St. George’s Prep Take Their Words For A Walk
[Written by Vejay Steede]
The residents and workers of the Old Town of St. George’s were treated to a whimsical parade of perceptive words and equally extravagant costumes yesterday, as the students and staff of the St. George’s Preparatory School [SGPS] took to the streets to celebrate life, love, and language for the school’s third annual Vocabulary Parade.
Each student picked a word to march with, and dressed to express their chosen word as well! From Anemone to Zany, this was a parade custom made for the etymological and loquacious amongst us to savor. Students, parents, and staff went all out this year to make this a spectacle of nomenclature, a veritable vision of vocabulary!
The perspicacious procession was led by a three piece drumline, which was directed by local luminary and musical genius Mr. Shine Hayward. The entire school marched from their perch atop Duke of Kent Street [next to the Unfinished Church] through the length and breadth of the Historical Town to the cadenced beat of the constant drum.
Townsfolk, visitors, and workers alike all clamored to catch a glimpse of the ominously adorable display as the children beamed with pride at their vividly verbose presentation. The parade itself lasted somewhere between 30 minutes and an hour, but the memories created for the students, parents, and spectators alike are sure to last significantly longer; it was certainly a day to relish, revere, and remember.
SGPS Principal Gail Smith was delighted with the participation this year, offering the following words on the fabulous foray: “We are excited about our third annual vocabulary parade at St George’s Prep. The parents did an outstanding job with helping their children to prepare for this fun event.”
Assiduously adding, “We had 100% participation, which is awesome. We have all learned some new words today – big ones, funny ones, technical ones, crazy ones! We are looking forward to hearing these words in our everyday vocabularies now!”
I will admit, I didn’t expect to learn any new words today, but there was this one word; a ridiculously robust oratorical gem called ‘Kakorrhaphiophobia’ … say that five times fast!
This word, meaning ‘an abnormal fear of failure,’ was paraded by SGPS Reading Specialist [who else?!] Natalie Roberts-Pitcher. I’m not sure how that mouthful is going to wrangle its way into the daily vocabulary of a busy Primary School, but it absolutely did make an impactful impression!
Front line parade organizer and Primary 4 Teacher, Mr. Chris White offered the following views on the studious staple: “This was our third annual vocabulary parade at St. George’s Preparatory School, and each year it has gotten better and better. We had drummers this year which really helped to get the attention of the public in St. George’s, and make it feel like a proper parade. I am really pleased with how everything came together.”
This year’s event did indeed come together wonderfully well, and a brilliantly ebullient time was had by all.
What a great story! Fantastic teacher to come up with this idea.