Wednesday, November 25 – The staff and students of the Bregado Flax Educational Centre (BFEC) this week celebrated the Territory’s clean sweep at the Caribbean Schools Food and Nutrition Quiz.
The BVI team comprised of Vanessa Fontaine and Antonia Matthew from the Bregado Flax Educational Centre (BFEC) Secondary Division and Keiza Gumbs of the Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS). Renee Leonard (ESHS) was the reserve member of the team.
During BFEC’s general assembly on Monday, 23 November, students and teachers celebrated this historic occasion by wearing the colours yellow and green which were the BVI’s colours during the competition.
BFEC’s Secondary Division Principal Mrs. Caryl O’Neal-Alexander recognised the achievements of the winners from BFEC and expressed how proud she was. “The students really represented the Territory, themselves and our school very well; not because we are a small Territory, we must think big BVI”. She continued, “Think big, dream big and achieve big things and that is exactly what they did last week in Jamaica.”
The principal told students gathered at the assembly that each of them has within them the potential to excel in something and urged that they find what it is and work on it.
The principal also commended all the teachers who worked diligently with the students especially Mrs. Heida Joyles-Selwood who accompanied the students to the competition.
Team coach and Home Economics teacher at the BFEC Secondary Division Mrs. Joyles-Sellwood told the Department of Information and Public Relations that the BVI team defeated 12 other Caribbean countries to arrive at this significant moment.
“I describe this experience as excellent and the students should be commended for their hard work and this should serve to encourage other students to promote health and nutrition in our Territory,” Mrs. Joyles-Sellwood said.
She added, “I will do my best to encourage students to pursue careers in nutrition and stress the importance to them of having a healthy and vigorous life style.”
The victorious BVI team was followed in second place by St. Lucia. This annual competition, which was organised by the Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute (CFNI) and sponsored by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), World Health Organization (WHO) and CFNI, aims to improve the image of food and nutrition in the region. The quiz master was based in Jamaica and the competition targeted secondary school students in forms four and five.
The Ministry of Health and Social Development and in conjunction with the Ministry of Education and Culture hosted the local competition in the BVI with the aim of improving the knowledge and practise of food and nutrition among secondary students. The students with the highest scores from that competition were chosen to represent the BVI in the Caribbean Schools Food and Nutrition Quiz.
British Virgin Islands News