I really hope Ms. Padmawatie Singh is able to find Kamini and both of them will be at the JCCSS 75th Anniversary together to meet other friends.

 High School Reunions are held for just one day usually yet we spend five long years together with many students in school.  There is no way we can catch up with everybody we knew.  Instead we end up recalling so much on our way back home after the occasion or when we look back at the Reunion pictures on the Internet and some familiar faces come back into memory.  Likewise your old friends may take a long time to recognize you.  If you look hard you will magically remember a few people.  Our JCCSS website shows a list of students in school order that you can look up.  Also some students and teachers stand out through time.  In my time I cannot forget our Champion Athletes, Richard Mackenzie and Parmanand Persaud.

 I know our friends think we were special but have never told us.  This can be that time to do so on June 29, 2013.  We cannot take our earthly possessions when we leave this life but what about our memories?  So many things are uncertain, the weather, the future, fame and fortune,  etc.  So let us gather at Leonard's of Great Neck, NY on this hot summer day, a date to forever remember.  Here is a place set up for you to specially meet some real 'ol pals.  This is certain.

 Life is short and speeds up as it gets closer to the finish line.  Forget that your Dodge Van eats petrol and chews up rubber tires.  Just get here man with either plane,  train,  bus or automobile.  Probably you can rent a Jaguar or Porche for this occasion if money is no problem so you can come in style.  You can regret not coming to this event or forever reminisce the happenings on this day if you show up.

 I heard great things are in store for this Reunion.  The food will be excellently prepared.  Our Alumni are really going out of their league to surprise us.  Two of our grads’ daughters will be doing some great dancing.  What a great chance to see some talent,  eat duck curry and enjoy some wine.

 Forget rising food prices.  The TV talks more of bad news.  Many deadly events fly past us- storms, floods.  The economy is unpredictable, and this time is not like long time.  Come and lower your blood pressure and enjoy some Guyanese and American cuisine.  Friends will be plenty and some former teachers too.  You need a long deserving break from the stress and strain of the daily grind.  The organizers have spent a long time to perfect this occasion.  If you find yourself criticizing, then please volunteer to help.  Your experience will be appreciated for you may know strategies others don't.

 Let us pave the way for our young Alumni and support them to be strong and sure.  Dress your best and look sharp.  This is a time to be proud.  Many people are looking forward to seeing you.  You better believe it.  Even JC will smile.

 Errol Beharry Kirpaul '69

I graduated in the Class of 1989 and I am very happy to hear about the Guyana Reunion on July 7 at Port Mourant.  I am willing to pay for 500 tickets and would like to ask the local organizers to distribute the tickets to poor families in Port Mourant.  I also want to set up a scholarship in Guyana in honor of my late grandfather.  I know the local chapter of our association already has a process in place and I hope to piggyback on it.

Kris Kennedy Budhram

It is with saddened hearts that we announced the passing of our mom, Mrs. Mynaowty  Ramjeesingh on Thursday, May16, 2013 in Ontario, Canada. Our father, Inderjeet Ramjeesingh (nee Uncle Hindu, 1922-1987) and our mom ran a grocery store, first in Bound Yard  and then in Tain, Port Mourant in the late forties to the early eighties before they migrated to Canada. She was the mother of Diaram, Kumari, Mohabir (Ranj), Lelakshmi (Sati), Amrita, Munil (Sanjay) and Leemala (Vee). All but two are Corentyne High School alumnae. My mom was born (1922) in Bengal Village, Corentyne into the Rajkumar family with twelve siblings. She attended RN High School in the late thirties, a first for her family. Funeral arrangements are being worked out and will be made available.

A video of our mom and her life can be viewed at : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpnSQq5ZNTQ

FINAL ARRANGEMENTS

Our mom is resting at the Accettone Funeral Home, 384 Finley Ave., Ajax, Ontario L1S 2E3 (1-800-665-8591 & 905-428-9090).

Viewings will be from 6PM -8PM on Sunday and Monday (May19 &20).

Funeral will take place on Tuesday, May21. Services and final viewing are from 9.30 AM  to 11 AM at the funeral home with cremation to follow.

