Disney Cruise Line honoured the grand prize winners of the 2006 Jiminy Cricket’s Environmentality Challenge (JCEC) on Tuesday, 27 February in a ceremony and day of fun aboard the Disney Magic cruise ship.

Students taking part in the celebration included the Year Three class from Cayman Prep and High School and Year Six class from St. Ignatius Catholic School. The students were accompanied by their class and head teachers, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Education and the Department of Tourism.

Winning classes showed exemplary environmental skills through innovative projects that included radio announcements encouraging the protection of endangered animals and visits to local parks and coral reefs to explore the native environment.

Each winning class excelled in addressing existing environmental issues through classroom subjects such as maths, science and language arts, while also educating and engaging the local community.

“Disney Cruise Line is proud to celebrate these extraordinary children,” said Mark Witko, Disney Cruise Line Community and Government Relations Manager. “These students are making a difference in the community to better their own environment for generations to come.”

Witko, along with Captain Tom Forberg of the Disney Magic, welcomed the students aboard for the special ceremony, congratulating them on their achievements, while Mrs. Angela Martins, Chief Officer for the Ministry of Education, Training, Employment, Youth, Sports & Culture, assisted with the presentation of medals to the students.

After posing with Jiminy Cricket for photos with their awards, all students received a special tour of the Disney Magic ship before disembarking.

Pointing out the importance and impact of their contributions, Mrs. Martins said, “These students are making a difference in the Cayman community and raising awareness for environmental responsibility. It’s an honour to recognise their hard work and innovation.”

Winning Projects

The third-year class from Cayman Prep and High School learned more about the importance of clean water by taking field trips to local parks and exploring the area’s coral. Through their art class, they designed a coral reef replica using recycled materials. The sixth-year students at St Ignatius Catholic School were able to reach out to thousands of Cayman residents by scripting and recording a series of radio announcements focused on environmental issues that were broadcasted daily over Cayman radio.

Through their radio announcements, they were able to raise over $600, and donated this to the Cayman Wildlife Rescue to further advance environmental protection.

Honoured students of Year Three at Cayman Prep and High School were Maya Ambekar, Morgan Lloyd, Ben Ashman, Ramon Martinez, Brian Bodden, Halle Medina,Joshua Bolland, Drew Milgate, Dominic DaCosta, Theodore Nielsen, Myles Dawson-James, Duncan Petrie, Matthew Elphinstone, Isabella Rooney, Nicola Robin, Galvin Samantha Smellie, Ryan Kirkaldy, Rebecca Southway, Jacqueline Lanzoni-Rivers and Caitlin Westerborg. (Teachers: Brenda Bryce and Tessa Mae Baker).

Honoured students of Year Six of St Ignatius Catholic School were Natasha Alagaratnam, Krista Kelehar, Alexandra Anglin, Ryan Kyberd, Sydonie Barrett, Kenya McDermott, Gianna Bolen, Ann-Alecia Moore, Danielle Boothe, Shaquille Morgan, Arielle Boswell-Gibbons, Julian Moxam, Bronwen Burke, Giovanni Myrie, Tiana Bush, Alex O’Keeffe, Corie Carby, Brooke Parchment, Courtney Couch, Britteny Purcell, Katherine Duffy, Chynna Retumban, Chelsea Duty, Ella Robertson, Chelsea Ebanks, Jason Robinson, Lisa Evans, Ashley Scaletta, Sarah Fawkes, Alexandra Stasiuk, Aisling Fleming, Sydney Stewart, James Foster, Deandra Thompson-Ebanks, Lee Girvan, Koshy Thoppil, Parker Godwin, Carla Watler, Matthew Harrison, Daniel Watler, Kenzy Huizinga-Wright, Arianna Wheeler-Seijas, Heather Jackson, Jonathan Whittaker, Jonathan Jackson, Asha Wilson, Ronan Jennings, Allen Worm, and Isaac Jones.

(Teachers: Maria Kennedy and David Hammersley.)

JCEC is an educational programme that inspires students to research environmental issues in their communities, problem-solve these issues and educate others. The programme is sponsored through a relationship with Disney Cruise Line and the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, Department of Education and Department of Environment.

The Walt Disney Company created the challenge in 1994 to encourage students to think and act environmentally – at school, at home and in their local communities. The programme started at Disneyland in California and has expanded to Central Florida, Hong Kong and, with Disney Cruise Line, the programme is now in the Caribbean. JCEC has become one of the most recognisable projects within The Walt Disney Company.

The two-part JCEC programme consists of an environmental pledge and class project competition. To date, more than one million students worldwide have taken the JCEC challenge.

For more information on the programme or for more details on this year’s winning projects visit the JCEC website at www.jceckids.org.