Children urged to get involved in community
Students and teachers got a head start on their Independence Day holiday…and for those in Belize City, the only price they had to pay was a march in the hot sun to sit in an even hotter auditorium. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was with them every step of the way.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
Thousands of school children made their annual walk over to the Belize City Centre to attend their rally in commemoration of Belize’s twenty-second birthday.
Faye Gillett, District Education Officer, M.O.E.
“The purpose of this event is to portray nationalism. It’s to get the schools in the spirit of patriotism. And so the main purpose of this rally is really to get their sprits going, make them feel like they are celebrating their national day and they are part of it.”
Special guest speaker, Minister Francis Fonseca, told the boys and girls that just as they are growing, so is their country and that the nation’s future depends on them. Fonseca challenged the children to get more involved in community activities, instead of spending time watching the television.
Francis Fonseca, Minister, Prime Minister’s Office
“I want you to get out of your house, get involved in your schools, get involved in your church, get involved in a youth group, and many of you are, I am glad to see. Get involved in a sporting activity; get involved in your community. ”
“My young friends, I also want to challenge you today to read more, read more. You’ve heard the Prime Minister and myself talking about this for the past few months, because we believe it is very important. And we know the teachers and principals and general managers of schools have been doing a lot of work with reading. But I want to say to you that a good book can be as much fun if not more fun than TV or a movie.”
The children’s rally was based on the September celebrations theme “Education: The Hope of a Young and Growing Nation.”
Faye Gillett
“We need to focus on our children, especially what they are learning, what kind of teaching is going on. Outside of the rally, we in the Belize District are really trying to get to our teachers, so that they can deal in a more equitable manner with what is happening in the classroom and what kind of education and kind of teaching and learning is going on. So that is what we are after.”
Following the rally, and other across the country, were given treats at their school and then sent home for the rest of the day. Jacqueline Woods for News 5.
