Serious about STEM - Tarrant teams excel in technology and the arts
Published:Friday | October 5, 2018 | 12:00 AMCarlene Davis
The administrators have set the ambitious goal of making Tarrant High School one of the schools of choice in Jamaica, and already, when it comes to the science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) areas, it is making its mark.
Tarrant is the 2018 National TVET Quality Awards Competition 'STEM CHALLENGE' champion, having defended the title it won last year.
STEM focuses on collaborative and project-based learning, and has been a major part of secondary schools curriculum since 2014. The Ministry of Education has since added arts to the group of subjects.
Patrice Murphy and Pasha Hunter-Findlay, two visual arts teacher at Tarrant High, were instrumental in preparing the team for the competition over the past two years.
"Two years ago, the ministry went into some intensive training with teachers in the new NSC (National Standards Curriculum), which is an integrated curriculum that caters to students' development in a more project-based approach.
"So, for example, teachers no longer chalk and talk but they are encouraged to use technology, they are encouraged to investigate and research and to become more creative," said Murphy.
"What we do in STEM is visual merchandising and we have mastered this. We proved this in 2017 and now in 2018. When it comes to the skill of visual merchandising, internationally it is big business. It is what sells businesses, and so it's not just window display, it takes in more than that ,it's how you organise a space.
"The theme for 2017 was a marriage between the sports and the arts, we took 'Pitchy Patchy' the footballer and he was married to a woman of craft. In 2018 the competition was a little bit different, the ministry collaborated with a food distribution company and we were asked to promote the brand. we did that, they loved it and we won," added Murphy.
CHALLENGE TO FIND WORK
But Murphy expressed concern that even though the school has received excellent passes in Visual Arts and Arts and Design at the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE), going back to 2009, it is having challenges placing students in the world of work.
"We want people to partner with us. We offer a job-experience programme here, and we have several students who are specialising in the area but are having difficulty to be placed in organisations.
"We want companies to come in and take our students, see what we have to offer. Our students are trainable and you can work with them, and we really want persons to realise what we have, because we have a creative bunch here at Tarrant High School," said Murphy.
Sixteen-year-old grade 11 student, Toni-Ann McLaughlin, who wants to become a doctor, is a member of this year's winning STEM team.
"It was a good experience, and I would participate again. Being a part of the team was a bit challenging for me, but I overcame that and I felt good in myself knowing I was nervous at first but able to pull it off.
"I did not leave the competition with just a title, but I learnt how to manage my time, and if I was thinking of going into merchandising, I would have a good idea of how to do it for different products," said McLaughlin.
Along with the STEM challenge title, Tarrant is also the champion for The National Exhibition for Arts and Crafts in Schools put on by the Institute of Jamaica this year.
According to Hunter-Findlay, having placed second last year, Tarrant was motivated to win this year.
"Every year the Institute of Jamaica hosts Arts and Crafts in Schools. It's open to the entire Jamaica, and what it has happening is different high schools will enter art pieces as a representation of the school.
"You are invited to enter 20 pieces, and so we entered pieces from different expressive forms which included drawing, graphics, sculpture and painting, and we came out on top," beamed Hunter-Findlay.