The first annual Middle Schools Conference for M3 students will be held tomorrow at the Southampton Princess, said Middle Schools Association vice president Melvyn Bassett.

The conference is targeting all 450 M3 students Island-wide, said Mr. Bassett. "It's going to address the issues facing our youth: violence, gangs, drug issues but from a positive perspective."

And it is scheduled to end with a dance in an effort to get the students from different schools to socialise: make friends, not enemies.

"We are trying to address the whole issue of gangs, posses," explained Mr. Bassett. "These students will meet again (once they go to high school). But they'll hopefully already be friends. We're hoping to bust it all up by making them friends earlier.

"It's not the only answer, but we're trying to make a small contribution."

After Youth and Sport Minister Randy Horton opens the conference at 9.30 a.m., he explained, author and CEO Michal Wynn will deliver a keynote address using themes from his book "Follow Your Dreams".

Following Mr. Wynn's presentation, said Mr. Bassett, students will be broken up into smaller groups for sessions facilitated by counsellors.

After the group sessions and lunch, students from CedarBridge and Berkeley will hold a panel discussion and question and answer session on the topic of moving from middle school to high school. After that, said Mr. Bassett, will be the dance.

"We're hoping this will become an annual event," he said.