St. Pius Primary receives robotics kits.

Apr 11, 2019 News

The St. Pius Primary School robotics club yesterday received a visit from Minister of Public Telecommu

Children awaiting the Minister’s arrival

nications, Cathy Hughes. The Minister’s visit coincided with the school receiving robotics kits.
The event saw Minister Cathy Hughes, ICT officials, STEM Officials, students, teachers and members of the media witnessing the students indulge in building mini robots from the manuals, as well as from their imagination.
Ms. Audrey Massiah, a teacher at the school, attended the STEM programme some months ago. She was overjoyed that the students were about to get that same experience and even more.
The interest in the school was developed and when the STEM official reached out to Minister Hughes to partner, immediately she responded. Via the ICT hubs established by the Minister, STEM Guyana was able to reach over

Minister Hughes receiving a bouquet from a student

35 different STEM Club Programmes.
The Minister said she is excited that young people are having the fabulous opportunity to study robotics and they are lucky to have the collaboration with STEM Guyana.
“The young people in Guyana should be ready for the new world of technology. They should be given the same opportunities as children in other parts of the world.”
Thirty-five hubs were earmarked so that students in their vicinity and schools close by can benefit from free STEM training.
The government has put all of these opportunities and initiatives in place with help from the private sector to ask parents, teachers and students to take advantage of all it has to offer.

Students busy with their robot building

Minister Hughes said that the young people are good with technology and they already intimately know how to use a phone.

For the jobs that will be available in the future they will need all these skills, and they should start thinking about how to make a living when they get older.
The students also benefitted from the Scratch Programme which is computer-based and which allows for the animations of letters, the creation of games and stories among others. One student

Minister Hughes and the student that gave vote of thanks

demonstrated how to animate her

students giving a robotics lesson

name and assign sounds to specific letters.
Students were encouraged to showcase and interact with members of the media about what they have been doing over the course of the last two days.
In her closing remarks the Minister wished the Grade Six students well at their exams and encouraged the others to keep learning.