The History Club (The Investigators) of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School completed its Fourth Annual Educational Trip within theCaribbeanthis week. The April 6-11 trip was made toTortola, and the students were led by Janiera Challenger-Gibson of the Humanities Department of the ALHCS.
The Anguillian students were expected to visit the following places in Tortola; the Lower Estate Sugar Works built by the McClevery slaves, and the location of sugar production in the 1840s followed by cotton production in the 1900s; the Old Government House, built in 1880 an refurbished in 1926; the Virgin Islands Folk Museum where there are displays of Arawak and Carib pottery, stone tools including a decorated spindle; and artifacts from the wrecks of The Rhone and H.M.S. Nymph; Fort Burt, rebuilt by the English in 1776 and named after William Burt, former Governor of the Leeward Islands; and Little Fort National Park – site of a Spanish fortress where some masonry walls still exist on the hillside, including the ruins of a structure called Powder House. The trip also included an island tour ofTortolaand Virgin Gorda.
Students and parents were responsible for travel expenses which were partly met by fund-raising activities. With the completion of the trip, the students are now required to create a scrapbook highlighting their adventures. They were also required to keep a daily journal and were quizzed on many of the historical facts presented to them during their visits. Awards will be presented to the students for various outstanding disciplines and qualities demonstrated by them.
The purposes of the trip were to educate students about the region’s history; provide visual meaning to what is taught in the classroom; develop an appreciation for the history/culture of the region; make a connection with the past, and its influence on the present and future lives of the people of the region; and create and develop relationships with fellow Caribbean citizens.
The History Club of the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School was founded in October 2008 to encourage students to develop an appreciation for the history and culture of the region. Previous trips by the Anguilllian students were made to St. Kitts andDominicain 2009 andPuerto Ricoin 2010. There are approximately 35 active members of the History Club, 15 of whom participated in this week’s trip toTortola.
