Culture

Four Schools Awarded For Work In The My Inclusive School Project

Barbados still has a lot of work to do with respect to the treatment of persons living with disabilities, says Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs, Kirk Humphrey.

Addressing the awards ceremony of the My Inclusive School Project, where four schools were recognised by the Barbados Council for the Disabled (BCD), at its Harambee Garrison headquarters, the Minister stressed that there was a lot insensitivity in the country and a tendency to treat others badly, especially those who are different.

Stating that people don’t recognise and respect diversity, he expressed concern about the treatment of children with disabilities and shared examples of how Barbadians are not caring enough for each other, whether on the bus or in other situations that may warrant their assistance.

Mr. Humphrey, however, thanked those in the fight, including the media, and noted all was not lost. He said: “It is quite clear to me that we have a lot of work to do but I also know that based on the number of persons who have been doing this work, day in, day out, so totally invested in it, that we have a counterbalance to the ignorance that prevails sometimes in Barbadian society and I want to thank all of you…. It is because of you that I know we will win this fight; it is because of you that I know we will make the progress that we need to make to be able to say that we have achieved something in Barbados.”

Four schools were awarded by the BCD, for their work, under the My Inclusive School Project, with their students with disabilities. They were the Olga Miller Nursery, St. Martin’s Mangrove Primary, St. Bartholomew’s Primary, and Harrison College.

President of the BCD, The Most Honourable Kerryann Ifill, in her remarks, reminded those gathered that early this year Phase One of the project was launched on April 4. She challenged them to open their minds and embrace children with disabilities and urged them “to witness the future of our fully accessible Barbados” as the My Inclusive School project represented another step forward in making Barbados “fully accessible”.

“It is a reminder to all of us that each day the number of students presenting with diverse needs and abilities is increasing and that we as a community must be in a position to respond to those needs,” said Ms. Ifill.

She added: “The programme will expose children to understanding that persons with disabilities… are part of this society; that their friends can be children with disabilities too; that their parents can have disabilities; that the person with whom they interact on the bus, in the office place [and] that their teachers and others, can have disabilities. It exposes the teachers to the understanding that when they welcome new students each year into their classrooms, they have to cater to students with diverse needs. The universal diverse learning plans, we must implement these across our school networks.”

Operations Manager of the BCD, Roseanna Tudor, noting the schools qualified for the award based on four criteria, said it was wonderful to see their commitment and efforts, and noted they addressed the needs of their students with disabilities.

The criteria set for the competition encouraged active involvement and fostering a creative and thoughtful approach to making educational institutions more inclusive. “These schools, with the help of their dedicated teachers and Disability Awareness Day Ambassadors have demonstrated their commitment to supporting students with disabilities. They have conducted research and identified the areas where they can work together to create a better learning environment, not just for their current students but for future generations,” stated Ms. Tudor. (PR/GIS)

CAPTION: Avery Brathwaite of St. Martin’s Mangrove Primary School poses with Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey while teacher of Olga Miller Primary Angel Birch and HC’s Dad Ambassador Catelin Alvaradous look on.

Culture

BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition Winners Announced

Five winning teams have emerged from the recently held prize-giving ceremony of the inaugural ‘Barbados Postal Service (BPS) 2024 Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’.

The winners hail from the Post Offices of St. Joseph; St. George; Welches Road; St. Philip and the General Post Office in Cheapside.

The overall winner of the competition is the eight-member team of the General Post Office’s Accounts Section, who each received an Island Safari Tour. Second place went to the Welches Road Post Office, third was the St. Philip Post Office, fourth was the St. George Post Office and fifth place went to the St. Joseph Post Office.

Winning Teams (flanked by BPS management), of the inaugural ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’, from the GPO; Welches Road PO; St. Philip PO; St. George PO and the St. Joseph PO.

Postmaster General, Joann Busby, in her address to the winners, stated, “We look forward to many more events like this in the future, celebrating both our history and commitment to excellence.”

Concept Creator of the competition, BPS Marketing Officer Neiai Hall said, “This competition aims to showcase the creativity and cultural expression of our staff, through costume design and performance. The theme of the competition is rooted in our rich heritage and the vibrant spirit of Crop Over.

