Innswood School wins the Cash 4 School jingle competition

Innswood High School located in St. Catherine was the winner of the JN Money Cash 4 School Jingle Competition, which was introduced as an extension of the company’s back-to-school promotions.

On October 28, the school presented the grand prize of $100,000.

The competition, now in its second year, invited high school students from across the country to create a 30-second jingle featuring a school project requiring financial support. The competition lasted from September 11 to 25.

The entry from Innswood High focused on the need to renovate the music room.

“I feel fine. Innswood could benefit from my talent; that’s why some teachers are here – to improve the school and make students feel good,” said Mario Gidarsingh, the newly appointed music teacher who wrote the jingle.

The song was performed by Antwan McNish and Lloyd Rumble, 11th grade students, with support from math teacher Jhavel Senior and Alafia Noel, head of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

Gidarsingh noted that the team had limited time to prepare the jingle, submitting it just before the competition deadline.

According to Gidarsingh, he is looking forward to converting the existing music hall into a fully equipped, soundproof and air-conditioned music studio.

He also emphasized the importance of art education and how the new space will shape the future of promising students.

“The talent is here. We can give them a chance to start their music career now, instead of (they) leaving school and going out to gain notoriety. If we have a studio, we will be able to fulfill this (dream) from now on,” Gidarsingh said.

The school recently purchased new instruments, including a drum kit, percussion instruments, tambourine and keyboard stand, and Gidarsingh hopes to also acquire an audio interface and recording computer to make the music studio fully functional.

Antwan, one of the jingle performers, was delighted with the school’s victory.

“I feel fine. I just like music,” said the 16-year-old, who is a singer and songwriter. To increase votes, he and other students posted the jingle on their accounts Instagram pages.

“I want them to get music equipment and have a studio where we can record more songs,” he added.

Innswood principal Collington Powell is pleased with the outcome of the jingle competition.

“I was very excited about it and whether they won technically or not. It won because it was so catchy; it was so good,” Powell said.

He said that music is part of the seventh to eleventh grade school curriculum and although new music equipment has recently been purchased, more is still needed.

Cedrica Reid, marketing and sales manager at JN Money, noted that the jingle competition was launched to help schools and encourage students to creatively share what their institutions need.

“We are impressed by the level of enthusiasm and talent shown by all entries. Innswood’s entry stood out for both its creativity and the importance of the design it drew attention to,” Reid said.

JN Money hopes the jingle competition will inspire more students to come up with creative ways to get support for their school as Innswood High plans to renovate its music room.

“We want to empower young people and provide them with development opportunities. This initiative fits into our broader mission to provide meaningful support where it is needed most, and we are excited to play a role in helping students succeed,” added Reid.

Over the years, Inswood has achieved over 80% pass rates in the Year 1 and Year 2 Music Theory examinations administered by the Associated Council of the Royal Colleges of Music.