Transforming Education: Imagine, Explore, Create is the theme chosen this year to mark Education Month in Barbados.
The month will be officially launched with a church service on Friday, October 2, at Christ Church Parish Church, at 10:00 a.m.
On Wednesday, October 7, there will be a concert at Sky Mall, Haggatt Hall, 12:30 p.m., and on Thursday, October 8, prose and poetry will be read from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the amphitheatre of the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, Elsie Payne Complex, Constitution Road, St. Michael.
Friday, October 9, will see the official opening, at 10:00 a.m., of the New Horizons Academy – a school aimed at helping at-risk students – located at Pine Hill, St. Michael. The following day, Saturday, October 10, the Barbados Association of Reading will host an evening of storytelling, dubbed Crick Crack, on the lawns of Erdiston Teachers??? Training College for students of all ages. It starts at 4:00 p.m.
The schedule for the next week will include a heritage walk through Bridgetown on Sunday, October 11, from 4:00 p.m.; a youth conference, at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, on Tuesday, October 13, from 9:00 a.m.; a concert at Emerald City, St. Philip, on Wednesday, October 14, at 12:30 p.m., and prose and poetry reading will continue on Thursday, October 15, at 11:30 a.m. in the Ministry???s amphitheatre.
Friday, October 16, is Teachers??? Professional Day, and principals and teachers have been encouraged to plan activities for their own self-development.??On Sunday, October 18, the 1.5k and 5k walk/run will move off from the Ministry at 4:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, October 20, the annual EduNation Forum at the Queen???s Park Steel Shed will facilitate the views of students and educators on the topic: Education & Economic Opportunities in CARICOM: Barbados on the Eve of Its 50th Year of Independence.
A concert has been planned for the Speightstown Esplanade on Wednesday, October 21; on Thursday, October 22, prose and poetry reading will again occur in the Ministry???s amphitheatre; and on Friday, October 23, an Education Parade and lunchtime concert will be held in Queen???s Park.
A highlight of Education Month will be EduMarket and Q in the Community, which is expected to draw a large crowd at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic, Wildey, St. Michael, on Saturday, October 24.
Other activities, with educators and their family in mind, include: the Heritage Bus Ride on Sunday, October 25, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.; Teachers??? Appreciation Day on Tuesday, October 27; The John Cumberbatch Memorial Lecture on Wednesday, October 28; and a 20/20 cricket Match between the Ministry and tertiary level institutions on Friday, October 30, at the 3Ws Oval, Cave Hill, at 6:00 p.m.
Education Month culminates officially on November 4, with a concert at the Barbados Cruise Terminal.??Members of the public are invited to participate in the events to mark Education Month.
joy-ann.gill@barbados.gov.bb