Middleton Primary gears for annual sports day March 8

Residents of Middleton, St. Thomas, are gearing for the annual Sports Day at Middleton Primary School, on Tuesday, March 8.

The best performers from the event will run against other schools in the parish, in two rounds of competition for a place to represent St. Thomas in the finals at the National Stadium in May.

The 116-year-old school, with some 200 students, has produced several parish champions in a number of areas, including football, athletics, 4-H Clubs and Spelling Bee.

The most recent champion is Grade 6 student, Renica Peart, who won the 2009/10 and 2010/11 Gleaner Children’s Own Spelling Bee Parish Championship. The school has held the cup the longest in the entire parish and has not lost it for more than two consecutive years. Also, Middleton Primary has placed third and fourth in the national championship.

In this year’s sports programme, the spotlight will once again be on 10-year-old sprinter, Shudean Beckett, for a place in the national finals. She has been representing the school since age seven and last year won a Gold Medal for St. Thomas. The Grade 4 student runs both 100 metres and 200 metres.

Principal of Middleton Primary School, Marcia Beckford, who is also coach of the Spelling Bee champions as well as the Grade 6 teacher, told JIS News that the community has many talented children, including little Shudean.        

Miss Beckford, who has been head of the school for the past 16 years, said despite challenges, the school remains true to the mantra: ‘Every child can learn; every child must learn’. 

CONTACT: GEORGE JUDE