Four pupils of the Bath Primary School were awarded with trophies for emerging winners in an essay competition sponsored by the Aditya Kids Trust Fund Foundation (AKTFF).
Apart from the trophies, the pupils of Grade Six who were asked to write on the topic: ‘The influence of television on children’, were also offered three months of free computer courses at the recently launched Aditya Library & Resource Centre and one year’s membership with the library.
Copping the first place in the competition was Ashme Lalchand. Arifa Hassain came second while the third and fourth positions were awarded to Vyass Waidu and Shalini Persaud respectively.
President of the AKTFF Narchand ‘Archie’ Mohan presented the trophies to the children after they read their essays to all gathered for the occasion.
Meanwhile, pupils of the Bath Nursery School who came first, second and third in a Spelling Bee competition were each presented with educational children’s computers.
The essays were marked by Inderjeet Persaud who is a cricket commentator for the National Communication Network and the Caribbean Media Corporation as well as a Grade Six teacher at the Mortice Primary.
Persaud observed that apart from the winning entries the essays were “generally poor.” He said the students need to improve on their grammatical structure and to do a lot more reading. Meanwhile, a talent show featuring students of the school was organized before the presentation of the trophies for the essay competition and pupils of different grades participated in poetry, singing and dancing.
The first, second and third place winners in each category were presented with cash prizes while each artiste received an MP3 player.
Mohan congratulated the winners of the essay and spelling bee competitions as well as the talent show and urged them to get involved in the library and keep reading so as to enhance their knowledge and writing skills.
Headmistress of the school, Ethlyn Kendall remarked that she read a few of the essays and felt that the judge would have had a difficult time choosing the winner. She encouraged the students to “keep on entering competitions so you would improve your skills.”
With regard to the children who participated in the show, the headmistress commended them for showcasing their “hidden talents”.