Hats Off to Reading at Mustique Primary School

Tue, Mar 6. 2012

by Laura Sargent
Mustique Primary School

The Mustique Primary School recently held their week-long tribute to literacy with “Hats Off to Reading.” The celebrations culminated on Thursday, March 1, 2012, with a grand performance and parade at the Mustique Community Centre.{{more}} Their theme, ‘Literature, Reflecting Our Culture,’ was expressed through five forms of Literature: Fiction, Poetry, Non-fiction, and Biography. Each class was assigned a form of Literature to celebrate, explore, then reflect in a final performance.

Bernadette Sandy’s Kindergarten and First Grade dedicated their performance to Fiction. Sandy’s energetic and creative talents were expressed with the students reciting, reading and performing literary favourites such as Ananci stories, Dr Seuss, The Dream, by Alex Brychta, Georgie Porgie, The Goose that Laid the Golden Egg , and an old favourite, Snow White.

Gailene John’s class of Grades 2 and 3 paid tribute to Poetry with her class performance entitled “Through the Eyes of Felix Dennis and Frank Roberts- Black and White” two highly respected Mustique resident poets. The students entertained the standing-room-only audience through originally choreographed performances, coupled with lively, rhythmic and emotional poetry readings, both individual and choral. Frank Roberts joined the group with a live poetry reading of his own work.

Grade 4, taught by Henry Peters, Headmaster, studied the realm of Non-Fiction. Adhering to the theme, Grade 4’s presentation was entitled “Mustique, Then and Now.” Each student researched different historical aspects of Mustique. They presented their well researched and composed papers, accompanied by a slide show. The impressed audience enjoyed histories of the Cotton House Hotel, Rutland Bay, Fort Shandy, the wreck of the cruise ship The Antilles, as well as a presentation of the various sculptures on Mustique.

Grades 5 and 6, led by their teacher, Sharon Caesar, demonstrated the Literature heading of Biography. Each student chose a special person on Mustique to interview. These were people who they felt best reflected the culture of the past and the development of the culture as it is now in 2012. Biographies of Ursula Trimmingham, Percival L. Trimmingham, Felicia Hazell, Theresa Lewis, Vincent Hutchins, Raymond Cecil Hazell (also known as Carlton Trimmingham), Basil Charles of Basil’s Bar and the former Prime Minister, James F. Mitchell were written and presented by the students, accompanied by a slide show.

The evening finished with a grand Hats Parade and song. The students fully enjoyed exploring their culture on Mustique through the literature forms of fiction, poetry, non-fiction, and biography. Students, parents, teachers and others who attended are still talking about the information and entertainment, which truly reflected the diverse and colourful culture unique to Mustique!