Excellence comes at a high price. – Contributed

Dear Jamaica:

Me dear mam, de other night me siddung a foreign a listen to me sista tv tru de phone. Quiet like muss muss a listen out fe puss. How we sweet an wonderful St Jago, de foundation a weh tun we inna smady. Gi de school dem a yard a capital an well-deserve beaten inna de Schools' Challenge Quiz. Massy! What a team, eeh mam? Ebry one a dem young people deserve a choops pon dem two jaw kanah.

Missis ma, yu tink it easy fe Jago pickney dem run an walk, an walk an run, suh much 100 mile ebry mawning? Fe ketch a school dung a dat deh river bottom pon Monk Street? Plus, tun roun walk an run, an run an walk de said distance fe go back a evening time? Suh now, wah sense it woulda spell fe dem save dat deh energy?

Drive comfortable inna bus or smady car front come a town, fe mek people beat dem? We woulda pass wutliss! For St Jago a we school was strong in de past, stronger in de present, an strongest in de years to come.

Missis mam, when me was a lilly 10-year- ole pickney an fail Common Entrance - for Gleaner fegat fe print me name - me search an search fe Davis, Jennifer all under Z. An when a couldn't fine it, Missis, a piece a, but-a-wah-dis, a piece a shock, a piece a frighten, an a piece a tun fool, nayly kill me right in front a de ooman bungle a Gleaner an skellion pon de shop piazza dat mawning. An when a memba seh me madda inna de kitchen a cook de porridge an a wait pon me fe come back wid de good news, plus har change offa de Gleaner. For a nuh hab she did hab it but a compulsory why de paper had was fe buy. Me dear mam, all on a sudden, de street fe crass back fe go home tun wide like Yallahs pond.

Well, Massa God see me through. For de next year when me tun 11, me name was very much present.

Switched schools

An so it was, fram me madda, God bless har, switch me from St Hugh's High School to St Jago. For in those days, she seh too much rich brown-skin pickney was there. Suh, fram de principal, Missa Bell (Frisco) to VP Missa Edwards (Pipie), to all de teacha dem.

Me an me other sister dem weh go to St Jago learn some serious life lessons. Suh when Missa Bell holler yu by de wrong name, demandin fe know why yu limpin like yu a mawga dawg pon de corridor, yu business was fe ansah "A don't know, sar!" an try straighten up. Or when yu start pon de next patty roun a de back a de class, but nuh see seh teacha an de whole class a watch Missa Edwards a watch yu through de windah.

When him holler "Come here!" yu duty is fe try swallah. Just try swallah de bungle a hot oil an mince meat weh a bun an blister ebry organ it a ketch pon inna yu mouth. Plus all breeze get lock out. For de mout haffi kip shet. Cho! Da ooman weh use to run da tuck shop shoulda sue. For it look like fe har oven neva hab no guage. Suh, Missis mam, tenk God fe St Jago. For sake a de influence a me teacha dem, St Jago was strong in de past, is stronger in de present, an will be strongest in de years to come.