PRIMARY & NURSERY SCHOOLS PROGRAMME FOR INDEPENDENCE
Celebrations to mark this island???s 47th Anniversary of Independence will continue at the nursery and primary level with a series of cultural activities next week.
Independence Day, which falls on Saturday, November 30, will be celebrated from November 25 – 29 through dance, song, and the sale of Bajan delicacies. In some cases there will be visits to schools by Bajan personalities and educational tours of the island.
At Government Hill Nursery School, a section of The Barbados Landship will visit from 11:30 a.m. on Monday, November 25, while on Tuesday, November 26, saxophonist, Fitzgerald ???Seaman??? Hunte will serenade the tiny tots. The school???s programme ends on Friday, November 29, with students performing songs, poems and dance under the theme: Dis Is We Culture. This starts at 9:00 a.m.
Erdiston Nursery School will begin with a flag-raising ceremony on Monday November 25, from 9:00 a.m. and a visit from Reverend Susan Ellis of St. Augustine Anglican Church. On Thursday, November 28, teachers will demonstrate local dishes while on Friday, November 29, there will be a concert at 9:00 a.m. and an Independence Food Fair from 1:00 p.m., under the theme: 47 years of Pride and Industry.
Our Roots, Our Heritage is the theme under which Eden Lodge Nursery School will showcase a number of stilt walkers, Mother Sally and the Green Monkey, when their programme is held on Friday, November 29. Popular calypsonian, Blood will also make an appearance and students will perform various folksongs.
Other nursery schools hosting Independence programmes on that day are Thelma Berry, Olga Miller and St. Giles. Thelma Berry???s Fantastic Family programme starts at 9:00 a.m. with children performing Landship movements and folksongs. Olga Miller???s will be celebrated under the theme Come Let???s Celebrate Our Barbadian Festival, while St. Giles??? will carry the theme: I Love Being Me. Both start at 9:30 a.m.
At the primary level, on Monday, November 25, Arthur Smith Primary will attend a church service at 10.00 a.m. at St. Matthias Anglican Church, St. Matthias, Christ Church. This will be followed at 11:00 a.m. with a march through the community by the uniformed groups, accompanied by the Graydon Sealy Secondary School Cadet Drum Corps, and a flag raising ceremony. There will also be the viewing of a photo gallery at the school in the afternoon.
With its focus on the importance of personal physical activity as a responsible citizen, the school has adopted the project theme of the Christ Church Parish Independence Committee – Moving Towards a Better You. As a result, from Tuesday, November 26 to Friday, November 29, students will engage in a cross country run, a fitness competition; old time games and football.
Westbury Primary School students will hold a flag-raising ceremony on Monday, November 25 from 9:00 a.m.; attend a church service, at St. Leonard???s Church on Tuesday, November 26, from 9:30 a.m. and host its Bajan Day from 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 29, featuring Mother Sally.
Over at Bay Primary, a flag-raising ceremony and a parade through the streets will be the highlight on Monday, November 25, from 9:30 a.m.; Tuesday, November 26 will be a 100% Bajan Exhibition, while Wednesday, November 27, is Games Day. Both start at 1:00 p.m. Bajan Day will be on Thursday, November 28.
Activities at Bay Primary end on Friday, November 29, with a school bus tour to places such as The Soil Conservation Unit, Haggatts, St. Andrew; The Concorde Museum, Grantley Adams International Airport, Christ Church; The Barbados Museum, The Garrison, St. Michael and the rugged East Coast, beginning at 9:00 a.m. The entire school will then have lunch at King George V Memorial Park.
ST. LEONARD???S BOYS??? FIVE-DAY INDEPENDENCE PROGRAMME
St. Leonard???s Boys??? Secondary School will host a series of activities from November 25 to 29, to mark Independence Day on Saturday, November 30.
The boys from Richmond Gap St. Michael, who recently embarked on their Donate a Dollar Day campaign to assist children with lupus and sickle cell, will begin the celebrations with a peek at Barbados years ago.
A video presentation called ???Movement to Independence???, which explores Barbados??? history from the time of the Amerindians to Independence, will be shown on Tuesday, November 26, while on Wednesday, November 27, the school will revisit ???The Local Railway??? and ???Pelican Island???.
The activities culminate on Friday, November 29, with a Cadet Parade on the Hard Court from 9:00 a.m. It will be under the command of Lt. Nurse and Guest-of-Honour will be former Deputy Principal, Karl Rawlins. On that same day and from 9:30 a.m. there will be volleyball and road tennis; a treasure hunt and the viewing of ???Glimpses of Old Barbadiana??? through various artifacts and photographs.
Display Booths featuring artistic and metal work done by students will also be set up and there will be a Concert/Talent Show from noon. Bajan delicacies will also be on sale.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb