News from 2000 News from 2000After 22 months in Guyana, working for GEAP in Region 6, Bernadette Higgins left the country today on her flight home. With five others, she was amongst the first group of VSO workers to arrive here in March 1999.
Miss Bernadette (as she was known to teachers and students in the Corriverton area) was responsible for developing remedial education strategies and resources. During 1999 and early 2000, at a time when GEAP staffing in Region 6 was few and far between, Bernie led the introduction of many teacher-training programmes. As her remedial work focussed more and more on reading, she became a fierce campaigner for more books in schools.
Bernie initiated the idea of HOP (Holiday Outreach Programme), and working with others in the local community, developed and organised an immensely enjoyable two weeks for children in August 2000.
Bernie's laugh, smile and sense of humour will be missed by all!
Following on from the hosting of the Cyril Potter College of Education Page on the GEAP site, the National Centre for Education Resource Development (NCERD) has agreed that their resources can be web published too. Following this liaison between GEAP and NCERD, GEAP started to host the new NCERD web site today. It is available at www.sdnp.org.gy/ncerd/
The Web Site contains information about the centre, along with some online resources and useful links for teachers and students in Guyana. The IT section is particularly well-developed with pages on Computer Basics and the History of Computing. All of these resources were developed by the former NCERD IT Subject Specialist, Camillus McElhinney together with teachers from Guyana. They have been added to and web-published by the GEAP IT Subject Specialist, Stephen J Wilkinson.
The building work contracts for Skeldon Line Path and Linden Foundation were signed today by the Permanent Secretary, My Hydar Ally and Mr Nabbi of Nabbi and Sons Construction Ltd.This clears the way for building work to start as soon as possible after Christmas.
The Linden Forum for Education and Business was today launched at a meeting held in the Regional Democratic Council Boardroom. Patricia Wilson, lead facilitator of the event, was delighted that the first meeting of the forum had sparked such an interest from both the education and the business communities.
LINFEB, along with its sister organisation CORFEB in region 6, is made up of persons from the Department of Education, business community, schools and churches. It's aim is to identify methods of helping the business and education sectors to complement each other.
GEAP, working with the Region 10 Education and Talent Association (RETA), started an update programme today. Broadcast by LTV, as part of the RETA programme, the information will reach all residents of Linden.
The first programme contained a general update on GEAP, with particular emphasis on the groups that have recently accessed the Education Access Fund (EAF). Another update is planned for next month.
Löen Persaud today started work for GEAP in the Georgetown Office. She will be the first point of contact for anyone visiting or 'phoning the office as well as assisting the GEAP Management Team with clerical duties.
The GEAP IT team today worked in Region 6 to get Internet access for the entire computer network in Tagore Memorial Secondary School. This will allow students and teachers at Tagore to email persons around the world and to access the vast amount of information on the World Wide Web - including the GEAP Web Site!
Consultant John Hilsum from the United Kingdom and Regional Advisor Paul Worrall conducted training programmes for the headteachers and Department of Education staff in Region 6 this week. This supported schools and officers in the development of their Improvement Plans and is the second of its kind conducted by Mr. Hilson through GEAP (previously he was here in October 1999).
Yvonne Joseph, the Community Development Facilitator for Region 10, today boarded her plane back to the UK after 18 months spent working in Guyana for GEAP. She was a member of the initial team of VSOs to arrive here in March 1999.
Yvonne played an active role in developing and supporting community groups in Linden, working closely with literacy, education and research groups such as FREED, PATH and the Parent-Teacher group at Coomacka Primary School. In recent months, much of her time has been spent working towards publishing two major publications for Linden - a directory of community groups and an Oral History. The NGO Directory was published just a week ago. The Oral History is being proof-read as Yvonne flies home.
The initial meeting and formation of the Corriverton Forum for Education and Business (CorFEB) was held today. Present at this meeting were members of the business community, representatives from educational institutions, Sue Miller (GEAP Region 6 Community Development Facilitator), Ashwari Ramdas (Region 6 Community Development Worker) and GEAP Consultant Andy Borthwick.
The first conference with the entire Teacher-Support and Community Development teams was held at Timberhead on 25th September 2000.
With the arrival of Sue Miller in Region 6, Adrian Greenhalgh, Rawle Craig and Patricia Wilson in Region 10 GEAP is finally up to its full strength of personnel. The Timberhead away day gave all team members a chance to get to know one another, review what has happened already and plan for the future.
All of the GEAP Management Team, Teacher Support Team, and Community Development Team spent a profitable day and two nights at Timberhead, reviewing activities to date and looking towards the way forward. Work was started on the Project Logical Framework (LogFrame) - to be continued later this week by GEAP Management, together with officials from the Ministry of Education.
Other pictures of the retreat are also available online:
A directory of all community groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) in Linden has been compiled by Yvonne Joseph, Rawle Craig, Doreen Langhorne and Stephen Wilkinson. This was printed earlier in the week and distributed to interested groups today.
The first GEAP Education Access Fund Presentation Ceremony was held today. Monies from it were awarded to community groups from Regions 6 and 10 in order for them to develop local education projects. The groups and projects receiving money were:
Region 6
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Region 10
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World Literacy Day hit the Corentyne today, as Bernadette Higgins of GEAP organised a READ, READ, READ day in four locations across the Region 6 project region. In the morning passers-by were invited to stop and read. In the afternoon reading sessions were carried out simultaneously at Crabwood Creek, No. 43 Village and No.63 Villages.
Approximately 130 people (children and adults) attended the various afternoon venues and the event was received very positively by all.
