SMA launches Meteo Club in three schools   |03 September 2021

The signing of the memorandum of understanding between the SMA and the two schools involved in the project (Photo: Joena Meme)

To celebrate its 50 years of existence at the Seychelles International Airport, the Seychelles Meteorological Authority yesterday launched its Meteo Club project in three public schools.

The initiative seeks to attract and aspire the next generation to join the meteorology field and forms part of SMA’s long-term plan to train more Seychellois in the field and localise posts at the SMA.

Held at its office at the airport, the launch ceremony saw the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the SMA and two of the schools involved in the project – Anse Boileau secondary and Mont Fleuri secondary.

La Digue school is the third school with a Meteo Club and its memorandum of understanding was signed earlier this week.

The memoranda were signed by the chief executive of the SMA Vincent Amelie and the head teachers of the respective schools, Jina Labiche for Anse Boileau secondary and Marc Arissol.

The signings were also witnessed by two students from both schools.

The agreement notes that the schools’ Meteo Clubs, comprising students assisted by their teachers, will learn how to use and take readings from the semi-automatic weather station funded and provided by the SMA.

Already installed in the compounds of all three schools, the semi-automatic weather stations include instruments such as rain gauges, thermometers and barometers.

Students are expected to take these readings on a daily basis, bar weekends and school holidays, at 8am, 11am and 2pm.

During yesterday’s ceremony, the schools were also provided with a smartphone on which the students would be able to send the daily readings, particularly for rainfalls, to the SMA for analysis.

Aside from sparking an interest in meteorology at an early age, the mini-weather stations will also assist the SMA in collecting data since the authority does not have sufficient observation network across the country.

“As part of the project, students in the Meteo Clubs will be able to visit our office and our technicians and meteorologists will also go to the schools to show them how to use the equipment and take the readings. Students might also have a chance to present the weather on TV in our studio,” detailed Mr Amelie.

Depending on the resources available, the Meteo Club project will extend to other secondary schools in the country.

On behalf of Mont Fleuri secondary school, Mr Arissol welcomed the initiative stating that students will benefit from practical learning and firsthand experience instead of having to only rely on their textbooks.

Similarly Ms Labiche noted that the weather stations “are educational tools that we can use not only for geography but also for subjects such as science, mathematics and even ICT since a lot can be done with the data collected”.

She added that there have been a lot of interests in the Meteo Club at Anse Boileau secondary and the school has already reached the maximum limit of 25 students in the club.

One member of the new Anse Boileau Meteo Club, Maryam  Henrie, who is in S3, said that she hopes the knowledge she acquires from the club helps her improve her academic performance in geography and science.

“The club is a great initiative. We had already covered the topic of weather in geography in S1 and I believe it will further our knowledge on the topic. I am very excited to have joined this club because I love geography,” added Fadell Sophola, an S2 student from Mont Fleuri secondary.

Following the launch, both students received a tour of the in-house studio where SMA records the weather news and were able to read weather forecast.

Elsie Pointe