The First Naparima Scout Troop was started under Scout Master SK Ramsingh, aided by students from First Gasparillo Scout Troop, which gave us the Baden-Powell experience of living the Scout oath of duty to Queen and country, helpfulness and obedience while acquiring expertise in camp lore and craft. Overtaken by his busy schedule, which included teaching, Rev Lute added a school chaplain to fill the spiritual needs of students. 
Rev Lawrence Purdy was much appreciated for his guidance, wit and cartooning skills. The introduction of Home Room double periods at Sixth Forms encouraged students to discuss topics outside the curriculum, sharpen intellectual curiosity and acquire a love of life-long learning. 

Our Masters and the Academic Ethos 

The masters were a diverse group of university grads, HC-certified, or recipients of degrees or licentiates obtained through correspondence courses. All wore ties and some wore jackets and ties. Some had been imported from Codrington College, Barbados, during the war when there was a shortage of degreed masters. One who was from Guyana and a graduate of McGill practised the formality of Victorian social mores and soothed his voice with Zubes lozenges, for which he was nicknamed to his chagrin. He ran the bookstore. 
Another was a Bajan whose teaching techniques included addressing recalcitrant boys as “my dear darling goat/jackass” to their humiliation and the hilarity of their colleagues. 
James Lee Wah taught literature at Naps and was an indefatigable proponent of the dramatic arts. Many students fell under his spell and followed him after graduation into stage and media careers. He initiated the South Secondary Schools Drama Festival to much acclaim. 
Julius Hamilton Maurice was an urbane literary savant and educationist and former director of education in Dominica, who left to become President of the Senate under the PNM government. 
Scofield Pilgrim, sports master, introduced jazz to the boys through concerts featuring top island performers. 
Dr Ishmael Jim Baksh would publish two Caribbean-themed novels in Canada: Black Light and Out of Darkness. Dr Allan McKenzie would become the second local and first lay principal of Naps and transform the school into a premier boys’ college in the island for both academic and sporting achievements. 
The year Rev Lute started, the undercurrent of political independence began to manifest itself and a Naps graduate and legendary teacher of literature who expected the principalship resigned and went to teach at Queen’s Royal College, where he later became principal. 
This left a disgruntled staff component and the academic success of the school began slipping until only a few of the brightest boys were able to secure Grade I certificates in the Senior Cambridge Examinations. While the school rebuilding proceeded apace, with Rev Lute marshalling considerable fund-raising skills in Trinidad and Canada, including assistance from the authorities at Pointe-a-Pierre refinery, where he was occasional minister to the expatriates at the St Peter’s camp church, the academic and sporting programmes under the tutelage of the masters slipped into mediocrity. 
Naps never won the South InterCol championship during my years of attendance. 
The HC classes were still performing well and many students were runners-up for the Modern Studies scholarship each year. 
In 1957, Dr Larry Lutchmansingh finally made the break-through and won the first Island Scholarship by a boy at a South school. 
Two boys from Naps, Jacob Laltoo (1913) and Dr Winston Mahabir (1940), had won scholarships after transferring to QRC thereby confirming the superiority of the Port of Spain schools. 
An interesting historic footnote: three sons of Rev Dr John Morton, the first Canadian missionary, won Island Scholarships from QRC: AS Morton in 1887; Harvey H Morton in 1890 and WC Morton in 1892 before Naps was founded in 1894). 
According to a report in the 1946 Olympian: “Outstanding among the graduates was Premchand Ratan, who led the island in the School Certificate Examination, making distinction in every subject. Ratan won not only the Hon T Roodal’s Medal, but also the Jerningham Silver medal, the only Naparima student to do this since Scott Fraser in 1913.” 
It appears Scott Fraser made Naps the first South school to win this medal in 1913. Sylvia Ramcharan then put Naps on the map by winning its first Island Scholarship in 1943. Kathleen Smith followed by winning the first girls’ scholarship offered by the Government in 1946 and Alma Lum Ser reprised in 1954. The girls had set the scholarship pace after which the boys followed. Finding accounts of these achievers in old library copies of the school magazine, the Olympian, started by Ralph Laltoo in 1945, encouraged me to think I, too, might be able to emulate them. With focused and determined effort, in 1961 I became only the second boy in attendance at a South school to win an Island Scholarship (Modern Studies). The other three scholarships, Languages, Mathematics and Science, were won by St Mary’s and I was told many years later by the Languages scholar who had become a close friend in Canada, that I had prevented a St Mary’s clean sweep, which may have been a kind of poetic justice after the soccer InterCol debacle of 1953. My scholarship confirmed that South schools were capable of outperforming the North schools. The psychological barrier was broken for good. The next year Presentation won the Jerningham Gold Medal for first place in the island scholarships, and the Language and Modern Studies scholarships. 
Source:  Trinidad Express
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When NASA’s Langley Research Center built its newest, state-of-the-art research facility in Hampton, Va., it was only right that they named it after Katherine Johnson, the NASA engineer and subject of the book and Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures.
“You want my honest answer? I think they’re crazy,” the 99-year-old math genius said when she heard about the naming of the Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility. The building was dedicated on Sept. 22 in a ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and students from Black Girls Code and the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program.
The $23 million, 37,000-square-foot data center is named after Johnson, who broke the glass ceiling for black women in the space program. In 2015 Johnson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work as a trailblazer in the space program.
When NASA began calculating their orbital missions using electronic computers in 1962, astronauts were wary of the technology. To make sure he would be safe, John Glenn instructed scientists to “get the girl,” referring to his trust in the hand calculations by Johnson, NASA’s “human computer.”
 Margot Lee Shetterly, the author of the book that inspired the movie, was the keynote speaker at the event. “Telling your story has been an honor,” she said. “Your work changed our history and your history has changed our future.”
Read more at NASA.gov.
Source:  theroot.com

