HOPEWELL, Hanover — There wasn’t a plastic fork or paper lunch box in sight inside the cafeteria at Hopewell High School on a day dedicated to teaching students about formal dining.

The elegantly dressed youngsters — some of the boys wore three-piece suits — enjoyed meals served on real plates. The metallic clink of their knives and forks filled the air as they ate.

It was all part of an initiative to give students soft skills they will need in the years ahead.

“I am extremely proud. I am proud of the concept because it is all about empowering our students. Developing their social skills. Developing them into a global citizen so that they can function outside of school and in the wider society; because many times they get the academic aspect of it but when they go out there they are not employable,” the school’s Education Officer Marcia Scott said of the November 3 event.

She is also the Ministry of Education’s health and family life education officer for Region Four.

“This is just one way that we are trying to instil in them some positive values and some life skills that they will need to function in society,” she added.

She believes this is something that can be emulated in other schools.

The initiative is the brainchild of grade seven supervisor and Master Teacher Sophia Manning who said there were a lot of sleepless nights as they worked to make the event a first-class success.

For some among the 160 students who participated, it was their first time in a formal dining setting.

“The programme was put in place so that we could help these students. We wanted to give them the experience because most of these students are from lower socio-economic backgrounds and so most of them would never have been in a function like this,” explained Manning.

“Some of them were so happy, they had never seen this before. They could not believe that all of this was prepared for them,” said the experienced educator. For the event, her sleek black outfit was complemented by a fashionable gilded mask that concealed the top half of her face.

Like Scott, the school’s Principal Byron Grant pointed to the importance of the initiative. He believes its impact goes well beyond the dining room.

“We need to teach the students how to behave socially because sometimes it is as a result of us not teaching the students how to behave socially why we have some of the indiscipline in society,” said Grant.

He stressed that going to school is much more than just being book smart.

“We want to teach them how to dress; how to dine in a formal setting. This is how you behave; this is how you use the knife and fork. It is not every day that you are going to come here and sit and use a plastic fork to eat out of a paper box. We need to teach you how to use a knife and fork in a formal setting,” stated Grant.

Grade seven students Denecia Farrawge and Cadija Freddington said they appreciated the initiative.

“I enjoyed it. It was really nice,” said Freddington who was dressed in a delicate champagne-coloured dress that was complemented by faux pearls around her elegant chignon styled hair.

“I did not learn much because I already knew [but] it was just a very good experience,” she added.

Chairman of the school’s board of management Dalton Hastings is also among those who hope other schools will emulate their effort and he is willing to share any information needed. For example, he noted, the meal included meat and vegetables from the school’s vibrant farm. The menu included curry goat, barbequed chicken, escovitch fish, soup, potato salad, vegetable salad and dessert.

The formal dining and etiquette lesson is just the latest in a string of encouraging events at Hopewell High School.

Principal Grant had high praise for parents of this term’s 1,180 students. He said they have been supportive of the school and their children.

The school continues to do well academically with a significant improvement in the recent Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC), City and Guilds and National Council on Technical and the Vocational Education and Training (NCTVET) examinations. Its students recently had 100 per cent passes in NCTVET.

In addition, Hopewell High has a new team of physical examination teachers on staff, part of a wider effort to improve its standings in sporting competitions.

The school is particularly proud that in December 2019 it celebrated its first win in the Television Jamaica’s All Together Sing competition.