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@School: A'feyah Smith

March 22, 2009 — A'feyah Smith, 10, had St. John's land and sea on her mind when she came up with an idea for the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association's Children's Environmental Poster Competition.
"I did the poster as a good way to show people how important the environment is to us," says Smith, a high honors student in the fifth grade at the Guy Benjamin School.
While she didn't win or place in her division, A'feyah was the territory's finalist in the competition's junior division for children age 12 and under. A total of 32 children participated in both the junior and senior divisions, and students competed from 17 Caribbean and Latin American destinations.
A'feyah's poster hasn't yet found its way back to Coral Bay, but she says she used "some paint, some crayons, markers and a little bit of coloring pencil" to create the poster. It includes a depiction of Annaberg Plantationm as well as the sea and fish, a crab and an iguana.
When Smith gets the poster back, she plans to hang it in her bedroom.
Former teacher Pat Harley, who happened to stop by Guy Benjamin School during A'feyah's interview, says Smith showed artistic promise from the time she was in first grade.
She doesn't plan a career in art, however. While the time when she has to make a career choice is far in the future, A'feyah says she might like to be a singer, a lawyer or an author.
In fact, she's working on a story called "JBC the Invisible." She has a ways to go before the story is finished, but A'feyah says it's about a boy who becomes invisible when his classmates vote for him for class president.
A'feyah also has an affinity for animals. She says she likes dogs, cats, turtles and "those kinds of pets."
"To me, they're irresistible," she says.
Born at Roy L. Schneider Hospital to St. John parents because St. John has no hospital, A'feyah lives with her mother, Claudine Scatliffe Daniels; her stepfather, Ian Daniels; and her brothers Kurt Marsh, 17; Khalid Smith, 8; and Khaden Daniels, 3. Another brother, Kasiem Marsh, 18, lives nearby with his grandmother.
Her father is Sonville Smith.
Her mother says she is very proud of A'feyah and her poster.
"She had to give it the right amount of white," her mother says.
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