Newsletter
for alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and
Tobago, W.I.
Caracas,10
of March 2012 No.540
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear
Friends,
Here
are some emails on the idea of resurrecting and reviving The Abbey
School and at the same time fund partially the Monastery.
----------------------------------------------------
Subject:
IF THE ABBEY SCHOOL EXISTED TODAY.....
Sunday,
March 4, 2012 6:41 PM
My
dear friends,
I
believe it can become a reality if we get serious and do before some
foot work and investigation into the need of more international
schools.
We
need to develop the idea further, is it going to be only a day
school?
Would
we offer room and board for students from other geographical areas?
Only
primary and high school?
Why
not also a trade school?
They
have the facilities for that.
We
can sell shares for the students which can be redeem once they finish
to a new applicant thru the association of course with an increase in
price, they will get back only the initial investment.
Think
about it, if we can generate sufficient interest count me in I am
interested.
Saludos
to all the Knights of Mount Tabor
Oscar
Cantore
---------------------------------------------------------------------.
From:
Glen Mckoy <mckoy43glen@hotmail.com>
Date:
Sun, 4 Mar 2012 16:55:59 +0000
My
dear Shaun,
(Attn:
Andres Freytez, would like some feedback after reading this).
Excellent
feedback with real facts, this is the first time I have ever seen
some real figures, very good proposal.
A
lease may be the only way in, I like that, we have a few really great
business men in our group, who I know can make this idea a reality.
However
many are already rich and enjoying their investment.
I
like the idea that the entire alumni can buy into to it, well you are
the investment manage, I think the right people should be talking to
each other, it still sounds like private venture with invitations
only ?
George,
this is what you started ha! ha!
Dreaming
with your eyes open, welcome to the Club,
Glen
McKoy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------.
From:
sgianetti@mac.com
Date:
Sun, 4 Mar 2012 12:03:04 -0400
Here
is my 2 cents...
RE-OPEN
Abbey School as a business venture.
It
could EXIST again.
What?
The
priests can't do it.
They
don't have:
1.
Time
2.
The current expertise
3.
The Cash Flow
4.
The man power
BUT...
They
could lease it out to a new Abbey alumni business venture.
Back
drop:
Over
the past ten years we have seen quite a few new privately owned
schools emerge because of the dire need for quality
elementary/secondary education.
1.
International School of Port of Spain (ISPS) - American Curriculum
$20,000-$25,000/term
2.
Maple Leaf in Diego Martin - Canadian Curriculum - $13,500 + per term
3.
The British Academy - UK Curriculum - Age 10 and up - $10,000 -
$13,500/term
4.
Arbour (Girls) and Trimont (Boys) - Opus Dei - Kindergarden to
Secondary $6,500 - $9,000/term
5.
Trillium International School, Chaguanas - Canadian Curriculum -
$7,000-$10,000/term
The
need is still there for more schools like these.
Abbey
School building already has the infrastructure to be a great
International School again.
It
was the first in Trinidad.
But
monks are not business people.
And
at the time of its demise, was the beginning of a post boom
recession.
Failure
would have been for several reasons.
Staffing
issues, aging monks, cash flow etc.
But
now may very well be the right time again.
The
school building is probably in a sorry state, and may require at
least $500,000 to bring it up to a usable standard.
Maybe
more ($1M ?).
The
Playing field and swimming pool and tennis courts may need another
$500,000 or more. plus a proper School bus system to collection
points in P.O.S., Chaguanas etc to make accessibility a non-issue to
parents.
Plus
all the internal infrastructure needs.
New
labs, new desks, air conditioning, wi-fi, computer servers... the
works
Then
you would have to attract quality teachers with appropriate
standards.
My
two older boys attended an International School in Perth.
The
curriculum is way different than Trinidad.
But
NO CHILD is left behind.
Mind
you, their school has 1500 students from Kindergarden to year 12 and
is on 15 acres of land.
With
a full complement of 200 students at Abbey, could generate over $4.2
million per year in tuition fees plus an initial capital building fee
of $10,000 per child another $2M and another $300,000 per year with
new students per year thereafter.
A
minimum of 12 teachers @ $120,000 salary (min) plus clerical staff
and maintenance staff/labourers salaries should account for a little
over $2 Million per year.
Catering
could be outsourced.