Two new VSO workers arrived in Linden today to support GEAP in Regions 10 and 6. Adrian Greenhalgh will be working alongside Stephen Wilkinson as an Information Technology Subject Specialist in Region 10. Sue Miller is spending a litle time meeting Yvonne Joseph, Savitri Ramdass and Diana Swan before travelling down to Region 6 to start work there as a Community Development Facilitator.
Region 10 Education Office, with support from GEAP, today launched the GO initiative - an awareness raising campaign intended to encourage children back into secondary school. Short adverts will be shown on local television over the next two weeks. With the whole community putting over the same message it is hoped that children that have "dropped-out" of school may return to education.
Production of the campaign was by Stephen Wilkinson, with Steve Cooke providing the background musical "jingle".
Local teachers and parents have today invited children to attend the first Holiday Outreach Programme(HOP) in Region 6. Every day for two weeks activities are organised around the four themes of Sport, Art, Literacy and Music. Two hundred children are expected to attend.
Part of the literacy activities will be poetry writing, based on the topic of sugar cane and facilitated by Sarah Wood of GEAP.
Sponsorship of the HOP is by GEAP, with coordination of activities, transport
and food being undertaken by Bernadette Higgins of GEAP.
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Sugar Cane (Khamawattie, Mellisa, Andy, Shabmeishan, Malini) Tall, green leaved, purple stemmed, |
All Primary Top teachers in Linden start an intensive five-day training programme today at Christianburg Wismar Secondary School (CWSS). Monday concentrates on Middle-Management issues with Heads of Departments looking at their role more closely. Tuesday's theme is cross-curriculuar with Pastoral Care, Working with Parents and Literacy all on the agenda.
From Wednesday to Friday all teachers will be working in subject specific groups, developing schemes of work for the new academic year. Leading these groups are Siva (Maths), Steve Cooke (Ind Arts), Jenny Bourne (Ind Arts), Carol Benjamin (Home Ec), Elaine Payne (Home Ec), Jacqueline Boyce (Home Ec), Leena Vadher (Science), Sarah Wood (Science), Jean Hales (English). Marjolien Spee (GEAP) supported some of these groups with a session on supporting remedial learners.
Coordination of the training is by Miriam Zephyr of Linden Learning Resource Centre (LLRC) and Ed Denham and Stephen Wilkinson of GEAP.
GEAP personnel, together with special invitees from The Ministry of Education, Cyril Potter College of Education and the Secondary Schools' Reform Project, met this weekend for the fourth GEAP retreat.
Items disussed were inter-agency cooperation and communication, assessment and school-community involvement.
Steve Bradley has this week started work as the new Project Manager for GEAP, taking over from Helen O'Reilly.
Similar to an event held in Region 6 a week ago, the first order of GEAP text books was handed over to Linden schools today.
Mr Edward Glover, the British High Commisioner, presented the books on behalf of GEAP and the UK government. Ms Yvette Layne, acting as Regional Education Officer, gratefully accepted.
Richard Ramnarine today started work as the latest addition to the Region 6 GEAP teacher-training team. He will be responsible for basic IT training.
He is due to be joined in a month's time by Kim Spencer. She will work closely with Richard, developing and coordinating training programmes in the project area.
New Silvercity Secondary School (NSSS) today facilitated the first ever Linden-wide Careers Fair. Held at Linmine's Constabulary Recreation Hall all secondary level students from Forms 3 and 4 were invited to hear valuable advice and uplift careers information from many local employers.
During the day people spoke from Banks DIH, Courts, Sparta Global, Demerara Bakery, The Guyana Defence Force, National Agricultural Research Institute and many other firms and organisations. After the presentations, students had the chance to chat informally and ask questions as they looked over the stalls.
All that attended, felt the event to be a great success - a tribute to the organisers, Miriam Gillis, the headteacher of NSSS, and Stephen Wilkinson, the GEAP Guidance Subject Specialist.
Work has finally been completed at CWSS and the IT Lab is finished. Inside the air-conditioned room are 15 COMPAQ Personal Computers networked together to share two printers and one flatbed scanner. All have Microsoft Windows 98 and Office 2000.
Training of teachers at CWSS is due to start on the 6th March. If all goes according to plan all CWSS teachers should be trained to a basic level by the end of the July 2000.
The computers will be available to fifth form students after they have completed their important CxC studies. Come September, other forms will be timetabled to use the facilities.
Norma Mackenzie and Sarah Woods joined the GEAP Team in Region 6 today. Both are VSO volunteers. They double the number of teacher-trainers in Region 6 from two to four. Both are eager to start work, Norma as the English teacher-trainer and Sarah as the Science teacher-trainer.
His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales together with His Excellency The President of Guyana, visited the project regions on Saturday 26th February 2000 as part of the Prince's trip to the Caribbean and Guyana.
In Linden the Prince and the President of Guyana, His Excellency Mr Bharrat Jagdeo, laid a foundation stone for the new Linden Foundation Secondary School, to be sited in Amelia's Ward.
The party then moved over the river and unveiled the name for the new west bank secondary school - Wisburg Secondary School.
This is to temporarily occupy the old St Aidan's Primary School building until the construction of the new school starts in two years time.
After lunch at the Watooka Club of Linmine, the Prince and the President travelled on to Region 6.
There, the new computer laboratory at Tagore Memorial Secondary School was officially inaugurated. The Prince and the President took some time walking around the new IT Lab, talking to students and discussing their work and ideas for the future.
Other pictures of the visit are available online:
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