Seventy-one cruise ships are expected to visit Trinidad and Tobago this cruise ship season.
Speaking at the call of the first cruise ship, the Caribbean Princess, on Sunday, Tourism Minister Shamfa Cudjoe said T&T was originally scheduled to receive 47 calls, 23 calls with a passenger count of 60,958 persons in Trinidad, and 24 calls with a passenger count of 75,451 persons in Tobago.
The additional calls for the 2017/2018 cruise season come as a result of the recent hurricanes which left some islands ruined. There will now be 23 additional calls to Tobago (from Seabourne Cruise Lines, Carnival UK, TUI Cruises, Fred Olsen Cruises and Thomson Cruises) and one additional call to Trinidad from the Fred Olsen Cruises.
The cruise industry is still the fastest-growing segment of the worldwide leisure travel market; experiencing an average passenger growth rate of seven percent per annum since 1980.
For the period January to June 2017, Caribbean cruise arrivals stood at 15.3 million, a 4.0 percent increase on the corresponding period of 2016. This represented the largest number of cruise passengers in the region at this time of year.
While the recent natural disasters have put a damper on this year’s cruise season, the Caribbean region, including T&T, are committed to keeping business within the region and promoting the viability of a strong Caribbean Brand.
The Ministry of Tourism treated the cruise passengers to a little taste of T&T with a fun and vibrant cultural welcome and departure. The 3,756 passengers on board, also got a taste of fruit wines, chocolate, traditional cocoa tea and other culinary delights from the Lopinot Tourism Association as well as a taste of doubles and fresh coconut water.
The Ministry of Tourism will be providing cultural entertainment throughout the season from the moment our international guests arrive.
The Craft and Shopping Market within the Port-of-Spain Cruise Complex is also showcasing the artwork of our local small entrepreneurs. Over 20 trained and highly experienced visitor guides will be strategically positioned on the streets of the capital city and on Brian Lara Promenade to offer guidance and assistance to cruise passengers who opt to explore the sites and attractions within the Port of Spain area.
There will also be translator services for passengers as some 38 percent of arrivals for 2017 are French-speaking passengers, as well as free Wi-Fi services at the Cruise Ship Hall. The Ministry of Tourism is also working with the tour operators to upgrade the variety of on-shore activities and tours available for cruise passengers.  Source: The Loop

