Little Genius Champion to build peace garden at Bath Primary

Sashed as the NexxStepp's 2018 Little Genius Champion, Dean Sinclair of Bath Primary and Junior High School in St Thomas has decided to join with his guidance counsel department to create what he believes to be a safe and effective medium to solve conflict among his peers.

Further motivated by the fact that children often grow into adults carrying anger from their childhood, Sinclair revealed that he will be taking on a peace garden as his Little Genius project.

According to him: "Based on my observation, I see that people in my surroundings don't know how to deal with conflict. They tend to always fight rather than have a conversation. In most cases, someone gets hurt when we don't solve our conflicts properly. Sometimes as children when we get into conflict, our parents encourage us to fight back rather than solve the issue."

Sharing his hopes for the garden, the 11-year-old told The Gleaner that people will be able to relax and deal with conflict in a peaceful and calm environment - a garden that will be used by community members, students and school staff.

Sinclair is expected to partner with his NexxStepp family, the Bath Primary, parents and community members to execute this project, which will hopefully be completed in December.

"We are planning on painting tyres and grow plants in them, and the lower trunk of the trees will also be painted. My father will cut some boards and design them with quotes of encouragement. I also plan to get a group of students, teachers and other workers at school involved," the grade six student said of the project's scope of work.

The garden will be located in an open space at the front of the school where, according to Sinclair, there are fruit trees that will provide shade.

Perfect area

"This area is perfect as it is cool and quiet. This coolness and quietness will help with the calming-down process," Sinclair said.

The Little Genius Competition was birthed in 2013 as a part of the social mission of NexxStepp to impact the socio-economic advancement in the parish of St Thomas. It encourages the involvement of youngsters in discussing matters of national relevance in a civil manner, as it boosts the communication level of the parish's youth.

Head of the initiative, Tishauna Mullings, recalled Sinclair's participation in this year's competition as an unforgettable one.

"Dean entered the completion for the second time in 2018. When he entered two years before, he won the hearts of many by referring to himself as 'little black chocolate'. Unfortunately for him, he did not win.

For the 2018 show, Sinclair paid close attention to the theme and was supported by his principal, teachers, family and community to develop an introduction, speech and talent piece. He won the hearts of the audience early in the show when he noted his ambition to become a detective who would fight corruption in Jamaica.

For his talent piece, Sinclair rode his bicycle on to the stage, chanting against corruption and encouraging the audience to adopt core values like honesty, nobility, sincerity and morality. The most difficult segment was the debate section. However, he challenged himself and shone on the night as he challenged his fellow competitors, supporting the motto 'Integrity is the only way to prosperity', Mullings said, adding that the competition inspired the conceptualisation of Sinclair's project that aims to see his school and community solving conflicts in a civil manner.