Girl With a Purpose (GWAP)

Congrats Gifton Wright - New 2012 Gleaner Spelling Bee Champion!

A big Girl With a Purpose (GWAP) Blog congratulations go out to Gifton Wright, of Kingston College, who won this year's Gleaner Spelling Bee Championship.

 

[The Gleaner Spelling Bee Championship is an annual event put on by the Jamaica Gleaner, where top spellers across Jamaica, compete for prizes and the right to be called Spelling Bee Champion for the applicable year.

 

The two-stage competition begins in August, with the Parish Championships - where top spellers in each of the 14 Jamaican parishes compete for prizes and the title of parish Spelling Bee Champion.

 

The second stage (which occurred on February 2 this year), sees the 14 Parish finalists compete for the title of Gleaner Spelling Bee Champion.

 

Spellers have to spell long and very intricate words from the Oxford Dictionary...the dictionary used in Jamaican schools.

 

The competition's main sponsor is the Jamaica Gleaner's Children's Own Newspaper - the only newspaper available on island, for children at the Primary Level of our educational system].

 

As with all Jamaican Spelling Bee Champions, Gifton will represent Jamaica at the Scripps National Spelling Bee competition to be held in Washington DC, between May 27 and June 1 of this year.

 

Gifton's face showed relief (he had placed 4th last year), when he won and it was heartening to see the look of satisfaction, pride and victory on the Rev. Glen Archer's face when he realized that one of his students had won. 

 

[Rev. Archer, who also coached runner-up Davian Stewart, has consistently coached several Spelling Bee Champions over the past 20 years].

 

Gifton, as with most students in the competition, has the right approach to life:

 

He stated in Gleaner article, "Gifton's The Champ!", that, "You have to make sacrifices to get big things" and that "after winning the Kingston Parish Championship, he told himself he was going to win..trained hard and ended up champion" (paraphrased).

 

Our congratulations also go out to the other finalists:

• Davian Stewart, St Catherine (2nd place - placed 6th last year)


• Jaden Henry, Clarendon (3rd place)


• Jonathan Liu, Westmoreland (4th place)


• Tianne Barclay, St Andrew (5th place)


• Rushawn Stewart, Portland (6th place)


• Lois Robinson, St Elizabeth  (7th place)

 

(I'd like to thank the Jamaica Gleaner for the use of their YouTube video above - showing Gifton's win).

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

Article, "Gifton's The Champ!",Tennesia Malcolm, Staff Reporter - Jamaica Gleaner, February 2, 2012

Junior Schools' Challenge Quiz 2011: Knox Junior School Knocks Servite Primary

Metal Cup Trophies
Originally uploaded by dan bencsik

This evening's Junior Schools' Challenge Quiz was quite a treat!

 

In a titillating match, we saw Knox Junior School serve  up some "hard knocks" to Servite Primary, by beating them 45 to 31 points.

 

(Junior Schools' Challenge Quiz is a Television Jamaica (TVJ) production and features tens of schools at the Primary Level of our educational system who compete against each other in six (6) rounds of competition: Rounds 1-3 , a Quarter-Final, a Semi-Final and a Final.

 

They answer questions in the following subject areas: Bible Knowledge, Math, Music, Science, English Language and Social Studies.

 

...With each match having:

 

1) Four (4) face-offs; each between two students of the competing schools in the above subject areas

 

2) A final buzzer segment, where both teams answer questions within a 3-minute time slot).

 

A big GWAP Blog Congratulations go out to Knox Junior School, who now move on to round 3 of the competition.

 

And to Servite Primary,we say, "Well tried!" .

 

You can watch Junior Schools' Challenge Quiz matches on Television Jamaica's website.

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

Television Jamaica, November 15,2011

 

 

You Will Now Be Able to do Your Pap Smears at Home

 

BBC World Service's programme, Health Check, reported on November 4,  that women can now do their pap smears at home.

 

A pap smear (aka a smear test or  pap test) is a test done on females to test for changes in the cells of the cervix.

 

(The cervix is found in the vagina and serves as the opening to the womb/uterus).

 

Abnormal cervical cells indicate signs of cervical pre-cancer (this is the stage just before the development of cancer).

 

It was formerly thought that a smear test was the only way to detect  cervical pre-cancer.

 

But scientists have now realized that it is the presence of the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) in a woman's cervix, that causes cervical (pre) cancer.

 

Advances in medicine now allow women to test for the HPV at home, with a Do-it-Yourself (DIY) cervical smear test.

 

This is versus them having to go to a doctor/clinic  to get this test done.

 

The target market/audience is women in developing countries without ready access to clinics or doctors.

 

Please listen to the Health Check report about this DIY cervical smear test, here.

 

And please feel free to let us know what you think of it.

 

Is this something that you think you could make use of?

