Submitted by Amber Stanley
The Bell High School Criminal Justice Academy attended, for the 3rd year, the North Florida Criminal Justice Alliance Competition. They work all year to prepare for this fun event. The students look forward every year to 4 nights at the Universal Cabana Bay Resort, where the event is held. The first 3 days are spent doing competitions, which vary from – the CJ Exam, fingerprinting, Facial Reconstruction, Crime Scene Sketch’s, Extemporaneous Opening Statements, Posters- Recruitment and Informational, Traffic Stops, and so much more! This wonderful group of students worked on putting their best foot forward while they are were at competition and truly did a great job representing BHS and Gilchrist County. While the competition is small, only 3 schools that compete, there is still some fierce competition. On the final day of competition, the schools gather for the highly anticipated Awards Ceremony. Bell walked away with an impressive number of awards. They were the only school that attended that had 2 “clean sweeps” for CJ Exam and Report Writing. They are very blessed to have such strong leadership, between Mrs. Michelle Jones (instructor) and the elected officers. After all the hard work came time to play! The students were able to enjoy 2 days at both Universal Studios Theme parks before heading back home to Gilchrist County. A special thank you to all the sponsors and people behind the scenes, that helped make this trip happen!