Blackman's Private School: Imagine the Future Now!

Blackman's Private School: Imagine the Future Now!

The pandemic affected our school overall, so we seek your help in providing tuition assistance (i.e., scholarships); staffing/administration/operations; school building (maintenance, repairs and upgrades); and technology and educational resources. Your support will assist us with pandemic recovery amidst rising costs. By contributing, you will be helping the children.

Donations of $100 or more will appear on our contributors' list and will be celebrated and posted in the administration office and on our Facebook page.

We are open to receiving other forms of assistance, gifts and inspired contributions, for example, sponsors who can directly pay service providers in full or part or make a donation to the school.

The various areas that can be sponsored include a new fire alarm system (new private school requirements), furniture and equipment, subterranean termite treatment for the premises; roofing upgrades; sound system upgrades; photocopier rental or purchase. Persons can also sponsor a new class time music programme; services such as interior and exterior repainting of the premises, paint donations, repaving of the grounds, and any of the school's other fundraising priorities.

Accessible, World-Class Education

It all began with a dream of accessible, world-class education. A husband and wife team – Mrs. Arlene and Mr. Kenneth (now deceased) Blackman, returned to the island of Trinidad, in the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad is the southernmost island in the Caribbean, just a few miles north of the South American continent. The Blackmans decided over 42 years ago to establish a Private Primary (elementary) school. Using their Canadian educational experience with mainstream, vocational and special needs students and more, they truly wanted to make a difference and contribute meaningfully through education in Trinidad and Tobago. We began after the first of 2 amazing educational summer camps called: the Blackman’s Summer School and Camp. After the camps, the parents and summer campers clamoured for the couple to open a school, so in 1981 Blackman’s Private School (formerly Maraval Centre for Learning) was established!

Transformative Education

We at Blackman’s Private School believe that we offer Transformative Education - meaning that education is not merely about getting the best possible grades but developing the body, mind, heart and spirit of each student. To us, Transformative Education is a movement for the synergistic upliftment of humanity and the environment. As such, although we are based in Trinidad and Tobago, we believe that our students are Citizens of the World!

We have been blessed with the amazing opportunity to be a part of the earlier foundational years of each child’s development, from ages 3 to 11+. Additionally, we feel uniquely positioned to create lifelong learners equipped to make a positive difference in the world, not by simply thinking outside the box but by thinking that there is no box and being solutions-oriented!

Because of the pandemic, this is now about all of us, as a collective, re-envisioning a better world. We envision helping to continue to mould our youth, who now, more than ever, will need to prioritise the normalising of balance and wellness in all domains of life. We endeavour, to empower youth to confidently and competently enrich the world with their myriad talents and abilities. They can build upon the good that has already been done and stand upon the many “shoulders of the giants” who have gone before them in the world!

Gaining Momentum

The fun-loving sounds of excited children have always been the hallmark of Blackman’s Private School. The idea was that school should be fun while simultaneously a place where above-average academic performance could co-exist.

Starting with a population of only 7 students, the school was soon bursting at the seams in just 4 short years, with 350 students who couldn’t wait to get to school every morning. The students came from all over the island of Trinidad – Chaguanas, Maracas, San Fernando, Trinicity, and, of course, Maraval, as well as the island of Tobago. Students came from all four corners of the globe: Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, the Caribbean Islands, Colombia, China, Ethiopia, Guyana, Hungary, Nigeria, the U.K., the U.S., and Venezuela, among others.

Who were these students who wanted to be a part of a school aimed at children who were not particularly enthusiastic about traditional schooling? A school where fun was a sacred commitment for the founders.

The students were a mix of local and primarily foreign children in the early years. The parents liked the idea of innovation and novelty in the concept of the school. The children loved not wearing school uniforms and enjoyed the full air conditioning and lying on the carpeted floor, each with his/her individual headphones and tape decks while listening to stories they enjoyed in the school’s friendly, welcoming environment.

What an amazing, enjoyable experience we all had.

Parents were stunned to see how eager their children were to come to school. Teachers were bubbling with ideas and enthusiasm to make their students enjoy our different approach to education.

Teachers served lunch to the students in class and ate with them while promoting the art of conversation and, at times, listening to classical music. The monthly school newspaper – KABOOM – was a big hit as it contained exemplary samples of students’ work and other items of interest to the students. Computers were used in the classroom before most schools. The whole atmosphere resulted in students not wanting to go home at the end of the day.

Wonderfully, when the school’s name changed to Blackman’s Private School, the philosophy of “learning is fun and enjoyable” remained the same; i.e., learning with methods that always included fun and enthusiasm. With reasoning and logic skills at the core of the students' learning, the school's programme is designed to have children retain and develop their natural inquisitiveness and curiosity for learning, encouraging students to foster mental agility and creativity.

Throughout the school's history, and to this day, math, reading, science, chess, singing, drumming, and Friday morning Talent Time are major appeals. The school aims to develop competent and confident students and citizens with a sense of purpose and mission.

With the name change, students were dressed in neck-ties and uniforms for the convenience of their being readily-identifiable in public like other school children in Trinidad and Tobago. The idea was accepted.

Nurturing Talent

The students' academic performance reflected the effectiveness of the enlivening learning methods. For example, students read as if they were a television newscaster looking out at the camera while using lots of expression and fluency. In addition, the traditional subjects were taught using unique approaches in most instances.

Most school graduates – over 80% – traditionally have obtained their choice of secondary schools since the school’s inception.

Memorable occasions such as Sports Day, where both houses, Pelican and Ibis, confronted each other while shouting boisterous team chants, stand out for countless past pupils and their families, and bring immediate smiles to their faces.

