Children attending early childhood institutions in Portland, Trelawny and St Catherine benefited from a day of fun, food and frolic as the Sagicor Foundation treated them to a fun day on National Children’s Day, which was observed on Friday, May 20.

The fun day saw students, staff and parents from the schools under Sagicor’s Adopt-A-School Programme – John Anglin Basic School in Warsop, Trelawny, Bermaddy Basic School in Linstead, St Catherine, and Charles Town Basic School in Charles Town, Portland – being transported to Hope Zoo in St Andrew for an engaging day of activities with Sagicor team members and volunteers.

Led by the energetic Jennifer “Jenny Jenny” Small, the students participated in a series of educational and sensory stimulating activities throughout the day – reading, playing, enjoying rides and petting animals from the zoo – while their chaperones found value in a financial wellness session with experts from Sagicor Bank, Sagicor Life and Sagicor Investments.

The educators received gifts in celebration of Teacher’s Day, which was recognised earlier this month, while the tots received special Child Month goodie bags from their friends at the Sagicor Foundation.

Angela Graham-Miller, principal of Bermaddy Basic School in St Catherine, said her students and staff were elated to be among the guests of honour at the treat.

“It was a good venture for us, especially since we have not been out as a school for a long time, due to COVID-19,” said Graham-Miller.

“The parents are also very happy to be here, and they really appreciate the financial information session.”

Graham-Miller also expressed gratitude to the Sagicor Foundation for selecting Bermaddy Basic to be one of the three schools that are undergoing renovations through the Adopt-A-School programme this year, citing that the infrastructural improvements will allow the school to serve more students, and in a more comfortable environment.

In the meantime, Cherica Hinds, a parent from Charles Town in Portland, expressed that she was pleased with the improvements at her son’s school.

“I am happy to see what Sagicor is doing islandwide through this programme, and I’m very satisfied to see that my son’s school was selected to be a part of it this year,” said Hinds.

“My son woke up very early this morning, because he was very excited to come to the fun day, and he had a lot of fun.”

Michelle-Ann Letman, manager of public relations and corporate social responsibility at Sagicor Group Jamaica, said her team was delighted to be able to engage with the students, teachers and parents in such a wholesome way.

“We are very happy to be able to spend time with our youngest stakeholders in this way again, since the pandemic caused us to take a hiatus from most of our in-person activities over the last two years.

“We know the importance of play to children’s development, especially at this age, and they had a blast today exploring the zoo, and petting the animals – some of which they have only ever seen in books and on screen,” said Letman.

She also highlighted that the teachers and parents benefited greatly from the day out, as Sagicor Foundation volunteers were on hand to care for the children while their caregivers were celebrated.

All students registered to these schools will also receive a gift of $1,000 in their Star Savers savings accounts, which their parents can open for them at their closest Sagicor Bank branches.