Veteran educator the late Sybil Strachan was honoured during a ceremony yesterday at the Carmichael Primary School which was renamed in her honour.

The school was officially renamed the Sybil Strachan Primary School and some of the nation’s leaders attended the ceremony some to honour Mrs. Strachan’s contributions to education in The Bahamas.
Governor General Dame Marguerite Pindling, Prime Minister Perry Christie and other government officials were all present at the ceremony.

Prime Minister Christie honoured the late Sybil Strachan for her 17-year contribution to the school that now bears her name.

“Whether it’s a preschool, primary school or junior school, we need to realize that this is where the work must be done,” said the prime minister.

“It is in that context that I pay tribute to an honouree this morning. The renaming of the school to the Sybil Strachan Primary School to me is a very fitting tribute to this woman because it marks a woman who was possessed of a pioneering, patriotic and progressive spirit and she brought that with her every day to work.

Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald also gave remarks during yesterday’s ceremony. He said Mrs. Strachan was one of a kind. He called her an educator that walked in excellence and one who always displayed great leadership.

“Educators as we all know are role models after whom many of us try to pattern our lives,” he said.

“They give us high standards by which to live by, goals to aim for and someone who we look up to and try our very best to emulate. Mrs. Sybil Strachan was one such educator and so I am both privileged and indeed pleased to speak this morning at the renaming of the Carmichael Primary School in her honour.”

Family members of Mrs. Strachan were also present at the ceremony and accepted the honour in her absence.

Her son, Courtney Strachan Jr., thanked the government for recognizing his mother’s contribution on behalf of his family.
“I charge educators to continue on her legacy,” he said.

“Some of her former colleagues are here along with members of our family and we are all so excited that she is being named patron of this school. Again, I would like to thank the government on behalf of my family for this honour. To you all we wish God’s richest blessings.”

Following the ceremony the school’s new sign and plaque were revealed. A complete tour of the school followed, which was led by the current principal Mr. Earl A. Smith.

Mrs. Strachan became the principal of Carmichael Primary in 1973 while the school was still located on Golden Isles Road, the site of the current detention center.

She remained principal there until 1990 when she transferred to Claridge Primary School where she ended what would be a career in the field of education that spanned nearly half a decade.