Chaguanas is Flow’s school champs

CHAGUANAS Government Primary School was the round two winner of Flow’s Inter-School Championship for September/October. A media release said the competition, which is in collaboration with pennacool.com, encourages healthy competition among primary schools .

Long before online learning became a regular platform for learning as a result of covid19, pennacool.com has been using ICT to enhance learning among students preparing for SEA examinations. On board as title sponsor, Flow has been able to increase such learning capacity through the strengthening of broadband speeds at schools, the release said.

The partnership which began in 2009 has assisted pupils in standards four and five to improve their learning skills

With the inter-school championship, a bi-monthly competition among district schools, pupils have an opportunity for self-improvement through learning. But in doing so, their success has also brought “street cred” to their schools. At the end of every other month, the school with the most points on pennacool.com wins seven tablets, the release said.

The top school, Chaguanas Government Primary School, won seven tablets because of its success. In addition, the top three students – Nathanda Hector, Lishawna Phillip, and Crystal Sirju – received special vouchers from Flow.

Flow’s director – commercial operations for the South Caribbean Cindy Ann Gatt said in the release: “We continue to endorse our support for pennacool.com, as we see how much they have been able to help young students improve their performance. Between September 2017 and October 2020, pennacool.com and Flow awarded 175 tablets to 22 primary schools through the Flow Inter-School Championship. Through its various competitions and initiatives, pennacool.com and Flow have, to date, distributed 475 tablets to primary schools nationwide.”

While schools remain closed since March 2020, the devices have been distributed to students at the schools to use for remote learning.

Teachers continue to use online tools to deliver their lessons but one of the challenges was the preparation for SEA. Despite the delay, students across TT persevered. The Flow and pennacool.com teams celebrated with all successful students. Since then, online learning via pennacool.com has seen an uptick in users. Between the opening of the academic year in September and a month later, in October there was a ten per cent increase, the release said.

“It is encouraging to see teachers, parents, and students are using online education to ensure consistent, uninterrupted learning,” said Kurleigh Prescod, Flow’s country manager. “Pennacool.com has done yeoman service by providing support. My hope is that when we move away from this pandemic, online learning continues to be part of our teaching, learning and revision strategies.”