E.P. Yorke opens doors to public
Last week at the dedication of several new primary school buildings in the Corozal District, Prime Minister Said Musa said that in the coming years his government would shift its emphasis to expanding the opportunities for secondary education. One government high school that’s doing its part to attract the best and brightest today invited the public to come in for a look. News Five’s Janelle Chanona went back to school and found that it was more fun than she remembered.
Janelle Chanona
Today, despite inclement weather, Edward P. Yorke High School celebrated their EXPO 2000. The EXPO is like an open day: a chance to show prospective students what E.P. Yorke is all about. And tour guides made sure everyone got the 4-1-1 on everything from how to beat your own drum, and march to it, to making your own oxygen.
Across the hall from the weird scientists, Santa’s elves showed off their finest. One student says she’s especially proud to tell students about a woman’s touch on wood.
Golda Mejia
“I like telling them about that shelf over there because the only girl that takes wood work made that project by herself in 3rd form without the help of anyone.”
Janelle Chanona
“You feel good about that because she’s a girl?
Golda Mejia
Shakes head yes.
In the open yard, the boys were just as eager to demonstrate their way of recycling a plastic Coca-Cola bottle using a certain acid and foil paper.
Not all the young men were into blowing stuff up McGyver style. The metal technology room looked more like state of the art showroom than a workshop.
Nicholas Fernandez
“I feel glad cause if you can look, you can really see what you can do when you put your hard work into it. Just take time and hard work.”
“I really like children from the primary school asking me especially how to build and make those stuff and I say it feels really good. If you get a chance to come to this school in future years this will be a course you will have to take and it will be a lot of fun.”
But the highlight of the day had to have been the hot air balloon. The physics class got to do a little practical in order to learn the theory and using kite paper, glue and alcohol soaked cotton, pulled off a colorful presentation of aeronautics.
Janelle Chanona
“How long that took you to make?”
Ismael Vernon
“Not very long. Depends on how many people working on it.”
Janelle Chanona
“All that hard work, you don’t feel sorry that it’s gone in seconds?”
Ismael Vernon
“No. I feel proud.”
Principal Allan Genitty says the day was about more than trying to nab new students; it was to share the secrets of being a student.
Allan Genitty, Principal, E.P. Yorke
“It’s also to make learning come alive. If you notice, our learning lives so this is what it’s all about today, making that learning come alive because otherwise students might think that the learning that they have is just something that they keep to themselves and not something they should share and not something that will make them really alive.”
Janelle Chanona for News Five.
Today was also career day at E. P. Yorke and members of the business community set up displays of their own to entice the fourth formers. The school took the opportunity to honor 8 educators, past and present, who have contributed to the success of the school over the years by naming the buildings after them.
