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|Home|Project Elements|Glossary|Bibliography| |Calypso|Sweet Pan|Drums|Sweet Music|
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Project Overview
1. Description of our Community |
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Trinidad & Tobago is a twin island state most southerly of the Caribbean chain of islands. There, on the northern side of Trinidad is that magical place called Belmont. Our people came from various lands. Some as explorers (Europeans); some as slaves (Africans) or indentured labourers (East Indians, Chinese Syrians); few today are of indigenous stock (Amerindians). They all brought their culture. Belmont, though, is predominantly African. The community has a population of approximately 30,000 and is located on the outskirts of the city. It is not near enough to be described as inner city nor far enough to be described as suburban. In fact, the geographical boundaries of the city include this community. Many persons walk to and from the city centre. It is mainly residential in nature. The citizens of this community range from the affluent to the very poor. Those in the upper category are in the minority and live mainly on the western side. Towards the central area the middle income earners can be found and farthest east, on the hillsides, are those in the lower income bracket. The history behind this layout stems from the days of slavery. Belmont was a French plantation. Streets names today show evidence of their occupation. Most of the owners lived on the western side near the savannah where the cows grazed and gentlemen and ladies strolled around on Sunday evenings. The slaves lived to the east. This side was further populated by other slaves who marched to the Governor’s residence from various parts of the island to demand their full freedom after the apprenticeship period. They were denied and a curfew was declared so the slaves fled to the hillsides and built rough shelters to avoid the police before the 6 o’ clock deadline.
2. Summary of Our Project We looked at this year’s category of Local Culture, Music and Art as an extension of last year’s project on Local Leaders. Belmont has given much to our beautiful country. This project focuses on the music (calypso), African dance and drumming, as well as the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago, the steelpan. Since our community has a majority of African descendants, we were able to clearly see their influence in all these areas. The calypso is a song. Its creation came from the slaves who were brought to work in the sugar plantations. The tribes were mixed and they were forbidden to talk to each other. Therefore, the African slaves began to sing songs. They used calypso, which can be traced back to West African ‘kaiso,’ as a means of communication and to mock the slave masters. It evolved during the ‘Mardi Gras’ and has become a major tool of social commentary. Today, the Soca and Chutney music are derivatives of calypso music. Dance has been influenced by every nationality that came to our shores. Persons in our community enjoy and display the various genres of this art form. However, the school chose to study the influence of the African music and dance. The rhythm of the drums and the dance steps has infiltrated the modern day dance movement, yet, it is still studied and performed in its original state. The steelpan originated from the ex-slaves who used old biscuit tins and oil drums to make their music. This has evolved into chromed musical instruments which has taken its place, and can rival any instrument in a musical ensemble.
3. Cyberfair Theme Learn and Unite Learning takes place when there is a change in behaviour. This project offers children a future which is possible, probable and preferable. They can choose the performing arts as a viable profession. It is possible for them to begin at once in the dance group, at the pan theatres and writing calypsos for the school or the Junior Competitions. They have recognized that they can make a living from pan tuning, dancing, singing calypsos and playing music. The history of our culture will be an inspiration to the future, as children begin to learn about the local music, musicians and dance that define, shape and build the community of Belmont. They need activities to occupy their leisure time and prevent them from undesirable pastimes.
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These gentlemen are from Belmont and one of them is even a past student of this school. Some of them are professional musicians who have played and or produced music with big bands such as Xtatic. They came together to show our students how it's done.
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4. Our Computer and Internet Access
Approximately 10% of the pupils of Belmont Government Primary have Internet access at home and there are fifteen (15) systems networked to a server with ADSL connection at 100.00 mbps in a lab at school. This access has been available for the past twenty one (21) months. It is a welcome tool as the pupils need to become proficient in the use of technology in this rapidly advancing global society.
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A view of our computer room
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5. Problems We Had to Overcome We found that everything went smoothly. Miss got a bit nervous when we couldn’t get an interview done on time but that didn’t bother us one bit. Then the camera wasn’t taping at one point but that didn’t stop our fun. No one even felt badly when the dance performance went beyond the 3:00pm dismissal bell. The teachers had great ideas for designing the web pages and linking the video footage. At one point the clips refused to download from the camera and there were anxious moments. We had to source expertise from the wider community (Parent Teachers Association P.T.A and past pupils). It was at this point that we learned some techniques in filming, sad to say we had already made mistakes that were too costly and time consuming to correct. We are now keeping our fingers crossed as we hope that the clips we chose would open on each system that attempts to do so.
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Oh, Oh! A Very Fuzzy Picture
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6. Our Project Sound Bite
Belmont is truly a bedrock of dance, calypso and steelpan – the rhythm of our nation. David Rudder put it this way, "This was the place to be in the 60’s and 70’s.The community was a vibrant hotbed of culture and creativity at that time, with Steelband Yards on nearly every corner, and Calypsonians mastering their craft as they watched the everyday happenings around them."
7. How did your activities and research for this International Schools Cyberfair Project support required coursework and curriculum standards?
Skills
Group Concepts
Class requirements
Discoveries
Internet
Yes, things came alive on the net and you can go at your own pace. Also it is just more exciting.
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