Post funeral reception will be held at 840 Audley Road S, Ajax, Ontario.

Mohabir Ramjeesingh

I am very excited to be attending our reunion next month.  When I was in Form 3B, 4B, and 5B one of my best friends was Kamini Bhairam.  I would so love to get in touch with her.  I asked Rishi but he does not have any contact info and he suggested that I post this message.  I hope there is someone out there who can connect us.  We graduated in the Class of 1973.  This reunion will be my last best chance to meet Kamini.

Padmawatie (Ramrikhi) Singh  (1973)

It was nice to see a 1965 picture of me with Mr. Haroon Samad and Mr. J. C. Chandisingh. I think the girl next to Chandisingh could be Sonia Dharry but for sure the girl to my left is Vedawattie Budhram.

 Ketranie

Once a year (I think) all the students would assemble after school in the upper level of the old auditorium,  just south of the main building, to listen to a variety show put on by their fellow students. It was called a penny concert. Sometimes the room would be so packed that there was standing room only.  Once settled, students would be nominated by their peers to go on stage to either sing or tell a joke.  Those who were shy would stand up and apologetically decline. But those who accepted would just boldly march up to the stage and dazzle the audience with their performance.

The singers would give their rendition of songs learnt mostly from listening to the radio, as printed lyrics were not that readily available then. Songs were never in short supply as we were constantly bombarded with English pop, calypsos and Bollywood/Indian songs from our local radio stations. The nominees would sing acapella, and I believed they sounded just as well or even better than if they were accompanied by musical instruments. Some of the performers and songs I remembered from these concerts are as follows (original artistes in brackets):

Jerry Sutherland ……………………You're the reason (by Bobby Edwards)

Kadir Baksh ………………………….A wonder like you (by Rick Nelson)

Loretta Young Mook ………………No more (by Elvis Presley)

Shezada Khan ………………………Return to sender (by Elvis Presley)

Mr. Haroon Samad …………………Old man river (by Paul Robeson from Show Boat, not the Johnny Nash version)

 If I’m not mistaken, I think Mr. Samad sung this song (by popular demand?) every year at this venue.

The comedy acts range from corny to intelligent, but regardless of the rating, we had a bellyful of laughs. I remember Rupnandan (Lau) Singh going up to sing and Indian song. He forgot the lyrics after the first verse. But this did not stop him. He continued with another song, forgot the lyrics again and continued with another. He finished his act with partial lyrics of several songs. We all laughed our head off at his inability to finish off a whole song, not realizing then that, that was the birth of a medley.

And then there was Doodnauth Ramdass (from Fyrish) with the story of an incompetent soldier named “Frenchie”, the Sad Sack of the army. Frenchie was so unskilled with a gun that he couldn’t hit the side of a barn, as they say. So at the advice of his sergeant he went to an outhouse to shoot himself. A shot was heard and moments later he walked out unscratched. When asked what happened, he said “Sorry, sarge.  Missed again”.

I also remembered Somdat Sukhu and another colleague of his doing a skit about English grammar. When asked to give all the various clauses (noun clause, adverbial clause, etc.) in a sentence, he missed a few but included santa claus.

And who could forget the Ben boys from Rose Hall. One of the brothers (whose first name I can’t remember) took the popular boys scout song “Down by the River Side” and substituted his own lyrics. The original lyrics of the first verse are:

Gonna lay down my sword and shield

Down by the riverside

Down by the riverside

Down by the riverside

Gonna lay down my sword and shield

Down by the riverside

Ain't gonna study war no more.

His lyrics were:

Gonna meet Mr. Samad

Down by the riverside

Down by the riverside

Down by the riverside

Gonna meet Mr. Samad

Down by the riverside

Ain't gonna study history no more.

He finished the remaining lyrics with all the subjects and teachers he had that year. Ingenious!

