Something’s beautiful at St Bernadette’s

Tenisha Sylvester

On October 25, Holy Faith Preparatory School (St Bernadette’s), St Ann’s joined with children throughout the world to celebrate the amazing power of reading aloud. Whether it’s in the classroom, at home or in the community building literacy and language skills provides positive reading experiences, which instil a love of reading within children.

This year’s book was Maybe Something Beautiful by F Isabel Campoy and Theresa Howell and illustrated by Rafael López. The book inspires children to bring joy and love to their world in simple ways like sharing their talents and being generous with others. Maybe Something Beautiful follows a little girl named Mira who loved to “doodle, draw, colour and paint.” However, she grew up in a city which was gloomy. Mira would spread joy by painting vibrant pictures and giving them as gifts to her neighbours, until she met a muralist, whose art had a major impact on restoring vibrancy and joy to Mira’s community with her assistance. They painted the town cheerfully.

St Bernadette’s enhanced the experience for their students by having their art teacher Annalise Dos Ramos act the role of the muralist and standard four student Amaia Thomas acting as Mira. (By the end of the book they had created a beautiful painting depicting that of a mural.) There was also an interactive session where students from as young as junior infants to standard five were able to share their thoughts on the book and its intended message.

Jumpstart is an early education non-profit organisation based in the United States. The NGO is fuelled by “the core belief that every child has the potential to succeed with the right support.” St Bernadette’s has been a part of Jumpstart’s Read for the Record for several years. Maybe Something Beautiful was read by vice principal Rosalie Jacob.