Educator launches ‘transition camp’ to aid students from Primary to Secondary School

One educator in Antigua and Barbuda is making an extra effort to assist the nation’s youth in one of their most vulnerable and stressful transitions, starting high school.

Many can attest that the transition from Primary to Secondary school is a major shift not only on a social level but due to the increased workload.

In Primary school, most times, students don’t undertake more than four to five subjects while in first form, they now are doing over 12 depending on what level they are in.

It is for this reason and more why Ingrid Daniel-Simon decided to create the Make Better Choices Transition camp.

“Okay, so after 26 years in the educational system, yes, 26 years, I find that I can do more. It is not just doing lesson plans and going to work. It’s helping parents to help their children and so this transitional program was in my head for a while and I had a conversation with a friend in Barbados, that’s Julie Clark, and she said, Ingrid, that’s a good idea. We started running it through, you know, week after week and to see what happened,” Daniel-Simon said on state media earlier this week.

The camp will be a three-day from August 18 to 22 workshop and will not only focus on the mental aspect but address the campers holistically.

Classes with self-care, bullying, self-advocacy, emotional intelligence, critical thinking and the role of technology are on the agenda.

While the camp will last for three days, Daniel-Simon did also share that she would be open for assistant throughout the transition in the new school year as well for those parents and students who need it.

Daniel-Simon said that parents must play a major role in this transition as well.

“So, I am the advocate for the parents being the first teacher to their children. And so, we can be the second teachers, or we can be the third. Our dependency on the typical classroom teacher has grown to the point where I send you to school or I pay for you to go to school. I am not supposed to be doing homework, or I am not but you are part of the process and being a part of the process, I’m telling you, you got to learn the math, the science.

“Yes, you have to learn it a little bit more. There are times when we can’t help. The trigonometry and the other big stuff, we might not be able to help but the small stuff, let’s be there for the children. Let’s not send them to after class all the time. Sometimes it is not worth it. That time we spend with our children sometimes could make a bigger difference,” she added.

Limited space is available, so parents are encouraged to sign up their children for $175.  This includes lunch.

Physical registration will take place at the TN Kirnon Primary school on Thursday and Friday from 9am until 1pm.

You can also call 780-3836 to register.