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Students at the Jonathan Grant High School in Spanish Town, St Catherine, received a welcome fit for celebrities to begin the new school year.

They entered through the school’s gate on a red carpet, walking to the melodious sounds of the Mighty Flyers Marching Band from the old capital. Above them, an intricately designed canopy in the school’s colours of green and yellow, shielded them from the morning sun.

Principal Dr O’neil Ankle, said this is the third year that the school is having this grand welcome for its students, and it’s done to instill a spirit of pride.

“We feel that our students are special, and many of the students that we get come from backgrounds where perhaps they don’t get that kind of special treatment. We believe that if we can start the school year with this kind of momentum and this kind of feeling, it will help us as an institution to go through the year with a kind of energy and a feeling of confidence,” he told THE STAR.

Dr Ankle said it was done primarily for the benefit of the grade seven students, who were greeted by members of the board, the head boy and head girl and the student council body.

In addition, he said that all 390 grade seven students received a specially designed pencil case with the school’s logo.

EXCITED

“It’s over the top, the students and parents are excited. You could see the glee on their faces; they were just excited,” he said.

Dr Ankle said the celebration is put together by a committee which consists of teachers, and it gets bigger every year.

“This year for the first time we had the marching band. Last year we had the blowing of trumpets, and so next year when we celebrate our 40th anniversary, I’m sure we’re going to do something just off the top,” he said.

Dr Ankle said news of the grand opening is getting around.

“Every one at Jonathan Grant, they’re looking forward to walking this red carpet and participate in the celebration of the opening of school. If other schools want to copy it, I don’t have a problem,” he said.