BASSETERRE, St. Kitts –THE Bronte Welsh Primary School, is celebrating its 20th Anniversary with a week of activities under the theme: ‘20 Years of Success; We are truly Making Progress’.
The school began on May 28, 1992, and replaced the Trinity Primary School which was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo in 1989.
The week of activities kicked off on Sunday (May 27) with staff, students and parents of the school worshipping together.
According to Principal of the school, Anthony Wiltshire, because of the holiday on May 28, no activities were held, but Tuesday (May 29) was dubbed T-shirt/Open Day when a number of displays made by the students were showcased.
“The exhibits are mainly from projects the students have been doing in the classroom, Science experiments, Social Studies projects on various persons in the community, namely Sir Probyn Inniss, and also various pictures of the school from the inception so one can see the progression made,” he said.
On Wednesday, (May 30), the Grade six students will be a part of a quiz which is sponsored by Island Purified Water and the children will be questioned on four subjects - language arts, social studies, science and mathematics.
Wiltshire said the quiz would also serve as a way to prepare the students for their upcoming Test of Standards which begins from June 12.
Thursday is their May Fair and they are inviting the general public, while on Friday, the students will be given the delicious treat of ice-cream for free.
The week of activities will climax with a variety concert next Friday (June 8), featuring past and present students of the school along with members of the community.
The T-shirts the teachers and students are wearing showcase the theme ‘20-Years of Success, We are truly making Progress’, on the front. It was composed by Grade six student Kimani Fraser while the back of the shirts read ‘Celebrating 20 Years of Unity’ and this was penned by grade five student Shemeal Morton.
“We are saying to the general public, 20 years is a long time and the school has impacted many people during that period, and it is expected that it will continue impacting the communities of Challengers, Stone Fort, Boyds, and West Farm,” Wiltshire said.
Since its inception, Bronte Welsh Primary has had five principals; Cordelia Inniss, Robert James, Evette Wallace, Dawn Hazel and Anthony Wiltshire.
The school was named after Nurse Bronte Welsh, who was said to not only impact the environs of the school but also the whole of St. Kitts and Nevis.
“She ascended to Superintendent Nurse and back in those days it was difficult for a black person to achieve that,” the Principal said.
According to the Caribbean icons website in 1957, she was the first local nurse to be appointed Superintendent of Public Health Nursing in St. Kitts. In 1963, she studied Public Health Administration at the Royal College of Nursing in London, England.
In 1971, Welsh retired from the public service and moved to the US Virgin Islands. In 1979, she suffered a fall, injuring her spine. After two years of surgeries and treatments in Puerto Rico and Boston, she returned to St. Kitts. She would never walk again.
She was born in 1918 and died in August 1997. Now the school proudly bears her name.
