Montego Bay Community College’s Labour Day work crowns the Frome Police Station.
“All labour that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence”
- Martin Luther King Jr.
Labour Day was observed under the theme “Restore, Preserve, Beautify”. As the country observed a day like this, the Montego Bay Community College campuses, Montego Bay and Westmoreland, took on the initiative to engage in a day of restoration and beautification of the Frome Police Station.
Located in the parish of Westmoreland, the Frome Police Station houses 17 members of the constabulary force and functions under the tutelage of Woman Sergeant Arkling Facey. The members of the Frome Police Station execute their core duties to serve and protect the citizens in the surrounding communities; however, their station was in dire need of repairs in order for them to fulfil their core functions.
Energetic members of staff of the Montego Bay Community College, academic and auxiliary alike, adorned in white, red and blue shirts completed one of this year’s national projects, restoration of the Frome Police Station. The main area of focus was the kitchen. Members of staff worked tirelessly and relentlessly to repair the kitchen counter that was in a deplorable condition. They retiled the surface with ceramic tiles; renovated the kitchen cupboards; built a microwave shelf; as well as, changed the emaciated door of the kitchen. In addition, members of staff were eager to show their stylistic skills by manicuring the lawns of the station. Others painted the walls, both interior and exterior, with blue and white paint; changed light bulbs; and installed new dust to dawn lights.
Constable Randae Stephens, a member of the Frome Police Station, maintained that he is grateful for the kind gesture that the Montego Bay Community College campuses have executed at the station. “I am very grateful. The station needed a facelift, especially [in] the kitchen, seeing that it was in a deplorable condition. I am also grateful that the Montego Bay Community College [campuses] have taken the mantle to cause some changes to the facility and I want to say many thanks,” he remarked.
Dr Maureen Nelson, the acting principal of the Montego Bay Community College, classified the day a success. She reiterated, “We had a successful, gratifying, rewarding and fully accomplished day with some serious, hard work done by all categories of [the Montego Bay Community College] staff at the Frome Police Station. Believe me, we have transformed the Frome Police Station and they are truly grateful for the work that was done by us.”
Constable Stephens in his response stated that the Frome Police Station will remember and hold in high regard the contributions made by the college. He stated, “The air conditioning unit is fitting now, since the days are extremely hot, so we are indeed grateful for this.”
Dr Nelson extended gratitude to the following persons and/or organisations who assisted with the success of the day’s events: C & S Services and Supplies, Icon Imports and Distributors Ltd, Bullhead Water, Bioden Chemicals, Rotary Club of Savanna-la-mar, Negril Home Solutions, F.T.R Garments Ltd., United Finance Sales & Services, Books & More, Appliance Traders Limited, C&E Hotel Restaurant Supply, Bogue Wholesale, Dr Trevor Hacker – Discovery Dental, Power Plus Electrical & Plumbing Hardware, HEART Trust/NTA Granville and Mr Deon Morgan - TC Morgan Electrical Contractors.
The motto of the college, ‘The end crowns the work’, was apt to the success of Labour Day 2017. Likewise, the objectives of this project were in tandem with the objectives of the nation’s Labour Day, which includes “enhancing the dignity of labour day by improving the environment” and “encouraging the principle of solidarity; building and sharing.”
“Let’s celebrate the labour that builds up this great land. From field to field; desk to desk; they built in hand in hand!”
Kemorine Buchanan and Zaheer E. Clarke
Faculty Advisors
Press Club
Montego Bay Community College
THE MONTEGO BAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LAUNCH: CREATIVITY: THE WAY FORWARD
THE MONTEGO BAY COMMUNITY COLLEGE’S SMALL BUSINESS MANAGEMENT LAUNCH: CREATIVITY: THE WAY FORWARD
The core principles that stem the backbone of entrepreneurship is creativity and innovation. On March 24, 2017 members of the Faculty of Hospitality doing the course Small Business Management: Hospitality and Creative Studies (formerly Entrepreneurship) under the supervision of Sonia Doctor Small initiated the Montego Bay Community College Business Launch 2017. The Launch was held under the theme "Creativity: The Way Forward".
The members were given the task to cogitate a business idea that will appeal to any viable focus group. They were charged with the task to tap into their creative wells and devise a product. This product should be authentic, marketable and appealing. A part of the assignment also include establishing a business for the product and launching such business.
Doctor Small maintained that this project was a part of their course grade and the students out did themselves. On the day of the launch, booths and stalls were erected on the multipurpose court on the Montego Bay Community College grounds. The booths were well decorated and the students threw out their uniforms and transferred into professional attires. Some groups decided to go the extra mile and got shirts with the logo of their companies inscribed. Coco Jomms, one of the groups present at the launch, constructed a mini massage parlor to extend the appeal of their product.
