With the new school year swiftly approaching, members of the Jamaica Information Service (JIS) have helped to put a smile on the faces of residents at the Mount Olivet Boys’ Home. Twenty-nine residents received shoes, uniforms, books, and other stationery at the annual Back-To-School Visit, held on Saturday, August 19 at the Home in Walderston, Manchester. Before the handover of...

Farm Heights in St. James walked away as champions of the Social Development Commission (SDC) ‘Reach the Youth’ Quiz Competition, held at the Montego Bay Civic Centre in Sam Sharpe Square on Wednesday, August 16. The victors beat Goodwill 82-59 in the three-section match of the final round to cop the coveted title in the competition that saw more than...

At age 22, Javian Bassier is the sole operator of a three-acre Scotch bonnet pepper farm, on which he incorporates innovative agrotechnology. The Vere Technical High School alumnus, who hails from Spring Plain in Clarendon, tells JIS News that he has been passionate about agriculture since childhood. He has been a member of the Clarendon 4-H Club for over five...

With schools closed for the summer, parents and guardians are being reminded to pay greater attention to their children’s safety. This urging comes from General Pediatrician and President of the Pediatric Association of Jamaica (PAJ), Dr. Curtis Pryce, who tells JIS News that children are particularly vulnerable to abuse during this period and encourages well-thinking Jamaicans to report suspected cases....

Teachers, parents and students of the St. Catherine-based Garden Hill Primary and Infant School are still celebrating the success of the small, rural institution in the Primary Exit Profile (PEP). Over 80 per cent of the 15 students who sat PEP were placed at their high school of choice. Eleven have been placed at traditional high schools, with boys outperforming...

Colette Fairclough-Thorpe, a mother of two, has volunteered her time to provide assistance and support to families at risk or in need. She was commissioned as a Parent Mentor by the National Parenting Support Commission (NPSC) in 2017, following the completion of 10 training modules over several weeks. Mrs. Fairclough-Thorpe, who spoke to JIS News at a parent-training and information...

State childcare facilities across the island are set to benefit from a suite of programmes and initiatives, to better address the psychosocial and psychological needs of children. This will be achieved, following the successful pilot of the Trauma-Informed Cognitive Behaviour Modification (TICBM) project as part of the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) Behaviour Modification Programme (BMP). The TICBM...

When then seven-year-old Dayton Jennings was crowned the Spelling Bee Parish Champion for Portland in 2022, residents of his close-knit community of Nonsuch could hardly contain their joy.  The achievement of the student, who attends  Nonsuch Primary, lifted the spirits of the tourism-dependent  area, which was still recovering from the economic impact of COVID-19.  Not only was he the youngest...

The Lucea Primary School in Hanover is beaming with pride and joy at the achievement of one of its students, Simoya Cunningham, in this year’s Primary Exit Profile (PEP). The 12-year-old is not only being hailed for the high test scores which got her into her first-choice school, but the resilience she displayed throughout the PEP journey, where she struggled...