By: Precious Mills

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Monday 19th May 2025)-With skipping ropes swinging, hula hoops spinning and laughter echoing across the school yard, students of the Epworth/Maurice Hillier Memorial Junior School have been learning about the joy of old-fashioned games and more as the school marks its annual ‘No Screen Week’ (16th- 25th May 2025). 

New principal Mrs. Emilta Warner-Paul-an educator with more than twenty (20) years of classroom experience-is leading the charge to return students to the basics of childhood play under the observed theme ‘Let’s Skip, Leap and Jump As We Bring the Bible Stories Alive.’

“The objective of ‘No Screen Week’ is to pull children away from the television, from the tablet, from the phone, whatever is a screen that talks to them, and to let them see that life goes on without these particular items. This is something that the school came up with over a decade ago and I am just carrying on the legacy,” Warner-Paul explained during an interview with this reporter on Monday 19th May. 

This year’s weeklong event blends biblical stories with physical activity. The energetic theme was partly inspired by Warner-Paul’s own experience introducing pre-sports at the school.

“Coming from another private school, we had a hula hoop and skipping as part of pre-sports. I thought that I would introduce that to the school. They never had pre-sports before. They just heat and then sports,” she said.

When asked about the children’s response to playing the classic outdoor game, she pointed out that the surprise came when students showed how unfamiliar they were with such.

“When they had the skipping, I was surprised to see that the children really don’t know what skipping is like. The grades 3 and 4 and even those in grade 6 were struggling. They didn’t even go past five minutes but we still gave them some points based on the effort,” she recalled.

That observation sparked the idea to pack ‘No Screen Week’ with some old playground games.

“So I said, you know what? In the ‘No Screen Week’, we’re going to play some games that we used to play when there was no TV,” she said. 

One example was the popular team game Red Rover, which quickly caught the attention of the students.

“We had introduced one to them one morning after assembly: ‘Red Rover, Red Rover, send so-and-so right over and the children were all elated playing this particular game. They didn’t want to stop. So the older ones started and the younger ones wanted to get a do,” she explained.

Warner-Paul has been especially focused on structured, purposeful play. 

“They’re not accustomed to that structured kind of game. In the afternoon when the bell goes, they just run and run and run. Just back and forth chasing, playing tag. But sometimes when they play tag, they complain: ‘He hit me!’ So the severity of the target differs,” she noted.

As understood, Thursday afternoon club sessions have been swapped for throwback fun. 

“There’ll be skipping, there’ll be hula hooping, there’ll be doing footsie,” she added, explaining that footsie is a classic game involving coordination and rhythm.

“It’s a game that you put around your ankle. One foot is going around and the other one is jumping over. Like this. When you go to the back, the foot goes down. When you come to the front, you jump over,” she showed with enthusiasm. “Yeah, it’s going to be fun.”

The week also includes broader family engagement. A ‘Glow Walk” was held on Friday 16th May-an unplugged stroll where parents and children walked together without music or screens. On Saturday 24th May, the school is slated to host its ‘Read Around the Island’ challenge, encouraging families to visit scenic spots to read and then send in pictures.

 “For the glow walk event, we decided not to have any music. Just walk with your children and enjoy the evening…the conversations. And then on the Saturday, we have a read around the island. So you go and pick a favorite place to read with your son or daughter or your whole family and you take a picture and send it back to the school,” Warner-Paul stated.

Another innovation was the ‘Drop Everything and Read’ sessions, where a sound prompted all students to pause and read, regardless of the subject they’re studying.

On Friday 23rd May, staff and students as well as other supporters are expected to take to the streets for the yearly march.

The ‘No Screen Week’ is slated to end with a concert on Sunday 25th May.