What
could we lease the facility for?
Perhaps
$1 Million per year?
That
may be attractive to the Abbey Monks?
There
is room for growth and profit.
This
may be the investment we could all participate in and be proud to be
part of.
How
much money do you think the rehab centre is generating for the Monks?
Think
about it...
Shaun
Gianetti
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.
From:
nigelboos@yahoo.ca
Date:
Sun, 4 Mar 2012 17:24:36 -0700
Gentlemen,
The
idea of rejuvenating the Abbey School is an excellent one, and I
would certainly support it, insofar as I could.
HOWEVER,
before anything else can be done, it is imperative that a business
plan be properly drawn up and approved.
This
is NOT difficult.
The
various school fees already presented by Shaun Gianetti offer a
decent starting point from which to develop a plan.
Based
on his numbers, and since the proposed Abbey School II (call it
whatever you will) can also offer boarding facilities,
I
would assume that the expected school fees could be substantially
above those already being asked by other Trinidadian schools,
The
most expensive of which seems to be the $25-30K demanded by the
International School of Port of Spain.
Perhaps,
school fees, including boarding, laundry, meals, etc. could be in the
region of $50 - 60K per term., if we assume a student intake of say,
200 boys, then the revenue generated could be in the region of $200 x
50,000 x 3 = $30 Million to $200 x 60,000 x 3 = $36 Million per year.
I
do not live in TT, and have not done so since 1986, therefore I have
little idea what salaries school teachers can today demand.
However,
at the outset, the following real costs would need to be anticipated:
Repairs
to the School Building Immediately required
Repairs
to the Dormitories Immediately required
Supply
of beds
Immediately
required
Repairs
to the Swimming Pool (Can be deferred until, say, year 2)
Repairs
to the "grounds" Immediately required
Supply
of / repairs to desks Immediately required
Supply
of library books Immediately required
Contracts
re catering Immediately required
Teacher's
salaries
Details
of required staff to be obtained
Teaching
equipment
Details
to be obtained (Black / white boards, chemistry equipment, biology
equipment, etc. etc.)
And
so on and so on -----------
Now,
none of this can proceed without the approval of the Abbot and his
fellow monks, so that an exploratory meeting should be planned
between those interested and Fr. Abbot himself.
He
may like the idea, or he may squash it out of hand.
The
best anyone can do, I guess, is to ask for a meeting with him to open
up a discussion.
I'd
be very interested in helping to develop a business plan, once the
Abbot has no objection in general, to the idea.
Last
but not lease, I was very happy to get Salah's email address from
your email, since every message I've sent to him during the past 2-3
years has bounced back.
Regards,
guys.
Nigel
--------------------------------------------------------------------------.
On
2012-03-04, at 2:55 PM, Glen Mckoy wrote:
Dear
Salah,
Thank
you for the input my brother, it’s always good to hear from you,
I
know of the excellent job you have been doing in Montreal with the
schools, for so many years, and your mother also worked up at the
mount for so long.
I
know you are very dedicated to the education of the pan, cheers to
you and the support you already offered to Fr. Cuthbert.
I
will certainly pass this on to our brothers who are brave enough to
even talk about a mission that has always seemed impossible.
Wishing
you all the best and will certainly keep you in the loop of what may
or may not transpire.
Best
regards, Glen McKoy / Duncan's Cove/ Nova Scotia/ Canada.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------.
From:
sal_wils@hotmail.com
Date:
Sun, 4 Mar 2012 14:00:49 -0400
Glen,
Excellent
idea and hope that the other alumni brothers would see the
possibilities like I do.
In
1983/84 . I had returned to Trinidad and customarily I would visit
the Mount since my home was in the village ( St. John Village).
I
knew of the school continuing demise and had an idea and went to
Father Cuthbert and inquired of him about the possibilities of
starting a Steelpan program.
I
was just willing to give my services without cost.
After
all this was my school with irreplaceable memories.
Father
Cuthbert agreed and I actually started a Steelpan program that would
prepare some scouts to eventually go to Edmonton Canada on a trip.
I
did not do the trip because I was involved in other activities in
Trinidad at that time.
However
the trip was successful but the program could not continue because
the school was about to close its doors.
I
would be quite willing to contribute to such an incentive as Shaun
suggested.
