Jamaica Gleaner

Glenmuir students get a taste of history in DC

- Amitabh.sharma@hotmail.com

Published: June 11, 2017 LIFE UNFOLDS in many manifestat­ions. It is full of joy, excitement, and sometimes it has pleasant surprises in store. Last month, a group of teachers and students from the Glenmuir High School in Clarendon got a chance to retrace the steps of history in Washington, DC.

Like the blank pages of time, each chapter leading to this cultural enrichment tour has a story to tell that of vision, oodles of faith, tons of blessings, and, of course, as The Beatles, a certain quartet from across the Atlantic once said, “... with a little help from our friends.”

“It was a profound experience,” said Moya Johnson, senior teacher in the Department of History, Glenmuir High School. “Most of the students who went on this tour are from the grass-roots and come from humble background­s.”

Johnson, who, along with her colleagues conceptual­ised the initiative, said that of the six students, five were travelling overseas for the first time.

vision and purpose — that of knowledge, help, and hope to the people of the world.

“We want to share knowledge, help and hope with the people of the world,” said Annika Lee, media relations officer, Logos Hope. “Knowledge is, of course, through the book fair, where we sell over 5,000 different titles of books.”

Jamaica Turns 55 — Celebratin­g The History Of A Nation

Published: August 6, 2017 Freedom — this word is as powerful as the emotions and feelings it exudes, and for a nation, when the day dawns, a fresh breath of air, that of new hopes, dreams and the will to make those dreams come to reality. Jamaica in 1962 was a nation ready to be on the move, her people liberated, rejoicing and raring to take on the world.

Fifty five years later, the country has come a long way, and it has, along the way had its triumphs and gone through its fair share of tribulatio­ns. In every sphere — from the sciences to the arts, sports to culture, the contributi­on by its citizens has made this little rock on the face of the earth stands tall.

Jamaica can be summed in one phrase — Wi likkle but wi tallawah!!

Jamaican Students On Historic Robotics Feat

Published: August 20, 2017 It was long ago in a silver screen near us when R2-D2, C3PO, or more recently BB8, awed and mesmerised us with their ability to assist humans and other living species in galaxy light years away. These alphanumer­ic science fictional droids and technologi­es from the future are become as real as humanity’s quest to find life on Mars.

In Jamaica, a group of students are translatin­g their interest in the sciences into creating functional pieces of automated machinery robotics is slowly spiking interest of students. A group of them made their mark at the world’s first Internatio­nal Robot Olympics for High School Students in Alexandria, Virginia.

“This was a historical feat,” said Lesleyann Samuel, president of Union of Jamaican Alumni Associatio­ns (USA) Inc (UJAA). “To our knowledge, this is the first time that Jamaica has been represente­d in an internatio­nal robotics competitio­n.”

Celebratio­n Of Cross Cultural Experience­s Published: September 24, 2017 The world is a global village, it is said, and what better way to explore this village than to experience first-hand the land, culture, tastes, sounds that are diverse, intriguing. Since 2000, more than 350 Jamaicans can share their testimonia­ls of living this experience.

Recently, a group converged to celebrate the Jamaica JET Alumni Associatio­n (JJETAA) 15th anniversar­y at the residence of Ambassador of Japan to Jamaica Masanori Nakano.

It was a celebratio­n of their experience­s as teachers in Japan under the Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) programme and de facto ambassador­s of their country.

To Russia, With Love — Young Jamaican Heads To Sochi For World Youth Festival

Published: October 8, 2017 Most Jamaicans would remember, and perhaps swear by Lada, the no-frills, no-nonsense car from the erstwhile USSR. That was in the 80s — a time and era that seems as far distant as that icon on four wheels.

The world has changed in three decades — from lifestyles to priorities, but some fundamenta­ls hold their place as they have as far as mankind can reminisce — that of human bonding. Chilean journalist and author Marcello Simonetti with brothers of Missionari­es of the Poor. many ways,” Morgan said. “While seeing the massive plains of this eastern land, I created the hashtag you can’t un-see India (#YouCantUns­eeIndia).

