The Diamond Secondary School was kicked out of the top spot after the hosting of this years’ instalment of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEAM) competition. The biennial competition which garnered participation from over 50 schools within Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica), saw the presentation of over 100 projects on Monday, March 5 and Tuesday, March 6.
Diamond Secondary School, the 2016 winner, entered the competition with eagerness and confidence, registering 11 projects. However, this was not enough to take home the 2018 crown. Annandale Primary reigned supreme by gaining the top spot, leaving Diamond to second place. Despite never having competed before, Lancaster Secondary was the underdog in the competition, gaining the third spot. One of their teachers shared that the students were on the verge of dropping out of the competition, owing to the fact that they never competed for in such a competition before.
Students of the Diamond Secondary School showcasing their prizes
Coordinator of the event, Loren Park, noted that this year’s competition was very intense; admitting without hesitation that the committee encountered some glitches resulting in the delay of the results, but nevertheless they managed to pull through.
“The truth is that there were some glitches… however, I am very happy that we have the correct results so there is not going to be any concerns being expressed. I would like to express to all the schools, teachers, parents and most importantly students my sincere apologies because as the Coordinator of this event I am responsible,” he said.
Park disclosed that he has already begun to ‘post-mortem’ this year’s competition with the view of implementing some changes for future competitions. He noted that these changes would clear-up other challenges, as well as pave the way for faster results. “We need to have a much smoother executed science fair in relation to the dissemination of the results and we had some challenges owing to several factors. However, I am giving assurance that for the next fair it would be more streamlined and smoother as the appropriate systems would be implemented,” he promised.
On the other hand, Chief Judge of the competition, Gerald Jewram, in his evaluation of the STEAM fair noted that although there were a number of excellent projects presented, there were some faults. He expressed hope that students, teachers and Ministry officials can work together to correct those faults. He also commended the students on the vast amount of knowledge they possessed on their respective subject areas. “We the judges found that several of the students fully understood their projects and did a remarkable job in explaining it, thus we are of the view that it’s the right direction to go for several of the schools,” Jewram said.
Jewram stressed that the challenges that rose out of the competition need to be readily addressed before they can erode the integrity of the competition. “I can tell you that there were greater points of commendations than the faults. However, let us not fool ourselves that if these issues are not properly addressed in a timely manner, it can affect greatly the impressive track record built thus far,” he noted.
In the winner’s circle for the Nursery category were Hand-en-Veldt Nursery, Helena Nursery and Annandale North Nursery school.
For the Primary category; Annandale Primary, La Bonne Intention Primary, Cane Grove Primary and Clonbrook Primary were amongst the winners.
Expectantly Diamond Secondary copped a number of prizes in the Secondary category. They were accompanied by Lancaster Secondary, Hope Secondary and Beterverwagting Secondary.
The judges indicated that after summing up the various sections and categories, Annandale Primary with their Mathematics project was adjudged as the overall winner. Coordinator Park disclosed that the presentation to the top three schools will be made at a specially arranged presentation ceremony slated for next week. He thanked several donors and sponsors, declaring that had it not been for the generous efforts of several corporate individuals and companies, the success of the STEAM far would not have been possible.
