Rural Schools Cop SRC’s Inaugural Stem Olympiad
By: , November 17, 2023
Photo: Contributed
The Grove Town Primary and Infant School team raise the winning trophy in the Scientific Research Council’s (SRC) inaugural Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics STEM Olympiad. Members of the SRC visited the institution in Manchester recently to make the presentation.
Photo: Contributed
Acting Principal of the Manning’s School in Westmoreland, Sharon Thorpe (left), and Vice Principal, Feona Vassell-Kerr (second left), are presented with a cheque for $50,000 by Information Services Division Manager of the Scientific Research Council (SRC) Elijah Green (second right), and Marketing and Corporate Communication Manger, Carolyn Rose-Miller (right). The presentations was made at the school recently.The Full Story
Manning’s School in Westmoreland and Grove Town Primary and Infant in Manchester are the inaugural winners of the Scientific Research Council (SRC) Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Olympiad.
The schools copped the top awards for designing solutions focused on mitigating an effect of climate change.
For their innovations, the teams and their teachers received gold medals, a cash prize of $50,000 each towards the development of science and technology at the institutions, gadgets from RadioShack and other items.
Manning’s School developed a framework for the implementation of sustainable soil management practices in agriculture.
The design features an environment that promotes soil fertility or sustainable soil management.
Grove Town’s innovation was a heat-combatting classroom, which includes high ceilings, and employs the use of LED lights, solar energy and gardening practices.
Together, these elements help to reduce non-renewable energy usage and greenhouse gas emissions.
Under the theme ‘STEM Unlocked: Opening doors to limitless possibilities’, the SRC Olympiad is part of the Council’s efforts to arouse and heighten students’ interest in STEM subjects and practices.
For this year’s inaugural competition, focus was placed on climate change, with teams required to respond to the challenge ‘Climate change is one of the biggest challenges of our times.
Climate change is already happening: temperatures are rising, drought and wildfires are starting to occur more frequently, rainfall patterns are shifting, glaciers and snow are melting and the global mean sea level is rising’.
They were required to develop proposals promoting solutions that mitigate an effect of climate change as well as prototypes of their inventions.
“We are trying our best to see how we can get students to be aware of this information and find solutions to solve this problem,” Manager of the Information Services Division of the SRC, Elijah Green, told JIS News.
The STEM Olympiad forms part of the SRC’s efforts to promote science and technology among students.