Day: February 7, 2025

Break It Up!

At some point, when you are reading and you come across an unknown word, you have been told – “break up the word”. Which being translated means – divide the word into syllables.

But what is a syllable and why is it important to understand how to “break-up the word”.

Syllables are units of spoken language in which one vowel sound is heard. Consonants may come before or after the vowel sound. In some instances, a syllable may not contain a consonant.

The vowel sounds govern how the word is split into chunks. Knowing about vowels and their sound (short and long) is essential to identifying a word, whether the word has one syllable or three syllables.

The ability to chunk words into syllables helps us as readers to pronounce or decode words. It provides us with clues to the way the vowel may be pronounced in unfamiliar words.

Beginning today and over the next few weeks, we will explore ideas that guides syllabication.

Today’s Takeaway – Every single vowel or vowel combination (e.g. /ea/ or /oo/) shows a syllable, except for the final ‘e’.

Here are some examples:

Around – a/ round

Careless – care/ less

Valentine – val/ en /tine

Optimistic – op/ ti/ mis/ tic

Communication – com/ mu/ ni/ ca/ tion

Multidimensional – mul/ ti/ di/ men/ sion/ al

Application

Practice chunking as you pronounce our our Powerful Word for this week:

#LiteracyMatters #BreakItUp

References:

Cooper, J. D., Robinson, M. D., Slansky, J., & Kigerm N. D. (2015).                           

Warrican, S. J. (2012). The complete Caribbean Teacher: Literacy. Pearson

The Brawl Breakout

Alright, grab your bread and chicken cubs, cause the drama's back, and this time, it’s more than just a passing comment in the hallways—it's full-blown, fist-pumping chaos. You heard it here first, folks: fighting is making a comeback in the pride lands, and it's starting to feel like we’re living in a real-life action movie.

Now, we all know tempers flare, but these recent fights have shot up to a level we haven’t seen in a while. One minute, you're just trying to get to class on time, and the next, you're witnessing a full-on match between two students in the classroom. One fight, which started over something as simple as a chair, turned into a whole spectacle, leaving everyone standing around, phone cameras at the ready. Guess it’s not just about grabbing a good seat anymore, huh?

Some say it’s just the stress of schoolwork getting to people, others blame social media for amping up the drama. But what’s clear is that the tension is palpable—walk down any hallway and you’ll catch whispers about the latest "beef." And while it’s easy to dismiss it as just “kids being kids”, it’s starting to feel like we need to put out a public service announcement: Keep your hands to yourselves, folks! The school’s security cameras are watching, and trust me, no one looks good in those viral fight videos.

So here’s a little gossip for you: if you see any hint of a showdown, take a step back and let’s work on keeping it peaceful. Because honestly, no one wants to end up on the wrong side of a viral video. Let’s keep the drama on Netflix where it belongs.

Jamaica in Antigua

It’s a good time to come home. The Princess Margaret School was proud to receive a visit from Jamaica Kincaid last week. Ms. Kincaid is a former student of the school and has achieved fame on a world scale as a novelist amongst a host of other pursuits. She is the subject of a film currently in the works by Stephanie Black along with a talented Antiguan film crew. Before last week, it had been decades since Jamaica last walked the halls of Princess Margaret and she was eager to meet and interact with the students who currently do. The day began with Jamaica fondly sharing memories of her life with a selection of students studying English Literature. She recollected her days as a young girl sitting in a classroom and cultivating a great love for works of prose and poetry. Jamaica has written several books that draw inspiration from her life in Antigua, one of which, Annie John is on the school’s curriculum.

Afterwards, Ms. Kincaid was kind enough to sit down with us at ROAR, and talking with her came easily. We spoke of her school days when being punished by a teacher meant being sent in the corner with a book pushed in your hands and prayers were recited at the end of the school day and not just at the beginning. As Jamaica recounts, success came to her pretty early in her career, but she’s never forgotten the value of hard work. And though much has changed between then and now, this principle has remained steadfast. The walk down memory lane can be illuminating and cathartic. Similar to the poem Daffodils by William Wordsworth, which Jamaica learnt and recited as a student in the auditorium, to relive a memory is to revel in the beauty of past experiences.

Later on, as members of the crew set up shots for the film on Ms. Kincaid, the movie star herself was content to just sit on a bench amongst students, at times laughing along with them as they chattered. And to them, she was just a sweet older lady who used to go to their school. Jamaica Kincaid is in fact the recipient of numerous notable awards spanning the length of her career like the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Fiction in 1985 and more recently, the St. Louis Literary Award in 2024. She’s also passionate about gardening, having written several books on the topic. And that afternoon, she looked on happily as a class of Agricultural Science students began tilling the soil. Ms. Jamaica Kincaid spent the day with her alma mater as a thoughtful observer, quick to laugh and share in witty banter. She was delightfully kind and an inspiration, reminding those who are fearful of failure, that success comes in trying and trying and trying. Princess Margaret School looks forward to seeing her again soon.

The alumni visits continue…we hope to see you too.