70s and so on, it was a time of great anxiety. People kinda looked out for one another. It was a very challenging period also in our history. So we kinda stuck together just to make sure that we covered the curriculum and outside of the curriculum, we learned so much from each other,” he said.
Grant pointed out that many members of the group lived like family, having known each other for almost all their lives.
“So we were brothers and sisters so to speak, just trying to get all of the requirements for school and at the same time, trying to survive and ensure that we made something out of our lives. And 40 years on we are here same way, like friends. Some of us, we have not met since graduation day. But others we have kept in touch for 40 years,” he explained.
“I have friends living overseas now, but from time to time we visit them; they visit us. And we have maintained those friendships. As a matter of fact, the friendships predate even gradation in 1981, even before we went to school in 1976. Some of us went to primary school together, so it’s long-lasting friendships from 10, 11 years old until now. So we are talking about close to 50 years of togetherness,” he added.
Grant also told Negril Times that the group had spent eight weeks prior to their meet-up to undertake rehabilitation work at the school, adding to the décor and landscaping the grounds in anticipation of the reopening of face-to-face classes in September.
“I hope and pray that it happens. We would want the new students that are coming in – maybe those going into eighth grade, that they could see a freshness. So we are trying to do all that we can, so for the rest of July and August, we are really pushing to see how much we can do and it speaks for itself,” he said.
The still artists within the 1981 cohort have been painting up a storm on the walls to the campus’ west. The artwork they have done so far, is a lesson in 1970s Rusean history, and is something of which they are very proud to show off to whomever visits the school.
“If you look at the murals and what is depicted there, they are trying to explain to the now generation how it was when we went to school. So you are going to see the pink tunic and you are going to see the khakis and the ties; the different modes of transportation that were used in the days when we went to school. And we will have a heritage wall and a few other things as time progresses,” Grant said.
He said that a mentorship programme for students was also in the making, for the current students of the school.
“We are going to be here engaging in mentorship programmes and so on, anything that we can do to help the school. We are really trying to frame up how we would, in collaboration with the school…,” he added.
