The Tribune

By TA’VAUGHNA R THOMPSON

TODDLERS at Willard Patton Pre-School got a closer look at airplanes and the many roles of pilots during their recent discovery week.

Under the supervision of teacher Briel Jacques, a group of 21 students spoke to professional pilots to get a deeper understanding of the different types of aircraft.

Two pilots - Meko Gibson, of Bahamas Evac Charter and Cargo Services, and Lieutenant Rolle of the Royal Bahamas Defence Force - visited the school on Augusta Street, while the students were hosted on memorable field trips by Elizabeth Lynes, of Bahamasair, and Elizabeth Ferguson, from Nassau Airport Development Company (NAD), who took them on a tour of the terminals at the Lynden Pindling Internatonal Airport.

The students asked questions about why we use airplanes, types of airplanes, what we need to travel on airplanes and about the parts and insides of them and gained real-life experience for their chosen topic.

Mr Gibson said: “It was an enjoyable opportunity to pass on what I’ve learned and know onto the younger ones,” commending the students on how eager and receptive they were to his presentation. He engaged the students by having them give instructions to the student ‘pilots’ through the headset and spoke of his duties, such as flying people with medical emergencies. Some of the girls played the role of a stewardess.

Lt Rolle gave an interactive presentation about his duties and the different planes. “He also told the students about the parts found on planes such as the yoke, rudder, wings, engines and the glass cockpit,” Ms Briel said. “The presentation was informative and engaging for the students. Each child was able to touch the yoke and took pictures with the headset.”

The Ministry of Education Pre-School Division supports the use of the project approach, which is a programme centred on students rather than teachers.

Students were also able to travel to Bahamasair, where they greeted patrons and received tickets to different islands.

The culmination of the project was a display of the students’ work from the four weeks of the programme and their experiences, which parents and guests came to the class to view.

“Overall, the project was a success and students would have answered all of their questions through real life experiences,” Ms Jacques said.