Manchester 4-H Clubs Achievement Day Huge Success

Manchester 4-H Clubs Parish Development Officer, Malonia Harper, has hailed the parish’s annual achievement day and exposition held yesterday (March 8) at the Long Pond 4-H Training Centre in Chudleigh, as a huge success.
“It has been a wonderful day,” Mrs. Harper said of the event, which was held under the theme: ‘Transforming Jamaica through Youth Development.’
Approximately 60 schools participated in the day’s activities, competing in 20 areas, most of which were pre-judged last week.
Areas of competition were: boy and girl of the year, public speaking, project work display and agro processing. “In these competitions, the leaders and clubbites get a chance to express themselves based on what they have learnt for the past year,” Mrs. Harper explains.
Mrs. Harper also lauded the “strength and dedication of the leaders” whom she claimed “have truly made a positive effort in providing . beautiful displays that express them and their clubbites”.
Grove Town Primary School emerged the top overall school as well as the top primary school, while St. Paul’s of The Cross was first in the high school category.
Girl of the year is Anna-Kay Nelson of Manchester High School, while the top boy is Oneil Linton of St. Paul’s of The Cross High. Christine Naylor of Bishop Gibson High won the public speaking competition and Kendal All-age School was crowned champion in the agro processing competition, which focused on dasheen dishes.
Club Leader for Grove Town Primary, Audrey Reid, expressed joy at her school’s victory. “We have worked very hard this year and are extremely happy for being the champion school,” she stated, adding that, “the children were enthusiastic”.
Meanwhile, Club Leader for St. Paul’s of The Cross High, Tanesha Smith, said: “I am very happy to know that we are first for the high school category. We entered many events but the students needed to have worked a bit harder to gain (higher positions)”. However, she stressed that “next year we’ll be coming back with bigger things”.
The 4-H achievement day allows club members to compete in areas such as home economics, agriculture and environmental management.