SECONDARY school students brought their vibes to the Region Three Children’s Mash competition on Thursday at the National Track and Field Centre at Leonora.

The event got off to a late start but the packed crowd did not mind the wait. As the various schools took to the stage to sing or dance, you could not hear yourself over the cacophony emitting from the stands. This cacophony was especially present when the upbeat Soca sounds were blasted over the speakers and the students brought their energetic routines.

But perhaps, the house was ‘brought down’ just after midday when a group of boys calling themselves ‘Rising Stars’, from the Vreed-en-Hoop Secondary School, took to the stage to perform their Hip-Hop routine. Of course, these older students – ages 11 to 17, brought superior dance choreography and in some cases, costumes, compared to the nursery and primary children.

The Department of Education in Region Three commenced activities celebrating Mashramani 2019 under the theme, “Celebrate 49 with victory in mind – Rediscovering El-Dorado.” Nursery school children kick-started the celebrations while the primary school pupils followed.

Coordinator of the Regional Children’s Mashramani Competition and District Education Officer, Caroline Daniels, told the Guyana Chronicle that the competition focused heavily on promoting the arts. Even in promoting the arts though these older students, they, however, took it a step further than the nursery and primary school children. Students from the Vreed-en-Hoop and Stewartville Secondary Schools also engaged in social commentary through the arts. The Vreed-en-Hoop school performed “Suicide Hurts” while Stewartville gave their “Dance of Hope”.

The students also engaged in the “pyramid” as part of the myriad of activities organised under the physical display section. This particular activity required a high degree of skill and coordination, which was definitely not lacking.