 

Please let us know. :)

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

 

1) Pap test fact sheet via womenshealth.gov, accesed November 9,2011

2) BBC World Service's Health Check, November 4,2011

New Scholarships Available for International Students!

The following noteworthy scholarships are now available at Scholarship-Positions.com, for international students:

1. Dorothy Senesh Fellowship for Women from Developing Countries, USA 2012

 

Purpose: For Peace and Development Studies (graduate level) in the USA

Scholarship Provider: International Peace Research Association Foundation (IPRA).

 

Eligibility Criteria:  an international woman who has completed her bachelors degree and who has been accepted into a graduate program - the focus of graduate work must be on issues related to the goals of the IPRA.

 

The Application Deadline: January 15,2012

 

Please see more details of this scholarship here.

 

2. University of Warwick Scholarship, one of the top universities in Britain is offering The Chancellor’s Scholarships [formerly known as WPRS]

 

a. Chancellor's Scholarships (45 in all)

Purpose: For studies at the PhD level for any discipline

Please see more details here.

 

b. Chancellor's International Scholarships (17 of the 45 scholarships available)

Purpose: For studies at the PhD level for any discipline

 

Scholarships cover:

a) The full payment of overseas tuition fees (worth up to £14,600 at 10/11 rates)

b)  A maintenance stipend in line with RCUK rates (worth £13,590 at 10/11 rates).

 

Eligibility criteria:

Applicants must be:

a) Applying for PhD studies at University of Warwick  for October 2012 (for the first time)

b) Overseas students for purpose of  the scholarship; no nationality requirements.

 

The Application Deadline: January 31,2012

Please see more details here.

 

3. UK’s University of Leicester Open Scholarships for International Students : College Scholarships, PhD Scholarships, Postdoctoral, Graduate International Scholarships Fellowships

 

Please see more details here.

 

These and other scholarships can be found at Scholarship-Positions.com.

 

Scholarship-Positions is just one of the many scholarship sites found on  GWAP Blog's Financial Aid Page: Scholarships, Grants, Loans From High School to Grad School.

 

Our quick link to this page can be found on the menu bar of our home page just beneath the banner. (It's the 4th item from the left of the page, labelled, "Financial Aid").

 

Please visit our page often to find scholarships of interest to you!

 

Gillian

 

Sources Include

Scholarship-Positions.com,accessed November 3-42011

Back to School Tips for Students

As promised, we now present our post, "Back To School Tips for Students".

 

We know many of you have just started a new school year or term/semester and we wanted to give you some tips that will enable you to gain the most from your educational endeavors.

 

These tips will be categorized as tips for students before school (begins on each day), (while) at school, and after school (ends on each day).

 

Let's begin!

 

Before School Begins on Each Day

 

1) Always arrive at school on time - this is great practice for when you start to work, as you'll be fired after repeated lateness.

 

In order to arrive on time:

 

a) Pack books, other school items (based on those needed for the next day of class) and prepare lunch from the night before

 

b) Iron and prepare your clothes for the entire week of school on a Saturday or Sunday

 

c) Set your alarm clock so that you can wake up on time

 

d) Organize your toiletries (e.g. toothbrush and toothpaste) and grooming  kit (e.g. combs and brushes), in one place in your bathroom, for easy and convenient access in order to prepare  for  school

 

2) Ask God for protection on the way to school, during school hours and upon your return home.

 

While At School

 

1) Aim to get A's

 

2) Sit at the front of the class

 

3) Don't be easily distracted by other students and gadgets

 

4) Participate in class by listening keenly to your teachers, doing classwork and asking questions

 

5) Participate in at least one extra curricular activity e.g. a sport or  join the debate team.

 

[Choose the activity based on its fun appeal (so that you can stay with it for the long run), its ability to enhance your team-building skills, enhance your self-development and prepare you for your chosen career]

 

6) Choose friends wisely.

Your friends can make or break you and are also a reflection on you, so you should be very careful with whom you closely associate at school.

 

7) If you have a free session, make good use of it by reviewing your class work, doing homework, studying  and doing research at the school library.

 

After School

 

1) If not participating in an extra curricular activity or waiting on your parents, look over your classwork and read whilst on the bus home.

 

2) Only attempt homework after revising classwork.

 

At Home

 

1) Eat then rest, to rejuvenate yourself for studying

 

2) Take short breaks after studying for 30-45 mins

 

Do something enjoyable (e.g. watch TV, play video games, kick the ball around a few times around the house, shoot hoops (play basketball) and come back inside to rest for 15-30 mins in order to do lighter homework

 

4) Continue reviewing work done for the day and continue studying/doing homework

 

5) Get at least 8 hours of sleep to be sufficiently rejuvenated for the next day of class.

===============

 

Well, we've come to the end of our post, "Back To School Tips for Students".

 

It is our hope that these tips will help you to effectively make the most of your education.

 

Please let us know if and how you've benefited!

 

Thanks!

 

Gillian