By Joni Miller | Projects Director
It would be cool to have a Danny Michel Star Trek school bus...but since Caye Caulker has no cars or paved streets it's still all cruiser bikes and golf carts for us on the island. What we do have in common though, is the amazing technology projects that Ocean Academy students have created this school year. And they have been winning national and international awards!
The OA SEaTIDE is our Ocean Academy Centre for Social Enterprise, Technology, Innovation, Development and Education.
Social Enterprise
Students won first place in North America and the Caribbean for their business plan entry to the School Enterprise Challenge. 1250 schools from 83 countries participated. Ocean Academy's business idea is called Fish with Purpose. Students plan to rent rods to visitors and share their fishing knowledge about the island's best spots. Profits support student school fees,pocket money and the school scholarship fund. Other social enterprises at Ocean Academy are Kayak, Bike and Dinner with Purpose, as well as our culinary herb sales.
Technology
To celebrate Women's Month, Ocean Academy organized a Technology for Women and Girls workshop event. Participants learned about Coding, Graphic Design software, 3-D Sketch Up Architectual Design and even ROV underwater robotics. A group of students is now experimenting with building their own ROV, with the guidance of three girls in the competitive Atlantis ROV Team from Whidbey Island, USA who are mentoring Ocean Academy's group.
Last week, professors and students from Georgia State University returned to Ocean Academy with their drones and ArcGIS software technology,and our students contributed to the ongoing marine debris mapping project.
Innovation
Students are really excited about mobile apps. Earlier this year, they won "Most Innovation and Creative Project" in a national S.T.E.M. science fair, for creating a prototype of a mobile app that would track mangrove restoration planting projects. Last month, a team of students ages 13-17 won the Belize High School Innovation Challenge with their mobile app called "Hire Belize". The competition challenged students to come up with solutions to high youth unemployment. Hire Belize is moving from protoype to reality now, and contains youth profile pages with their skills or products for sale, so that potential employers or buyers can easily find and hire young people, and provide testimonialsas part of the vetting process.
Development and Education
Students learned a hands-on lesson, literally, about citizenship and voicing one's opinions when they joined hands with tour guides, tourists, community members and Village Council members to form a line of protest against off-shore oil drilling proposals in Belize. The event was organized by Oceana in centres nationwide and called "Hands Across the Sand".
Interact Club members from Westlock, Alberta raised funds for our third-floor classroom construction project, and came down to work alongside Ocean Academy students. Both groups of teens enjoyed the evening friendship activities and cultural exchanges. One day we hope to organize a south-north exchange!
What next?
Graduation is on June 12th and the Scholarship Awards are on June 13th. If you would like to contribute to the Danny Michel and Fans Scholarship Fund, now is the perfect time. Even without Danny's Space Van, your donations and support continue to motivate our students to.....go boldly where no one has gone before!
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