SLCS: Project Narrative

Success Laventille Composite School (SLCS):- The Future Capital of Culture: The influence of Mas, Pan, and Calypso on the SLCS Community and beyond.

When we chose our topic we immediately realized that it presented an opportunity to highlight the many positive aspects of our school community in the area of culture with emphasis on mas and music.

We view our school as a diamond in the rough and our aim is to extend this view to the local and international community

We want people to see our website and feel compelled to communicate with us. In this way we can establish ties with schools and organizations.

Our aim is to empower those persons with whom we come into contact and to form bonds that would further enhance our school community.

Although we have identified our school as the community it would be disrespectful to our ancestors the forerunners of the culture if we view our project in isolation and not pay tribute to them because we recognize that the rich cultural heritage of the area in which our school is located has been the catalyst that has motivated us in the sphere of culture.

We therefore deem Laventille the “wider community”. This hilly environment in the city of Port of Spain the capital of Trinidad and Tobago played an integral part in the development of the mas and music in our country.

The area was mostly populated by runaway slaves and people from other Caribbean islands who took to the hills to avoid detection.

Today Laventille is still an urban slum out of this rough environment we have had the invention of the steelpan the only musical instrument invented in the twentieth century. The roots of calypso another art form can also be traced to this area and today too Success Laventille School shines like a beacon in the culture following the tradition of Laventille.

Our project is geared towards reminding the population of the cultural richness of Laventille. We will show how a pioneer like Winston ‘Spree’ Simon, Rudolph Charles and Clifton Ryan (Bomber) has used culture to empower and unite Laventille.

We want to bring back memories of the hills coming to town to hear their band Desperados play at Panorama and the hills heading back home once despers had completed their rendition.

Mr Rudolph Charles was immortalized in the calypso ‘The Hammer’ where it was asked ‘whey the man with the hammer gone – a reference to Rudolph’s death we want to use the hammer – a simple tool used by Charles to pound notes into old steel drums to produce music –as a symbolic wand used to touch the youth of past a present generations to continue the work of the pioneers.

We believe that the hammer has touched our community as we feel blessed to have teachers like Miss Hunte, Ms Moore, and Mr. Williams who tirelessly to ensure that our school remains on the cultural map and who through their connection with the wider community has formed strong links between our community and school.

The story of Mr. Ben Jackson has to be told. Ben as a boy frequented our school and became an honorary student. Seeing his potential as a musician the school’s PTA in a private arrangement hired Mr. Jackson to teach music. He has done remarkably well with the school steelband he is now arranging music in the wider community. Ben has travelled extensively as a cultural ambassador and is only a phone call away from our school.

Our project will also show the unity between the school and the wider community. We do not have sufficient steel pans for a steel orchestra but the Courts Laventille Sound Specialist steelband a band from the area allow students to use their pans to practice and participate in competitions.

We will also introduce the Faces of our future. Students who have also taken up the mantle as cultural ambassadors. We will show how our community is united as we rally around our Students. Teachers and students showing passion and dedication as we continue to reinvent Success Laventille Composite.

Of the nine students taken part only had two computers at home but only one had internet access. Our school has only one station with Internet Access. We have high speed internet access and we were connected in January 2007 just about a two month period.

Its unanimous! The experience was great. It highlighted the importance of thanking and praising people when they make a contribution. I came to that conclusion when I approached the teachers who were to be honored in our project. They in their modesty tried to mask their pleasure but their eyes and faces portrayed a picture of joy at having been chosen to represent our school in our first Cyberfair project.

Another high point was the camaraderie that existed between teachers and students. The respect was always there but we were friends working towards a common goal.

There were moments when we laughed together as we viewed pictures of old saga boys dressed in their finery. It gave us a glimpse of the past that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.

It was hard work but the experience would last a lifetime as our project would act as a foundation for future research in the area of mas and music.

The main problem was not having more access to the internet as this made it difficult to source documents.

A trip to the National Library revealed a scarcity of material relating to our pioneers.

The web site hosted by private individuals groups proved more enlightening but the results were sometimes contradictory.

We were shocked when we could find no pictures of Rudolph Charles although there were many pictures of Desperadoes.

Basically the obstacles faced were not daunting as both teachers and students rallied to the cause. We borrowed a video camera, tape recorded and a digital camera and we asked other teachers for help in areas outside our expertise.

With the kind of help we had the few obstacles that we met can only be consider as part of the experience as we were able to complete our project on line.

The project met the curriculum guidelines of subjects such as Social Studies, Typing, Information Technology, History and English Language.

Students did research on the national culture of the country. They wrote up and edited their findings. Then typed and formatted the researched content material to build the website. All of which was relevant to the school’s curriculum

The new skills acquired were mainly in the use of the technology: how to use a digital camera to capture clear pictures, how to use a scanner to capture different source material and so on. Also the students developed their interviewing skills: how to put someone at ease and how to relate with confidence to their teachers/adults and to their peers from different classes.

A team approach was used for brainstorming ideas and discussing concepts. To carry out specific tasks such as research, interviewing, scanning and so on, students worked in pairs and were rotated to different tasks so every member of the team learned a new skill and contributed in several ways to the project.

The project was time consuming but students who normally jealously guarded their lunch hour and after school time were eager and excited to sacrifice time to work on the project.

This was partly as a result of the hands on approach (as compared to traditional methods) of using technology such as the computer, internet and other equipment. This built a sense of importance and pride in the students as they enlightened their other classmates and teachers about the project which caused some students to feel left out. In addition, learning about the success and talent evident in the ‘school’ community achieved through participation in carnival allowed students to be ‘modern day’ historians of the school’s ongoing legacy.

