BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – KINDERGARTEN children at the Maurice Hillier Memorial Junior School are set to be thrilled with the addition of the newly-installed PlayLand on the school grounds.
At a ceremony yesterday afternoon (May 7), the playground was officially opened in the presence of staff, students and their parents, and Chairman of the School’s Board Rev. Dr. Wycherley Gumbs.
Hula hoops, bouncing castles, balls, and kid-sized toy horses and cars are among the toys assembled throughout PlayLand. The area boasts decorations in bright, vivid colours and will eventually even include a sandpit for the children to play in.
The idea for the project blossomed when Avril Noel, a kindergarten teacher at the school, attended a transition workshop conducted by the Early Childhood Development Unit (ECDU). The workshop is one of the components of the ECDU’s Transition Programme, which aims to sensitise kindergarten teachers to the needs of preschoolers so they can have a smooth transition from preschool to primary school.
According to Noel, the workshop inspired her to make her dreams a reality.
“For many years I had dreamed of creating a playground for our children. But due to a lack of funds, I became despondent. One of the ECDU workshop’s focus areas was on the importance of playtime as an important ingredient for a smooth transition.
“Being imbued with the knowledge encouraged me to pursue my dream. When the workshop concluded, I immediately set about putting my idea into action.”
Project Coordinator of the Transition Programme, Jacquelyn Morris called the PlayLand a testimony to the commitment of Noel and her colleagues. She revealed that the playground was the first of its kind in a primary school in the Federation and encouraged other teachers to follow Noel’s example.
“I believe this is the first time in the Federation that such a playground has been opened within a school. It testifies the commitment of Noel and her colleagues to the Transition Implementation Plan and to the ECDU’s expectation of the results of the Programme. It also demonstrates that the vision of the ECDU is very much attainable and it has significance for replication in all the other kindergarten classes,” Morris noted.
The Transition Programme began in the late 1990s and has trained over 60 of the Federation’s kindergarten teachers. The Programme has seen the successful completion of four phases, which include having preschoolers spend a few hours each day at nearby primary schools and the introduction of workshops to expose kindergarten teachers to the preschool curriculum.
