Students at the Vivien Vanterpool Primary School in Island Harbour have far to go, still, in terms of completing their primary and secondary education. However, they have gone through a careers week when they were sensitised about the kind of jobs they could seek later on.
It was an initiative by Guidance Councillor for Primary Schools, Mrs. Vivienne Fleming. Speaking at the culmination of the activities on Friday, April 22, she said that on that day alone there were four career sessions. Those who conducted them were Physio-Therapist, Ms. Khalidah Banks; Nutritionists, Mrs. Jennifer Gumbs and Mrs. Vernice Battick; Mortician, Mr. Allister Richardson, and his assistant from Two Sons Funeral Home; and a number of teachers who conducted sessions on teaching.
Asked how the children would have related to the work of a mortician, Mrs. Fleming explained: “I know it will be scary for some children, but it is to let them know that in life there is death, and it is also a career in which persons will have to know how to deal with a person who has died. I am therefore hoping that by having a mortician speak with them they will understand that death is part of life.”
Commenting on the early emphasis on jobs, she stated: “The focus of our careers fair this year was more on the educational requirements in order for the children to be become one of the professionals who visited the school. I asked the resource persons to talk about what the children may be able to do from now that would help them with whichever career they want to take up in the future.
“As I said, we had a whole careers week,” Mrs. Fleming added. “We had Omari Banks who came as a musician; Dr. Carbon; Farrah Banks, Director of Radio Anguilla; representatives of the Royal Anguilla Police Force; ANGLEC; LIME; and JTR Security Company. We also visited Sensational Farms at Mount Fortune where we had a wonderful time. There, Owen Mussington and Salih Abdur Raheem spoke to the children about their careers as farmers.”
“Although the children are so young they must learn to be focused, to be attentive, to listen and to do what they are asked to do and, as I mentioned, that was the aim of careers week.”
