Aims and Philosophy

The current House system has developed from the early days of St Andrew’s School when students were divided into groups for organizational convenience. The Houses were named after Caribbean tribes and the structure plays an important role in school life. The system encourages participation in a wide range of activities and provides an excellent vehicle for integrating pastoral care and staff-student interaction. A lively school spirit is demonstrated through House activities and this encourages an engaged and active student body at all levels. The competitions and general ethos are constantly monitored and adjusted.

Organization

There are four houses: Arawak (green), Carib (blue), Lucayan (red), and Taino (yellow). New students are placed in houses in a way which aims to keep the totals in each group balanced. Each student remains in the same house throughout his or her school career. Each house has a housemaster/mistress who organizes and supports the house competitions. New students who have a clear family connection with a particular house are normally placed in that house.

Competitions

WHOLE SCHOOL CREDIT

Credits are awarded to pupils by teachers for their academic work, effort, behavior and other aspects of their school life. The credit cup is awarded to the house with the most points and is awarded twice yearly: December and June at a whole school assembly.

CREDIT ALLOCATION

Following are the guidelines for the award of credits:

OUTDOOR CUP

Competitions include handball, soccer, volleyball, and basketball. They are either round-robin or knock-out competitions. The Houses also compete on the School Run, Sports Day and the Swim Gala.

INDOOR CUP

There are a number of indoor competitions, such as quizzes, chess, poetry, dominoes and performing arts which make up the Inter-House Indoor Cup. These events are scheduled at various times throughout the school year. These are scored and a winning house receives the Indoor Cup.

SPORT COLOURS

Sport colours are awarded to both senior students (at the end of grade 11) and junior students (at the end of grade 8) for inter-school competitions only. To qualify for sports colours, students must meet either of the following criteria:

• Participate in a team sport for a majority of the team’s schedule with a high level of consistency and sportsmanship.
• Achieve a high level of consistency in an individual sport, such as swimming or track and field.

Colours may be withdrawn or not awarded in cases of misconduct or poor sportsmanship.

HOUSE COLOURS

House colours are awarded jointly by the housemasters/mistresses to students who:

• Represent the House to the best of their ability in all events.
• Exhibit high levels of teamwork.
• Demonstrate a sustained commitment to the House.

Each House also has a service project in the local community and all students are expected to contribute Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS) hours to worthwhile causes.

Co-curricular and Student Leadership

The school provides many opportunities to develop important leadership skills. Students interested in applying for a House or prefect position have to apply and undergo an interview process. Student leadership is considered to be a very important area that the school works to develop and support in all students.

St Andrew’s School Student Council

The St Andrew’s Student Council serves as a communicative link between the St Andrew’s student body and the rest of the St Andrew’s community. Its primary aims are to improve the school through its decision making, community service, and social activities. In addition, the student council’s role is to ensure that every single student’s opinion is heard. In doing this, the student council seeks to enhance school life for all students at St Andrew’s School.
The Student Council is comprised of students who are elected from various grades; an executive body is then elected from these representatives. The executive body consists of a President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Head Boy and Head Girl.

HOUSE PREFECTS

House Prefects are involved in leading and organizing house teams and are chosen for their leadership qualities and team spirit, as representatives of their houses. They are expected to lead assemblies, fundraising and service projects.

PREFECT

In Grade 11, students can apply for the position of prefect. There are up to 16 prefects elected. The role of the prefect is as follows:

• To provide a support system for the administration and teachers to assist in the smooth running of the school
• To perform supervisory duties during morning and afternoon breaks
• To assist at assemblies
• To provide other support, as required, that is not detrimental to their studies
• To act as role models for the student body, and set good examples in terms of:
  – Standards of dress and overall appearance
  – Standards of dress and overall appearance
  – Standards of promptness and attendance
  – Standards of behaviour and politeness
  – Encouraging responsibility and leadership
  – Any prefect not meeting the above expectations or standards will be replaced by the student next in line in the voting.

DUTIES OF THE HEAD BOY AND HEAD GIRL

A Head Boy and Head Girl are elected as the leading students of the school to represent the entire student body and the school. These positions are held by Grade 11 students who are chosen by the administration on the recommendation of prefects, house prefects and faculty members. Students holding these positions are chosen because they are outstanding leaders. They represent the school in public settings, assemblies as well as attending various events.

House System

AIMS AND PHILOSOPHY

The current house system has developed from the early days of St Andrew’s School when students were divided into groups for organizational convenience. The houses were named after Caribbean tribes and the structure plays an important role in school life. The system encourages participation and student leadership in a wide range of activities and provides an excellent vehicle for integrating pastoral care and staff-student interaction. A lively school spirit is demonstrated through house activities and this encourages an engaged and active student body at all levels. The competitions and general ethos are constantly monitored and adjusted.

ORGANIZATION

There are four houses: Arawak (green), Carib (blue), Lucayan (red), and Taino (yellow). New students are placed in houses in a way which aims to keep the totals in each group balanced. Each student remains in the same house throughout his or her school career. Each house has a housemaster/mistress who organizes and supports the house competitions. New students who have a clear family connection with a particular house are normally placed in that house.

Student Competitions

The Physical Education programme follows a common core of sporting activities throughout the school. Skill acquisition is emphasized in our Junior School which is continued in the Secondary School together with opportunities to use a variety of individual and team game strategies and analyze situations. This platform provides the opportunity for quality work and specialization in the later years of a student’s life. Essential aspects of this programme include athletics, team games, swimming, survival swimming and health-related fitness. The programme is balanced through the inclusion of contact and non-contact sports, with a wide variety of games incorporating team and individual activities with elements of physical fitness. There are appropriate seasonal variations in the activities offered.

In our Junior School all students compete in House competitions and some are chosen to represent the Hurricanes in soccer, track, swimming and basketball against other schools.

In the Secondary School students have the opportunity to try out for softball, basketball, soccer, volleyball, swimming and track. At St Andrew’s we belong to The Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (B.A.I.S.S.) which is the body that governs sports. The student body competes in four divisions-U15 Girls, U15 Boys, over 15 Girls and Over 15 Boys.

Students also compete both nationally and internationally in the National Arts Festival, Spelling Bee, Model United Nations, Speech and Debate Club, World Scholars Cup, CFAL Junior Investment Program and many more.

Secondary Clubs

A vast number of clubs are available within the Secondary School and students are expected to be involved in a club or activity of some sort. Creativity, Activity, Service, (CAS) hours can be gained through the student’s involvement. All teachers run a club for at least a term and all students interests are tried to be met.

Primary Clubs

Primary students have the opportunity to participate in a variety of activity or interest based clubs that range from cooking, arts and crafts, and reading to dance, soccer, and cheer-leading. The clubs offered each year vary, depending on interest and staff availability.