The programme was moderated by a student taking the course, Cooren Norman (from the group Custom Nation). The guest speaker, however missing in action, was represented by the college's own Mr. Bernard. He shared a few words on entrepreneurship and how necessary creativity is to entrepreneurial success. Kelsey Keane and Toni-Anne Gayle performed a wonderful rendition of Miley Cyrus' 'The Climb'. To officially commence the launch, the ribbon was cut by the Press Club’s Faculty Advisor, Ms. K. Buchanan on behalf of the principal, Dr. Maureen Nelson.
The ingenuity of these students was employed in the products created, ranging from items of culinary status to fashion items and bath and body articles. The culinary groups included: Jack's Spice it up, Mookies, Island Barz, Authentic Jamaican Delicacies and Tek a Bite. Some groups however, decided to delve into the world of fashion and these groups were: Pro Fashioners, Ella y el Accessories, Jewelry Dinks and Wyns Jewellery.
To relieve some of the stress and tension associated with the world of school and work and to combat the high prices of organic and divine bath and body products, groups such as Coco Jomms and Maluho created a business that appealed to individuals who want to indulge in spa-like pleasure at their own beck and call. Groups such as Custom Nation,Franzk Decor and Su'schanks Book Covers and Unique Holders appealed to the individuals with a passive artistic nature. They provided individuals with customized items to decorate items such as books and also items for home decor.
The students tapped into their creative pockets and allowed fellow Montego Bay Community College students an insight into their developing entrepreneurial skills. Members of the College were given the opportunity to peruse the products and make purchases. It was a well-planned event and commendations are being extended to Dr. Small, lecturer in charge and to all the members of the respective businesses.
Press Club
The Montego Bay Community College
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Innovation on display at MBCC's 'Battle of the Sciences'
Innovation on display at MBCC's 'Battle of the Sciences'
By Zaheer E. Clarke
The Faculty of Arts and Sciences at the Montego Bay Community College (MBCC) held its inaugural ‘Battle of Sciences’ Expo and Competition on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, in commemoration of Science and Technology Month.
The main objectives of the competition were to engender critical thinking among the students, promote a problem-based approach to learning, and to spark innovation and interest in the sciences.
The faculty, which offers Agricultural Science, Biology, Chemistry, Environmental Science, Geography and Physics, among its core science subjects at the CAPE level, had its students from each subject area submit innovative projects and ideas that would solve problems at the college, in their community and the wider world.
Dr. Maureen Nelson, the acting Principal of MBCC, bubbled with pride and surprise at the intense research, scope and relevance of the projects on display. She remarked that at least one of the projects would be implemented forthwith at the college, with several others earmarked for further discussions with stakeholders in the wider society.
Guest Speaker at the function, Mr. O’Neil Nelson, an electrical engineer, spoke to the students about the history of scientific and engineering inventions. He robustly encouraged the students to use the projects they did and the Battle of the Sciences expo as a catalyst to participate in more creative, inventive and cutting-edge solutions that tap into everyday necessities.
The biology group’s Plastic-Paper project looked at the various ways in which polyethylene and other plastics can be recycled as paper for writing, printing and decorative purposes. Hydroelectricity as an alternative to Jamaica’s highly dependent fossil fuel based electricity source was the project the geography group examined. The chemistry group’s Chemical Christmas project looked at producing hydrogen gas as a clean and alternative energy source for use in producing heat and electricity during the Yuletide season.
The Parrotfish Mariculture-Algaculture project, proposed by the environmental science group won two awards, for the most creative project and the Jamaica Public Service third placed trophy. Their project looked at growing commercial parrotfish in saltwater ponds for human consumption, which would prevent depletion of the parrotfishes in the wild, which are essential for coral reef ecosystems.
The agricultural science group won two awards, the Paul Graham Award for the best evidence of scientific research and the Jamaica Public Service second place trophy for their Biodigester-BioVolts project. This project involved converting common biowaste to fuel and electricity, which can be used in the school's canteen and hospitality food labs for cooking and other purposes.
The overall champion of the inaugural Battle of the Sciences Expo was the all-female Physics student group. They won two awards, for the most relevant project and the National Energy Solutions first place trophy for their Electric Money Saver project. The students evaluated the monthly energy consumption of the college and created a replica of their Physics lab. They showed how motion sensors - they created - can be used to reduce the college’s energy bill by switching on and off the lights, fans and the air conditioning units located in the college’s offices, classrooms and laboratories when not in use.
All of the groups who participated in the competition received complimentary cakes on behalf of MegaMart.
