NEW FOREST, Manchester — A school leader here is optimistic that within five years the now nine-year-old New Forest High School will have its own auditorium named in honour of community stalwart Eva May Wright.

Principal Arnaldo Allen said with just over $ 2 million of the $100-million target to construct the building being raised so far, his students and residents from more than six communities will benefit from the infrastructure.

“We are happy that we have partners on board who are willing to assist. New Forest High has no assembly room. Nine years we are here. We can’t have devotion if it rains outside. We can’t have devotion if the sun is out too much outside. When we are having graduations and prize giving ceremonies we have to rent a tent and find at least $100,000 to get it and chairs to have a function,” he explained to his audience at the official launch of the auditorium on Thursday.

“We have [at least] 12 functions for the year, that is going to be $1.2 million just to get the tent. There is no auditorium near here. None at BB Coke [High School], none at the primary schools around. The nearest one might be at Munro [College],” he added.

New Forest, a farming community, is located close to Alligator Pond in Manchester.

Allen said New Forest Primary School, which is on the same compound as the high school, will also benefit from the auditorium.

“They [students] don’t have anywhere to have any function with their little ones. Not even a classroom big enough to hold them. They have to be outside. It will be an auditorium for the primary school and the infant department to also use for their coming together as well,” he said.

“Too often young people leave prominent high schools and come back into New Forest, have skills in them to play netball, volleyball and the like, but they have nowhere [to practise/play], because they have no community centre in the area. This facility will allow them to continue to hone their skills, so they might even get scholarships to move on overseas,” Allen added while suggesting that the auditorium will be a multi-purpose facility.

“We want this facility to be open to the community as long as people are operating at the standard [set]. It will help to reduce crime [and] conflict, to ensure that our young people are using up their skills and their talents and energy wisely,” he said.

State minister in the Ministry of Education Marsha Smith, who represented Education Minister Fayval Williams at the function, commended the school’s administrators and board.

“What is being done here is to look at the students and to try as many interventions as are required to get the best out of them…and mould them. The auditorium creates that space where we can have those interventions of culture, academics and social activities. This is where students will explore their creativity and hone their skills,” she said.

“This auditorium will be a beacon of inspiration and learning,” Smith added.

School board chair Trisha Williams Singh said the institution has seen successes amongst its population.

“New Forest High was founded in 2015. In the first year we produced the top performing student in Jamaica for social studies and fifth in the Caribbean,” she said, adding that the student was from Alligator Pond, Manchester, while pointing to the necessity for the auditorium.

“New Forest High…serving communities like New Forest, Duff House, Alligator Pond, Sea Air, Comma Pen and Prospect, we need an auditorium too [and] that is how you level the playing field for learning in our country. With our partners we will be building block by block the Eva May Wright Auditorium,” she added.

Among the donors are National Baking Company Foundation and ARC manufacturing.

Executive director at National Baking Company Foundation Lauri-Ann Samuels pointed out that when completed the Eva May Wright Auditorium will be the “heart beat of the community”.

“It will be a hub for major examinations, sporting events, academic ceremonies and community programmes. It will also be a beacon of hope in times of disaster for the [surrounding communities]. The school’s unwavering determination and forward-thinking approach is inspiring as the board continues to spearhead fund-raising initiatives, enabling this launch,” she said.