The Georgetown leg of the annual Children’s Mashramani Competition opened yesterday with the calypso and dramatic poetry segments at the National Cultural Centre (NCC), where some showed nerves while others went all out to impress the judges.
Coordinator of the event, presented by the Department of Education (Georgetown), Daniela Mc Calmon said that with the first leg of the five-day competition completed, exceptional performances from all the participating schools were seen and that fresh ideas were brought forward. “The children’s performances this year were exceptional. I am glad that I saw fresh ideas [on] stage instead of teachers repeating the same thing every year, with the hope that that piece might win,” Mc Calmon said.
Meanwhile, Chief Education Officer Olato Sam, who declared the event open, congratulated the teachers and the students for taking time out of their busy schedules to keep the tradition alive. “I know that many of you had to leave classes unattended to be here to showcase the talent that your school has. I salute you for taking time out to make this competition possible,” Sam said.
Competitions continue on Tuesday with Dance 1 and Masquerade. The theme for this year’s Republic day celebrations is ‘Mashin’ with Pride, Keeping we Traditions Alive.’
At the secondary level, 14 schools from around the city participated in dramatic poetry. In the 14 -17 years category, Marcia Saul of Tucville Secondary School won with her captivating piece “A Guyanese Thing,” which had the audience cheering and wanting more. Keann Bobb, of North Georgetown Secondary, secured second place with her poem “My Blackberry,” written by Beverly Cyrus. St Joseph High School student Abigail Sobers walked away with the third place with her poem “Ode of the Masses.”
North Georgetown Secondary also secured the top spot in the 11- 13 years category, with Tatiana Gibbons’ performance of “Daddy it Hurts.” Aba Crawford of Richard Ishmael Secondary secured the second position with “The Sound of Different Races,” while Abena Gomes of Queen’s College came in third with “Rising of the Sons.”
At the primary level, 8 – 10 years category ten schools participated. Aaliyah Moore, of Tucville Primary, took first place with her outstanding performance of “Children See, Children Feel.” Mariah James of Winfer Gardens secured the second position with “Hard Times,” while Faith Fraser of South Ruimveldt came third with “A Child’s Point of View.”
In the 5 -7 years category, only three schools participated. St Margaret’s Primary pupil Leneice Graham won first place with “I Come to Celebrate.” North Georgetown Primary secured second position through Naomi Barkaye’s “A Written Excuse” and Shaquana Mariah of Anais Primary got third position with “Shoes.”
At the nursery level, nine schools participated. Selman Fraser Nursery walked away with the first position through Amelia Alleyne’s “Laptop Giving Away;” Iquisha Joseph of JE Burnham Nursery secured the second position with “Keeping Traditions Alive;” and Angela Dawson of East Street Nursery, reciting “The Key,” got third place.
Most of the poems were well articulated with strong messages.
Meanwhile, in the calypso competition, just a few performances managed to get the crowd clapping in appreciation and joining in on the chorus and it seemed as if the contestants were mainly performing for the judges.
In the 14 -17 years category, nine schools participated and the wining schools respectively were Tutorial High, St John’s College and North Georgetown Secondary. The singers were Chelsie France, “Save the Children;” Romichelle Brumell, “Hard Times;” and Keane Bobb “Which Tradition.” St Roses High, Winfer Gardens Primary and Queen’s College were declared the wining schools in the 11- 13 years category, with singers Denola Bristol “We Can”; Cheoma Archer “Mashing With Pride,” and Naomi Dos Ramos “Mashing Up Again.” In the 8 – 10 years category, the wining contestants came from Concord Academy, St Pius and Winfer Gardens, in descending order. The calypsonians were Reyshaun Whyte, with “It’s a Shame;” Hannah Meusa, “Georgetown the Garbage City,” and Kesiah Conway, “I am not Surprised.”
In the 5 – 7 years category, only St Stephen’s Primary and North Georgetown Primary contested. Shabena Hoyte, of St Stephens came first with “St Stephen’s,” while Shaerecia Moore was the runner up with “We Mashin.”
At the nursery level, five schools competed. Cedric Kendall of Lodge Nursery won with “Mash with Pride; Candacy Christmas of East Street Nursery was second with “Five Percent;” and Shantel Coris, of Alexander Village Nursery, was third with “Pride and Progress.”
