Education Month 2023 will be celebrated in October through to early November under the theme A Bright Future for Every Child.
The Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training (METVT) will launch the celebrations on Monday, October 2, with a church service at the Collymore Rock Church of the Nazarene, St. Michael, starting at 9:30 a.m.
Education Minister Kay McConney, along with the Chief Education Officer, Dr. Ramona Archer-Bradshaw, will address the service, which will be attended by representatives from the staff and student bodies.
The following day, Tuesday, October 3, the Ministry will launch its Schools’ Jingle Competition for primary and secondary students. The winning jingle, which must reflect the theme for Education Month, will be used throughout the entire academic year at various ministry and school events. The winner will be announced and the jingle showcased at the final lunchtime concert slated for Wednesday, October 25.
On Wednesday, October 4, a poetry and speech competition entitled Poetry and Pontification will also be launched for primary and secondary schools. The competition is being held in association with the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation, in recognition of that organisation’s 60th anniversary. The finals, slated for October 30 and 31, will be televised.
Meanwhile, Wednesday, October 4, and Thursday, October 5, will be dedicated to the professional development of principals and teachers of primary and secondary schools. They will be exposed to training from Nearpod personnel during sessions to be conducted in the Dorothy King Training Centre of the Erdiston Teachers’ Training College, Pine Hill, St. Michael. These will run from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. each day.
From Wednesday, October 4, to Friday, October 6, a Mental Health Literacy Workshop, sponsored by the Pan American Health Organization and UNICEF, will be convened for select primary school principals and students.
The METVT, in partnership with Export Barbados, will also launch a secondary schools’ innovation challenge entitled Future Forward Schools’ Innovation Challenge 2023, on Monday, October 9. This challenge will feature seven-member multi-disciplinary student teams, which will each be required to research and creatively present an innovative solution to a real-world problem that Barbados currently faces.
Student teams will be exposed to workshops and coaching to assist them in their efforts. The four-month challenge will culminate with student presentations and an awards ceremony in February 2024.
The Schools’ Lunchtime Concerts will be staged on Wednesday, October 11, at Emerald City Supermarket, Six Roads, St. Philip, and again on Wednesday, October 25, at the Speightstown Esplanade, St. Peter. Both days will feature primary and secondary student performances in song, poetry, instruments, and dance.
On Tuesday, October 17, there will be a Primary School Healthy Beverage Face-Off. Students will be given the opportunity to create and prepare a healthy beverage; they will be expected to video record the process, including all ingredients used, and then upload this to Tik Tok for judging by a select panel.
The following day, Wednesday, October 18, a virtual panel discussion, on the topic Artificial Intelligence & 21st Century Education: Articulating the Fears, Embracing the Possibilities, will be hosted via the Media Resource Department’s YouTube channel at 6:00 p.m.
This discussion will feature local and international panellists, namely Dr. Rohan Jowallah from Florida; Marie Reid from The Bahamas; and Steven Williams and Dr. Colin Cumberbatch from Barbados.
Teachers’ Professional Day will be celebrated on Friday, October 20, and all public schools will be closed to students.
Thursday, October 26, is Mental Health and Wellness Day. Schools will focus on social and emotional awareness and other aspects of mental health. A regular teaching day, schools/institutions will be allowed to undertake mental health and wellness activities through school assembly sessions, class or group talks, and/or via classroom topics.
These will be conducted as part of regular teaching activities or through specially organised sessions for students, with presentations by teachers, guidance counsellors, school counsellors, and specially invited guests.
On Friday, October 27, primary and secondary schools will focus attention on promoting Healthy Youth through Physical Education (HYPE) Day. This will see students engaging in structured physical activity (locally or with guest instructors) and gaining pertinent information on the topics of health and physical fitness.
A collaborative effort, it will have the involvement of teachers in Physical Education, Health Education, Food and Nutrition, General Science and Agricultural Science departments.
Monday, October 30, has been dedicated to a Students’ Council Leadership Symposium, which is aimed at providing leadership training to leaders of the Students’ Council (Secondary).
On Tuesday, October 31, the Ministry will officially launch its annual Primary School Mental Math Competition. As the celebrations move into November, Third to Sixth form students pursuing Arts subjects will participate in arts sensitisation workshops entitled Youth in Arts.
These sessions, held in collaboration with The University of the West Indies’ Faculty of Culture, Creative and Performing Arts, will take place on Wednesday, November 8, and Friday, November 10, at The UWI.
They will cater to students interested in pursuing or currently pursuing Music, Theatre Arts, Dance, Visual Arts, and/or Cultural Studies. Sessions will also be held for students interested in Cinema and Digital Media.
Ministry of Education, Technological and Vocational Training