by Bennette Roach
In this feature of Early Childhood Education (ECE) we begin with the words of Dr. Sheron Burns, early childhood regional expert, said back in 2010 when the month-long annual event was in its third year, with the theme then “Young Children: Heroes in Our Community”. They sought to ‘pay homage to the island’s young children and their caregivers as they journey towards lifelong learning’. “It must feature playing and fun… The Early Childhood section of the Ministry of Education aims to ‘build a strong and secure foundation for Montserrat”
June was designated as Early Childhood Month, from the first time in 2008. Each centre chooses a day to showcase the activities the staff and children participate in under a theme of their choice. On this eventful day the other centres visit and engage themselves in the activities put on by the particular centre.
As usual the month began with a church service and this year the staff, parents and children worshipped at the Bethesda Methodist Church at Cavalla Hill.
See: (https://www.themontserratreporter.com/early-childhood-month-june/)
The event that stands out among the highlights of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) month-long program of activities is the Awards Ceremony, held this year on June 17, 2019 at a different than usual venue, the Brades Arts & Education Centre beginning at 6.30 p.m.
The evening’s activity opened with a prayer by Bishop Dr. Melroy Meade and the signing of the National Song by Mrs. Veronica Lynch Morgan and Mrs. Albertha Dyett followed by welcome and opening remarks by head of the ECE department Mrs. Inez Thompson.
In her welcome and opening remarks, Mrs. Thompson’s helped to inspire this featured coverage.
Catering for children between the ages of one – five years in the public centres, while the private sector caters for children as young as 3 months. This sector is committed to provide the best possible Day Care and Nursery School services for the children between the aforementioned ages. These centres enable each child to socialize and develop skills which help him or her to adapt readily to the primary school situation, with the assistance of a well-trained cadre of highly motivated staff, using appropriate stimulation and teaching techniques.
Mrs. Thompson explains: “The emotional, social and physical development of young children has a direct outcome on their overall development and on the adult, they will become.
Parents and EC head staff
“That is why understanding the need to invest in very young children is so important, to maximize their future well-being. The first three to five years play a key role in a child’s life as they begin to absorb the world around them and develop. The experiences that children have early in their lives impact their development physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially.
“The best investment to ensure the future success of a child is to invest in the early years of their lives, through education. They develop the healthiest when they are provided environments in which they can explore the world around them, play with others, and learn to speak and listen to others. Early neurological development even affects the way one may learn later in life, if children do not learn in their early childhood, they may have more trouble learning in the future.”
The Early Childhood Sector celebrated its 12th Awards Ceremony on Monday June 17, 2019, under the theme: “Working together to build a better foundation for our young minds” while allowing the children to “Explore! Discover! Grow! Enrich!”
Congratulatory remarks were given by HE, the Acting Governor, Mrs. Lyndell Simpson, following which, six workers of the year, from each centre, were awarded during the ceremony.
The awardees were as Miss. Karrema Cush – Salem Nursery School, Mrs. Josette Greenaway – Salem Day Care, Mrs. Althea Sweeney – St. John’s Day Care, Miss. Ida Gerald – Brades Nursery School, Mrs. Veronica Lynch-Morgan – Look Out Day Care & Mrs. Stephanie Hickson – Look Out Nursery School.
The six public centres, along with Aunt Madge Child Care & Sweet Angels Valley Day Care & Preschool, presented tokens of appreciation to some parents and persons from the community. They were: –
| Centre | Parent of the Year | Community Award |
| Salem Day Care | Miss. Lisa Seraphine Miss. Nissa Christian | — |
| Salem Nursery School | Miss. Lubina Greene | Mr. Austin Howe |
| St. John’s Day Care | Mr. Joel Watts | Sgt. Kirk Brade |
| Look Out Day Care | Mrs. Kolita Sutton-Buckley | — |
| Look Out Nursery | Miss. Delrose Dyett Mr. Dieghton Cottle | Mrs. Albertha Dyett |
| Brades Nursery School | Miss. Edella Allen | Mr. Everson Farrell |
| Aunt Madge Childcare | Miss. Shanique Brown | Mrs. Jacqueline Ryan |
| Sweet Angels Valley Day Care & Preschool | Miss. Maleka Newell Miss. Rushelle Reid | — |
| Little Angels Childcare | Miss. Rolanda Brade Miss. Alexia Allison | Miss. Tora Cabey |
Special awards were given to the following persons:
Lady Eudora Evangeline Fergus – 36 years of service: – 1966 – 2002
Rt. Hon. Basil Morgan – 23 years of service: – 1996 – 2019
Mrs. Christina Weekes – 29+ years of caring for children
Miss. Nicole Duberry – 11 years of supervising the sports scores for Brades Nursery & Look Out Nursery Schools
Mr. James ‘Fittestman’ Greenaway – 4 years sponsoring the Salem Nursery School’s Road Race which first started in 2016.
The Brades Nursery School family was the recipient of the Dr. Sheron Burns developmentally appropriate award.
Fun Day was postponed because of the half day on Friday June 28 for the DRV Edwards funeral and was held on Wednesday July 3.
The children all enjoyed themselves at the Blake’s Football Field.
The centres all had (or will have) a Concert and Moving on Ceremony.
With some obvious modesty, the head of the ECE department said, when asked how she would assess this year’s events, “I’m not sure that I would say that they were better, they were all successful. More positive comments were written in the Exhibition book this year than the previous years.”
