Montego Bay High Wins 4-H Championship Trophy

The Montego Bay High School 4-H Club, in St. James, was crowned champion and awarded the parish’s 4-H Clubs Championship Trophy, after dominating most of the competitive events, at the annual Achievement Day activities, held at the Irwin Primary School, on March 3.
Competing against some 54 other educational institutions, the school also walked away with a brand new Singer sewing machine, for placing first in cushion making; a heifer, for topping the cattle judging competition; and a box of bees for first place in bee-keeping.
Other top awards were won by April Campbell of St. James Preparatory School, for being crowned 4-H ‘Girl of the Year’, and Tahir Thompson for winning the coveted 4-H ‘Boy of the Year’ award. They were both presented with trophies and will represent the parish of St. James in the upcoming Regional 4-H Achievement Day, scheduled for April 9, in Montego Bay.

Students view one of the displays booths at the St. James 4-H Clubs Achievement Day held yesterday (March 5) at Irwin Primary School in St. James.

Parish Development Officer for St. James, Fiona Banton, told JIS News that the theme selected for the event this year, ‘Youth Response to Food Security’, was geared towards creating greater awareness in young people and helping them to become more enthusiastic about providing food for themselves and others.
“It is really for all of us to understand that we all must seek to provide and secure food for now and for later life. We therefore teach them to master containerised gardening if they do not have adequate space to do outside backyard gardening. Crops would be planted in different containers, such as plastic, pots, bamboo, tyres and other vessels and tended over time, until the crops are matured,” Ms. Banton pointed out.
“We are making an effort to motivate our students to choose agriculture by the special awards at the Achievement Day this year, such as the heifer, rabbit, bees and sewing machine. This is the way we are moving towards getting them into the mood of farming and getting into livestock, to really and truly secure food. We have also tried to motivate members to work hard and to give of their best to the 4-H and by so doing, prepare themselves for the future,” she added.