Computer
Internet
Digital Camera
DVD Camcorder
Tape Recorder
Television
Scanner
Telephone
Mobile Phone
Library
Books
Oral Interviews
Flash Drives
Diskettes
CDs

The computer and internet played a major part in us being able to complete our project on time. Even though we only had internet access on one computer we were able to visit many websites, download pictures and other information in quick time.

We also used the computer to type documents. Some of the girls involved in the project are EDPM students and they were able to utilize application programs to manipulate data to present attractive output and to edit picture and video clips.

We encouraged students to take written notes when conducting interviews and to use the tape recorder as a backup.

The digital camera and DVD camcorder were used to take pictures and to tape school events. Old photographs were sourced and the scanner was used to make copies. Articles from books were also scanned.

When reviewing video and pictures for selection we used to television as we felt that is offered an opportunity for a wider audience to participate.

Oral interviews were used when dealing with the school community. They were around and it was not difficult to set up interviewing time.

We also used flash drives, diskettes and CD for storing data.

The tools used belonged to the school. We did not find it necessary to approach the business community as they are usually not very willing to assist.

Basically this is a Success Laventille Composite project using the resources we had available.

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The ambassadors and spokespersons for this project

The students involved in this CyberFair project were true ambassadors of our school. Most of the communication was made via the telephone or face to face. They were able to give vital information about the project and those who had the pleasure of interacting with them were very pleased with the way they handled themselves.

Success Laventille Composite School students are very much aware of the significant achievements our school has made in the area and of mas and culture and they are able to promote their school wherever they go.

Most people were surprised at the magnitude of the undertaking but they were all convinced that we would be successful in meeting our goals. I feel that everyone wanted us to succeed because they could see the importance of us being involved with this project.

The feedback we received was very positive. The community was impressed with the work we were doing. People were willing to offer assistance by way of advice as to how we could improve the outcome of our project.

We received pictures and articles from various sources and there was general interest in what we were trying to accomplish.

There are times when you may decide to do something without really realizing the impact it would have and this project is one such thing. We all realized that we were not only ambassadors of our school but pioneers of the computer era being the first group to build a website relating to our school.

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Impact of the Project on the Community

The Cyber fair project has definitely strengthened the already strong bond that exists in our school. We anticipate that anyone who has an opportunity to view our project will learn something valuable about our community.

The wider community will feel honored that a school in the area was so proud of their achievements that they selected them as the subject of their project. This project may well serve to instill new pride in Laventille an area whose reputation has been marred by the many negatives for which it has become known.

People around the world will learn about the culture of Trinidad and Tobago. They will have a view of our mas and steelband and I am sure that interest will be such that some may make Trinidad there next holiday destination.

Many of the students kept remarking that they did not know this or that. They laughed when they saw pictures from the past and when an article grasped their attention they became engrossed in reading and were even willing to discuss what they read. I am sure that our project will have the same effect on other young people.

The adults may be familiar with most of what is presented but we have tried to add a new twist to things and this should make for interesting reading and viewing.

The unique thing about our project though is that it has given us an opportunity to document years of school activities that would have ended once the persons involved retired. We now have a history of the school culture and this could be saved on external storage devices or even published in book form and placed in our school library for future reference.

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Our project was very broad based and as a result we needed assistance from the entire community if we were to get accurate information.

We interviewed Mr. David Williams and he was very willing to participate. He made the interviewers feel very comfortable. There was lots of laughter because of his personality and funny interjections.

Ms Sheralda Moore gave vital information about the school steelband and some of her own experiences as a young pan player. She also advised students about the opportunities the steelband offers for travel.

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Ms Marilyn Hunte was extremely cooperative. She had to be interviewed twice because of technological problems; the girls broke the rule about taking notes and not only depending on the tape recorder. Everyone was apprehensive about asking Miss Hunte to be interviewed again but being the lovely lady that she is she allowed us to interview her a second time.

We have to thank Mr. Ben Jackson for his contribution. He has always been ready and willing to assist us in our endeavors. In addition to the information needed from him, he provided useful insight into pan in the Laventille Community.

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Mr. Wayne Patrick - teacher and resident photographer gave us numerous pictures to choose from. He made it possible for us to showcase past and present school activities.

In the wider community, we sourced information from family and friends. These information gathering sessions soon turned into an opportunity to reminisce about the past. The teachers involved in the project even got their parents involved. Other teachers and students with friends and relatives who were versed in the culture directed us to them. These individual were a great big help and we want go give them a great big thank you.

Mr. Jensen Kangalee is a really great guy with a big heart. He volunteered to assist us with the building of our website even though he is presently pursuing a BSc. (Hons) Computing and Information Systems (final year) and he did so willingly. The first time we met him he was so pleasant that we were motivated to meet his deadlines. We thank him because without his input we may not have achieved our goal.

We must also thank Ms Patricia Nakhid, a fellow teacher who introduced us to Mr. Kangalee.

To the principal, vice principal, staff and students thank you for creating the wonderful environment in which we work.

Alves, A., Babb, K., Charles, A., Codrington, K., and Gabriel, M. (Group Interview. March 20, 2007.)

Success Laventille 2004 yearbook: shining stars let your light shine bright! Trinidad and Tobago:The Yearbook Company, 2004.

Taylor, Jeremy. Trinidad and Tobago: An introduction and guide. London: Macmillan Education Ltd, 1991.

“The role of the teacher in the development of the imagination in Carnival with respect to calypso and children’s mas”by D Williams and M Hunte. The National Carnival Institute of Trinidad and Tobago: Reflections on Carnival 2005 (Two-Day seminar 22nd -23rd April 2005). CD-ROM. 2005.

Carnival Friday School Calypso Competition. Videotape. Laventille: Hamida Baksh, 2007.