Lyford Cay International School celebrates Commonwealth Day
From Bahama Islands info
NASSAU, Bahamas — After learning that the song, “God Bless our Sunny Clime” was sung for the first time as the national song of The Bahamas at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting (CHOGM – held in the Bahamas in 1985), elementary students and guests at Lyford Cay International School (LCIS) had an opportunity to listen to the song. Grade six students at LCIS led an assembly to educate the school about The Commonwealth and to celebrate Commonwealth Day.
After spending several weeks learning about intergovernmental agencies in their Program of Inquiry unit entitled, “How We Organize Ourselves” students shared what they had learned with their schoolmates, parents and teachers. “Students learn so much from their peers,“ noted Head of Elementary, Isadora Blyden. “We are so happy to see an assembly like this come together. We all learned so much about The Commonwealth!” she added.
Grade 6 students, along with their siblings, presented the flags from each of the 53 Commonwealth countries in the Parade of Countries. They also presented informational posters on each country to encourage other students and teachers to learn more about the 
Commonwealth Countries. They played the Bahamian National Anthem on steel drums and gave a full history of the Commonwealth, as well as outlined the goals of the Commonwealth for their audience.
The Queen’s Annual Commonwealth Day message was also re-read as part of the special assembly. The national champion Rake n’ Scrape band from Gerald Cash Primary school were special guests at the assembly. They wowed the crowd with two lively rake n’ scrape songs and showed everyone assembled why they have been the national champions for four years in a row.
Commonwealth Day is celebrated around the Commonwealth on the second Monday in March every year. The goals of the Commonwealth are Friendship, Equality, and Diversity. The aim of commemorating Commonwealth Day is to promote understanding on global issues, international co-operation and the work of the Commonwealth to improve the lives of its two billion citizens.
The world’s largest and smallest, richest and poorest countries make up the Commonwealth and are home to two billion citizens of all faiths and ethnicities – over half of whom are 25 or under. Member countries span six continents and oceans from Africa to Asia, the Americas, Australasia, the Caribbean, and Europe.
“Bahamian culture is a vitally important component of our school curriculum,” said LCIS principal Stacey Bobo.“We are an International School but we are located in the Bahamas. We welcome every opportunity to share the incredibly rich Bahamian history with all of our students,” she added. “Our student body is 40% Bahamian, and these students are certainly very proud of their culture. I could see the Bahamians in the crowd smile with pride when they heard how instrumental The Bahamas was in the dismantling of South African Apartheid. And when the rake n’ scrape started, the Bahamian pride was overwhelming!”
As an international school, LCIS exposes students to many worldwide cultures. The school believes in the sharing of culture as it works to transform its students into global citizens. LCIS students avidly participated in Junior Junkanoo and the E Clement Bethel National Arts Festival. They learn Bahamian social studies as a part of their curriculum, and classes experience the local environment through transformational field trips throughout the Bahamian islands.
LCIS students are exposed to Bahamian cultural building blocks like Junkanoo through The Educulture Junkanoo Museum and Junior Junkanoo; art through various trips to the National Gallery, Transforming Spaces and visits to local artists’ studios; and the environment through partnerships with The Island School, BREEF and the Clifton Heritage Park as well as special field trips to San Salvador and Andros. They participate in the Bahamian MUN, and they compete athletically in the Bahamas Football Association (BFA), the Bahamas Scholastic Association (BSA), and the Bahamas Swim Federation (BSF) swim meets. They are very involved in many local community service ventures including Hands for Hunger, The Bahamas Humane Society, Operation Potcake, Cans for Kids, YesI (tutoring with LCIS student peers in conjunction with football) Adelaide Primary School, and the Stephen Dillet Primary School Enrichment Program.
LCIS fully supports Bahamian students wanting to apply for local scholarships as well. “Our IB curriculum is rigorous but we make sure that all Bahamian students have the opportunity to write local examinations including the BJC’s and BGCSE’s, “ said secondary school guidance counselor, Mrs Judy Reiach. “This makes them eligible to compete for local scholarships. We do not teach either of the BJC or BGCSE curriculums but we provide special dispensation for those students that want to learn the material and sit the exams,” she added. Despite the fact the these curricula are not taught as part of the daily curriculum, LCIS students have shown consistently excellent results with a 95% A-C pass rate in both national exams.
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