The Sagicor Visionaries Challenge

What Students Say

Interviews by Feona Morrison with photos by Arian Browne

At the Sagicor Visionaries Challenge – Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) Competition, held recently at the Umana Yana and won by the Zeeburg Secondary School, we interviewed students who took part in the event and asked them the following questions:

1. What made your school decide to enter the competition?
2. What are your views on the projects that the other schools have on display?
3. What was your role in putting the project together?
4. Do you think that this should be an annual competition with more schools  involved?
Their responses follow:

20130325daviamarajDavia Maraj, Central High School – ‘The name of our project is Improving Environmental Conditions in an Educational Centre. We decided to enter this competition because we have an avid interest in Science, we are currently third form students with intentions of entering the Science stream. Another reason why we also entered the competition is because we wanted to highlight our school’s current science laboratory which is out order. We have inadequate storage space for materials and chemicals, inadequate working space, poor ventilation and a poor drainage system. Our aim is to give a description of how our school laboratory should look, reduce the use of plastic bottles in the environment and increase the number of students in the field of science. So far the projects that I am seeing are great. I would like to see more schools participate and this should be an annual competition. My role mainly was to create posters for display and carry out surveys.’


20130325timongernerTimon Gerner, Mackenzie High School
– ‘We decided to enter this competition because we wanted to showcase software called Ideal Student Educational Environment (ISEE). Our goal is to help students learn in an appropriate way and learn better. This software has a lot of advantages; it helps students to learn from a method that is appropriate to their intellect and it reduces the use of bulky text books and exercise books. So far the projects by the other schools are very creative. I think if I were to compare my school’s project to the other schools, I would be biased. My job mainly was to help develop the software.’

 

20130325nicholaselliotNicholas Elliot, Queen’s College – ‘The name of our project is Methan Omme, Powering a Paperless future. We decided to enter this competition because we wanted to showcase our school’s talent and win. Our main aim is to reduce the amount paper piled up at our school. We took about three weeks to plan this project and two days putting it together. I must say that this is an idea we had planned out long ago. It was two days of intensive work. Looking at the other projects from the other schools we think ours is great. I think that this event should be an annual one and I would like to see more schools participate.’

 

20130325jenellejohnsonJenelle Johnson, St Rose’s High School – ‘We wanted to enter this competition because there are great prizes up for grabs, like the trip to Miami to visit the Kennedy Space Centre. Our project is called Proper Ventilation Enhances Learning, because our classrooms do not have proper ventilation and it makes learning uncomfortable. I think that each school has something that would better the environment. This event is very great because it helps students to be creative. This should be an annual competition.’

 

20130325lisachallmersLisa Challmers, Richard Ishmael Secondary School – ‘Our project is called Improving Literacy and Numeracy in Schools. We decided to enter this competition because we see it as a great opportunity to showcase our creativity. Our main goal is to use solid waste materials as teaching aids, to make teaching more interactive. We took about a week to gather all of our resources from around the school. The other schools have unique projects like ours. I think that they should make this an annual competition and we should have more schools participating.’

 

20130325kevingarbaranKevin Garbaran, President’s College – ‘We have a pollution problem at our school. The waste from the dining hall is improperly disposed. We decided to enter this competition because we wanted to highlight the situation and create a solution for it. Our project is called Biogas Our Solution to Reduce Pollution. I have seen some very interesting projects on display and they stand a good chance at winning. This should be an annual competition and more schools should get involved because it brings awareness to environmental problems.’

 

20130325recardophillipsRecardo Phillips,  Bishops’ High School – ‘Well we decided to enter because we wanted to get the environment off the use of fossil fuel and not forgetting the trip to America. The other schools have some very competitive projects, but in the end only one will win. In preparation for this project we had to do some research and it took us like about four days to put everything together. I think that we should have had more schools participating and I think that they should make this an annual event. The name of our project is Fibre Fuel.’

 

20130325natazieabumburyNataziea Bumbury, Zeeburg Secondary School – ‘Our project is called The use of the Shrimp Dryer to reduce Air Pollution at Zeeburg Secondary School. We decided to take part in the competition to reduce air pollution at our school. The other schools have some very innovative projects and I must say wow! Guyana is quite a talented country. For this project I had to go on the sea walls and interview the fishermen. We had to organise events to help raise money to buy the equipment. I think that they should make this an annual competition and more schools should get involved.’

 

20130325yograjraghunauthYograj Raghunauth, Anna Regina Multilateral School – ‘Our school wanted to enter this competition because we see it as a great opportunity to display our creativity and talent. We also wanted to bring awareness to green energy in the environment. Our project is called Green Solution – Magnetic Energy and Solar Energy. I have seen some awesome projects displayed by the other schools and I think that it is going to be a very tight competition, since each school is depicting a way to help better their environment. I think that solar energy should be widely used because it does not pollute the air and it produces no greenhouse gases. It would also help householders to reduce their electricity bill. If this is introduced, it would help to decrease global warming. This event should be held every year because it would help students to come up with creative ideas that can better their lives and the earth.’

 

20130325brianbasuderaBrian Basudera, Saraswati Vidya Niketan – ‘We wanted to motivate the people in our community. The other schools have great projects but I think that ours is the best. We took about two weeks to put our project together and our group comprises eight members. Our project is called Eradication of mosquitoes using Bacillus Thuringiensis. Bacillus Thuringiensis is a gram-positive, soil-dwelling bacterium, commonly used as a biological pesticide. I was responsible for designing the posters. This event should be held every year so that people could share their views and ideas.’