Sister Paul D’Ornellas, a tenured educator and Sister of St Joseph of Cluny, passed away yesterday at the age of 85 from cancer.
Paul, who had 35 years of teaching experience, had been principal of St Joseph's Convent, San Fernando, and St Joseph's Convent, Port-of-Spain.
Education Minister Anthony Garcia considered Paul an education icon and close comrade in the teaching profession.
“She was an educator par excellence. She was a mentor of thousands of students in the country and she shaped St Joseph’s Convent into the excellent school it is today. Under her leadership St Joseph’s blossomed,” Garcia said.
Garcia, who was also a former president of the T&T Unified Teachers Association (TTUTA), said Paul broke the glass ceiling in education—particularly when TTUTA was trying to establish itself as an official labour union.
“I remember when Sister Paul led the teachers of St Joseph’s to march around the Red House. Back then it was unthinkable for certain schools to march, but Sister Paul saw the plight of TTUTA as an important cause and she boldly led her teachers,” Garcia said.
“I was saddened to hear of her passing. I knew that she was terminally ill, and I spoke to Archbishop Joseph Harris to see how we could help make her life easier and more comfortable,” he said. (RE)