Blackman’s Junior Chess Champions (primary school level) regularly played against high schools such as Queen's Royal College, Fatima College, St. Mary's College, Trinity College, St. Francois Girl’s College, etc. These young students showed that age was only a number as they beat many of their senior opponents. Blackman's Junior Chess Championship Team was the first Primary School team to represent Trinidad and Tobago in the FIDE's World Youth Chess Championship in 1992 in Duisburg, Germany.

At Blackman's, we always believed that chess promoted mind development. As such, this led to the school having a strong chess programme. Blackman's previous chess coach, Anderson Gordon, and many past students introduced chess to many primary and high schools around the country. Since then, chess has been identified as an official sport in Trinidad and Tobago. Currently, the school has Mr. Adrian Alex Winter Atwell, FIDE Chess Master, coaching the school's chess club. Mr. Winter Atwell was Trinidad and Tobago's top scorer in FIDE's 44th Chess Olympiad 2022 held in India.

The Steelpan is Trinidad and Tobago's national instrument and the only instrument invented in the 20th century. It is with pride that we offer Steelpan classes as an extra-curricular activity at the school. We look forward to having it taught during regular class time as a holistic music programme, with your assistance! It is the school's dream to have an actual Steelband and fuse the Steelpan music with the other local forms of rhythm and music – Afro-Caribbean drumming, Tassa drumming, Trinbago rhythm section, Tamboo Bamboo, etc.

Afro-Caribbean drumming was introduced, and the school’s drumming club became a force to be reckoned with. The Blackman's Private School Trintofusion Drummers appeared at the Sanfest primary school competitions and won several times. Our school was the only one to feature a mix of boys and girls in our drumming team, with children as young as five. The opponents were inspired.

We are so glad to have had the privilege, along with the parents and guardians of past students, to help empower them to contribute to society. Past students contribute to a wide variety of fields, uplifting many lives. They have been leaders, teachers, and changemakers in too many areas to mention, such as Education - Teachers and Lecturers in all levels of Education, Environment, Governance, Religion, Media, Psychology, the Music Industry, Engineering, Law, Dentistry, Accounting, Veterinarian studies, Traditional and Holistic Medical Healthcare, Music, Art, Marketing and Public Relations, Acting, Chess, Martial Artists, Information Technology experts, Entrepreneurs, Athletes, National and International Scholarship winners and so forth. We have had Graduates from Universities such as Cambridge, Howard University, University of Oxford, University of Trinidad and Tobago, University of the West Indies, Yale, and so on.

Here is a small sample of students, among many others, who have stood out:

These students embody the mindset that the school wholeheartedly embraces:

“Leave the world a better place than how you've met it!”

The Solution: Re-imagining the Future of Blackman's Private School

In addition to regular ongoing costs and rising inflation, the school is also in COVID-19 pandemic recovery mode. Your help will allow us to help children realise their potential and expand our accessible world-class education offerings. We welcome all children of all backgrounds. We are proud of the wide range of backgrounds from which our students have come. We believe every child is worthy of the help needed to realise his/her fullest potential. We relish the opportunity to help if we can. As you contribute to the school, you are contributing to future changemakers of the world.

Many areas can be assisted, as we have mentioned above. Our main fundraising priorities fall into these main categories:

1) Pay it Forward Tuition Assistance Fund – Since its inception, Blackman's has enrolled and sponsored numerous students in financial need. Offering accessible, high-quality education is at the heart of what we do, and with your support, we can offer full and partial scholarships to many more budding, brilliant scholars.

2) Staffing, Administration & Operations – Rewarding our hard-working staff is a priority for us and enhancing our ability to attract, hire and retain new staff, consultants and professionals.

3) School Building (Maintenance, Repairs, Upgrades) – There are new regulations for private schools, and we will be required to make significant upgrades to be fully compliant. Additionally, we are always continuously looking for ways to fundamentally improve the experience of students, teachers and other support personnel.

4) Technology and Educational – We desire to upgrade the IT infrastructure, including software, computers and touch-screen, interactive whiteboards, etc., to match the fast-paced technological changes in today's world.

Other ways you can assist

We have researched how other long-standing independent, private schools locally and abroad last, expand and stay relevant. Fundraising is a vital part of their ability to sustain and enhance the services they provide students. Blackman's Private School is not subsidised by the government or any other organisations, religious or otherwise. From our research, fundraising allows educational institutions to keep their fees as low as possible while giving students the best possible schooling experience.

This GoFundMe fundraiser is kickstarting a larger overall fundraising strategy to enable the school's vision to expand our offerings of accessible world-class education. We noted that other schools had received donations from past students and well-wishers. Gifts as significant as a school bus, playing field, etc., have been donated to enhance students' learning experience.

There are other ways you can support. You can support the school by donating:

For these other ways to contribute and more, please contact the GoFundMe organiser, Jen Young.

We look forward to your help to keep us going and growing. To those readers who are inspired to contribute, we invite you to consider this worthy cause.

IBIS and PELICAN supporters (present and past students and well-wishers), please identify yourself in the Donor comment section. There will be 1 House Point for every $10.00 raised by your House!

Past students! We are creating a database of alumni. Don't hesitate to contact us via telephone, the Blackman's Private School's Facebook page or by messaging Jen Young, this GoFundMe organiser.

Please bookmark this page, and follow us as we continue to update you on our journey!

It would be wonderful if you could share, share, share this fundraiser with your contacts; we would be most appreciative! Thank you!

With gratitude,

Blackman's Private School Team