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| ST CATHERINE HIGH PAST PRINCIPALS
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Sister Mary Paschal, R.S.M.
Charming, eloquent and poised: Sister Mary Paschal, R.S.M., was born
Elise Figueroa on December 9, 1918, in Colon Panama to Jamaican Parents
and was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church of the Immaculate
Conception Cathedral, Panama. She got her primary education in Panama
before coming to Jamaica at age 13 with her parents who were relocating
to Jamaica. From 1931-1935 she attended The Alpha Academy where she did
her Preliminary, Junior Cambridge and Senior Cambridge Examinations
attaining grades that enabled her to matriculate for London University.
She was unable to attend London University as he had to return to Panama
with her father who worked for the United Fruit Company during the
construction of the Panama Canal.
In 1936 she again returned to Jamaica and immediately entered the
Convent (Alpha Convent) of the Sisters of Mercy. Sister Paschal's
Catholic education and desire to become a teacher helped her to make the
decision of becoming a Nun.
Sister Paschal's dream of becoming a teacher became a reality when she
was offered a teaching position at the Alpha Boys' and Girls' school in
1936. She taught there until 1939 when she left for Alpha Academy. In
1952 she was transferred to Seaford Town Primary School in Westmoreland,
and remained there until she was appointed Principal of the Mount St.
Joseph Academy in Manchester where she served until 1961.
Sister then left for the United States of America in pursuit of academic
advancement. She attended Our lady of Saints Cincinnati College where
she graduated with a Bachelor in Biology and Spanish. She returned to
Jamaica in 1962 and was appointed principal of St. Catherine High
School.
During her 17 years as Principal, she was instrumental in spearheading
some of the most far reaching developments in the institution's history.
One such development was the conversion of St. Catherine High School
from and all girls to a co-educational school in 1972.
In an interview published in the October 21, 1990, issue of the Jamaica
Daily Gleaner, Sister Paschal had this to say of her tenure at St.
Catherine High School:
"This was no ordinary school. We developed a vegetable farm on
half an acre of land. We also developed a chicken farm, a woodwork shop
and metalwork shop where the boys and girls made desks and chairs for
the school. This made things a whole lot more economical. We also built
a home economics center and an auditorium with the capacity to
accommodate approximately 2000 students."
She will not readily claim responsibility but we know Sister Paschal had
been a major force behind these invaluable investments in young
lives.
Although she had knee replacement surgery in 2006 she remains active and
vibrant refusing to accept inactivity. In that same Gleaner publication
she stated:
"I will not and can never retire from God, the church and its
people."
In her own words, Sister Paschal summed up her sterling contribution to
Jamaica, its sons, its daughters and to its future:
"My rewards are many and I am happy it is not cash or gifts but
I have accomplished what I wanted to be and to do in that I was able to
organize that which needed organizing and see it through as
planned."
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