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| Arthur Wint, 1948 London Olympics |
Sixty-three years ago, the time on the clock registered 46.2s just ahead of compatriot Herb McKinley's 46.4s and perfect for the 6ft 4in Arthur Wint to equal the 400m Olympic world record in London 1948. The crowd was euphoric. Jamaica, the land of wood and water, won her first Gold medal ever! Relive the historic race by clicking on the video below: -
Yes, dear friends long before Usain Bolt there was Dr. Arthur Wint, Jamaica's first Olympic Gold Medalist in the most challenging track event - the 400m race! Even though St. Andrew High Schools' accomplishments on the track are well-known with Olympian Vilma Charlton and many national representatives, one might be perplexed about the Calabar alumnus, Dr. Wint, in relation to the all-female institution - St. Andrew High. So today we are super excited to reveal an extra special side to the legendary Jamaican, that of a 'Gentle Giant' to his wife, Norma Wint, daughters - Valerie Wint, Colleen Wint-Smith and Dr. Alison Wint and granddaughter - Djavila Ho, who all attended St. Andrew High!!! That is right, three generations of St. Andrew High graduates.
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| L-R Valerie Wint, Colleen Wint-Smith, Mrs. Norma Wint, Djavila Ho and Valerie's daughter, Anna Not in photo - Dr. Alison Wint (Daughter of Dr. Arthur Wint & Mrs. Norma Wint) Source: The Wint Family |
Even more special is today's announcement of Valerie Wint's book, The Longer Run: A Daughter's Story of Arthur Stanley Wint.
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| Ambassador Wint at a social in the U.K |
In
The Longer Run, Valerie Wint paints a vivid and rounded portrait of a
father, husband, teammate and friend who always managed to remain humble
in spite of his professional successes and personal trials. She gives
readers access to the life story of an enigmatic figure who towered
above most in stature but lived quietly as a gentle giant. Almost
20 years after his passing, the story of Arthur Wint lives on and
continues to inspire. It is a story of discipline, courage,
determination and most of all, love for family and country." — Ian Randle Publishers
Valerie Wint is the eldest daughter of Arthur Wint and currently resides in Canada with her family. We have invited Valerie to do a reading at our museum. More anon! Be the first to know by joining our mailing list: sahsmuseum@gmail.com
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| Valerie Wint Source: Valerie Wint |
Slide Show - Our Museum in 5-min
GL: What has remained with you from your St.
Andrew High experience that has guided your career in education?
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| - Latin - |
Latin vocabulary
to learn, which I did not mind at all because in a way this was preparing me
for the London Matriculation, which we had to do in Sixth Form. We did Higher
Schools, which was, years later, changed to Advanced Level (A Level). I did
five subjects English Language, English Literature, Latin, French and
Geography. Nora Gray got married to Austin Smith,
while I was in the Sixth Form, and went on leave. Arrangements were made with Phillip Sherlock who was then Headmaster at Wolmer’s Boys. He used to send me
work to do translations from English into Latin and Latin into English. This
really helped me to improve my Latin. The work Mr. Sherlock did with me along
with what Nora had done with me earlier placed me in good stead for my
Matriculation Examination. The passages given to me to translate were passages
I had done already.
GL: What extra curricula activities were you
involved in?
AP: Netball, hockey and tennis. I was involved in the Library and the Gartshore Cup which I may have mentioned earlier as
these were among the things I enjoyed most at school. My house Cavell won the
cup every year as far as I can remember.
While I was Programme Manager my good
friend, Lucille Bubb-Clarke, who had started out at St. Andrew High School as a
small girl later shifted to Wolmer’s Girls. As President of the Women’s Club we were
involved in two charities Wortley Home and Verley Home, which we adopted.
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| St. Andrew Retain Hockey Title - 2010 - Girls with coach, Dr. Michelle Holt |
GL: What recommendations would u give
teachers today to help them face the present challenges?