He also told a joke about Gulliver and his travels. He said when Gulliver was leaving Siam, the natives sung a farewell song in his honor in their native tongue. Ben wrote the first line of the song on the blackboard so the audience could participate, singing it to Bobby Vinton’s tune “Roses are Red” which was popular at the time. So the whole audience sung their heart out:  O WA TA NA SIAM

At the end of the song, he gave the English translation as “O what an a*s I am”. Almost everyone was surprised and felt like a fool for falling for such a trick. One guy shouted “Hey man , you kyaan call me a dankey!”. But his complaint fell on deaf ears (from all the laughter).

For that hour or so we all had a great time, both teachers and students alike. For that hour we forgot about fractions, geometric angles, conjugation of Latin verbs etc. We would tackle those the next day.

Siddique Amin (Class of 1966)

My name is Rebekah Ganga and I am a JC grad Class of 2012.  I passed 13 subjects at CXC with two Grade 1, eight Grade 2, and three Grade 3.  I would like to study Sociology at the University of Guyana (Berbice Campus).  I live in Nigg South a few streets behind the Nigg Post Office. 

This area used to be rice fields at one time, then a squatting area, and now it is a “new scheme” which is more alive and has more newer homes than the older Nigg, Belvedere, and Hampshire North.  This afternoon I enjoyed watching from my verandah the people passing by and the children playing on our street as they usually do at this time of the afternoon.  It was a calm and comforting afternoon.  As night came I gathered with my family to chat a little.

I am very proud to hear of the reunion you are doing in New York, USA to celebrate our school’s seventy-fifth anniversary.  We here in Guyana also have a very big event coming up on July 7 at the Port Mourant Community Centre.  It is called the Guyana Reunion & Family Day and it is sponsored by the Guyana Gallery Foundation.  The planning is being done by a committee made of grads from several schools across Berbice and Demerara but with JC grads at the helm and doing the most work. 

The Guyana Reunion makes me exhilarant as I look forward to meeting up with all my friends and indulge ourselves in fun and laughter.  I enjoy the challenges of planning this reunion, to be exchanging ideas and learning and accepting responsibilities. 

The Guyana Reunion promises a bright future to those young people who anticipate to further their studies at UG.  I myself will be applying for a scholarship to study Sociology at UGBC.  I know many others will also be applying hoping to get a big break in life.  For this we will always be grateful to the JCCSS Alumni Association and the Guyana Gallery Foundation.

Rebekah Ganga (Class of 2012)

I am really being swept away by all the excitement and anticipation of our 75 anniversary reunion and day-after picnic.  I am very impressed with all the activities of the alumni association in recent years and the impact we are having all across Berbice.  With my own children now adults, I think I have reached that point in my life where I too can begin giving back to my old school and community.  I have regretfully missed all the calls for donations made in previous years and I am ready to make for it.  I would like to be included in future initiatives because, as I mentioned, I now have the time to devote to humanitarian work which have a Guyanese focus.  To our organization’s leaders I say “keep up the fantastic work and let’s keep raising the bar!”

Angela (Dhanraj) Delachapelle (Class of 1975)

The maintenance of the Corentyne High School/J.C.Chandisingh Secondary School website is due to the dedicated efforts of those alumni who work assiduously and fervently to reach out to everyone of us. Foremost among those former classmates is Ishwar Megnauth (Class of 1971).

Ishwar’s close association with CHS/JCCSS dates back to the time he was a student and a teacher and though he left Guyana many years ago, his love for his alma mater never wavered. He closely followed the progress, events and activities that celebrate past achievements and recognize classmates for their accomplishments.

Ishwar regularly updates classmates and recognizes their anniversaries (birth, wedding); and with a feeling of nostalgia  provides anecdotal details of their schooldays that recall the carefree and affectionate spirit of a bygone era. His reflections epitomize the meticulous care he would take to reminisce on things  that encapsulate certain aspects of those classmates’ life that deeply touch not only their feelings but those associated with them. As most of us are in the twilight of our lives, these snapshots of our school days bring back memories which in one way or another brighten up our lives.

I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of all alumni to recognize Ishwar for his selfless commitment and to salute him for his sterling contribution. May he be blessed with long life so that he could continue the excellent work he has been doing over the years.

Akaran Guyadin (Class of 1971)