If
such a school would come into being I would certainly want to
contribute my 2 cents of introducing a complete Steelpan program into
the School's curriculum ( after all Steelpan is now officially in the
public schools of Trinidad and Tobago) and I have been doing Steelpan
programs in the public schools of Montreal since I introduced it in
1991 and it continues to grow.
Regards
Salah
Wilson
----------------------------------------------------------.
On
Mar 4, 2012, at 11:07 AM, Glen Mckoy wrote:
My
Dear George,
What
if ?
Yes
if the school had continued, if a few of the Knights, who are
millionaires, one or two may be billionaires ha! ha!, if these
Knights had invested in the school it could have reached this height.
However
due to some small thinking people, any attempt to do something with
the school many years ago was chopped down, by selfish people who
never built anything of meaning.
The
next thing is location; Trinidad was a gem when we all attended the
mount, now Trinidad has one of the highest crime rate in the world
for its size.
Schools
like what you imagined do exist, but only in very stable countries.
Now
about Ladislao getting new material, I do think Ladislao has reached
a stage where doing everything by himself is exhausting, and I
suggest a fund to help this humble man continue to do what he does,
and many may not know, this man has a family.
I
am willing to give now US$100, to this cause, just set up an account
to send the money, and then I think he can then get some part-time
help to better organize.
Do
you know how many emails Ladislao has to read every day?
It
all takes time, and it’s his family time I am talking about, ask
his wife.
Anyhow
sorry for jumping on your email George maybe I needed an excuse to
express something that has been on my mind for some time now.
Anyhow
very good idea, in the right place, with the right investors, thank
you for this very interesting email.
Have
a good day my brother, I know you mean the best,
Thank
you, best regards to all my brothers.
I
remain yours faithfully,
Glen
George McKoy. / Nova Scotia / Canada.
----------------------------------------------------------.
From:
amickiew@att.net
Date:
Sun, 4 Mar 2012 08:08:23 -0600
Hi
Guys......
Let’s
get the juices rolling and start some new subject matter and
participation in the newsletter.
Looks
to me that Ladislao needs help in getting material.
Let’s
bring some fun into the process to increase coverage and
participation!
Please
add your thoughts and pass on this idea to your MSB related networks,
George
Some
thoughts to reflect on and imagine if the Abbey School was
functioning today:
*
Would our children or grandchildren be there?
*
All of the classes would be video based
*
It would be co-ed with resulting pregnancies, STDs and all that other
stuff
*
Would it still be a Catholic School?
*
Would there be a dressing, tattoo, body wear code?
*
Challenges for the monks and nuns: guns, knives, marijuana, cocaine,
crystal meth, heroine, and all that other fun stuff that kids bring
to school today
*
Kids being shot and overdosing
*
1 computer for each kid; would porn sites be blocked?
*
No library as everyone would have one of the very many different
electronic reading devices
*
Would parents forward to their kids the porn related videos and
PowerPoints that the “knights” share with one another today?
*
Video game rooms
*
Every kid over 16 would have a car
*
60 in plus HD-TV, with cable, DVD players and Playboy Channel
*
What would be the rating of the movies shown on Saturdays?
*
Would beer be served to the kids of North European origin, Rum to
Venezuelans and wine to those from the European “Latin” country
origins?
*
What kind of dancing would we see at the fetes?
*
Would there be scandals related to the teachers and students?
*
90% of the students would be obese
*
Would any sports be played? If yes, which?
*
Tuition would be fabulously high allowing only millionaires and
billionaires to send their kids to the GLOBALLY RENOWNED ABBEY
SCHOOL, MSB
*
A small airport would exist on top of one of the adjoining hills to
allow the private jets to land when mothers, fathers, significant
others, mistresses/misters, etc. from China, India, Europe, USA,
Canada, Latin America, etc. visited their kids.
*
There would no longer be any knights...there would only be rich,
spoiled punks.
Let
your imagination run wild and add yours......................
-----------------------------------------------------------..
Ladislao
Kertesz at kertesz11@yahoo.com,
Photos:
Mount
Inside MARCH 1966 page 11
55UN0001CLASS1961,
Father Augustine´s first class, he keeps the photo for all that come
to visit.
60UN0001LKEMENU,
Xmas menu for graduating class 1960
04FF0002FFR,
Fr. Francis at a clergy retirement house in Holland
