Awards
International, National, and District
FIRST Global Robotics Olympics in Mexico City 2018!
What did Ocean Academy do during the summer of 2018? We represented Belize at the Olympics in Mexico City. What? Yes! Daniela, a Form III student, and her I.T. teacher Mr. Tzub led Team Belize to the FIRST Global Robotics Olympics August 16-18. The kit arrived in June and students had to build and code a robot capable of lifting small boxes and glass panels and twisting a handle on the game field with the theme of “Energy Impact”. 182 countries signed up, and 161 teams competed in the three-day Olympics. Daniela was the flag bearer for Team Belize. An added twist is that countries were randomly matched together into Village Alliances and had to strategize and work together in the competition. Each game lasted 2:30 minutes and the team robots had to lift and carry and twist game pieces that represented solar panels, energy cubes, wind turbines. Belize placed 106/161 and also earned a “Safety Award”. A full sponsorship allowed Daniela and her teacher to participate in this amazing international technology opportunity....OA’s “Hire Belize” mobile app wins PwC’s Belize Innovation Challenge
Ocean Academy students earned first place in a fierce competition among 15 high schools to solve youth unemployment (25% among 14-25 year-olds in Belize). OA’s winning solution is “Hire Belize,” a mobile app designed and created by the students to connect youth with potential employers and customers. Judges were able to try out the app prototype on Android phones during the presentation. The prize package includes a mentoring partnership with Beltraide and $2000bz to take the prototype to the next stage of development for real-world applications. Each student also won a cash prize and the school won a laptop. Students finessed presentation and communication skills and really worked cohesively as a team. The competition was organized by PwC, Peacework and the Belize Ministry of Education. A big thanks to team mentors: Shola Babb of Belize Tourism Board, Sam Liu and Valbona Bushi of PwC, Ariel Samara and Heidi Curry of Ocean Academy. Channel 5 News reports the full story here:...
Ocean Academy creates expressive media as an Adobe Youth Voices School
Adobe Youth Voices and TakingITGlobal nominated Ocean Academy as a grant-recipient and member of the Adobe Youth Voices international community of schools that are encouraging youth to express themselves via creative media...
Ocean Guardian School Grant for Reusable Shopping Bag Project
Ocean Academy is partnered with Stevenson High, California, as NOAA Ocean Guardian Schools, to educate both our communities about the benefits of using reusable shopping bags instead of single-use...Business Plan for “Fish with Purpose” wins International School Enterprise Challenge
Ocean Academy Fly Fishing students won first place in North America and the Caribbean for their business plan submission to the School Enterprise Challenge. 1250 schools from 83 countries participated this year. Ocean Academy’s business idea is called “Fish with Purpose”. Students will sell hand-made flies, rent rods to visitors, and share their fishing knowledge about the island’s best spots, while also being eco-ambassadors for catch-and-release conservation. Profits will support student fees, stipends and the school scholarship fund. The School Enterprise Challenge is organized by Teach A Man To Fish, who provide entrepreneurship curriculum and support to schools worldwide. Certificate of Achievement and USD$1000 prize Aidan and Spenser’s fish chart Fly Fishing P.E. class Fly Fishing P.E. class: Daniel (with tarpon), Jonathan, Aidan, Spenser, Johnny and Kevin Fly Fishing P.E. class A perfect cast School motto Aidan making flies Students attend the Bonefish Tarpon Trust meeting...
“Most Creative and Innovative Project” at S.T.E.M. Visionaries Challenge
Team leader Buddy Magana created the mobile app prototype Mangrove restoration project OA’s Environmental Club’s “Caye Caulker Mangrove Action Plan” addresses the problem of intense deforestation of mangroves due to coastal development. The students’ solution won “Most Innovative and Creative Project” for their use of interactive mobile app technology in addition to mangrove planting using the Riley technique. The Sagicor Visionaries Challenge is aimed at stimulating secondary school students to develop solutions to problems faced in their community using STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). This year’s competition saw the participation of 32 projects from 28 high schools across the country. Caye Caulker’s team included team leader Buddy, and members Patrick, Adrienne, Daya, Kenisha and science teacher Sarah Requena. “The first part of the plan involved educating the public about the importance of mangroves to the environment and the local economy. We then will work with the Village Council to understand the laws concerning mangroves and encourage a reforestation program whenever mangroves are removed. We would then experiment with different planting methods, such as the Riley technique, to determine the most effective techniques for our location. Finally, we would create an interactive smart phone app that will allow people to learn about mangroves, see pictures of our mangrove planting experiments and visit the sites on a trail walk using GPS coordinates. Visitors are invited to upload photographs of the growing plants to aid with our data collection and...
National Youth Award for Environmentalism
Belize Department of Youth Services awarded Ocean Academy the National Youth Award for Environmentalism. Aquatic Tourism students act as eco-ambassadors as they interpret the island’s ecosystems. The Environmental Club promotes beach cleanups and mangrove restoration projects, and the Gardening Club composts and sells culinary herbs. This is the ninth National Youth Award for Ocean Academy since 2009. Annual National Youth Awards Kayak with Purpose students promote protection of the seahorse colony Mangrove restoration project Culinary herb sales Campus beautification Accepting the award are Kevin, Spenser, Kyra, Whitley, Annabella and...