Monday, March 12th was observed as Commonwealth Day across the countries of the former British Empire. Formerly known as Empire Day, in that era, it was celebrated on the 24th of May. Commonwealth Day, as we now know it, is a day to recognize the values of freedom, justice and tolerance for which the Commonwealth of Nations stands.
The Adrian T. Hazell Primary School took the opportunity to mark this day with three noteworthy events, namely: the unveiling of a unique school crest; the opening of two boxes of school supplies sent from a student in New York; and an inter-house history quiz.
In an exciting setting — on the assembly porch — all teachers and pupils gathered to witness the unveiling of the school’s uniquely designed crest. The unveiling was honourably undertaken by Mrs. Dorothy Hazell, wife of the late Principal, Mr. Adrian T. Hazell, the exemplary head teacher after whom the school was named.
In her ceremonial remarks, Mrs. Hazell said: “I am grateful to the Principal, Mrs. Tracelyn Hamilton, and the staff for the opportunity given me to unveil this crest which is to represent the Adrian T. Hazell Primary School. The crest contains symbols which represent the virtues of courage, national pride, and a passion for life-long learning. It is my hope that the students wear this crest with pride and become the physical embodiment of these virtues.”
According to the current Principal, Mrs. Tracelyn Hamilton, “The creation of this crest embraces the history, mission and vision of the school. This initiative was one of the activities to mark the 50th anniversary of the school at its current location. The crest was designed and created by Mr. Colin Hazell who is the son of the late Principal, Adrian T. Hazell. The crest will serve as a mark of identification. It will be attached to the pupils’ uniforms and highlighted on all school paraphernalia.”
Mrs. Hamilton set out to explain the symbols crafted in the crest: “The lion at the top left corner of the shield represents “bravery”; the palm trees at the top right corner symbolizes the school’s original motto, ‘the palm is gained with effort’; the torch at the bottom left corner of the shield represents the fact that learning is a life-long process; at the bottom right corner, the three dolphins stand for the home, the school and community working in partnership for the development of every child; the two doves at the very top stand for a ‘safe’ and ‘secure’ learning environment. Finally, the open space between the doves symbolizes the fact that all diversities from overseas origins are welcomed and embraced.”
Later that morning, two boxes of various types of school supplies were opened before the students, and their contents were distributed to all. The boxes were gifts to the children from a 4th grader in New York who, after considering the possibilities of losses suffered through the past hurricane, was kind enough to reach out to the school through Mrs. Anne Parles of Straw Hat Restaurant.
In making the presentation of the boxes, Mrs. Parles said that one of her friends and her daughter wanted to contribute to an Anguillian school after the hurricane and, seeing that her son, Kendell Richardson, attended Adrian T. Hazell, she naturally elected this school as the recipient of the packages of school supplies. She read a letter from the student who made the generous contribution and provided her address so that the students can express their gratitude to her. All the students and the staff were indeed grateful to Mr. Parles.
The third activity of the day was a “know your island” quiz contest, conducted by Social Studies teacher, Mr. Terron Azille. Contestants were drawn from the three “houses” of the school: yellow house, blue house and green. It was the first activity of its kind, and Mr. Azille said that it is destined to become an annual event.
“Over the years,” Mr. Azille said, “we have always done an activity on Commonwealth Day in respect of the commonwealth countries. But this year, it is all about Anguilla. We have quizzes on past Chief Ministers, on famous people, on past educators, on sports, and on historical buildings.”
The Principal then made note that the contest is actually dubbed “Know Your Island – Inter-house History Quiz”. She finally explained: “The winning house will receive a special coveted plaque inscribed with its house name and the year. Each successive year, the winning team will be etched on this plaque, while each participating house will receive a trophy for first, second and third places. The real purpose of this contest is to foster pride in the students about our island as they continue to know and embrace our national history.”
