FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

GSAT STUDENTS COMMENDED FOR THEIR PARTICIPATION IN ONLINE COACHING PROJECT RUN BY USAID-COMET & GoGSAT

Forty-five students from Grants Pen, St. Andrew, were on Wednesday afternoon awarded for their outstanding participation in an online coaching service, which prepared them for the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT). They were presented with certificates, trophies and other accolades at an Awards Ceremony at the Grants Pen Community Policing Station, hosted by the Grants Pen Community Policing Consultative Committee, USAID – Community Empowerment and Transformation Project (COMET), and GoGSAT, the e-learning company.

The students were from one of three-innercity communities- Grants Pen in St. Andrew, Flanker in St. James and Central Village/White Marl in St. Catherine- that participated in the first phase of a joint venture initiative between USAID – COMET and GoGSAT, which began in mid-January and ended on Wednesday, March 12.  The USAID-COMET Project paid the subscription rates for the students, to receive timed practice tests to build their familiarity with the material and the process for GSAT.

All participants in the programme received certificates. Boys dominated the awards category for the Most Dedicated GSAT Student with Sanjay Walker of Shortwood Practicing School and Ankoma Palmer of New Day Primary and Junior High walking away with the trophies. Both genders copped awards in the Most Consistent Student Category, which went to Julio Jacas of Constant Spring Primary and Kela Williams of New Day Primary & Junior High. Kela Williams also won a cash prize of $3,000 from GoGSAT for the best overall performance.

Trophies for the Most Improved Boys went to Ronique Morris of Constant Spring Primary, Mosia Dayes, Morsel Francis and Junior McKenzie, all of New Day Primary & Junior High. The Most Improved Girls were Dheemer Francis who attends Shortwood Practising and Shadene Williams of New Day Primary and Junior High.

The Most Disciplined Students in the USAID-COMET/ GoGSAT Programme were  Yanecka Kim and Morsel Francis of New Day.

Commending the students for their effort in the GoGSAT Project, Sharene McKenzie, USAID-COMET’s Civil Society Specialist, explained that it gave students a chance to intensify their preparations for GSAT Exams. She praised the Grants Pen community for its initiative in approaching USAID-COMET with the idea for sponsoring an e-learning venture for GSAT students.  The project has since been extended to Flanker in St. James and Central Village/White Marl in St. Catherine.

Nelka Clake, Grants Pen Cyber Centre Administrator told participants in Wednesday’s Awards Ceremony that she was very pleased with the marked improvement in the performance of the students. “I have seen great improvement, they have worked extremely hard,” said Ms. Clarke. “ Students who were once getting 20s(in the practice tests) are now getting 60s and 70s.”

The students were eager to vent their satisfaction with the GSAT online coaching service. According to Yaneka Kim, she has seen her grades moved from “30s and 40s to 60s and 70s”.  Young Ronique Morris expressed his excitement with the project, ‘’What I liked most about the project, is that it allowed me to meet and become friends with students from other Primary Schools. We all worked hard and had fun together doing our practice tests at the Cyber Centre.

In St. James, The Flanker Peace and Justice Centre as well as the Flanker Primary School served as hubs for the GSAT e-learning programme, while the White Marl Primary School served a similar purpose for students from that St. Catherine community. The second phase of the programme will benefit forty-five Grade Five students from each of the three-innercity areas.

The USAID-COMET Project was launched in Grants Pen in March 2006, and was extended to Flanker and Central Village/White Marl during 2007. Its mandate is to spearhead sustainable community transformation in select inner-city areas, through economic support and social intervention.

###