Fatima student: Unvaccinated students not disadvantaged

A Fatima College student defended the school principal’s decision to end Zoom classes for unvaccinated students in forms four to six, who will not be allowed to attend physical classes due to start on Monday.

In a letter to Newsday, the student, Adrian Marc St Rose, disagreed with the backlash that Fr Gregory Augustine, principal of the college at Mucurapo, received from some parents who felt their children will be disadvantaged if they cannot access Zoon classes with their teachers.

Newsday contacted St Rose's parents, who gave permission to use his name in this story.

On Wednesday, Augustine said unvaccinated students unable to attend physical classes will continue to receive class material via the Google Classroom platform, but Zoom sessions will be discontinued.

“Fr Gregory is simply following the guidelines given to him by the Ministry of Education,” said the student. “For the record. I am in fact vaccinated and will be returning to school on Monday morning.

"When I was taught by Fr Augustine in form two, he made the point of mentioning to us that as a principal his first priority was our safety; not our education, our safety.

“I can say proudly that every decision made has been carefully planned out by experts in their field. I will go to school on Monday morning trusting in the experts who have given me the assurance not to fear but keep moving forward.”

He said he trusts his principal and the school staff.

He said on Tuesday night, when his parents were being instructed by Augustine, along with the rest of the parents, he sat closely by and listened in on the conversation.

He said he was at the time quite worried about the measures the school would take and was quite shocked by Augustine's decision to end Zoom classes for the upper forms.

“The meeting was thrown into a frenzy of multiple questions.”

He said parents asked if the classes could be recorded.

He said despite the barrage of questions, Augustine kept his composure and his “demeanour sets a precedent which the entire school follows, (and) the teachers at Fatima College can only be described as the most committed staff. I am certain it is with a heavy heart that they relayed the news to the parents.”

He said Augustine continued to explain, with patience, to the parents that all possibilities were taken into consideration before a decision was made.

“He even went on to list his reasons,” he said, which included that classes could not be recorded, because it is illegal to record children without permission from parents, and that Zoom classes could not be held at the same time as asynchronous classes, as it was not feasible.

“We have a motto at Fatima:
Nitendo Vinces, which translates, ‘By striving we conquer.’ As I move forward into an unforeseeable future with that motto, one thing is certain: Fatima College will strive (for) the best possible future for all students.”