Belize Selected as One of 15 Countries to Participate in STEAM Event
Belize has been selected by a U.S. company in Massachusetts as one of fifteen to take part in an educational event that prioritizes the STEAM subjects: Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math in schools. Principal of Belize High School, Jamie Usher, met recently with officials of a company in Massachusetts called FIRST. The company, which develops robotics as a sport for the mind, chose Belize High School, which has been working with them since 2018. Usher says to have been selected puts us in a good place. She believes that through this link, more students from Belize, including from the STEAM Academy, will be able to get a chance to excel in these core subjects.
Jamie Usher
Jamie Usher, Principal, Belize High School
“FIRST is a company out of Massachusetts in the U.S. They are working to develop robotics as sports for the mind in 190 countries across the globe. So in 2018, we first got the opportunity to work with FIRST and from that first event in Mexico City, we were sold. We were blown away. We were like, we’re doing this forever. And it’s been an exciting five years, even through COVID trying to develop ideas, discovery, inclusion, impact, all of the core values that FIRST brings to the table. So, we had a meeting with them earlier this year, speaking from FIRST Education, so they identified Belize among thousands of nominations, and hundreds of FIRSTs passed the round, and Belize was selected as one of the 15 educators doing things in STEAM across the globe. So we are excited that Belize is getting this showcase among nations that have a lot of years head start ahead of us. We are excited to be a part of STEAM Belize. So, STEAM is something that’s a buzzword. It’s really taking off and what we want to do is continue to promote the fact that STEAM has been around for a long time in Belize, but it is a way to get back our students post-COVID. We want to make sure that they’re making opportunity to learn a lot of things at the same time, never missing opportunities to learn. Life is not about math and then a bell will ring and then English will start. Life is about everything happening at once.”
Belize High School will take five students to Singapore in October to represent Belize in the International Robotics competition. They will take along a robot that was built in Belize that weighs over a hundred pounds. Usher has invited schools from all over Belize to take part with in its first Lego League competition and its Robotics Challenge.
