October is Education Month in Barbados, and this year it will be celebrated under the theme: Education: Fifty and Beyond.
The Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation will officially launch the month’s activities with a church service on Monday, October 3, at the Mile and A Quarter Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Hopeland, St. Peter. It commences at 10:00 a.m., and will be addressed by Education Minister, Ronald Jones.
On Wednesday, October 5, the first in a series of mall concerts will take place at the Speightstown Esplanade, St. Peter, featuring schools in the north.
On Friday, October 7, there will be an educational parade from 9:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., starting at Queen’s Park. It will travel along St. Michael’s Row to Wharf Road, on to Broad Street and back to Queen’s Park. Six thousand students, along with teachers from nursery, primary and secondary schools, will join officials from the Ministry and other institutions on the route.
On Tuesday, October 11, the annual EduNation Forum for secondary schools will be hosted at the Queen’s Park Steel Shed. This event, which gets under way at 9:30 a.m., will see student leaders from public and private secondary school participating in a panel discussion on the topic: My Vision For Barbados. The event will be addressed by Education Minister, Ronald Jones.
The following day, Wednesday, October 12, another mall concert will take place at Emerald, City, Six Roads, St. Philip, at noon.
From Sunday, October 16, to Wednesday, October 19, the Higher Education Development Unit, in conjunction with the Education Research Consortium, will host the 5th International Conference on Higher Education, at the Hilton Barbados Resort.
It will explore the theme: Vision, Leadership & Engagement: Transforming Education in Barbados. Prime Minister Freundel Stuart will officially open the conference at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 16.
Representatives and facilitators from regional and extra-regional institutions who are partners in education, such as Wheelock College, Boston; and Coppin State, Baltimore, will be in attendance. The third day of the conference, Tuesday, October 18, will have as a highlight a symposium on Renewable Energy, from 9:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 19 will also see the third concert being held at Sky Mall, Haggatt Hall, St. Michael, beginning at noon.
On Thursday, October 20, staff of the Ministry, teachers and students will read original and well-loved works from the past when Prose and Poetry is held in the amphitheatre of the Ministry’s headquarters at the Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, St. Michael. It runs from 11:30 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.
Friday, October 21, has been designated Teachers’ Professional Day, and principals and teachers will be engaged in activities to enhance professional development.
On Wednesday, October 26, the last in the concerts at noon will be held at Sheraton Mall, Christ Church. This will be followed later by educators and others attending the John Cumberbatch Memorial Lecture, at Almond Bay Conference Centre, Hastings, at 6:00 p.m. Senior Consultant to the Minister of Education in Jamaica, Robert Millar, will address the topic: Trade Unions Under Threat: But Resolute Steadfast and Unswerving.
The following day, Thursday, October 27, there will be a Health Day for staff at the Ministry. A 20/20 cricket match on Friday, October 28, has been planned for Rices, St. Philip. The match, which begins at 6:00 p.m., will see the Ministry playing against a team from the National Sports Council.
Education Month culminates with a Heritage Bus Ride on Sunday, October 29, starting at the Ministry’s headquarters. Members of the public are invited to participate in some of the events to mark Education Month.
Click [media-downloader media_id=”21058″ texts=”here”] to download the 2016 Education Month calendar. The above photography courtesy of the Media Resource Department (MRD) of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb