Ten-HUT! Boys from grades one to three were treated to a dose of army training from members of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) at Sts Peter and Paul Preparatory School on Thursday.

This year marks the school's second year holding a boys' day, where only the boys attend school.

This year's theme was 'Survival of the fittest', and in the spirit of the day, JDF officers took charge of the boys.

Grouped in circles on the playing field according to grade, the boys were given an interactive lesson on survival skills, military style.

They were taught how to cook army rations - chili and macaroni - over a campfire, how to construct a one-man tent, and how to survive in emergency situations.

But not just skills, the boys were also taught how to "think like a soldier".

"When you rest, you are always alert, because the enemy may want to attack you," Sgt Rohan Wong told a captive audience of third-grade boys huddled around a 'soldier's camp' mid-field, "So when you are at rest, be more alert. And you must have a trench around your tent. Who knows why?"

Several hands sprang up immediately. "Right, so if it should rain you won't be flooded out." The boys were full of questions for the officers, like how long should a soldier rest - 1 hour 5 minutes, by the way - and totally got into the experience.

When the soldier rations were ready, the boys broke the circle and rushed to look at army food. One boy said, "Sir, are we going to eat it now?" and a teacher jokingly responded,

"Hello Josh! Take your belly and leave it at home!" to much laughter.

"So you believe in army food now?" asked the sergeant, to a loud chorus of "Yes sir!"

Pleased with the boys' response

Sergeant Wong was very pleased with the boys' response. "I'm enjoying it very much," he said. "They're logged on", which is great because "they really need these skills, like learning how to wash with only a bottle of water".

Notably, there were no parents, save two mothers who found out by chance and stayed to observe. Lorna 'Nana' Leyow, the mother of a first-grader, said, "I think we need to have it more often, and maybe a bit more detailed next time. Maybe it will instil discipline in the children. It would be good for the girls too."

One man in a sea of boys and female teachers, Michael Reid, the music teacher, said that this year was an improvement.

"Last year was just a church service, and some guest speakers. This year is a more outdoor-type of thing, more integrated, more practical. It's teaching them how to live and how to survive in unusual situations."

Boys will be boys, but hopefully boys' days like this one will help turn them into capable men of tomorrow.

- Grace-Ann Black