Better Futures Calendar Art Competition

The response to the statement "If I had one wish...", often reveals the inner-most desires, wants and needs of the person responding. Students across the Cayman Islands however have responded by way of artistic expression through the Better Futures Art Competition.

The competition is a part of the larger Better Futures Project betterfuturescayman.blogspot.com which is supported by Hedge Funds Care (Cayman) which aims to address the various barriers to learning that will directly impact on the future success of our children and our nation by targeting issues such as violence and low self-esteem.

The art competition can be found at betterfuturesart.blogspot.com and members of the public can go to the site to view the art and vote for the pieces they would like to see in the project's 2010 calendar.

Happy voting! (MR)

Work Experience at HHS

The work experience programme at Heritage High School (HHS) for the Year 9 students was conceived in the Autumn term, developed in the Spring term and delivered in the Summer term. The School Council were the first to work on making job contacts for Year 9s, and later on, Ms. Hilton, Head of Religious Education, built on the foundation they set by making more phone calls, sending e-mails and follow-up correspondence. Finally, the Year 9s were ready to go, equipped with their work experience pack supplied through the efforts of Ms. Neblett.

While it was challenging work for all involved in the planning, it was a great experience for the students. For the first time the students had a 4-day “taster” of work experience opportunity, learning new skills and responsibilities while having the chance to succeed in a new environment.

Thanks goes out from Ms. Hilton, who is also the coordinator of the work experience programme, to all those involved including Mr. Clark, HHS Principal, the Student Council, Ms. Neblett, and the many employers who gave the students an opportunity to have a taste of the world of work.

Above, Shaquelle General is hard at work at the Department of Education Services developing a flash-based quiz on the topic of All Things Cayman. Shaquelle also worked with robots as they relate to the ICT curriculum, MS Publisher to help in the creation of last week’s Educated Caymanian and had an introductory look at some of the resources on the Smartboard Interactive Whiteboard Notebook software. (Adapted from the Heritage Times, Newsletter of the Heritage High School)

Students Rewarded for NCFA work

The NCFA 2009 activities came to a fitting close today with the presentation of awards and prizes to schools and individuals that excelled in the various categories.

The festival continues to attract support from other governmental arms, service organisations and private sector entities as three sets of awards were presented by Rotary Central, the Cayman National Cultural Foundation and Hedge Funds Care.

Above, Denise Gower of Hedge Funds Care presents students from the Lighthouse School with their awards; and below, Rotary Central President Neville Smith presents Wesleyan Christian Academy’s Janell Jeremiah with the club’s award for the best literary piece with a Caymanian Theme.

This award ceremony came on the heels of the Butterfield Young Musician of the Year competition which was held June 16th at the Harquail Theatre.

The competition was won by Aziza LaPierre of John Gray High School, shown above, who demonstrated her skills on the only percussion instrument invented in the 20th century, the Steel Pan. (MR)

In Memory of Mrs. Beckles

It is our honour to dedicate the 25th issue of The Educated Caymanian, the newsletter of the Department of Education Services, to the memory of Mrs. Marjorie Beckles. Click the image of the newsletter below to see a full sized version of the newsletter. The tribute was written by Ms. Francine Gardner, Deputy Chief Education Officer. (MR)

CIFAA donates 30 laptops to Cayman Brac High School

Back Row, Mr. Adrian Jones (Principal, CBHS), Mr. Steven Durksen (ICT Manager), Mr. Michel Normandeau (CIFAA Representative – from Close Brothers (Cayman) Limited), Mr. Pedro Lazarri (Deputy Principal, CBHS), Ms. Dionne Smith (Department Head, CBHS).

Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association (CIFAA) has once again shown its willingness to support the learning and development of students by donating 30 laptops to Cayman Brac High School. The use of computer technology plays an integral role in the delivery of the school curriculum and students in every year group are encouraged to complete assignments, work on projects and conduct research using the internet and relevant software.

At the heart of this evolution has been the eagerness and comfort shown by every member of staff at Cayman Brac High School in the use of Information technology. This together with support from the Senior Management of the school and the Information Technology Department has resulted in a constant demand for the limited resources currently available. The donation from CIFAA will therefore greatly assist in increasing the provisioning of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) resources to students and will provide them with the necessary tools to take their education and learning to the next level.

