MoE sponsors 4 schools for annual children costume Parade 2019

At least four schools have received sponsorship to ensure their participation in the Education Ministry’s Children’s Mashramani Costume and Float Parade 2019.
The schools that are sure to participate in the parade billed for February 16, 2019, are Tucville Primary and Secondary Schools, St Margaret’s Primary School and St Winifred’s Secondary school.
To make the participation of the schools a reality, teachers from the four schools received materials to assist their schools in preparation for the event.
The materials are to be used for the creation of costumes even as the Unit of

Allied Arts will also be financing the construction of the costumes.
Further, the unit has undertaken the provision of needed transportation for the students’ participation from the four schools. The total sponsorship for the four schools has been valued at an overall cost of about $500,000.
Handing over the items yesterday was Administrator of the Unit of Allied Arts Lorraine Barker-King who described the gesture as a tradition to select and support some schools annually.
She said, “These schools are selected on the basis of their willingness to participate but their inability to do so because of various reasons”.
Among the items handed-over were shimmering materials, glue guns and glue, pompoms as well as face masks etc.
According to Barker-King, the idea is to foster a more collaborative approach that encourages the involvement of parents at home, the students and teachers at schools and the community as these stakeholders will all be relied upon to lend their creative abilities towards costume construction.
Explaining further, Barker-King said, “The Unit normally offers support to schools which do not normally participate and this serves as an enabler because we [the Unit] believe that children should be allowed to be children while socialising through the creative arts as well as fostering creativity.”
Meanwhile, the Allied Arts Administrator has informed that planning is in its advanced stages to ensure the successful hosting of the Annual Regional and National Children’s Mashramani activities which will see the regional competitions beginning from as early as January 22 in Region three (3).
In addition to the staging of the regional activities, the winners from the eleven education districts will all converge in Georgetown to contest for top honours and bragging rights for the national finals which are slated for staging at the National Cultural Centre from February 14-15, 2019.
The categories include dance and masquerade, calypso singing and dramatic poetry presentations. Addressing the subject of sponsorship aside from the traditional sponsors, several other corporate citizens have signaled their interests in sponsoring the various events in support of the nation’s youths.
Mashramani 2019 is being celebrated under the theme, “Celebrating 49 with victory in mind – re-discovering Eldorado.”
For 2019 it is projected that more than 7000 children, drawn from all eleven education districts, will participate in the regional and national children’s Mashramani activities representing public and private schools as well as children’s organisations.