E.P. Yorke recruits new students
Education in Belize is becoming more competitive, and secondary schools are reaching out to standard six students and selling their institutions with increasing vigour. Today, News 5’s Jacqueline Woods visited E.P. Yorke High in Belize City and found things looking up.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
If you happened to look up to the sky shortly after 11:00 this morning and saw a bright coloured hot air balloon floating above the northside of the city, your eyes were not playing tricks on you. What you witnessed was a project accomplished by the math and physics students at Edward P. Yorke High School.
It took the students three days to put together the balloon from kite paper and thin wooden strips. The balloon is propelled upward after a ball of cotton soaked in strong rum is lit and placed at the base.
Kevin Hall, Teacher, E.P. Yorke
“This heats up the air at the base. And what happens is that whenever you have hot air heated, it gets less dense and it rises. So the basic principle is we use the hot air to open the envelope of the balloon, and when that envelope is open it displaces air in the surrounding environment, which creates a lift and that is what takes the balloon up.”
The device was expected to float for a couple of miles before the flames were extinguished and the balloon came back down somewhere along the Northern Highway or coast. The display was just one of the many exhibitions parents and students were invited to see at the high school’s annual open day.
Rodrick Cardinez, Acting Principal, Edward P. Yorke
“At this time of the year when we do have a number of standard six students who are seeking entrance into high school, we want to show them what we have to offer. At the same time we believe we have an obligation to the general public to inform them of what is happening at E.P. Yorke.”
And a lot was offered to the visitors at the expo. Primary School students had fun testing their mathematical skills and if they were lucky, they walked away with some cash…just enough for them to spend during break time at school.
Kimberly Vernon, Student, E.P. Yorke High School
“Basically we decided to put it in a game form because students find math very difficult. So we put it in a game form so they can play the game very easily and find math easy.”
An exhibit by police officers of the Zone Beat Liaison Programme sensitised the students about the programme and the problems the officers are faced with when they visit schools. The display included several items that the police have confiscated from students.
P.C. Gerald Jones, Member, Z.B.L.O. Programme
“We have removed scissors, knives, forks, mace, illegal firearms and a number of other items.”
The Belize Defence Force was also on hand with a display of weapons. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
There are presently five hundred and ten students enrolled at E.P. Yorke.
