Surrounded by a sea of green and white, on Wednesday past and present students of the Morant Bay High School in St Thomas celebrated their ‘Alumni Takeover’ with a day of activities.
Starting at the commencement of the school day, local celebrities like Olympian Hansle Parchment, Miss World 2019 Toni-Ann Singh, and veteran journalist Dionne Jackson-Miller took part in classes and gave motivational addresses to the students.
Speaking on the importance of the alumni keeping in touch with the institution, president of the alumni association Bertram Anderson told THE WEEKEND STAR, “Our students need to know who has walked the grounds of Morant Bay High School. They need to know that it is possible, they need to know that success is theirs. All they have to do is just work hard.
“So when we come back and when we show and when we interface with the students, we’re making them understand that it is a wonderful place to be. Morant Bay High School is your foundation to grow and to be the beacon in our society,” he added.
He said the activities also include a legacy programme and mentorship programme.
“We have started the legacy project, which is, we are trying to outfit the library with new equipment. We are going to add to the building itself so we can have a 21st century modern library. So we’re going to ensure that it is technologically improved and that we are cutting edge in terms of the students having the requisite resources to do their SBAs (school based assessments) and also to study,” he said.
Singh said that even though she did not attend the institution herself, she learned many lessons through her mother who is a past student.
“The values that were taught here have poured into who I’ve become, so to see them come so far and to see how much they continue to care for their students, and with everything they’ve got to give them the best opportunities, it means the world to me. And I’m very excited to be surrounded by the world’s future. Like even if you’re tired, you can’t be tired around so much energy and so much potential energy. It’s just to see when they come off now what they become and the world is limitless,” she said.
Singh also gave a short performance before surrendering the stage to singer Tarrus Riley, who is a St Thomas resident and father of a Morant Bay High student.
The She’s Royal singer told THE WEEKEND STAR, “We don’t come back because we never leave. My daughter goes here so I’m here every morning, and if me nuh deh yah, my family deh yah. So it’s always good to get love and respect from your own community.
“We see a lot of talent come outta the place. We see dem doing more community things and involving youth into different things. It’s growing, man, and the reputation growing good too. We like how the world a see it,” he added.
A concert, which began at about 3 p.m., saw performances from St Thomas celebrities like Riley, Bushman, Di-Ruption, as well as from students and teachers.
Source: https://jamaica-star.com/article/news/20221014/morant-bay-high-alumni-family-uplift-students#slideshow-2
