The students of the Colonarie Primary School celebrated their Reading Extravaganza in style captioned under the theme: “Reading with a smile, Caribbean Style”.{{more}}

The entire staff and students together with supportive parents marched from the school grounds on Tuesday, February 23, 2010 to the Walden Ryan Resource Centre where the programme was held.

In her opening remarks, Headteacher Elizabeth Johnson urged students to read always, while parents were encouraged to purchase books for their children and read with them and to them. More-so, she emphasized the importance for parents to supervise what their children read. She further stated that society tends to judge a person by his or her ability to express him/her self in public. Therefore, reading must be valued.

The well-behaved audience was entertained, informed and persuaded through the impressive performances by the students of the various classes (Kindergarten – Grade 6). Students displayed their literacy skills through song, poem, story, drama and advertisements.

At the conclusion of the performances, Education Officer in the area of Literacy, Hannah Browne, addressed the audience. In her speech, she commended the students highly for their remarkable performances and excellent conduct. In for high praises were the Kindergarten pupils for actually reading, the grade 2 students for pupils promoting the UWI Open Campus effort in solidarity with Haiti in the form of an advertisement, the 4th Graders for their creative performance of the Readers Theatre script: “We are Natural Resources” written by Hannah Harry (Literacy Coordinator). The 6th Graders were praised for their level of independence in their dramatic piece, “Cooperation”.

Browne was most impressed with the story: “The Hungry Rabbit”, written and read by Deckqualanie Simmons, a grade 2 student. She also commented on the significance of allowing students to orally express themselves freely in class. She further reiterated the value of reading in our daily lives.

Brief remarks were also delivered by the president of the PTA, Clayton Jack.

Rea Crichton, a teacher at the school, thanked the students, teachers, parents and others who made this annual reading programme a success. Special mention must be made of Trevor Huggins, the photographer,

and former teacher at the school. The Literacy Coordinator, Hannah Harry, was extremely satisfied with the support given by the parents and the active involvement of the class teachers and students.