If you just happen to pass by Holy Redeemer Primary School today and wondered what all the noise and excitement were about…. well we found out it was a day of celebration for the middle division. After months of preparation the standard one students today took a break from their regular classes to showcase culture...and it was hard for the teachers and all the students from the lower and upper divisions to resist joining in on the fun. But as explained by teachers Yolanda Sutherland and Julia Moore the occasion was more than just about dancing and eating.
Yolanda Sutherland, Head Teacher, Middle
“What we actually wanted them to do was to be more aware of their ethnicity so today is like coming out and knowing who you are, getting more in touch with your ethnicity.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
How many groups we have represented?
Yolanda Sutherland,
“Actually today we have six groups. We have the Garifuna, we have the Creole, we have the East Indians, the Mayans, the Mestizos, and the Mennonites.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And Julia I know when we attend these events it looks like a lot of fun but a lot of work goes into making today possible. Tell us about the preparations.
Julia Moore,
“Well it a lot of preparation went into this event. Teachers had to stay behind school yesterday until like seven o’clock in the night. They were here early to finish up with preparations. So a lot of work goes into this but also because of the parent’s support it made it a little easier for the teachers because we had parents behind here until seven last night working with teachers to get their classrooms ready so it shows that with parents support you get a lot out of it.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
And this is something I think all schools would like to see more of, parent support.
Yolanda Sutherland,
“Exactly, I wish more schools would follow indeed because I have some friends who teach in other schools and they also said they liked the idea and would want to do it next year.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
Are you teachers impressed with the costumes that the students are wearing?
Julia Moore,
“Yes because at first we thought it would have been hard for the students to get their costumes as we said but the parents did a lot, they went all out and got their costumes sewed and everything.”
We are not sure if the students will be graded for their performances but from what we saw of the effort they put in, they should all get a one hundred percent.
