Minister for Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands (EYSAL) Honourable Juliana O'Connor-Connolly officially opened new playing fields at Creek and Spot Bay Primary Schools on Saturday (27 February).
During her opening remarks at the opening ceremony held at Creek Primary School, Principal Ms. Claudette Lazzari underscored the importance of sports and thanked the Minister of EYSAL for the welcomed addition to the schools' infrastructure. "Sports are such an important part of our children's lives. It teaches them important values such as teamwork, unity, trust and hard work and helps keep their bodies strong and healthy. I want to say a heartfelt thank you to our Minister of Education, Hon. Juliana O'Connor-Connolly, her team in the Ministry and the Cayman Islands Government for making this vision a reality for our schools," Ms. Lazzari stated.
Expressing her delight at the fields' opening, Minister O' Connor-Connolly declared, "I am excited that we are opening this field and even more excited that we are opening two fields on Cayman Brac in one day. As a Ministry, we were able to set achievable goals and objectives to improve the quality of life of those we serve. The outcome of which is, our school children now have access to a safe and beautiful playing field during school hours, and the community will be able to use the fields to improve their health and wellbeing outside of school hours."
The project, done in collaboration with Vigoro Nursery, will extend to West End Primary School, Sir John A Cumber Primary School, Joanna Clarke Primary School (formerly Savannah Primary School), and Edna Moyle Primary School in the upcoming months.
Also in attendance at the ceremony was Deputy Premier Hon. Moses Kirkconnell. He acknowledged the MEYSAL team for its hard work on the project and commended Minister O'Connor-Connolly for driving the project forward, describing it as 'another example of our shared vision of binding the community together through sports'.
He further urged members of the community to see the value in the facility.
"I hope that you will all see the value of this facility and its ability to promote the education and good health of the children and young people of this island," said the Deputy Premier.
In his vote of thanks, MEYSAL Deputy Chief Officer Wilbur Welcome expressed appreciation to all those who were instrumental in the day's success, particularly the Cayman Islands Government, for the vision and foresight to create such facilities for students and the wider community.