The Emmanuel United Elementary School in Lae, Morobe Province, hosted its first-ever cultural performance yesterday at Cassowary Road.
Teacher-in-charge, Dennise Saragum, was overjoyed that her students, numbering at over 275, proudly dressed in their traditional wear and PNG colours and performed their singsing in their respective regions.
For over 5 years now, students at Emmanuel only dress in their PNG colours to observe Independence due to the limited space; the school is located within the United Church of Cassowary Road.
This year, however, Saragum and her team of eight teachers decided to do things differently by dividing the students into their respective regions of Momase, New Guinea Islands, Southern and Highlands.
“This year we got our students to dress up in their traditional ‘bilas’ and also come up with an item that they can present,” she said. “In the afternoons, we would practice for this.”
She expressed pride and joy that even the students’ families got on board and made the event even more festive.
The final group that performed yesterday were students from Momase, who were asked to perform their dance, popularly known in Morobe as ‘singsing Siac’, for the second time.
The children, aged between 5 and 7, sang loudly and proudly with their hearts, enunciating each word clearly. And when their second item, a song called ‘Balum Awi’ by Krotonz was played, all their sisters, aunties and mothers joined in and danced around them.
The teacher-in-charge noted their first successful event and expressed a need for the provincial government to quickly get their school registered so they can have their own space to observe important events as well as cater to the growing demand by parents to have their children registered there.
Saragum highlighted that Emmanuel United is the only English-speaking elementary school in Lae, aside from private-run schools. Because of this, most students are put on the waiting list by November every year.