City students compete in nutrition quiz
With the spelling bee, drug awareness quiz, story telling and elocution contests, there is no shortage in Belize of student competitions. But today we witnessed another academic encounter that seems to be a hit.
Jacqueline Woods, Reporting
The Nutrition quiz sponsored by Belize Mills is only a year old but it has been generating some healthy interest among high schools across the country. The competition, which is co-ordinated by the Ministry of Health, tests the students on their knowledge of nutrition.
Gilda Richardson, Nutritionist, Min. Of Health
“There wasn’t any nutrition per se, being taught in the high schools and we found that out with the primary schools and we did something about that, of including nutrition in the curriculum. So we are finished with the primary schools, so now we have to move on to the high schools then to the tertiary institutions.”
The schools are given study guides to prepare the students for the competition. This year, three secondary schools qualified for the Belize District finals: Wesley, Pallotti and Edward P. Yorke. The students answered the questions to the best of their ability. But at the end of two hours, the competition had been narrowed down to a tiebreaker between Pallotti and E.P. Yorke. Unfortunately, there could only be one winner.
The Pallotti winners say they were ready for the competition.
Sharema Young, Pallotti Student
“Well I feel quite good and excited because we all studied very hard. We studied over our free times, during the holidays, Easter, summer everything, and with the help of our Science teacher Ms. Turton. She really helped us, motivated us, and pushed us to do it. So we all took the opportunity and did it.”
Jacqueline Woods
“Were you feeling confident when you came to the City Centre?”
Rasheda Moody, Pallotti Student
“Well we really tried our best so we knew we had to come here. It would be the same questions from the book you know. We were kind of nervous, but we did try our best and it came through.”
Jacqueline Woods
“How do you feel about that trophy?”
Crystal Mendez, Pallotti Student
“Oh I feel quite well. It’s nice you know we came here, we worked hard, we had experience and we learned things to apply to our everyday lives and also to enhance our learning techniques you know the way we study and all of that.”
Students from the three different high schools received cash prizes ranging from one hundred to three hundred dollars. Gilda Richardson, a nutritionist with the Ministry of Health, says the quiz is more than just about winning.
Gilda Richardson
“The high school students would go home with that information and filter it out to the family. So the family would get that information from the student who would then get into the family then into the community.”
On Friday, Pallotti will be competing against other schools at the National Competition. In that quiz, the students will be competing for cash prizes from three hundred and fifty dollars to eight hundred dollars each. Reporting for News 5, Jacqueline Woods.
Let’s hope those dollars are spent on something healthier than dala chicken.
