(CNS): Chief Education Officer Shirley Wahler revealed significant improvements in overall student results for the end of the last school year. Speaking at the Annual Education Professionals’ Welcome, the head of education announced the best external exam results since the National Curriculum was introduced five years ago. The pass rate has doubled since 2008, when just 29.6% of students gained five or more ‘Level 2’ passes (CXC CSEC Grades I – III or GCSE Grades A* - C or equivalent). this year that figure has risen to 62.7%. Acting Chief Officer Christen Suckoo delivered the official welcome at the Mary Miller hall, where over 500 education professionals met.
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School year starts with news of improved exam results
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10,000+ customers hit by weekend power outages
(CNS): Over ten thousand homes and businesses were without power for significant periods over the weekend when a major road smash, adverse weather and lightning strikes cause outages from West Bay to East end. CUC crews battled around the clock to get customers connected but some ended up being without power for more than six hours. The trouble started with a car smash in the early morning hours of Saturday, 7 September when a car knocked down a CUC pole along Linford Pierson Highway. The crash took a main transmission line and two distribution circuits out of service affecting customers in South Sound and all areas east through Prospect Bodden Town, East End and North Side as maintenance work prevent the power company from re-routing power.
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Local filmmakers start work on short thriller
(CNS): Set here in the Cayman Islands, The Devil You Know is a new short film written and directed by local filmmakers, Badir Awe (Left) and Trevor Murphy, who are looking for sponsors and actors as pre-production work begins. The film will tell the story of a hit-man who comes to Cayman for a job but things don’t go exactly as planned. Filming is scheduled to begin in late October and the creators hope to have the film ready for submission to the international film festival circuit in spring 2014. Co-director Badir Awe said he was excited to get the ball moving on the project, working with local cinematographer Agustin “Froggy” Gonzalez and producer Judy Singh.
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National choir looking for new voices
(CNS): The Cayman National Choir is inviting new voices to join them as they begin their regular weekly choir practice this week. The Cayman National Choir was founded in 1977 with a small but enthusiastic and dedicated membership. It now has the support of more than 50, still enthusiastic, singers of all ages and from all walks of life. They are a harmonious mixture of Caymanians and expatriate residents, all of whom are proud to sing in Cayman's national choir. The choir is seeking new music lovers to join the members who enjoy singing together in particular male voices. There are no auditions, and sight reading skills are not required.
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Third crosswalk opens on West Bay Road
(CNS): In an effort to make the road safer for pedestrians, another crosswalk has appeared on the West Bay Road. Drivers are being asked to exercise caution as they approach the new crosswalk in front of the Westin Hotel. The National Roads Authority opened the crossing at the end of last month, and to reinforce the emphasis on safety, advance signs that indicate a pedestrian crosswalk ahead are located 360 feet on either side of the crosswalk. The crosswalk itself incorporates LED fluorescent yellow signs, and in-road LED lighting that activates when pedestrians press the button to cross the road.
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After school programme needs more funding
(CNS): With 1400 children already taking part and more kids joining each school year, the Extended After-School Programme (EASP) is in need of cash and Michael Myles, the programme coordinator for at-risk-youth for the education ministry said it is grateful for the community support. Last week, the Scotiabank and Trust (Cayman) Ltd. presented a cheque for CI$5,000 to Myles, as the banks is one of the major supporters of this programme and has been a sponsor for the past two years. “We are very grateful for the continued support of Scotiabank and all our generous sponsors,” said Michael Myles.
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Cash found for immigration
(CNS): Premier Alden McLaughlin has confirmed that money has been found in the forthcoming budget to fund the changes at the immigration department which, will see an increased headcount to both process permits more quickly and enforce the law. Over the last week or so the premier has been doing the media rounds talking about the need to replace the boards, ensure employers are compliant and to generally fix a system which has failed to safeguard Caymanians in the workplace. With almost 20,500 foreign workers in Cayman but an estimated 2000 plus Caymanians out of and looking for work, it is increasingly apparent that things have gone awry when it comes to prioritising local labour.
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Lightning strike disrupts LIME's Brac service
(CNS): Some LIME customers on Cayman Brac are still without full internet and land-line service as a result of a lightning strike to the Stake Bay Exchange early Tuesday morning. According to a LIME spokesperson, by mid morning 50% of customers affected, who were in the Stake Bay area, had their service restored. She said the Brac team had to wait on necessary parts to be delivered from Grand Cayman this afternoon, and were still working on full restoration Tuesday evening.
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New guidelines ratified for early childhood care
(CNS): As part of the goal to improve the quality of care for pre-school kids the Education Council has ratified the Guidelines for Early Childhood Care and Education Centres (2013). The Guidelines contain information on the registration and re-registration processes for centres and the policies and practices required in the operation of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Centres. The Guidelines build on previous regulatory work by early childhood professionals, inclusive of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Regional Guidelines and international best practice as well as the pioneering work of Marjorie Beckles. Prior to these Guidelines being developed, ECCE centres were governed under guidelines which were published in 2002.
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Teacher trouble in East End
(CNS): Recruitment problems in the local education services led to demonstrations and a padlocked school gate in East End Tuesday. Disgruntled parents reportedly applied the lock to the school gates in protest this morning over a teacher shortage at the district primary as the school year gets underway. A statement released by the education ministry revealed that there are still a number of teacher vacancies across schools being covered by supply teachers or existing staff on a temporary basis while recruitment continues. The East End shortage was blamed on an ex-pat teacher who, according to officials, had arrived to take up the post prior to the start of school but who had since left the island.
