The Reverend Dr Byron Chambers, board chairman at Morant Bay High School in St Thomas, is warning students at the institution about the dangers of procrastination.Addressing the student body at yesterday’s launch of the school’s 50th anniversary celebration, Chambers told the students they have a responsibility to ensure the vision of the school’s founders never dies. “The pioneers who led the way never gave up hope. They lit a trail and you have to follow,” Chambers said. He told the students that hard work was critical to their advancement and warned they “might end up like Dudus (alleged crime lord Christopher Coke)” should they not focus on their studies. “Everybody looking to get rich quickly without working hard … . I urge you, work hard and do not procrastinate,” Chambers said. Morant Bay, a gift from the Methodist Church, began operation on January 4, 1961 with 55 students and three teachers on the first day. That number increased to 59 students by the end of the first year.

Nearly 50 years on, the school is home to approximately 1,300 students, 70 per cent of whom trailed behind a police marching band, chanting as they made their way from the Coke Methodist Church in the parish capital to the top of Highbury Hill where the school is situated.The march signalled the start of a 50-day countdown to 50 years of existence for the school. Valrie Marshall-Lodge, the school’s principal, in launching the countdown, lauded the founders of the school for their vision and thanked the Methodist Church for its continued support.

“I invite all to join with the school family to seize the opportunity in celebrating this milestone as we continue to light the path towards diamond opportunities,” Marshall-Lodge said. “We who are Morant Bay High School past students are very grateful to the Methodists. One wonders if our lives would have been the same if they never thought of ensuring that a high school happened in the parish,” she added. Despite rain threatening to put a damper on yesterday’s activities, sparkling performances from the school’s dance group and drama society kept a ray of sunshine over the proceedings.

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Article by daraine.luton@gleanerjm.com