$95K Investment Transforms Learning at Anglican Cathedral College

Students at Anglican Cathedral College are about to log into a whole new learning experience. A ninety-five-thousand-dollar boost from the Waterloo Charitable Trust is powering a major upgrade to the school’s computer lab, giving more students hands-on access to technology and sharpening the digital skills they’ll need beyond the classroom. Administrators say the investment is a gamechanger for both teaching and learning in today’s tech-driven world. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Today, Lord Michael Ashcroft and his son Andrew took their seats in the front row of St. John’s Cathedral, joining students and faculty for the college’s weekly mass. They followed the prayers, hymns, and homily, fully immersed in the long-standing traditions of the institution. Their presence underscored a growing connection to Anglican Cathedral College.

 

Lord Michael Ashcroft, Philanthropist

“And I am very pleased to come back here and to help all of you to enhance the computer lab, because it is this part of life that you will see in the future, as computers and AI develop. On the political front in Belize, Patrick and I have never seen eye to eye but when we can come together and do something like this, we are able to overcome the political side of where we disagree.”

 

Lord Ashcroft made it clear that his relationship with UDP Senator Patrick Faber, who also teaches at the college, is often marked by disagreement.

 

Patrick Faber, IT Teacher, Anglican Cathedral College

“Today we have with us, as I mentioned representatives of the Waterloo Charitable Trust and their contribution, an extraordinary one towards the computer lab enhancement initiative, is ninety-five thousand Belize dollars.”

 

As they toured the computer lab set for long-overdue upgrades, the two men shared a warm embrace, putting their differences aside and focusing on the impact of the five-figure investment.

 

Patrick Faber

“As you told me, let’s bury the hatchet, just not in each other’s backs. So I am glad we got to team up on this one. One day when we were cleaning out a storeroom we had, we found the original plaque that was first on the wall here in the computer lab over thirty-two years ago. I got in contact with him and sure enough he agreed to accept a proposal from us. We sent that proposal and within a matter of days he responded positively to say that this is a project he believes we can work on.”

 

Several private donors were also recognized at today’s mass for supporting the school and cathedral. But the biggest winners? The students, who Principal Paulette Augustus says are thrilled with what’s to come.

 

Paulette Augustus, Principal, Anglican Cathedral College

“It translates to them being happy that they finally come into a lab where everything is there for them. It is not going to be now that you need to share or have time to use the computer. Now everybody is going to have a computer for themselves when they come into the lab.”

 

The donation will also fund new furniture, upgraded ceilings and flooring, and the installation of flat-screen monitors. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez.

 

Attention readers: This online newscast is a direct transcript of our evening television broadcast. When speakers use Kriol, we have carefully rendered their words using a standard spelling system.

 

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