Charlestown-Nevis—Hot on the heels of the launch of her first book, Education Officer on Nevis, Mrs. Cynthia Grenyion has wasted little time in getting two more books out to the reading public.
At a brief but significant ceremony, held at the Cotton Ground Community Center on Sunday 5th June, in the aesthetic pleasantly decorated room, donned with purple and pink, with a sprinkle of yellow colour, she launched two books: “Rhythms of my Heart” and “Miss Johnson’s class.”
The programme was chaired by the young and dynamic Mr. Mario Phillip, teacher at Charlestown Secondary School. The launch began with the singing of the National Anthem and prayer followed by the Hymn ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness.’ The guests were also inspired by the rendition of the song “Tribute” which was sung by Mrs. Merlisia Cranston.
The book “Miss Johnson’s class” which is a Sunray Reader for children at Kindergarten to Grade three level, was the children’s feature, where a role play was performed in a class setting with teacher Mariella Gaskin. The students were from the Nevis Academy, Maude Crosse, Montessori Academy, St Thomas’ Primary and Ivor Walters Primary schools.
To focus on Child month’s theme: “Instill values, Build strong children, Secure the future.” Mrs. Palsy Wilkin Principal Education officer( P.E.O ) in Nevis highlighted in her review the varied features of the children’s book “Miss Johnson’s Class” with Jack ,Janet ,Jamie ,Jerry and Vicky ,My J book.
The illustrations from cover to pages were colourful and relevant for children. She indicated that the author promotes a fun way in teaching and learning, shows learning support and encourages integration. She declared that the author seeks to inculcate positive values and attitudes throughout the pages which embraces the Child Friendly framework that our schools in the OECS established.
Life lessons such as respect to self and others, self-control, dealing with bullying, taking responsibility for your actions ,dealing with conflicts, waiting their turn, listening to each other’s opinion ,being considerate and more values were evident throughout the classroom experience depicted in the book. .
She underscored that other than learning the academics the children in “Miss Johnson Class” will provide an example for children at all levels even though the book is written for Kindergarten to Grade three children. She said that values extend beyond the classroom for lifelong learning. She said that the activities at the end of the book provides reinforcement and engagement for learning.
In Mrs. Wilkin‘s discourse she implored parents and teachers to ensure they get a copy of Miss Johnson’s class because it shows the practical ways you can help children to conquer inner and outer conflicts ,emotionally ,socially and academically .
In response ,Mrs. Grenyion said the book was deliberately written to deal with classroom issues and to encourage teachers to develop the skill of creating a child- friendly environment for their success as well as their students ‘successes .The author posited that the Child month theme to Instill values…. can only be a reality if we consider that we are examples of what we teach ,we recognize that God values us ,we value others and if we allow no one to devalue our worth .She also included in the back cover of her book the quotations of educators including Mrs. Wilkin who declared that ‘A Child- Friendly school works together to make everyone succeed and makes every child feel like a winner .Consequently, the teacher plays a pivotal role in the development of a Child-Friendly environment.’
Mrs. Grenyion, confided that writing is a therapy for her and that it is her vehicle for impacting lives for positive change. She said that writing and reading are interwoven and that she is committed to author more books to empower people generally and to develop literacy, values and attitude and life skills in children, specifically.
She admitted that her children book ;Miss Johnson’s Class was inspired by the Olympian Thinking model that was facilitated last year at the Department of Education by Marilyn king ,Olympian Thinking coach of USA. The model encourages teachers to exhibit attributes of gold standard in their professional lives and to cultivate positive attitudes to impact their students’ lives through passion, vision and action.
On the other hand ,for the Poetry book ,Rhythms of my Heart excerpts were read about the Rhythms of Life ,Love ,Nature and Culture by friends from the author’s work place ,church and community. The poems selected evoked reflection and humour. The book Rhythms of my Heart is also an e-book and can be purchased on Amazon while Miss Johnson Class can be purchased on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and the author’s website http://sbprabooks.com/CynthiaGrenyion.