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Haines takes to the road to feed local kids
(CNS): Local veteran marathon runner Derek Haines will be pounding the pavement again in December when he runs the 2013 Cayman marathon after turning 65 next month. As usual, Haines won’t be running the 26+ miles for free as he will be raising cash for a local charity. This year, the endurance racer will be hoping to raise $30,000 for the 'Feed our Future Cayman Islands' summer meals programme to contine giving local kids at least one decent meal a day when school is on break because so many of them are dependent on school lunches. The running Rotarian is looking for sponsors, who will have their brands on his shirt. Now that his pace is a little slower than in years gone by, he said, they get great value for their money.
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Dart’s road opens Monday
(CNS): The final stretch of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, which has been completed for several months, will open to traffic Monday, the planning ministry and the National Roads Authority said Friday in a release from government. Phase 2 of the extension into West Bay runs from the northbound leg of the new Yacht Drive Roundabout and terminates on Willie Farrington Drive and Batabano Road. The extension forms part of what is known as the NRA Agreement between Dart Realty and the government, which was signed by the then UDP administration in December 2011. Dart remains in talks with the new government over the full deal but there has been no update on progress since early last month.
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CIAA selects ex-pat HR boss
(CNS): The Cayman Islands Airport Authority has taken on a new chief human resource manager in order to get to grips with a number of employment issues at Grand Cayman’s airport. However, the decision to take on an ex-pat has created a backlash from local quarters as the new recruit was one of six people shortlisted for interview and the only non-Caymanian. The airport has defended its decision, stating that not only is the new HR boss the best candidate but she has agreed to recruit and mentor a Caymanian understudy to take the post before the end of her two year contract. Airport officials said Janet Peters successfully transitioned a local at the tourism department and they are hoping for the same outcome.
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Literacy event raises $1000 for reading initiative
(CNS): A special sale of second hand books as well as locally-produced art and jewellery raised over CI$ 1000 on International Literacy Day at the Public Library on Saturday, 7 September for a local literacy organization. LIFE offers a number of reading programmes for students and adults to emphasise the importance of reading. Visitors to the library were also able to take part in book readings and view a live thatch braiding demonstration. Budding authors even had an opportunity to express an interest in creative writing programmes. In keeping with the emphasis on literacy, families with young children received reading fun packs that included library membership forms as they entered the new library building.
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Family resource centre encourages peace making
(CNS): With the approach of the 32nd anniversary of the International Day of Peace at the weekend, the local family resource centre is making plans to promote peace making under the annual celebration theme for this year of Who will you make peace with? For the second year, the Cayman Islands will join millions of people across the world to observe a day during which people put their differences aside to promote peace and abstain from any form of violence on Saturday. As part of the day-long celebration, the Family Resource Centre (FRC) has two major events lined up.
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600 dictionaries donated to local schools
(CNS): For the third year in a row service club Rotary Sunrise has delivered over 600 dictionaries to year seven students at all government and private schools in the Cayman Islands, officials said Tuesday. Rotary Sunrise President JD Mosley-Matchett and Literacy Committee Member Woody Foster presented the books to year seven students at John Gray High School (JGHS) on 11 September and to Clifton Hunter High School on 13 September. It will continue distributing the dictionaries to private schools over the coming week.
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Engineers faces major task to repair critical cable
(CNS): Local telecommunications firm LIME has revealed that major engineering work will be required to fix the MAYA-1 Cable, which will take place in Cayman starting on Friday. The damaged part of the cable, which links the seven countries in the region, has been found to be close to Half Moon Bay and so that segment of the cable will be beached and repaired here. The cable ship Pacific Guardian (PACG) is expected shortly and work is scheduled to begin Friday through until Tuesday. Although the cable will be shut down, traffic will be routed on the Cayman-Jamaica Fibre System (CJFS) and there should be minimal interruption to local communication channels, the firm said.
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Cost of living rises reflected in price index
(CNS): Few people living in Cayman need to be told that life is getting increasingly expensive, so the official confirmation that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the quarter ending June this year increased by a whopping 2.7% compared to the quarter ending June 2012 will not be a surprise. This time last year the CPI stood at just 0.9%. However, the significant jump in the index at a time which the economy is barely growing is not as a result of groceries or fuel, as many may think, but is because of the rise health insurance following the introduction of a new basic plan, the increase in education fees for non-Caymanian students and tax increases on tobacco.
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Police re-open hanging case
(CNS): As a result of an open verdict delivered following a coroner's inquest, the RCIPS has confirmed that they will be taking another look at a case involving the death of a 43-year-old woman in April last year, which police had believed was a suicide. Dr Lija Godenzi’s body was discovered hanging from a door at her South Sound condominium during the 2012 Easter weekend but police concluded that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding her death and she had taken her own life. However, during a four day inquest into the case last week, a number of issues were raised, throwing that conclusion into question. The jury found there was not enough evidence to support suicide, misadventure or natural causes, placing the case back in the hands of the police.
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Blum presents ideas for Caribbean’s future at UCCI
(CNS): Jack Blum, one of the United States' leading white-collar attorneys specialising in money laundering, will be the next guest in the University College of the Cayman Islands' Distinguished Lecture Series. Blum, who is an expert in offshore financial issues, has been at the centre of some major international cases, from the Bank of Credit and Commerce International (BCCI) to General Noriega's drug trafficking and Lockheed's overseas bribes. He will be speaking about the economic future for Caribbean islands being led by remittances and the need for a world with open borders for people as well as trade and services.
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