Adele Coleman creates history at Old Harbour Bay Primary

Coleman, who resides with her mother and grandmother in the community of New Harbour Village II, achieved the historical feat when she earned a placement score of 330.3 or 94.3% in the recent Primary Exit Profile (PEP) – a national exam for final year primary education students.

The only child of Delou Mills, an educator herself, joined her best friend and classmate Daciann Wilson in immortalizing their names into the annals of the school’s history.

Wilson who had a fantastic report card became the first student from the school to pass for the all-female secondary institution, Immaculate Conception High School.

So excited to learn she will be going to ‘Andrews for Girls’ Adele cried tears of joy, as her goal in life is to make “my mommy proud”.

“I feel grateful. I know I have to work hard and make her proud for all the hard work,” she said to Old Harbour News during a telephone interview.

Being a hard task master, who demands nothing but excellence, Mills recounted the day she got the results via text message from Adele’s teacher.

“I started to scream, my neighbours came running, wondering what had gone wrong in my house. I was extremely overwhelmed,” she said in an ecstatic voice.

“I was also proud for Old Harbour Bay Primary,” added Mills the educator, “because Old Harbour Bay is considered one of the underdogs, so for them to have two girls going to traditional high schools considered to be in the top-10 best schools, I was extremely overwhelmed not just for my daughter but also for Old Harbour Bay Primary and her friend.

“So I made so much noise it was something else on my avenue. I was overwhelmed I started to cry because it has been really challenging.”

That moment was quiet surreal for Mills, who over the years has been and continues to make immense sacrifice for her little heart and soul. As a teacher of a Kingston-based school, Mills religiously jets off to work every morning before six o’clock, leaving her in the care of her mother. And it is flashes of these and other struggles that made Adele’s success even more gratifying.

“Given the sacrifice that I’m making I demand nothing but the best,” she said. “I see the sacrifice as an investment in a great mind, somebody who can be a great nation builder and an asset to this country.”

Natural leader

Adele is a natural leader who isn’t afraid to speak her mind and offer a constructive critique in any situation, Deatricia Ming, grade six co-ordinator at Old Harbour Bay Primary, stated.

“Adele is a born leader and she is always ready to take charge of every situation. She knows how to capitalize on the strengths of her fellow classmates and you will see that based on how she delegates responsibilities during group activities. She is always ready, and you can give her a task that she least expects, and she will do it well. Adele will do great things and she will be great in whichever career choice she makes,” Mings wrote in a raving review of a child who in the future wants to become a pharmacist and create her own clothing line.

Those qualities highlighted by Ming had more to do with the quality of the relationship between Adele and her mother, however. Aside being her mother, she’s also her confidant, friend, Mills told us. The two share a very strong and special bond.

“As a parent I haven’t hide my failures from her. I don’t hide my successes. I also explain to her how much better I could have done had I not make some sort of mistakes and I highlight the mistakes. I made her aware of the consequences if rules are not followed. If she has violated she’s told,” said Mills.

Adele said she’s grateful for the support of her teachers, but is also looking ahead of the new challenge at the 94-year-old school that has impacted the lives of some of the most prominent Jamaican women.

“I expect her to do well,” Mills said of her budding mathematician, “I’ll be at every prize giving”.

For Ming, only Adele can stop Adele.

“Adele is a fierce competitor, she always strives to be on top of the game and be victorious. She’s a critical thinker who is always trying to keep abreast with current affairs and topical issues… and that is what allows her to be among the best in whatever she decides to accomplish. She’s a talented individual who has endless potential and ability to attain stardom in whatever field of study she chooses,” said the teacher.