Head of the organizing committee, Mrs. Nichola Beckford-Cameron said, “The dream is not to curtail the ‘Battle of the Sciences’ to Montego Bay Community College. However, the dream is to expand it across Western Jamaica and the entire country with a view to promote problem-based learning and application in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subject areas.”
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"Montego Bay Community College Working to Maintain its Reputation"
The administration at the Montego Bay Community College, in St. James, is unrelenting in its efforts to maintain its reputation as the college of choice among persons seeking tertiary-level training in western Jamaica.
Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the college, Ruiz Warren, who addressed a JIS ‘Think Tank’ in Montego Bay, on November 7, said the institution remains very appealing to students leaving high schools in western Jamaica, and has been expanding on all fronts to meet the growing demand.
The Montego Bay Community College was opened in 1975 and currently has an enrolment of 1,920 students and 111 staff members at both its St. James and Westmoreland campuses.
The administration at the Montego Bay Community College, in St. James, is unrelenting in its efforts to maintain its reputation as the college of choice among persons seeking tertiary-level training in western Jamaica.
Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the college, Ruiz Warren, who addressed a JIS ‘Think Tank’ in Montego Bay, on November 7, said the institution remains very appealing to students leaving high schools in western Jamaica, and has been expanding on all fronts to meet the growing demand.
Mr. Warren, who also studied at the college, said the trend of students deciding to pursue tertiary-level education at the institution over other more established universities, has been growing.
“The educational landscape in western Jamaica has expanded tremendously in the last number of years, and so all the institutions are aggressively marketing their programmes and trying to attract students,” he said.
Mr. Warren said the flexibility with which students can study at the Montego Bay Community College is a big plus for the institution.
Meanwhile, Acting Principal of the College, Dr. Maureen Nelson, said the institution is actively pursuing the idea of offering more foreign language training to its students.
The college currently offers conversational Spanish as part of some courses, and Dr. Nelson is planning to add more to meet the influx of visitors coming into Montego Bay, especially from the Far East.
The Montego Bay Community College was opened in 1975 and currently has an enrolment of 1,920 students and 111 staff members at both its St. James and Westmoreland campuses.
source: http://jis.gov.jm/montego-bay-community-college-working-maintain-reputation/
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MBCC Students Launch Tax Calculation App
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica – Final-year Management Information System (MIS) students at the Montego Bay Community College, in St James, have launched an innovative mobile calculator application to improve the calculation of taxes and Grade Point Average (GPA) of students.
The application, which is called ‘JAM-CAL’, was launched at the college recently after months of research and work by the six-member group.
Leader of the group, Carlton Ellis, tells JIS News that although the project formed part of the final-year MIS grade, it was conceptualised with the wider public in mind.
He says that over the years the calculation of income and other taxes, as well as the GPA of students, has been a challenge and JAM-CAL, with its multiple functions, is now the solution.
Ellis notes that being curious about how deductions are made from the salaries of working people also pushed members of the group to conduct detailed research in order to produce the application.
“JAM-Cal is an application which houses numerous calculators that will give you the power in the palm of your hands to calculate Pay As You Earn (PAYE). A student can use it to calculate his or her GPA in the future,” he says.
“More calculators will be added. We created a windows application after which we decided to make a mobile application. One of the benefits of this application is that you can install it on your mobile device once; thereafter, you do not need the Internet or a web browser in order to use it,” Ellis explains.
He points out that the application took two months of research and hard work, but now that it is available, the view is that the mission has been accomplished.
Production of the application received significant support from the management of the College, but particularly sixth-form student at the Green Pond High School in St. James, Shermar Anderson, who is being mentored by Ellis.
Shermar tells JIS News that although he is not a student at Montego Bay Community College, his interest in information technology (IT) drew him into the production of the application.
“I played a developer’s role in getting the User Interface (UI) aspect in place. This ensured that the application was user-friendly. I feel very good knowing that I was able to play a part in this very important application, which is going to be enjoyed by the public,” he notes.
Shermar says he plans to become a computer scientist, and at Green Pond High his line of study is all in the technical area, as he is hoping to develop other applications.
Endorsing the application, Dean of Continuing Education at Montego Bay Community College, Karen Gayle, says the benefits are enormous and will assist not only students at the college, but members of the wider public in their day-to-day accounting activities.
“We do not take innovations lightly, especially in this era in which we live. We teach entrepreneurship and small-business management. We really want to encourage students to use the knowledge, the skills, the competences that they gain in their courses to innovate,” Gayle tells JIS News.
“Members of the group are responsible for developing an application that will change the lives of people generally. We are very pleased,” she adds.
Gayle is encouraging the students to take the application as far as possible, “so that your lives can be changed and the people who use it can benefit from it”.
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