May 4, 2020
May 4, 2020
It was with great sadness that received the news that my former Hopefield Prep school teacher Doreen Clemetson had passed away. She was an inspirational teacher and role model.
Many of her pupils, including myself and my two siblings, experienced the challenges of being separated from friends and family as a consequence of having parents whose employment had required them to travel overseas for what would be a very different life in Jamaica. Doreen mitigated those concerns.
Un-kind behaviour of any kind was always swiftly addressed by Doreen and her pupils discovered that learning could be fun.
I particularly remember a commemoration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus, which tasked my mother with the creation of pantaloons and a ruff.
But, perhaps the most ambitious pupil challenge for my year group was the one which required us to re-create a Roman Fort, using basic cardboard materials.
Following my family’s return to the UK, my siblings and I discovered that Doreen had left us academically well ahead of our new UK class mates.
She will always be fondly remembered.
Karen Hurvid née Starkie
Many of her pupils, including myself and my two siblings, experienced the challenges of being separated from friends and family as a consequence of having parents whose employment had required them to travel overseas for what would be a very different life in Jamaica. Doreen mitigated those concerns.
Un-kind behaviour of any kind was always swiftly addressed by Doreen and her pupils discovered that learning could be fun.
I particularly remember a commemoration of the arrival of Christopher Columbus, which tasked my mother with the creation of pantaloons and a ruff.
But, perhaps the most ambitious pupil challenge for my year group was the one which required us to re-create a Roman Fort, using basic cardboard materials.
Following my family’s return to the UK, my siblings and I discovered that Doreen had left us academically well ahead of our new UK class mates.
She will always be fondly remembered.
Karen Hurvid née Starkie