Nursery and primary school students of Region Five were recently treated to a “reading tent” at Fort Wellington which helped to highlight literacy and the importance of shared reading.
Over 40 students from schools including Shieldstown, Bath, Waterloo, Liberty Hall, Bush Lot, Hopetown and Elparabel attended the event, which was part of the activities for Education month.
The students who were accompanied by their parents were also entertained by puppet shows and storytelling.
The sessions were conducted by District Education Officers (DEO) Marlyn Sears and Dolendrie Rupan of the nursery division and Chitrakha Rampersaud and Celeste La Rose of the primary section.
Rampersaud told Stabroek News that the event, which was declared open by Regional Education Officer, Urlene Crandon, would be a monthly feature until December.
The officers are also preparing for a parents’ seminar and Regional Art Competition, which would be held at the Mahaicony Community Centre on October 6.
Meanwhile, DEO of the secondary department, Leslyn Charles, said that a Visual Arts Exhibition was held at the Belladrum Secondary School and decorative crafts, arts, graphic designs and surface decorations such as tie-dye and batik were showcased. The exhibition, which saw the participation of schools including Bush Lot, Fort Wellington and Mahaicony Secondary, also highlighted deaf awareness.
A sign language demonstration was conducted by a resident, Lionel Spencer, while Winston Wilson, a volunteer art teacher at the Fort Wellington Secondary School demonstrated the basics of drawing.
A parent/teacher conference was held at each secondary school in the region under the theme: ‘Change: We can do it’. Among the topics discussed were Innovation in Education, Evaluating Lessons, and the Concepts of Child Friendly Schools. The strategies and action plans to address areas of weaknesses and strengths in the secondary school system in the region were also discussed.
Charles told this newspaper that another activity planned would be an exchange of schools, where teachers would be teaching at different schools for the day.
She said this would be done so that the teachers “can learn best practices at schools and make recommendations for improvements.”
