The Omololu International School successfully hosted a visiting class from Learning Unlimited School, a private school in St Maarten. The tour was ably conducted on Friday 15 May by the grade five pupils, of the Omololu School, who escorted the visitors to various points of interest. One of the highlights of the tour was when the pupils demonstrated the technological advances of the school by allowing the visitors to engage with the learning pads. They guided them on how to correctly use the learning pads – directed them to log on to the you-tube video of the school that they created (so that anyone could view if he/she wished to know more about the school). They also demonstrated how individual pupils could be allowed to do extension work in a lesson, or go on to another subject at the discretion of the teacher, because of the one to one ratio with the learning pads.
This was the first time that the Omololu School hosted a visiting school and the Principal, Mr Scheer, was happy that the exchange was made possible and that the pupils were able to spend some time together. He anticipates a good international partnership between the two schools. Already, they have a couple of things going on, including a pen pal project with the grade four pupils, and he would like to extend it to doing things other things like sports competition and weekend exchanges. As he said, “I think it is really a great opportunity and the possibilities are endless to the things we can do together.”
The trip was the brainchild of Miss A. President, Head of Learning Unlimited Primary. This is the sixth year that she has brought her class five pupils to Anguilla for a weekend camp, and visit with a school. It is her pupils’ final year in elementary school and, as a graduation gift, she wishes to create for them nice memories they will never forget. A parent of one of the visiting school children said, “This is part of her enjoying a weekend with her students. They’ve been working hard all year through and this is just a way to come together, have fun, leave the electronics at home, bond together more as a class and visit places.”
Miss President wanted her class to have a different cultural experience and meet with other grade 5 pupils here in Anguilla and experience what their school day is like. She wanted them to “step out of their box of Learning Unlimited School. Some of them have never visited another school before, so this is their first time being at another school and interacting with children from another culture.” It is also their first time visiting a radio station (Up Beat Radio), and have a live broadcast on air, and go camping without electronics, as well.
One of the volunteer parents said she wished to have the novel experience of seeing these electronic-age children being able to do without the electronics for the weekend, and going back to basics with the experience of camping.
The parents accompanying the pupils thought that the Omololu School was amazing for, as one of them commented, “Such a small place has such a nice school… I have to say for a small school they are very well set up.”
