Akeem Miller, student at Woodside All-Age School, shows his mother, Keisha Blake, an earring he made using coconut.
Pamela Moore, teacher at Woodside All-Age School in St Mary, shows a belt one of her students made using coconut leaves at a recent festival. -PHOTOS BY CABBRINA LENNOX
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Cabbrina Lennox, Gleaner WriterWOODSIDE, St Mary:THE COMMUNITY of Woodside in St Mary is well-known for producing some of Jamaica's outstanding citizens; however, the community has recently been fighting a losing battle with rural to urban migration.
To this end, the new chairman of the school, Seymour Hutchinson, has set out to re-energise the school and the community by launching an inner-house festival of arts competition, which was held recently.
Leonard Cato, principal of the school, said the festival was an attempt to encourage parents to send their [color:07e2=blue !important][color:07e2=blue !important]children to the institution.
"Woodside All-Age is a dying community. The school here, 20 years ago, had a population of over 500 students. Today, we have only one-third of that. Because of that, we have been putting on a series of events, just to highlight to parents that something is happening at Woodside.
"It may not be leaps and bounds like other schools, but at least we are holding our own. And this is just one of the events that we have planned because we have four more before school ends."
FEW OPPORTUNITIES
Cato said people were moving out of the community because there are no facilities for job and recreation.
"So you find when the parents move out, they move with the children, and it is only the ones who remain with the aunts and grandparents that we really have to cater to.
"We enjoy the days when you have large numbers of students coming out to school. The new chairman, Father Seymour Hutchinson, is trying to find ways and means of bringing back the school (population). I don't know if we can get back to 500, but if it is only to 400," Cato told The Gleaner.
He said despite the small number of students at the school, the institution is still maintaining a competitive edge with schools in the region, both in the Grade Four Literacy Test and the Grade Six Achievement Test (GSAT).
"Last year, we had one student who didn't pass, but we are still holding our own. In the GSAT, we have placements for St Mary High and other schools, but what we need is to improve student-teacher ratio," he said.
Keshia Blake, a parent, said she was happy to see some action at the school.
"I'm very happy about this event because my son is doing well, and I'm glad to see this happening. We make things and carry to the school. They can benefit from it. It is the first time they are doing this over here, so maybe the second will be better," she told The Gleaner.
At the recent event, there were art exhibitions made from the featured product, coconut, which proved to be more versatile than many believed. They made a wide array of items from the coconut such as bracelets, earrings, dolls, spoons, and strainers, among other things. Also on display were food items made from coconut.
The proceeds from the festival are expected to go towards building new facilities at the school.
Cato said parents can save big if they send their children to the educational institution.
"Parents don't feel good if their children are not on a route taxi going someplace, and the children enjoy it, too. So we have to reach out and make them aware of the fact that it makes no sense to spend $20 when you can spend $5 and get a better facility," Cato told The Gleaner.
He continued: "We just want them to know that the educational facility here at Woodside is good, the teaching is good, and Woodside is making progress economically. So we are saying, why go elsewhere when you can get it right here?"
rural@gleanerjm.com