SCHOOLS across the island are expected to be abuzz with activities on Friday, March 3 as they celebrate Jamaica Day 2023, under the theme ‘Celebrating Jamaica, From the Root to the Fruit’.

Senior education officer in the Curriculum Unit, Ministry of Education and Youth (MOEY) and chairman of the Jamaica Day Planning Committee, Marlon Williams told JIS News that the custom is to celebrate Jamaica Day on the last Friday in February. However, because the majority of schools were on midterm break the decision was taken to shift it this year to March 3.

“We know the critical role that the students play in Jamaica Day celebrations, and this decision is to ensure that they are engaged and immersed as they participate in the day’s activities to the fullest,” he said.

This year, for the first time, three schools have been selected to be featured. While all schools across Jamaica will be celebrating the day, the featured schools — Troja Primary School, St Catherine High School, and Dinthill Technical High School, all from the parish of St Catherine — will converge on the grounds of Dinthill Technical, which will be transformed into a high-level display space highlighting the Jamaica Day theme.

The day’s activities at Dinthill Technical High will commence with a civic ceremony to include a flag-raising ceremony, reading of the proclamation, and remarks from government and community officials.

According to Williams, there are many different interpretations that can come from this year’s theme so he is encouraging all schools to be imaginative in planning their activities.

“Schools,for example, may want to highlight the journey of an individual in their community who is from lowly beginnings and has now become a prominent Jamaican, or they may want to explore the evolution of our music as we celebrate Reggae Month,” he said.

Reiterating that there is a plethora of ways in which this theme can be interpreted, Williams said: “We are going to be seeing some rich displays and demonstrations on the day in all our schools across the island, highlighting culinary, performing and fine arts.”

One of the highlights on Jamaica Day 2023 is the presentation of cash, trophies and plaques to the winners of the Performing Arts Competition, sponsored by Fontana Pharmacy. The competition is open to students, teachers and the wider Jamaica, including persons with special needs.

Interested persons will be required to create and record a TikTok video, no more than two minutes in length, depicting the Jamaica Day theme to include elements of the art forms; Fontana’s tagline, “It’s all good inside”, and the MOEY mantra, “Every child can learn, every child must learn”.

To access the competition rules, persons should visit Fontana Pharmacy’s social media pages at fontanapharmacy.com. The deadline for submission of entries is Tuesday, February 28. Entries will be judged based on relevance to theme, inclusion of art forms (music, dance, drama and visual), creativity, production quality, use of production elements, and adherence to time.

— JIS