An historic bridge in Marabella collapsed yesterday, days after residents of Bayshore pleaded for help to repair the derelict structure.
The bridge, which was over 100 years old, was used as part of the train line in Marabella. It collapsed in the river yesterday.
More than 12 families have now been left with no access in and out of their homes.
The community is also without a water supply because the pipeline was ruptured as the bridge fell.
Only last week residents expressed fear that the bridge would collapse and appealed to authorities to fix the steel and concrete structure.
The dilapidated bridge, accessible through Theresa Street Extension, was closed by the San Fernando City Corporation earlier this year. However, residents still risked their lives to cross the rickety bridge while others used a lonely, bushy track to access their homes.
One of the last people to cross the bridge before it collapsed shortly after noon was a 14-year-old girl.
“As she come inside we just heard a loud crash and everybody run out,” said her mother Makebe Wildman.
She said most of the bridge fell into the river. Wildman said her two children, ages five and 11, had crossed the bridge earlier in the day because their school had dismissed early.
“They had no choice but to use the bridge because there is nowhere else for them to pass,” Wildman said.
She also complained that the track, which runs alongside a drain, is overgrown with bush, muddy and lonely. Wildman also said residents in the “rich people” area were opposed to them using the track and attempts have been made to block the track.
“We already don’t have current, so we are in the dark, and now we have no water now. We have nowhere to pass and the longest while now we calling the MP and we not getting through,” she lamented.
Wildman said she may have no choice but to keep her children home from school today. The roadway is also caving and cracks have already reached a resident’s property. She had also appealed to the authorities to intervene before the situation worsens.
MAYOR SEEKING SOLUTION
San Fernando Mayor Junia Regrello said he was aware of the situation. He said two weeks ago the matter was raised in a council meeting. He said they sent correspondence to MP Faris Al-Rawi, who in turn forwarded it to Works Minister Rohan Sinanan.
“Tenders went out, proposals were done and we are awaiting feedback on when repairs will start,” said the mayor, who applauded Al-Rawi and Sinanan for their quick response in the matter. He said although the dilapidated bridge was closed several months ago it began to deteriorate at a fast rate following the bad weather. Regrello said a team will be visiting the site to assess the situation and look at what arrangements could be made for the residents.
Just two months ago San Fernando commemorated the 50th anniversary of the instalation of locomotive Engine No 11, which would have crossed that bridge, at Harris Promenade, San Fernando. Source:  Trinidadian Guardian, Nov 3, 2017

Eighty-three deep-sea species, with several new to science, have been discovered offshore in two new deep-sea cold-seep habitats east of Trinidad and south of Tobago by two local marine biologists. The marine biologists are Drs Diva Amon and Judith Gobin.
“There are at least five species of deep-sea animals, including a purple octopus, that are completely new to science,” Amon, a Trini-British post doctoral researcher said in a release.
Species of a purple octopus, a white sponge and an orange anemone were also discovered and being new to science, she said, do not yet have names.
The discovery, made almost a mile deep, reveals important information about the biodiversity of the deep ocean around Trinidad and Tobago, and enables comparisons with similar habitats elsewhere in the Caribbean. “These communities are absolutely amazing, hundreds of thousands of eight-inch deep-sea mussels, as well as three-foot tubeworms, crabs, shrimp, snails and fishes were found living at the seeps between 1,000 and 1,650 metres depth,” Amon said.
“Many of the animals are also poorly understood, such as a species of eelpout fish that lives amongst the mussels, Pachycara caribbaeum, that is known from only one other small site in the Cayman Trench,” she said.
Unfortunately, these newly discovered areas are already under threat.
The cold seeps, potentially ecologically and biologically significant sreas, will likely be irreparably damaged by drilling and associated oil and gas activities, she said. Scientific research in this area is struggling to keep up with such commercial activities and without targeted actions, Amon said, these species and their habitats may be lost before they are even studied.
The cold-seep sites and the associated fauna were an exciting find which Gobin of the Department of Life Sciences at The University of the West Indies St Augustine Campus said, “I can now use, as real examples, our own deep-sea for my students. I am extremely pleased to be engaging in this cutting-edge exploration and science in Trinidad and Tobago waters.”
The two new sites have been named after female folklore characters, La Diablesse and Mama D’Leau.
Another 85 further possible seep sites were detected, which indicate the deep-sea habitats may be widespread in Trinidad and Tobago waters.
The sites were discovered in several of the deepwater oil and gas lease blocks that are currently being explored and will soon be exploited.
“As a result, we, the authors of the study, have suggested a number of recommendations for the stewardship and conservation of these deep-sea habitats,” Amon said.
Cold seeps are areas where fluids rich in hydrogen sulphide and methane leak from the sea floor, similar to hydrothermal vents. This fluid provides the energy to sustain large communities of life in the harsh conditions that exist in the deep sea (no light, approximately four degree centigrade temperature and more than 100 atmospheres of pressure).  Source:  Trinidad and Tobago Newsday, Nov. 3, 2018