HILARY HOSIA
Thank God it rained Monday morning prior to the opening of the annual Education Week program.
The rain made the Public School System resort to plan b: hold the opening ceremony inside the International Conference Center. What followed was amazing: students sitting shoulder to shoulder stretching from one end of the ICC to the podium — their different-colored uniforms mixed together looked like an intricate rainbow made up of embroidered skittles.
And the best part was when Master of Ceremony Rita Elementary School Principal Baldwin Robert tweaked the program and had each of the guests talk to the students. The outcome was heartwarming and positive. Rarely do you see students engaging with high-level VIPs in official ceremonies.
A string of events followed the opening ceremony, including a science fair, Marshallese spelling contest, math competition and a debate.
“We’ve never experienced a big turnout like we had today,” PSS Deputy Commissioner for Secondary Schools Kanchi Hosia said during the awarding of the science fair winners Tuesday afternoon.
PSS Media Liaison Yvonne Wase told the Journal more students are participating this year in the science fair compared to last year.
A four-man panel of judges deliberated and awarded schools based on three categories: model, experiment and scientific report.
In the kindergarten experiment category, Rita Elementary School placed first, followed by DUD, which raked in both second and third place. Delap Elementary School secured first place in the scientific report, followed by a special recognition by the judges for student participants from the DES Special Education program.
RES and Assumption School won first place in the elementary model category while Laura Elementary School won more than once in the elementary division.
In the high school division, Laura High School, Marshall Islands High School, Assumption High School and Majuro Cooperative School equally shared winnings in all categories.
From the Journal’s perspective, none presented as eloquent as 10-year old fifth grader Salafuga Pedro from Majuro Baptist Christian Academy. Pedro won first place for his three-in-one project and his tactic of presenting in both Marshallese and English caught the attention of both students and adults in the fair.
Read more about this in the February 17, 2017 edition.