Prime Minister recognizes Jamaican schools that top international competition

Students from three Corporate Area schools received certificates of recognition from Prime Minister P.J. Patterson for their outstanding performance in the international My Community Our Earth Competition (MyCoe). The presentation took place this morning (December 13, 2005) at Jamaica House.
For the second consecutive year, Wolmer’s Girls’ placed first. In the competition last year they shared the first place with Poland for their project “Giving Life to Ruins”, which focused on inner city Kingston, while this year’s project that placed first overall and in the secondary schools category, was entitled “Bull Bay: A Town Ravaged by Nature”.
Denham Town Primary placed first in the primary category with their project “Transportation in Jamaica and the JUTC”, while Wolmer’s Boys’ School placed second in the secondary category and third overall with the project “Traffic Congestion along Old Hope Road”.
In congratulating the students and their teachers, Prime Minister Patterson said that despite whatever is being said about the education system our students were bright and as good as any in the world. He encouraged the students to continue to excel at their studies and the teachers to continue to inspire, excite and develop the young minds in their charge.
The competition which saw more than 200 schools from 24 countries participating, celebrated the start of the United Nations Decade for Sustainable Development and was designed to encourage youth around the world to create sustainable development solutions for problems where they live, using the tools and concepts of geography. Students from middle, secondary and university levels were invited to participate as individuals or teams.
The three schools are among 46 schools that are enrolled in the Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Schools project to facilitate planning and sustainable management and development of our resources.