Looking Back & Looking Ahead - Hilarian Career Day!

CAREER DAY: an opportunity to explore the various areas of professional commitment for anyone approaching adulthood.

For many students across Trinidad & Tobago, the opportunity to speak to professionals creates an indispensable bridge between the classroom and the workspace, and invites more serious thought behind the next steps in both an educational and career framework.

For a Hilarian, it is yet another turning point in the growth and development that is nurtured within the Chancery Lane walls. Whether you're a current student planning your next steps, or a past student giving advice, the connection among Hilarians is certainly strengthened with such a vast knowledge-sharing, energy-building exercise.

Students of Bishop Anstey High School happily flock media professionals Andrea Perez (red) and Samantha John (green & black), during the Hilarian Career Day 2016.

Since January of this year, Bishop Anstey High School has been hosting its annual Career Day, where students are being exposed to a myriad of professional options as it relates their interests and passions.

Some of the speakers for the BAHS Career Day 2016 will include:

Ms. Suzette Pereira - Educator

Ms. Tisha Jack - Events Manager and Entrepreneuse 

Ms. Camille Maloney - Human Resource Training Officer, Massy Stores

Ms. Andrea Perez - Editor and Senior Journalist

Samantha John - Anchorwoman, Radio Announcer, Media Personality and Event Host

Ms. Fayola Granderson - Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist

Ms. Anica Ghent - Lawyer

The Hilarian Career Day continues until March 2016. Best wishes to all students and professionals involved in this incredible exchange of knowledge and experiences!

Hilarians sing their way to the top at Music Festival 2016!

 What's a T&T Music Festival without the Bishop Anstey High School Choir?

Well, if you're posing that question to a Hilarian, you'd be sure to be met with a face filled with total perplexity - our track record speaks volumes!

This year, the Trinidad & Tobago Music Festival Association celebrates its Diamond Jubilee, and the 31st instalment of the competition commenced on Valentines Day. Students and schools from North, South, East and West Trinidad have been flocking to various venues across the twin-island Republic in several categories, in the hopes of reigning supreme among their musically-inclined peers.

The competition is now hosted under the patronage of the Ministry of Community Development, Culture & The Arts, whose line Minister is Dr. The Honourable Nyan Gadsby-Dolly, and has a long and illustrious history of nurturing young talent in our land. From the onset in 1948, the Music Festival has a long-standing tradition of encouraging the appreciation of music. So seriously was this responsibility undertaken by the Government of the Republic of Trinidad & Tobago, that an Act of Parliament was introduced "to promote and hold music festivals and to do all other such things as are incidental to the holding of such festivals."

Bishop Anstey High School made their mark once again this year, with a magnificent performance of "Wind of the Western Sea" in the Class JR-C3 for Primary or Secondary School Choir: Girls (15 years & under). The rendition earned the choir, directed by Ms. Lorraine Granderson, first place with 87 points. Holy Name Convent Junior placed second place with 85 points, and Sacred Heart Girls R.C. Choir came in at a close 3rd with 84 points.

Front Page-worthy: The Bishop Anstey High School Choir on the cover of the Sunday Guardian on Sunday 21st February 2016.

Adjudicator for the competition, Professor David Hoult, was very much impressed by the Hilarians' delivery of the piece, saying that the girls used "good dynamics of the music and perfect diction." Having studied at Manchester University, the Royal Northern College of Music and Lancaster University, as well as established himself as a professional singer (and brass player) and media personality with the BBC, we're sure that the girls were thrilled with the feedback from this former Principal of Leeds College of Music.

Ms. Lorraine Granderson.

The Bishop Anstey High School Choir seemed to have taken the month of February by storm - the award-winning choir was also recently invited as special guest performers at a concert hosted by Dr. David Michael Rudder during the Carnival 2016 Season. Led again by Ms. Granderson, their melodic voices for a special rendition of "Song for a Lonely Soul" certainly stood out for the packed audience at the Hotel Normandie - a performance which reportedly left attendees enthralled.

We can't say that we're surprised: Ms. Granderson has been helping the BAHS Choir make history all over recently!

Congratulations, ladies! 

Powerful book by Hilarian author uncovers the strength of Moses' Mothers

Hilarian author, Alison Southgate

As cliché as it may sound, behind every great man, there had to be a great woman. The son of two mothers, Moses the Israelite hero, was arguably better than 'great'. But the women whose courage, sacrifice and unending passion that made Moses' life possible have been disregarded over time. Hilarian author, Alison Southgate tells their story in her book, entitled “The Mothers of Moses”. 