“I don’t think it is even proper English,” she added, “but my explanatio­n for this hashtag is simple — the beauty and wonder I encountere­d in India will never leave the confines of my mind. It is now and forever imprinted there.” A job well done! students of the Shirley Castle Primary School with (back row – from left) Stephen Crimarco, Teppei Sato, Francine Constantin­e, and Aika Nakakomi (right).

A young Jamaican has got an opportunit­y of a lifetime to connect with over 20,000 youth from 150 countries, to attend World Festival for Youth and Students in Sochi — and the messages she is carrying from this Rock is splashed in expression­s of colours.

Being A Butler — More Than Meets The Eye Published: October 22, 2017 What do Iron Man and Batman have in common? Yes, we know they are superheroe­s in their own right, but in their ‘normal’ persona, the lives of Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne would be in disarray if Jarvis and

Alfred Pennyworth weren’t ensuring that all back-end work was taken care of.

Critical lifelines of these superheroe­s — Jarvis, who has since evolved from a human to artificial intelligen­ce, augmented reality avatar J.A.R.V.I.S., while Pennyworth exudes the traditiona­l persona — butlers are, in essence, superheroe­s. they don’t wear the cape though.

Away from the augmented reality, Christophe­r Jones grew up idolising Geoffrey, the Banks family’s cynical, sarcastic butler from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

The Green Thumb — Shirley Castle Primary Students Plant Seeds Of SelfRelian­ce Published: October 29, 2017 A group of students lined up, glitter in their eyes, itching to move forward and be the first ones to get in the front. This was not a line to grab their favourite treat here, rather, the excitement was all about getting a sapling to plant in their school’s kitchen garden.

The journey to learn about food security, growing what you eat, and appreciati­ng nature is taking root literally and figurative­ly at the Shirley Castle Primary School in Portland.

An Indian Lesson Diplomacy

Published: November 19, 2017

India grows into you, and the reasons could be varying — from the physical attributes to the metaphysic­al manifestat­ions — then there is intrigue, the paradox of fast-paced chaotic lifestyle juxtaposed with the serenity of spirituali­ty ... romantic.

Kimberley Morgan, foreign service officer at Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, has developed new set of DNA, which she has gone on to trend.

“India is remarkable in so In

Crescendo Of Teaching: French Singer Uses Music To Teach Concepts Published: December 3, 2017 “Bob Marley taught me English,” said David Cairol, French songwriter and musician. “Now I am teaching French through my music.”

Cairol’s love affair of Bob Marley music, Reggae and his education to English language was a result of a mix up his friend had to give him a CD of Lenny Kravitz, but he got a CD of Bob Marley instead ... magic evolved.

“The first time I listened to his (Bob Marley) songs, I got goose bumps,” Cairol said, he still does, by the mere mention of that moment.

Cairol was 14 then, belting songs, wanting to do something different, he said, and to bring about social change, like his inspiratio­n Bob Marley, and as he puts it ‘Spiritual Father’.

Two and half decades later, this teenager from Anglet, in south-west France, finally journeyed to Jamaica and the core focus of his visit is to use music to teach concepts.

Power Of The Written Word — Chilean Author Seeks To Encourage Reading And Popularisi­ng Books Published: December 10,

2017 “Books are a means to an end,” says Marcelo Simonetti, Chilean journalist, writer, and screenwrit­er, and a vociferous proponent of the written word.

His journey to the literary world kicked off literary and figurative­ly after his childhood dream of becoming a footballer didn’t materialis­e.

“I applied to a profession­al club,” he recalled. “When I reached, there were over 500 kids there.”

His romance fizzled in five minutes.

Simonetti forayed into media and became a sports journalist. “One of the high points in my career was to cover the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France,” he said, after which, he added, covering local football in Chile did not seem all that enticing.

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