Sunderland Primary gets Spanish award
SUNDERLAND PRIMARY School recently received the Peace and Cooperation International School Award for its teacher-project proposal ‘Green Nutrigation Grow Box Club’ in the Technological Creation and Innovation category of a competition hosted by the Embassy of Spain.
Situated in a rural farming community in east central St James, Sunderland Primary is a small, multi-grade school with 40 students and five teachers, including the principal and guidance counsellor. The school achieved 100 per cent mastery in the 2016 Grade Four Literacy Test and has received a number of prizes and awards, including the diploma from Spain’s Peace and Cooperation Foundation.
EDUCATION IS IMPORTANT
The Charge d’affaires of the Embassy of Spain, Carmen Rives Ruiz-Tapiador , hosted the official handover. ‘There’s nothing more important in a country than education, because education is what makes us free. It’s what makes us free to have critical thinking and to be independent persons,” RuizTapiador said.
“And it is through the pursuit of learning that we grow and develop and bring about new innovations to create a better life
for our fellow man. So, we are delighted by the efforts of the students of Sunderland Primary School, especially at such a young age,” Ruiz-Tapiador said.
The diploma was received by Noel Burgess, principal of Sunderland Primary, accompanied by teachers and students of the school. Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Coleridge Minto, director of safety and security in schools, represented Dr Grace McLean, chief education officer of the Ministry of Education at the handover, held at the Embassy of Spain on Thursday, March 3.
Each year, the Ministry of Education collaborates with the embassy to disseminate the information related to the Peace and Cooperation International School Award by issuing a bulletin. Minto endorsed the project. “This particular competition was geared towards challenging the young people. It certainly helped to sharpen their critical and analytical skills. And it would have challenged them to perhaps go beyond the normal everyday schooling to do extensive research to come up with an innovative product. We
are very pleased with the Embassy of Spain that they have opened up this avenue for our students,” Minto said.
The Peace and Cooperation Foundation was founded in 1982 by the Spanish peace activist Joaquin Antuna. Since its inception, the organisation has promoted creativity for peace through several initiatives, the best-known being its International School Award. To date, more than a million teachers and students from around the world have taken part in the Annual Peace and Cooperation School Award.
It certainly helped to sharpen their critical and analytical skills. And it would have challenged them to perhaps go beyond the normal everyday schooling to do extensive research to come up with an innovative product.