BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – STUDENTS and teachers of the Maurice Hillier Memorial School brought the curtains down on their ‘No TV Week’ yesterday (May 18) with a parade through the streets of Basseterre, visually demonstrating the week’s focal points and theme.
Curious onlookers who dotted the route were able to get a sense of the academic institution’s emphasis for the LIME-sponsored week of activities through the use of placards, chants and creative garb.
The marchers assembled in the vicinity of the Springfield Cemetery and having made their way down Cayon Street, turned right onto Church Street, right onto Liverpool Row and onto the Bay Road. The parade flowed onto Fort Street and onto adjoining Victoria Road and culminated at the school’s premises.
The teachers and most of the students were dressed in purple T-shirts which carried the week’s theme - “School and Family Uniting to Transform Society”.
Others were bedecked in professional uniforms depictive of the career paths they would have chosen for themselves, including footballers, footballers and nurses.
Headmistress of the school Icilma Springer told SKNVibes that this particular theme was selected because of the urgent need for the school as a unit of society and the family as another to join forces in affirmatively affecting the lives of children.
“We are hoping that the family would join us as a school so that we can work together to encourage, to motivate and to have our children learning, not only the academics but learning physically, learning spiritually, learning socially…We find that most of our families are not working with us to encourage their children to learn, so we have a behavioural problem, we have an attitudinal problem, we have so many problems.”
The week – which ran from May 13 to May 18, was declared open by Community Affairs Director Azilla Clarke and included several activities. They included motivational speeches from prominent members in society such as Director of Youth Geoffrey Hanley and Speaker of the House Curtis Martin and a ‘Hats Off to Reading’ day.
During the week, all students were to abstain from watching television and focus more on reading and their family lives.
Springer said she hails the march and the week a success but expressed her hope that more parents would heed the theme and “come on board with us…”
LIME’s General Manager David Lake told this media house that the corporate entity was pleased to contribute to the week’s success and, more importantly, to the positive development of the students.
“LIME is delighted to again support the Maurice Hillier School in their efforts to encourage our young students to spend more time reading and less time watching TV. When we see the creativity of the costumes and unique design of the hats, we feel privileged to play a part in shaping these impressionable minds in a positive way.”
