Read Out Loud competition |13 August 2022
Members of the winning school, Pointe Larue, celebrate their success in the company of First Lady Ramkalawan
Pointe Larue primary school overall winner
Pointe Larue primary school is the overall winner in the Read Out Loud competition/activity held yesterday.
The Jury’s award went to Chloe Mambe from Au Cap school.
The Read Out Loud activity is a reading competition among the primary schools of the eastern region – Au Cap, Anse Aux Pins, Cascade and Pointe Larue – and was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs in collaboration with the National Library.
There were three categories – P1-P2, P3-P4 and P5-P6 – in the competition. The winners for P1-P2 category are: Jervis Francoise from Pointe Larue school (1st prize), Kelcee Roselie from Pointe Larue school (2nd prize) and Harshvi Gorasiya from Au Cap school (3rd prize).
The winners for the second category P3-P4 are: Chloe Mambe from Au Cap school (1st prize), Lorenzo Joubert from Pointe Larue school (2nd prize) and Haydun Labrosse from Pointe Larue school (3rd prize).
For the P5-P6 category, the winners are: Naomi Onezime from Au Cap school (1st prize), Damien Etienne from Au Cap school (2nd prize) and Eza Bamboche from Pointe Larue school (3rd prize).
The Read Out Loud activity, which attracted 18 participants, promoted the bonding of students from different schools, developed stronger vocabulary, gave the students an opportunity to develop their fluency and expression in reading technical or literary language and after all provided enjoyment and entertainment.
Stella Mussard, senior librarian for public library service, shared that the Seychelles National Library has been organising various activities in the past and following the pandemic, it is still closed.
“Libraries are no longer considered as a four-wall building but we should be where the clients are located – bringing information and knowledge in various format to suit everyone’s needs. Two story-telling sessions were organised in the Anse Royale and Port Glaud districts early this year and the library will continue to work closely with its partners to achieve its objectives and help achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 4 which is to provide quality education to all,” Ms Mussard shared.
Before launching the competition, the Minister for Local Government and Community Affairs, Rose-Marie Hoareau, shared a few words with the participants. “Participating in this competition makes you all winners. You should make today the beginning of a wonderful journey as you develop a passion for reading. Reading increases your imagination and creativity and enhances your knowledge. Even when the competition is over, I encourage you all to continue what you have started today because a book is an excellent companion for life…”
Vesna Gertrude from the same ministry added that as leaders and active members of the community, it is their responsibility to empower the children by nurturing and ensuring their educational development.
“This activity presents these students with the chance to exhibit their skills, while learning from their colleagues and fellow competitors. Seeing the success of this event, the Ministry of Local Government and Community Affairs is committed to the development of children within the community – one key aspect being that of education. We aim to deploy our continuous engagement in similar activities and programmes in the future.”
First Lady Linda Ramkalawan, who attended the whole activity, commended the organisers for such an initiative. “Children nowadays do not read as much as our generation did and we all know reading brings a lot in the development of our personality. I was very impressed with the performance of the young people but more such activities should be organised to encourage the children around Seychelles to read.”
In parallel to the competition, there were also activities for the children of the daycare centre and for the children who usually participate in holiday programmes. We could see the First Princess, from Miss Seychelles, Shannen Henrie giving a motivational talk to the youth.
Principal secretaries Kevin Perrine and Cécile Kalebi, the chief executive of the National Council for Children Yasmin Umarji, the district administrators of the four districts, Miss Environment International Seychelles Elsia Françoise, teachers and parents were in attendance.
Text & photos by Vidya Gappy