AP: I was asked some time ago by more than one
person why I gave up the Headship of Wolmer’s. They just could not understand,
given I was such a good teacher why I had not returned to teach. There are two good reasons. Firstly, I
could not cope with the present generation of teachers and students and
secondly, the parents must learn that if they love a child they would never
spoil that child. You must be fair or seem to be fair. I can remember initiating the business of
organizing concerts at Wolmer’s to raise funds for the School, as we always had
need for money to meet the many needs at school. I had to be there on a Friday
afternoon. I would have you know that persons like Byron Lee would call and say
“Miss Pinto, I hear you are having a concert, would you like me to come and
play for you?"
The Flames would
telephone and offer to perform. Cover charge was Two Shillings and Six Pence
(2s 6p). The hall was overcrowded and I remember coming out saying “No more
admissions, the hall is crowded” You see, it was getting to be dangerous, so I
had to control the entrants. I
recall a group of boys sitting to the side near the walkway. One of them said “The
only reason you are not letting us in is because we are black” Immediately,
another boy sitting close by said “No. I won’t have you say that. Whatever she
is, she is fair and it does not matter what colour you are.” I must say that some teachers today not
necessarily at our School, don't speak very good English. In my day all
teachers spoke very well. We all
knew dialect but we did not talk dialect. There is a time and a place for
everything. I don’t accept dialect as a language. It is good to know a foreign
language or two. No matter what subject you teach, you should insist that the
children express themselves in English.
GL: Miss Pinto, can I ask you what
satisfaction you get from teaching?
AP: The satisfaction of knowing that thousands
of children have passed through my hands and that I have disciplined them. I
have taken away a prefect badge from a student who did not show the qualities
that I expected of a prefect. Let
me share a recent experience. A function was held to honour some of us for our many years of service. As I sat at the table, one of the girls came up
to me and asked if I
mind her sitting with me. I said "No, I am delighted
that you have come. I was actually feeling lonely and neglected sitting here by
myself." Well she said “I just had to talk with you Miss Pinto, because when I
was at school quite frankly I hated you. You disciplined me and I left school
without liking you. Now that I am an adult I appreciate what you did for me. I
must tell you that it is the training you gave me that contributed to my
success as a Bank Manager in New York” Others have also expressed their
appreciation in different ways and I feel good about the impact I had on so
many persons.
GL: Miss Pinto, my final question to you is,
how does the celebration of the 80th Anniversary of St. Andrew High
School make you feel?
AP: I am very pleased that the School has gone
on from strength to strength and I have always felt that there is a part of me
that is St. Andrew High School and St. Andrew High School is a part of me. I
have always had a love for and a loyalty to the School. No matter where I taught in any part of the world I would always remember St. Andrew High. It was while I was Headmistress at Wolmer’s High for Girls that I donated two cups; one in memory of Miss Gartshore and the other in
memory of Miss Doris Stockhausen to show my attachment and love for the
School. It was my father who
brought back the Pinto Shield so my name is there forever (she said with a
chuckle). I paid for it a number of years and then he died and the School
continued it.
GL: Miss Pinto, thank you so much for
sharing this quality time with me. Hearing about the Pinto Shield reminds me
that my invitation to you to attend the Inter-House Athletic Competitions with
me, on January 13, 2006 still stands. Bear
in mind that we will both represent Cavell. This concludes our feature about Miss Audrey de Sola Pinto. May she rest in peace for having lived "Life More Abundant"
SAHS in the News
- Joanne Chang Chen Sullivan recently won 3rd place for a painting competition in California. Congrats Joanne!
- We are pleased to announce that Yaneek Page's legal company Future Services International won the regional award for Women in Business category in the 2011 NCB Nation Builders' competition
- We also take this opportunity to congratulate Jamaica's ninth Prime Minister, the Hon. Andrew Holness. Note: PM Holness (then Minister of Education) officially opened our museum on 8/Apr/11
Thanks for stopping by today!
Today @5:30 p.m SAHS Parents Teachers Association
"An Evening of Culture"
31/Oct @4p.m: St. Andrew Old Girls' Association (SAOGA) Saint Awards. Last day for nominations. Please contact: Karen Henry, Selection Committee Chair, directly at: kmonique64@hotmail.com
02/Nov @8a.m - 2:00p.m: St. Andrew High School (SAHS) Gartshore Cup Competition (Home Economics) Venue: 10 Cecelio Ave, Kingston 10.
We welcome ideas, suggestions and thrive on feedback.
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