JIS Heritage Week Team Visits Westmoreland Schools

Students and teachers from three schools in Westmoreland were delighted by and appreciative of the Jamaica Information Service’s (JIS) recent visit to their institutions, as part of the agency’s Heritage Week schools visit.

The institutions visited were: Holly Hill Primary and Infant School in Darliston; Unity Primary School, Savanna-la-Mar; and Grange Hill High School, Grange Hill.

The JIS team, led by Special Projects Officer, Christine Ade-Gold, was greeted by students and teachers body at the Holly Hill Primary and Infant School, led by Principal Lola Gayle Hamilton.

Following a presentation about Heritage Week by past student, Marlon Tingling, Information Officer at the JIS Western Regional Office, the team engaged the students in fun activities which included a question and answer session for which prizes were awarded for correct answers.

The students then performed two cultural items, which were part of the school’s winning entries in this year’s Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) performing arts competition, much to the appreciation of the JIS team and several parents in attendance.

The visit ended with the presentation of a number of JIS-produced heritage posters, and the reciting of the National Pledge, and singing of the National Anthem by the students.

Unity Primary School, the alma mater of JIS Accounts Department payroll clerk, Karlene Moore, was the next stop where the team made presentations to a group of Grade Six students.

The eager youngsters, who are preparing for the 2015 Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT), included Westmoreland’s top boy and girl in the National Spelling Bee competition, Daniel Morris and Jessica McKnight.

Ms Moore engaged the students in a discussion on Heritage Week after which the class teacher, Clover Whyte, was joined by Daniel and Jessica in accepting a set of JIS produced Heritage posters.

As was the case at the Holly Hill Primary school, the reciting of the National Pledge and the singing of the National Anthem, ended the visit to Unity Primary.

The Grange Hill High School visit took the form of an open discussion between the JIS Team and the Grade Nine students.

The youngsters asked a range of questions relating to Heritage Week, and were congratulated by Ms Ade-Gold on their attention and focus.

Principal, Errol Stewart, accepted a package of JIS produced Heritage posters for display at the school.

The tour of the Westmoreland schools formed part of the JIS Heritage Week visit to a number of institutions across the island.

The engagement aims to heighten awareness and interest among students in Heritage Week; and about the contribution by Jamaica’s National Heroes and Heroine to nation building; and the role Jamaicans can play in safeguarding the country’s heritage.