On left – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-Flicky Costume Competition’ 2nd Place Winning Costume, On right – ‘BPS Crop Over Do-FFlicky Costume Competition’ 3rd Place Winning Costume.

“We have encouraged participants to design costumes that not only display their creativity but also incorporate elements that represent the services offered by the BPS”.

The judging criteria consisted of Sustainability; Creativity; Depiction of a BPS Service; Originality; Portrayal; Video Creativity and Originality; Practicality and Inclusivity and Descriptive Write-Up.

Plaques were presented to each of the winning teams and the St. Joseph Post Office also received the Postmaster General’s special award for Outstanding Advertising Video in the competition. (PR/GIS)

Culture

LAST LAP WEEKEND – Ended with Pic-o-de-Crop Finals, Foreday Jump and Kadooment

AN INCIDENT FREE FESTIVAL By David Harris

After two months of activities that included early morning breakfast fetes and late-night parties, the golden anniversary of the Crop Over Festival ended with the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Over 10.000 revellers in 18 bands danced on the new route which began at the Helipad in Bridgetown and ended in front of Kensington Oval. The street parade was changed its 9 a.m. start to 10 a.m. by the National Cultural Foundation after the Barbados Meteorological Service placed the island under a severe thunderstorm watch.

Eventually, the Blue Box Cart band got the parade moving at 10.07 and the masqueraders began wining and chipping on the streets of Bridgetown.

Only 13 of the 18 bands on parade judged, among the revellers were Barbadian superstar and National Hero, the Right Excellent Robin Rihanna Fenty and former West Indies captain Brian Lara.

Some bands were still heading towards the Mighty Grynner Highway just before at minutes to 9 o’clock. Aura was the last band to reach the highway before the police ended the parade.

The Grand Kadooment ended an action-packed weekend that included the Pic O De Crop Finals at the National Botanical Gardens in Waterford on Friday night, the Foreday Morning Jam which began in Bridgetown in the wee hours of morning and the Grand Kadooment on Monday.

Fans were primed for thrilling contest between the defending monarch IWeb (Ian Webster) and Adrian “AC” Clarke who placed second in last year’s Pic O De Crop competition; but it was AC who captured the crown for the third time after IWeb who appeared to have forgotten the lyrics of the De Village Ram in the second half of the competition.

Clarke performed at number 16 (immediately behind IWeb) and stamped his authority on the competition with an impressive performance of the self-penned Going Fuh Crown, the judges awarded him 133 points, 28 more than Sir Ruel who came second.

Adrian Clarke the 2024 Calypso Monarch

His impressive performance won the first prize of $100,000 or a Nissan E Powe X- Trail valued at $136,000; Clarke told journalists after the competition he had opted to take the vehicle instead of the prize money. Clarke, 52, first won the crown in 2001 and in 2008.

Sir Ruel was the most outstanding performer in the first half with A Single Bullet, he wrote the calypso in memory of his brother Dario Jon-Luc Holder-Branch who was shot to death in February this year. The former Junior Monarch amassed 105 points and won a cash prize of $40,000.

*Sir Ruel, Pic of de Crop, 2nd place winner*

Perennial finalist Chrystal Cummins-Beckles placed third with De Proposal, the multi-talented musician, arranger and composer was awarded 97 points and the $20,000 prize.

Billboard placed fourth for the second consecutive his calypso earned him a cash prize of $15,000; and first timer Tae, the youngest competitor in the final took the fifth position and $10,000 with A Big Cirus.

Calypsonians placing from the sixth to tenth position received $8,000 each, those coming 11 th to 18 th got $6000.

The competition started 51 minutes after the scheduled 8 p.m. due to technical hitches with video presentations, and one contestant (Kid Site) had to start over his song because of problems with the audio. The second half started just after midnight and ended at 2.10 a.m.

In commemoration of the 50 th anniversary of the Crop Festival there were performances by former monarchs the Mighty Destroyer. Red Plastic, the Mighty Gabby and Edwin Yearwood.