While the Department of Education was busy conducting a stakeholders’ engagement conference in The Valley Central on Friday, June 14th, in the eastern section of the island, at the Mount Fortune SDA church, a team of educators was engaged in preparing some 180 youngsters for their entrance into high school, in an event dubbed Transition Day.
Now in the third term of the school year, this is the second such meeting, the first one having been conducted during the school year’s first term, last December. These transition meetings, now in their tenth year, are designed to bring together all grade 6 students of the six primary schools in an effort to help them create bonds of friendship, and ties for support and camaraderie, prior to their entry into the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School.
The three coordinators of the Transition Day events were: Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Vivienne Fleming, Guidance Counselor, Mrs. Chanicia Buchanan, as well as Guidance Counselor, Ms. Janelle Lake. This year, the counselors collaborated with PAVE (Partners Advocating for Violence Eradication) to execute the initiative.
During the event, Mrs. Fleming told The Anguillian: “Our Transition Day activity is all about getting the students ready, preparing them to transit over from primary schools to the secondary school. These children will meet up again with each other in Campus B in September. All six public primary schools are represented here. We have Vivien Vanterpool Primary, Morris Vanterpool Primary, Orealia Kelly Primary, Valley Primary, Adrian T. Hazel and Alwyn Allison Primary.”
When asked what was the students’ general mode of response to these sessions, Mrs. Fleming eagerly answered: “The children are quite receptive to these meetings. They are once again meeting today with the same children they met with back in December. They are renewing acquaintances, and they are just having a load of fun while learning what is expected of them as they enter the Albena Lake Hodge Comprehensive.”
She noted: “The fun aspect of these meetings is our objective. The idea is that the children develop a bond among themselves and that, as they go through the school, they would seek out opportunities to support each other.” She stressed: “The focus of the meeting this time is on the dangers of bullying in school. They are being sensitized to what part each of them can play in order to stamp out or curtail bullying and deviant behavior in high school.”
Mrs. Fleming went on: “Apart from sessions like these, these children would have been entering high school with a high sense of apprehension and undue concern. They would have had pre-conceived negative ideas and pictures that other children in the system would have planted in their minds. But after meetings like these, they are able to come away prepared and knowing everything will be OK.”
Counselor Buchanan emphasized that: “The whole idea of the Transition Day is primarily to build bonds of friendships among the grade 6 students. We always hear about the bullying, fighting and tensions that occur in school. So this is our contribution as counselors, and we anticipate that our efforts for this cause will pay off. We are convinced that by having children to come together like this, at least twice per school year, we can help to alleviate strife and conflict in the school, and create an atmosphere of bonding friendships and peace for all.”
The counselors would like to thank the following persons and entities for their contributions to Transition Day: Pastor Trent Berg and the Board of the SDA Church for the use of the auditorium; Mrs. Hyacinth Bradley, Community Services Planner, attached to the Ministry of Social Development and PAVE; Mrs. Anita Ruan for her assistance throughout the day; and faithful partners such as E’s Oven, English Rose Restaurant, Four Seasons, Ms. Nelica Carty, as well as Blanchards Restaurant for coming on board with their kind assistance.
In addition, she thanked Ms. Addonis Hodge for the rendition of her song, “Bullying Must Stop”. She thanked, as well, Ms. Shana Jno Baptiste, for facilitating the fitness session; Teachers Randolph Mercurious, Leonard Telemaque, and Tashanta Brooks for conducting the sessions on bullying; and Mr. David Christmas and Ms. Charisma Chin for leading the sessions on becoming young gentlemen and ladies respectively. In addition, she gave hearty thanks to the reigning Miss Anguilla, Ms. Mikeela Skellekie, for the role she played as the motivational speaker for the session.
Finally, Counselor Buchanan stressed that they decided to focus on bullying this year because it is a growing issue in schools. “It is a counter-productive trait that we cannot shy away or ignore,” she said. She noted that everyone, including parents, teachers, counselors, and group leaders have a vital role to play in trying to eradicate this social ill. “We can no longer turn a blind eye to this issue or minimize it in any way,” Counselor Buchanan stated.
– Staff Reporter, James R. Harrigan