The tale of Moses’ separation from his Hebrew mother, Yocheved is portrayed as a happy event on the River Nile in children's storybooks. As a mother of two small children, Alison could only imagine Yocheved’s emotional turmoil and the strength it took to allow her newborn to drift along the river on a bed of reeds. “The Mothers of Moses” was written during a challenging time in Alison's life (her mother's battle with breast cancer). She says of Yocheved, "That character is very powerful for me. I needed her to be strong, so I wrote her to be strong. That's why she's so strong. But she's also human. Her practice of always going back to God for her strength is something I try to emulate." Moses' Egyptian mother, Batya was the Pharaoh's daughter; she also demonstrated remarkable strength, in her defiance of her father through outsmarting him to help the people he oppressed. 

The Mothers of Moses - front cover

Alison remarks that Hilarians, too are made of a certain mettle; determined to think independently, make decisions and follow through. Not that there was an explicit lesson taught in valor, rather, it simply is the ethos of the school. She fondly remembers in 1985, when the Queen visited Trinidad and BAHS students were expected to attend a ceremony in her honour. Lower school students set off for the event, under the supervision of their sixth form prefects. Rain began to pour while they were walking, and Alison recalls her prefects debating whether they should turn back towards the school. They considered that sitting in wet uniforms at the event would surely make the students sick, which meant missing learning opportunities at school; they considered that arriving at the event drenched was no way to present as BAHS girls, to honor the Queen. With that, they decided to return to school, and to later justify their decision to then principal, Ms. Araujo, who positively affirmed the prefects' decision. 

Following her graduation from BAHS, Alison enrolled in the University of the West Indies, where she studied Natural Sciences. She graduated with honors, spent a year studying Behavioral Psychology, Computer Sciences, and volunteering at the Institute of the Hearing Impaired. Alison earned a scholarship and completed a Masters degree in Environmental Health Policy at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical studies. She successfully completed an internship in Geneva, Switzerland at the World Health Organization, focused on strategizing the improvement of rural public health: the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, communities and individuals. 

After returning to Trinidad, Alison applied her skills and experience to working for a UN affiliate, in planning science and math curricula for the Caribbean. Continuing work in the field of public health, Alison consulted with the Pan American Health Organization to work with community leaders in rural areas of Trinidad to strategize sustainable methods for public health change; from water and sanitation to food preparation to disaster preparedness. Later, she taught English in rural Japan. Alison's passion for helping others through public health and education likens her to Moses' Hebrew mother, Yocheved, who was a midwife  and caretaker of her people. Moses' Egyptian mother Batya recognized the hardships and oppression of the Israelites and through raising Moses, gave hope to the captives. In our contemporary time of racial injustice, religious wars, and other hardships, Alison intends that readers of "The Mothers of Moses" will find the story of its strong women compelling enough to inspire the hope necessary to persevere.  

The Mothers of Moses - back cover

Alison remarks, "the best part of writing this book was the learning; my talent is with words and I discovered that. I started with a blank word document every day, and I filled it. I filled it with something that came out of me. Something that can help others." 

The Mothers of Moses is available online: in Kindle/Hardcover, and is currently on library shelves in Canada. Join The Mothers of Moses Facebook group! 

Remembering a Hilarian Giant: Claudia Applewhaite

photo credit: Brian Green's blog

Dance educators are much more than ex-dancers passing on their craft; they are more like candles, consuming themselves to light the way for others. Hilarian Claudia Applewhaite lit the way for the many lives she touched as an educator through her multi-talented skills in dance, theatre, physical education, and sport.

Claudia began dancing from age three, and had been performing throughout her life. Her mother, the late Norma Farrell-Applewhaite was friends with Helen Mary Kaye, who founded the dance school where Claudia began. She attended Bishop Anstey High School, and following graduation, Claudia began studies for a Bachelor of Arts degree, with a double major in Languages and Physical Education at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. She earned a scholarship, switched programmes and successfully completed a Bachelor of Fine Arts, honours in dance, at York University in Toronto.