In acknowledging the donation of laptops, Mr. Adrian Jones, Principal of Cayman Brac High School spoke on behalf of the staff, students, parents and Cayman Brac community saying “I would like to thank the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association for their profound generosity. These laptops will complement existing ones within the school, and will assist in our quest to ensure all students achieve the criteria established for ‘The Educated Caymanian’ and in particular the objective of being adept at using information and communication technology.

Minister of Education, Hon. Rolston Anglin, also expressed thanks to CIFAA and noted “Information technology is arguably one of the largest and most important factors shaping our world today and our students must have accessibility to use these tools so that they may develop and learn on par with their global peers. Colleges, Universities and most jobs today require young school leavers to be proficient in ICT and by our young people must have access at an early age so that they can be ready to embrace the technological world in which we live once they move into the workforce. The variety of technologies that teens can use to support their communication, research, and entertainment desires has expanded tremendously over the last few years and proficiency in these areas are increasingly becoming an essential part of every young person’s personal portfolio. To help in acquiring these skills we need more visionary organisations such as CIFAA to pitch in and help us to help our students and give them the best possible competitive edge when they leave our schools.”

CIFAA is the national association which represents companies that provide fund administration services to many of the 9,000 funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands. This active professional body is dedicated to the provision of a reliable, first-class service to satisfy specific client needs. It also provides educational opportunities to Caymanians and residents through scholarships and locally run seminars that focus on the industry and its developments. When asked why CIFAA donated the laptops to Cayman Brac High School, Michel Normandeau, on behalf of CIFAA stated, “Particularly given the impact of Hurricane Paloma last year, the CIFAA board members recognized that it is important for the youth of our Sister Islands to have comparable opportunities to the young people of Grand Cayman. By donating the laptops to Cayman Brac High School, we are hoping that the students of Cayman Brac will have the same access to technology as the students of John Gray high School to whom we donated laptops last year. We are also looking to increase the students’ awareness of the career opportunities within the fund industry in Cayman.”

Mrs. Shirley Wahler, Chief Education Officer added “This is yet another example of the outstanding support this community offers to our schools and young people. I have no doubt that students at Cayman Brac High School will put this generous donation from CIFAA to good use in supporting teaching and learning in the school.”

NCFA 2009 - Young Musician of the Year

From the 25th of May up until yesterday evening, students across the three islands took part in the National Children’s Festival of the Arts 2009.

Students participated in various categories including instrumentals, vocal, speech, drama, literary, art and dance.

As is the norm, the performances and submissions were of a very high standard and the festival will culminate with the Young Musician of the Year concert on Tuesday June 16, 2009 at the Harquail Theatre at 7 p.m. Admission is free, and the public is encouraged to come out and support the 11 students performing on the night. They performers are:

Jamesette Anglin

Appolina Bent
Dannia Clarke

Melanie Ebanks

Maxim Kazakob

Aziza LaPierre
Chantal Martin

Francella Martin
Beneil Miller

Kenroy Millwood
Zoey Robinson

In addition, there will be a performance by Michael Testori, Young Musician of the Year for 2008. (MR)

Child Month Walk/Run

One of the several activities for Child Month 2009 is the Walk/Run at Pedro St. James.

Click the flyer below to download the registration form. (MR)

Talented Teens at NCFA

Barnes Dance Academy Limited performs A Chorus Line

Designed as a means by which those students at the high schools on the island who will be sitting exams during the regular NCFA showcase got a chance to showcase their talents in the performing arts, the NCFA Senior Showcase 2009 saw performances from the public and private high schools which left no doubt about the talent in the Cayman Islands.

Stephany Durksen (St. Ignatius Catholic School) sings her original composition

From a choreographed chorus line to a self-penned solo, the production was a variety show par excellence and the patrons at the Prospect Playhouse on Wednesday April 29th and Thursday April 30th would have left more than satisfied with the show put on by our young people.

Good job!!!(MR)

NSPS Students visit Florida

Year 6 students at North Side Primary School went to a herpetology camp in St Petersburg, Florida last week.

The 5 day educational experience was held at the Boyd Hill Nature Reserve and the children were taught by George Heinrich, a Field Biologist of Heinrich Ecological services (http://www.heinrichecologicalservices.com/).

Click either picture below to go to the school's blog, or click the day by day links to see the specific entries for each day of the camp.

Day 1 ~ Day 2 ~ Day 3 ~ Day 4 ~ Day 5

(Taken from http://nsnorthsideprimaryschool.blogspot.com/)

May is Child Month

Click on the calendar below to see a larger image of the Child Month Calendar for 2009.

(Taken from the Cayman Islands Government Intranet Portal)