Teachers will meet next week to develop a new curriculum for primary and pre-schools.

And if all goes according to plan, every level of Bermuda's public school system will have been revamped by 2001.

The middle school curriculum was written in 1996 and the senior school curriculum is expected to be finalised by September, 1999.

Curriculum coordinator Gina Tucker said educators aimed to make the transition from pre-school to primary to middle school as seamless as possible.

"Our goal is to align the pre-school and primary school curriculum with the middle school curriculum,'' she said. "We will focus on a curriculum which is Meta-Learning.'' This, she explained -- borrowing from educator and author Jim Harris, meant they were preparing students for the future by "teaching them to think about thinking, learn about learning, be more creative about creativity, and as a team member, work better with their peers''.

Teachers from pre-school through Primary Six will converge at CedarBridge Academy on Wednesday and Thursday.

"I will be responsible for the orientation session,'' Dr. Tucker explained, adding that the group will also discuss child development, Bermuda in the 21st century, tour the CedarBridge campus and divide into subject groups on the second day.

"This is very big time for getting the primary school curriculum to the level of meeting the challenge of the 21st century.'' After next week's meetings, teachers will get down to the business of writing the curriculum, including the rationale and infusing career awareness, information technology, and library information.

Dr. Tucker said this will be done with the input of parents and other members of the public via subject advisory committees.

Pointing out that curriculum at the primary level was paramount to an individual's future performance, Dr. Tucker said: "The primary school sets the foundation for everything, including high self-esteem and compassion.'' In addition to emphasising the importance of Meta-Learning, Dr. Tucker noted that students also needed to develop very strong literacy skills.

"This is about developing a literate environment whereby young people are immersed in language and language development,'' she said, "because it is the language development that underscores everything. Hopefully, with that we will build the confidence so that they can engage in active learning and application.'' Dr. Tucker added that the new curriculum -- which is to be completed by December 2000, fully implemented by September, 2001 and constantly evaluated, will involve more "authentic'' learning.

"It will be more related to their environment now,'' she said. "We will be looking at exemplary curricula from other districts and modifying it to address Bermuda's needs, but ensuring it is global.'' Among the curriculum changes, dance will be included in physical education, theatre will be added to English language arts and business studies and design and technology will be infused in mathematics.

The curriculum will also allow students to become as familiar with international business and what it means to the community as Iraqi youngsters are with oil, Dr. Tucker said.

"I really want us to have our young people understand the greatness of our community and feeling able to aspire to the opportunities available to them long before middle school,'' she said.

And while teachers will assess students on an ongoing basis by giving them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills, understanding, and knowledge through projects and other performances, there will still be standardised tests.

"We need to know how we are doing as a system,'' Dr. Tucker explained.

"Our goal is to create a curriculum that sets the foundation for students to take advantage of the first-class facility at CedarBridge and eventually at Berkeley, and at the Bermuda College.'' Parents and other members of the public can give their input by contacting Dr.

Tucker on 295-5614.