Aiming for change through music

Fourteen grade-six students of Sts Peter and Paul Prep School in St Andrew are out to change the country through the power of music.

The group, under the guidance of their much-loved drama teacher, Tamara Moyston, penned a song to inspire their peers all across the country.

"It's the students' way of sending a message to other children in Jamaica. The words of the song are meant to steer young people in the right direction, to encourage them to stay out of trouble," said Moyston.

The song, crafted for a Jamaica Day concert performance at the school, was an instant hit.

"The students performed it in front of the entire school. Everyone loved it. They called for an encore," Moyston said.

The song, Education is the key, opens with:

Everybody's got a goal

All you got to do is take control

Of your education

into the nation

All we got to

do is strive

Further on are the words:

Please don't look to the left, don't

even look right

Just focus ahead on your work

and you'll be fine

The students, assembled inside the school's resource room last week Thursday, just minutes after sitting a mock exam (they'll all be sitting GSAT later this month) beamed as they spoke of the feedback they've been getting from the song.

"I like the song and my friends do too," said a smiling Leesa Schaaffe, a member of the group.

"We want to encourage other students to stay away from drugs and to focus on their schoolwork," she said.

The students - the most polite and articulate you'd ever hope to meet - have been enjoying all the buzz the song has been creating. They recently, performed on TVJ's 'Smile Jamaica' morning show and were booked for a taping at a local cable station.

They're eager for whatever might come next and, judging by their attitude, it's likely to be something extraordinary.