STAR of the Month: Macka Diamond remembers high schooldays

It’s back-to-school time in Jamaica and everyone, including our STAR of the month, Macka Diamond, is excited. Seeing all the schoolchildren dolled up in their new uniforms, their new book bags loaded with school supplies, has Macka Diamond in a nostalgic mood.

Reminiscing on her schoolgirl days, the Money O singer told THE STAR back to school was one of her favourite times of the year. “I loved going back to school. Growing up, I didn’t get to go out a lot, so going to school was the only way I could go road and so I was always excited when school open,” she said. “I have so much good memories of my school days. I was always drawn to music, so I was very involved in anything that had to do with that. I was always active in drama class, it was one of my favourites because I got to entertain all my classmates and really show off my talent and they loved it.”

A past student of St Aloysius Primary and Holy Childhood High School, Macka Diamond told THE STAR that she loved entertaining her friends so much that it oftentimes got her into trouble. “Me used to give likkle trouble innu because me couldn’t stay one place. I had a teacher called Ms Dickson and she was always rough with me and used to beat. It wasn’t because I was rude or anything, it was because I was always dancing and singing and I couldn’t keep still,” she said. “I used to get sent to the principal office to stand up at the front on one foot”.

Still, no matter how much trouble she got into, Macka Diamond could not stay away from music. “One day I asked that same teacher, Ms Dickson, why she always pick on me and she said: ‘I want you to turn out to be a bright girl’. It was because of the strictness of that teacher that I ended up passing my common entrance and went to Holy Childhood High. That school is where I had some of my best memories as a youngster; but I still couldn’t stay away from music,” she said.

DEEJAYING IN CLASS

“I remember in art class, I used to go to the back and say I was going to draw trees. I was there beating pans and deejaying and my classmates used to love it. When the teacher used to take long to come to class, I used to keep stage show, beat the desk and deejay. All dem likkle things used to make school nice. I used to perform at all the BBQs and brunches.”

Favourite subjects in school: principle of accounts and typing

Favourite teacher: “swim teacher (can’t recall name). He always had my back. He believed in me and thought I would do well on the Jamaica swim team. He begged me to join and I sometimes wonder about it, like if I did, where would I be.”