Avia Ustanny, Outlook Writer
Viviene Wellington with son Sean and daughters Shawna-Kaye (third left) and Trishana. - Contributed
Viviene Wellington, physical education and science teacher at Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High School, is excited about the start of another school year, this in spite of the fact that she was recently hospitalised with hypertension.
The last two years have been excellent ones for the 26-year teaching veteran.
In both 2005 and 2006, 100 per cent of her students gained passes in physical education at CXC, with many obtaining distinctions and credits. Her integrated science and human and social biology students have also done well.
Now, she is planning the new term as if she will be preparing participants for the Olympics.
"You have to start with a bang and end with a bang. I have to sell the subject to the students - get them to love it. After that it's easy."
Viviene Wellington dances for and sings to the students in her science class, rapping to them dancehall style to get them engaged in the subject matter.
Her passion for her subjects and students alike is obvious, and they return her love.
Hard worker
Winsome O'Connor, a vice-principal at Tivoli Gardens Compre-hensive High, told Outlook, "She is a hard-working teacher.
"She put effort into working with her classes. In teaching she goes beyond the call of duty. We have a lot of slow learners, we do not get the cream of the crop. They need a lot of extra effort to bring them to the point of examinations.
"In her subject area, she will use evenings and sometimes come during holidays to work with them. She is a focused individual who wants to see students succeed."
Born at the Victoria Jubilee Hospital 50 years ago, Viviene grew up at 15 Collies Road in Olympic Gardens with dad, landlord and farmer Charles Wellington, and mother Linette Wellington.
Among her six siblings - two sisters and four brothers, Viviene was the tomboy who created sports fields in the community and would gallop to the finish line. She always came first.
She attended Balmadgie Primary and Trench Town Comprehensive schools and at Trench Town she played netball and other sports, which earned her the award for best all-rounder and the position of netball team captain.
She moved on to Shortwood Teachers' College where she also represented the institution in netball. At Merl Grove High School where she did her internship, she began teaching this physical education.
Her choice of teaching she said, was affected by her Seventh-day Adventist upbringing.
"From a child we were taught how to choose careers which would not interfere with our beliefs."
After graduation from Shortwood, Wellington worked with the Social Development Commission in the area of sports and did training in netball abroad, before coming back to be one of the first degree students at Jose Marti High School.
Gymnastics club
In 1977, Viviene Wellington was employed by principal Jeanette Grant-Woodham at Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive to teach physical education. Her engagement was immediately intensive, as the young teacher also created a gymnastics club and entered the National Festival in this field. By her second year, she was also a science teacher, as she asked for this subject as well.
Viviene Wellington, over the years, has pursued her first love, physical education, with enthusiasms, attending every seminar that was made available to her.
Today, Viviene Wellington is ecstatic about the decision of the authorities to finally make physical education a subject for examination, noting that in almost every career field, one can find a niche for sports, these including sports medicine, sports psychology and sports administration.
Mental stress
"Physical education makes the child rounded physically, mentally and socially, intellectually and spiritually. It releases mental stress and aids good performance in other academic areas. Spiritually, it teaches you acceptance, whether you are winning or losing. It adds confidence and helps participants to learn to interact socially."
Physically, she notes, P.E. develops the body, aiding in digestion and the working of all other organs. Finally, she adds, achievement in sports can lead to national and international recognition, in addition to greater earning potential akin to that enjoyed by Asafa Powel - the 100 metre world record holder.
Viviene, who just celebrated her 50th birthday on September 3, is satisfied with what she has done with her life. Also a grade coordinator, house coordinator and netball camp coordinator she exclaims, "I have enjoyed working with children."
Now that her own children - son Sean and daughters Trishanna and Shawna-Kaye - are away from home, she is fostering a second child - 13-year-old Adrian, a ninth grader at Tivoli Comprehensive.
Hugs and kisses
Adrian loves his aunty, giving her spontaneous hugs and kisses. He is quite willing to admit that he cooks for his foster mother sometimes. He also goes walking with her in the mornings before school, providing her with the companionship she needs. Sean and Shawna-Kaye (a nurse) now reside and work in the United States. Trishana is a mass communications student at Northern Caribbean University in Mandeville.
At home, Viviene Wellington enjoys gardening but says her mind is always on her students. "I am programmed to teaching." For the new school year, she will do what she always does: "I finish the syllabus fast and then go into examination techniques so that the students will be well prepared. I sing to my students all the while. Some might pass by and wonder if I am really a teacher."
Her students, however, who excel in examinations and also do well later in life, know that they have received what was freely given by this woman. They have been taught.
"I love teaching," she concludes. "It's a joy."
