Students immersed in stories about Barbados’ history

Several schools across the island have been celebrating ahead of Independence Day on Thursday and two of them – the Barbados Seventh-Day Adventist Secondary School and the Coleridge And Parry Secondary School – engaged students by telling stories of yesteryear. 

At the Seventh-Day Adventist School in Dalkeith Road, St Michael, history teacher Antoinette Rock said students learned about the island’s journey to independence and about the outstanding Barbadians who contributed to the development of the nation.

From left: Christian Benn, Tia Aliah Nurse and Taj Glumo representing the parish of St Joseph.

For the first time, the school also held a Parade of Parishes, an activity that involved a group from each class making a costume or highlighting a feature of one of Barbados’ 11 parishes. This segment was complemented by a live band playing folk songs.

Rock told Barbados TODAY she was pleased about the day’s proceedings. 

Over at Coleridge And Parry in Ashton Hall, St Peter, guests were invited to speak to the student body.

These Mother Sallies were moving to the beat.

Accomplished chef and past student Adrian Cumberbatch spoke about the history of Bajan delicacies, pointing out that many of them dated back to the enslavement period.

He said slaves were fed scraps such as cow heels, chicken feet and pig feet.

Cumberbatch also shared with them that conkies were brought to the Caribbean from Ghana. The original treat was called kenkey.

Member of Parliament for St Peter Colin Jordan also gave the students a history lesson, telling them that Holetown in the nearby parish of St James was the first landing site of the British in 1627.

He encouraged the students to be grateful for the freedoms and privileges they have today and never take them for granted as their foreparents endured many difficulties so they could have certain liberties. (SZB)