Literacy Camp held at Ketley Primary School

Jul 29, 2017 News

– Co-ordinator says she feels “pleased”

Craft items on display

The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the National Centre for Educational Resource and Development (NCERD) yesterday concluded a 5- day Literacy Camp held at the Ketley Primary School.
The focus of the event was to aid pupils in various areas of Literacy.
The Literacy Camp comprised teachers, practice teachers, volunteers and students between the ages of four and 17. Each session began at 8:30hrs and wrapped up at 13:30hrs.
Literacy Coordinator for Georgetown, Ms. Collette Horatio, shared that the pupils were actively involved in their six classes with sessions that catered to their ages. Some activities included Storytelling, dramatization of Life Skills and crafts.
Ms. Horatio said, “The older ones were engaged in a lot of thinking, deep thinking about themselves.”
She explained at first the pupils were uncertain about what they had to do, but eventually gained confidence as explanations were given and they held brainstorming sessions.
Horatio said she realized that the “older ones” had more difficulty following instructions due to their “listening abilities” as compared to the younger ones. She also stated, “I don’t think that they’re accustomed to being in a seemingly free environment.”
She noted that the students had to be given a reason to do the given assignments but were motivated when they saw others working. In her statement she also empahsised that, “the girls were more driven while the boys had a laid-back attitude.”
“From Monday to now, the pupils’ language and oral expression have really developed.” Apart from their ability to use language effectively, they also grew in confidence. She said that at first she did not understand what they were saying. Situations had to be explained to them to use their language so that persons could understand.
She said that parents were anxious for the students to be assigned home-work. They were also curious to know why the children did not display written work. “Writing is the final skill and they may not write until the last day.”
There were, however, some pupils who could not write yesterday, but were involved in tracing letters and words. This assignment was taken home to parents. The older children on the other hand wrote paragraphs every day.
However the Camp was not focused on writing.
Ms Horatio clarified, “We wanted them (pupils) to develop the other skills that they need since they do a lot of writing in school but a lot of them can’t read what they write, neither can they comprehend. I am satisfied. They seem to have come a long way.”
The closing exercise of the literacy camp included the presentation of dramatic pieces from students, craft display and a folk song session.

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