After her stint abroad, opportunity knocked, in the form of Sister Paul D’Ornellas, then principal of St Joseph Convent in Port-of-Spain. Claudia answered the call to teach dance to the fifth and sixth forms, and swimming to first and second forms of SJC POS. Next, she taught dance and gymnastics at Providence Girls’ School, and later progressed to the Success Laventille Composite (now called ‘Secondary), where she taught Physical Education. Following stints there as acting Vice Principal, and recognized for being a strict and effective disciplinarian, she became the unofficial Dean of the school. She is remembered fondly by a former student of Success Laventille, "I didn't know her as a dancer, I thought she was a runner! 'Cause when we did foolishness during school time and tried to run, she would run us down, and to my astonishment caught us and shared licks...I don't know about anyone else but she cared about us." Claudia remained at Success Laventille until her retirement in October 2012.

Claudia’s ballet classes began at Heather Alcazar’s Campbell School of Dance and moved later to the Caribbean School of Dancing. She was a founding member of the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theatre in the early 1970s, by which time she was doing performances of modern dance. In the 1980’s, collaboratively with four other senior Repertory dancers, Claudia revamped the late Astor Johnson’s company and made successful tours of Guadeloupe, Martinique, Cayenne and Caracas.

Claudia (left), pictured with hockey peers,
Margaret Hoyte-Pollard, Otto Phipps, Lorna Phipps and Angela Pidduck
Photo credit: Trinidad and Tobago's Newsday

An excellent field hockey player, Claudia who played at right half, represented Trinidad and Tobago on the national hockey team on many overseas tours throughout the Caribbean and in Scotland in 1975 at the International Federation of Women’s Hockey Associations’ tournament. As a midfielder heavily involved in all aspects of play, Claudia was known for her skill in both attacking and defending, linking passes between the fullbacks to the wing; supporting the forwards in offense or the fullbacks in defense.

Claudia cofounded CAMA (Crichlow, Agard, Marriot and Applewhaite) School of Performing Arts, teaching from babies age two to teenagers; and also cofounded CAMA Productions which staged musicals and plays. A July 1984 CAMA productions play, directed by Claudia was titled, "Sons and Mothers". Set in four vignettes, it examined the influence of West Indian mothers on their sons, and consequently, the relationships these sons have with their wives. Claudia's creative eye, crafting, attention to detail and diligence contributed to the play's resounding success. Claudia also found time to work on staging and stage management for the late Pat Bishop’s Lydian Singers for many years.

Claudia continued working with the Caribbean School of Dancing, volunteered to teach SEA teachers how to introduce the teaching of Performing Arts within the curriculum. She also taught dance at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. Despite her many consuming commitments, there was never any time when she was too busy to help someone. She was a selfless, willing resource and inspiration to anyone in need of her guidance. One woman inspired by Claudia's infectious teaching methodology and uncompromising discipline is Abby Charles.

Abby Charles is a Senior Program Manager with the Institute for Public Health Innovation, the public health institute for the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia. She is a Hilarian, and a dancer, trained at Caribbean School of Dancing.

Abby Charles
photo credit: Facebook

"As I write this, I am thinking about Modern Dance class with "Aunty" Claudia on Tuesday afternoons. I was a young Bishops girl at the time, and after school I would run over to Caribbean School of Dancing to take classes. Aunty Claudia would have live drumming as the music accompanying her classes, and that was so appealing to me. Far from a conventional teacher, when the drummers were not able to attend, she would beat her chair to provide rhythm for her movements. You always knew when she thought you were not giving our all in an exercise because she would look at you with a glare that said "you know how to do this, you could be doing much better." A stickler for technique, I learned so much from "Aunty" Claudia on the fundamentals of modern dance.

Fast forward to 2014, I moved back to Trinidad and went to Modern on Tuesday evenings. There was "Aunty" Claudia, still teaching and beating the chair. I think all of her students will remember her for the varied rhythms she would belt out on on that chair. Although well known by many as a teacher at Caribbean School of Dancing, Claudia Applewhite was much more. From what I know, she was a Hilarian, a hockey player who represented Trinidad and Tobago on the National Hockey team, a performer, and a dancer with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, honours in dance, from York University in Toronto, a founding member of the Astor Johnson Repertory Dance Theater in or around 1972, a teacher of dance at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, and probably so much more.

Claudia sought little to no recognition for her accomplishments, but she influenced and inspired so many with their talent throughout her life. Claudia Applewhite, 'Aunty Apples' was a legend to us dancers. My sincere condolences to her family and friends. It was an honor to have known and worked with her. I know that she is dancing with the angels and beating her chair to create a rhythm."