St. Ignatius students practice civic pride

This morning the faculty and students of St. Ignatius Primary School were getting clued in to cleanliness at the launch of its Civic Pride Week. The initiative is a move by management to encourage students to clean up their environment and adopt healthy practices. During the week-long event, the students will be visited by members of the Belize City Council, the Recycling Company of Belize, and PACT, who will give talks on the benefits of keeping the country clean. Twenty students have also been designated as Civic Pride Officers whose job will be to issue tickets and twenty-five cent fines to litterbugs on campus. According to Principal Ramon Magana, the project is already beginning to yield results.

Roman Magana, Principal, St. Ignatius Primary
?We have had problems with garbage in the neighbourhood as well as the school. We observed that many times students drop their ideal bags or chips bags wherever they eat. We have deployed garbage containers all around and we have noticed that it helps because we only had two before, a part from the big one that we have over there; now it is working. I think that students need to learn where to put their garbage. We?ll have posters around. I think the same ones that the children worked on we?ll put them around the school.?

Zenaida Moya, Belize City Mayor
?I must commend St. Ignatius Primary School and its Parents Teachers? Association for really coming up with the idea, discussing it, and working alongside the Belize City Council. This initiative will be taken to the different schools and I am sure through the efforts other schools will be able to come very shortly and work along with the Belize City Council.?

This morning prizes were given out to the winners of the school’s poster, essay, and theme competitions. Civic Pride Week ends with a parade through the city streets on Friday.