On Friday, January 25, 2008, Sandys Secondary Middle School had an open house.

The day began with the morning assembly, led by our prestigious principal, Dr. Jackson. During the assembly, the students sang 'Hallelu, hallelujah' and settled to listen attentively to what Dr. Jackson had to say.

After that, the students were dismissed to go to their regular classes, where the parents could pop in and see what their child's class was like. There were also various events taking place during the day.

A few of these presentations included the Fashion Show preview, a Dr. Martin Luther King Presentation (led by the M2 boys), car racing, and the noonday concert.

Parents could also get tours of the school, and experience the events; the tours were led by the senior students. Several primary schools attended as well.

The Dr. Martin Luther King Presentation was outstanding. The M2 boys skilfully displayed Dr. King's life, as well as quotes written and spoken by him. Several people had comments on the performance. "The boys spoke very well; they did a great job!" said the school librarian, Mrs. Salini.

"I was extremely impressed with the quotes; the boys spoke well and held their heads high," stated Mrs. Donna Kelley, English Language Arts Officer of the Ministry of Education.

These are just two of the many comments which clearly showed that the performance left everybody excited and wowed!

Dr. Jackson's book club met in the assembly hall, where they discussed how reading and discussing books can help with comprehension, stimulating the mind, feeding the imagination, etc.

His group is currently reading 'The Jacket'. Dr. Jackson was able to get some of the visiting primary children involved and thinking. Other teachers who lead book clubs are Mrs. Cann-Smith, learning support; Mrs. Warren-Swan, business studies; Mrs. Salini, the librarian and Dr. Butterfield-Lister, the Deputy Principal.

After the book club, there was a Spanish presentation. The Spanish teacher, Señora Evans, showed a video of the Spanish trip, which some of the M3's will have the opportunity to experience in April. This video, and the trip, are designed to help the students to get a feel for the language and to be exposed to more of the Spanish culture.

Some of the M3 students decided to model how and how not to wear our school uniform. (These students will also be participating in the planned Fashion Show on February 9, 2008.) In the open-house show, however, the models depicted several ways in which students should NOT wear the uniform — with jewellery, buttons undone, cell phones, ties around their heads, socks down, shirts out; actually seeing uniforms worn incorrectly was very funny! The students changed quickly into the right dress and when they walked back out, the change was phenomenal.

Paget Primary, Port Royal Primary, and Somerset Primary watched in enjoyment as the students paraded across the stage. All the students looked amazing in the proper uniform — another reminder that the right way is the best way.

The school's quiz team answered many questions about history and geography, while an audience of primary schools, peers, and respectful guests looked on.

The team is made up of all the year levels and has put in their best effort toward studying and retaining the tons of information. The debate team also exhibited the results of their hard work. They had to get facts and write up speeches for the battle between the negative and the affirmative sides of the proposal.

Their debate was that parents should be held accountable for their child's actions. Both teams argued forcefully to prove their respective points and they made the debate lively and interesting.

When the time came for car racing, everyone was excited. People flocked down to the Design and Technology room, where, with help from some students, Mr. Naylor had set up a 50-foot track. After talking to the visiting primary classes about the cars, how they were made, and when incoming students would be making them, he asked if they wanted to see a fast car or a slow car. Everybody screamed for the fast one and he loaded it up with a small, suppressed air tank and fitted it onto the track.

With a bang, the car was off, travelling down the track almost faster than you could follow. Everyone cheered when they saw the time: 1.851. After the demonstration, Mr. Naylor put two cars on the track and set them off. This was an exhilarating event.

The noonday concert started with the energy-filled M2 students doing their chant. Next up were the M1 recorders, playing 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star'. They sounded sweet and were all in unison. Then, M2 Blue winds played a short piece. After that, M3 singer Kioshi Burges sang 'Flying With out Wings'. He has performed on many occasions in and out of school. Then the choir sang, wonderful as usual. Delijah Symons was next, singing the classic 'I Believe I Can Fly'. Lastly, the M2 Yellow, M3 Yellow and M3 Green orchestra played 'Ukraine Bell Carol'. They all did a phenomenal performance.

The last event of the day was the Drumline Finale. Owing to the weather, they had to perform inside, but that made the sound even better. There were drummers, dancers, and the conductor, Mr. Parsons. Helping in the background with this event was Ms Fox, the music teacher, who makes all music events possible. Ms Fox is the power behind all things musical and there is no way that anything could happen on the stage without her presence.

The entire Sandys staff, students, PTA and family made our Open House a great success.