MASH celebrations in Region Two kicked off in grand style Wednesday with the start of the children’s round of competitions at the Anna Regina Community Centre ground.The event, which is organised by the Department of Education in collaboration with the Region Two Administration, opened with nursery-age children performing Dramatic Poetry under the theme “One People, One Culture, One Celebration”.

A pupil of the Mabel Sandy Nursery School in the Pomeroon was the first on stage to perform her dramatic piece, and start the ball rolling.
According to the Department of Education, the competition, which is scheduled to last three days, will focus on Dramatic Poetry and Calypso on the first day; Dance and Masquerade on the second; and Costume and Physical Displays on the third.
The 11 Nursery Schools vying Monday for the top spots in the Dramatic Poetry segment of the competition were: Mabel Sandy, St Monica, Hackney, Aurora, Huis t’Dieren, Lima Sands, Danielstown, Reliance, Cotton Field, Anna Regina New Nursery, and Anna Regina.
Of the lot, Lima Sands Nursery, which gave a good account of itself with a piece titled ‘Lets clean up our country Guyana’, came in at First Place, and will represent Region Two at the national leg of the competition in Georgetown from February 11 to 14. In Second Place was Huis t’Dieren Nursery, while Third Place went to Cotton Field Nursery.
In the 5-7 age group, which saw participation from five Primary Schools, namely Siriki, Huis t’Dieren, Mainstay Lake, Hampton Court and Suddie, Mainstay Lake did such an excellent job with a piece titled ‘I am a proud, ingenious woman’, that it not only won over the judges, but had the large crowd screaming for more. In the end, Suddie Primary had to settle for Second Place, and Huis t’Dieren third.
Meanwhile, in the 8-10 age-group, which had eight contenders, CV Nunes Primary came in first with a piece titled ‘Changing Times’, leaving Tapakuma Primary in second place and Good Hope Primary third.
In the Calypso segment of the event, Mainstay Lake Nursery took the first place with a piece titled, ‘Education for me’. Coming in second was Reliance Primary with ‘Message of togetherness’, while in third place was Anna Regina Nursery with ‘Ebola’.
In the 5-7 age-group, Charity Primary was the only entrant. But it was Mainstay Lake Primary which dominated the scene in the 8-10 age-group with its brilliant performance of a piece titled, ‘Lets celebrate!’
Children from Secondary Schools in Aurora, Anna Regina, Charity, Abram Zuil, and Johanna Cecelia also participated in the Dramatic Poetry and Calypso competitions. (Rajendra Prabhulall)