2009 Speeches
Remarks by Ambassador Ned L. Siegel - Final Reading Program at Woodcock Primary School
January 14, 2009
The Honorable Carl W. Bethel Minister of Education; Mrs. Elma Garraway, Permanent Secretary of Education; Mrs. Patricia Collins, Deputy Director of Education; Mr. Harold Newbold, District Superintendent of the North Western District; Mrs. Deanne Huyler, Principal, Mrs. Deborah Coleby, Vice Principal, Mrs. Fanola Wilkinson, Senior Mistress, teachers and pupils, friends and colleagues – Good Morning.
I’m happy to see you all assembled here at Woodcock Primary School once again. It is hard to believe that more than a year has gone by since my wife, Stephanie, and I first met you all and began participating in the reading program. The staff and pupils welcomed my wife and I as part of the Woodcock family without hesitation and I greatly appreciate that.
A special thank you for letting me walk with you during Junior Junkanoo and congratulations on winning Junior Junkanoo 2008 – you should be very proud of yourselves. It has been a true honor to see the reading program grow from a small group of Embassy volunteers who gathered faithfully at Woodcock Primary once a week, to the nation-wide program it has become today.
I am very proud that the Ministry of Education partnered with the U.S. Embassy to create the “Read to Lead” program in The Bahamas. I am especially pleased that the Read to Lead program has extended beyond the island of New Providence – children in Abaco, Grand Bahama, Eleuthera and other family islands are also enjoying the tales of Morning Girl and Green Boy.
The enthusiasm and excitement the students of Woodcock Primary have shown for the reading program each week is truly impressive and serves as a positive example for other schools. I have watched each week as you were entertained, thrilled, and inspired by books.
You eagerly embraced the stories of Morning Girl, Island Boy, and other characters and were swept away into a world of reading and imagination. Learning is a lifelong adventure – and a good education is key to keeping that adventure going.
Some of you have told our Embassy volunteers that you now think reading is fun. Nothing pleases me more than hearing something like that – because reading truly is the key to success.
One of the hardest parts about leaving the Bahamas is no longer being able to participate in the Woodcock reading program. But I am leaving the program in the very capable hands of my colleagues at the Embassy and the Ministry of Education, who I know will continue to watch you learn and grow through the reading program. I am confident that the future leaders of this great country will be the students that we have been reading to over these past months. One of you here today will be the Prime Minister, another will discover the cure for cancer and another will find a way to tap unlimited electricity from the islands abundant sun and wind.
I leave The Bahamas with a deep sense of satisfaction of all we have accomplished together. Remember that reading is the key to succeeding.
Thank you.