It's the fourth annual Preschool Teachers storytelling competition as teachers from all six districts hit the stage this afternoon at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts. Their stories were all original and were delivered to a young audience with short attention spans - meaning they really have to be entertained. Seven News was there and Monica Bodden reports.
Performer
"Long time ago in the beautiful town of Dangriga live an old lady who was called Nagut Cill. Can you say the word nagut for me boys and girls?"
Children
"Nagut."
Performer
"Very good."
The stage at the Bliss center for the performing arts came alive once more - as preschool teachers dressed up in costumes, showcased colorful props and told stories - in front of a packed audience of toddlers.
Leroy Green - National Expressive Arts Coordinator for the Ministry of Education
"This evolve from workshops that the ministry started having about 4 years ago actually in the year 2007 when I was hired at the ministry and we travel countrywide giving expressive art workshops to both pre-school and primary school teachers. A few years ago the idea came up of having a storytelling competition and the first year it was a bit small and then it gradually evolve to what you see here today."
Green told us what the objective of the overall competition is.
Leroy Green - National Expressive Arts Coordinator for the Ministry of Education
"The point of the competition is to allow the teachers to explore their creativity by writing their own stories, dramatizing the stories using the techniques and the skills that they are taught in the workshops as we go countrywide."
Over thirty preschool teachers took part in today's storytelling competition - from all six districts. The rules on the stage were simple as Green explained.
Leroy Green - National Expressive Arts Coordinator for the Ministry of Education
"There are strict to follow in that the stories have to be appropriate for pre-schools; last no long that 3-4 minutes; be appealing to pre-schoolers, told to an audience of pre-schoolers as you saw here this afternoon and their parents and that the stories must be original; they can't take anybody's work and tell it as their own."
And in the end there can only be one winner - and that was Sasha Gabb from Belize City. 2nd place went to Grace Young and Patricia Jones - also from Belize City and 3rd place went to the teachers from Dangriga - Faye Castillo, Sherry Ann Rivas, Leonie Petillo, and Nirisi Martinez.
Leroy Green - National Expressive Arts Coordinator for the Ministry of Education
"The prizes actually came from money which accrued from the festival of arts. The first place winner got $250, the second place winner got $150 and the third place got $100."
The name of the stories performed by the first, second and third place winners are - Beautiful Belize, When Jesus Dah mi Wah Lee boy and The Cassava Bread Man.
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