Literacy King and Queen at Green Island Primary, Capria Sutherland and Kacheef Ferguson, at their school in Hanover this week. - photos by Adrian Frater

WESTERN BUREAU:

Two years ago, her inaudible mumblings, followed by spontaneous giggles from her classmates, were what often happened in Ashley Smith's Grade Four classroom at the Green Island Primary School in Hanover, when she was asked to read.

At the time, Ashley could not read. For her, it was an embarrassment. However, thanks to special reading programme the school has developed to address the needs of students like Ashley, she is now arguably the best reader in her Grade Six class.

29-year veteran

Ashley was among the students on Tuesday who stood out when the school, headed by Phillip Hall, a 29-year veteran in education, staged its inaugural Literacy Festival. This event saw parents coming in to observe the process that has transformed scores of the students into proficient readers.

Highlighting success

"Ashley is just one of our success stories," said Hall. "Our vision is that in two to three years we should have over 90 per cent of the students reading fluently," said Hall. "This Literacy Festival is a way of highlighting the success of the students and rewarding them for their effort."

The Literacy Festival, which was staged under the theme, 'Reading Lights the Way', featured displays of the literary work done by the students; gave their parents a chance to see them interacting with their teachers in the classroom setting; and showed off the oratory and other skills of students in concert.

One of the major highlights was the crowning of a Literacy King and Queen, which saw the students competing against each other in literary challenges. This competition covered areas such as general knowledge and history, among other subject areas. At the end of the contest, Capria Sutherland and Kacheef Ferguson, both 11, walked away with the titles.

Special prizes

In addition, all the children who were adjudged the best readers in their respective classes received special prizes of books and other reading-related gifts.

Dianne Allen, coordinator of the school's reading drive, which entails each class reading for a minimum of one hour each day, said the strength of the programme revolves around the school's reading committee, which comprises eight committed teachers.

"In addition to the reading done during the day, every class has an after-school reading programme," the principal explained. "Just the other day, I got a letter from a recent past student who has gone on to high school, thanking us for the effort we made in getting her to read."

Crammed classrooms

Despite the success now being enjoyed by his students, Principal Hall believes that, had the teaching plant been more conducive to learning, the results would have been even greater. The school, built to accommodate 350 students, now has 610.

"Our classrooms are crammed and we have had to put in some makeshift classrooms - the situation is just not ideal," said Hall. "We have been pressing the Ministry of Education to give us a new school but they say there is no money."

Green Island Primary's principal, Phillip Hall, raps with students during a Literary Festival at the school in Hanover earlier this week.