Parenting with Values

On the 10th and 11th of January, 2009, teachers and parents of the Alpha Max Academy participated in a workshop hosted by the Academy, entitled “Parenting with Values”. It was conducted by Miss Meenakshi Gupta, who holds Bachelors and Masters degrees in education from universities in New Delhi, India. For the past 21 years, Ms Gupta, who is now closely associated with the Brahma Kumaris University in India, has presented numerous seminars on developing leadership skills, self-management, and life-related topics, in many countries - including India, Qatar and Jamaica.

The "Parenting with Values" Workshop-Seminar was held at Ons Erf, located in the Prins Hendrikstraat. The activities covered topics such as stress-free living, effective parent-child relationships, and active listening, among others.

Marciano Proeve

Coping With Change: Seminar for AlphaMax Students

Our GAC group, together with four senior students from the AlphaMax Academy, attended a seminar conducted by Miss Meenakshi Gupta of The Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University. Miss Gupta is an experienced seminar presenter from India with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in education. She came here to give us some information on how to cope with changes. This seminar was held on Thursday, 8 January, and Friday, 9 January at the AlphaMax Academy from 5.30 pm to 7.30 pm.

On the first day, Ms. Gupta talked about how to deal with changes, why people resist changes and the four levels of change. Dealing with change is not easy for everyone. Some worry about the reaction of others, afraid that they will not like the way they have changed. She focused our thoughts with this quote, “A shift in attitude triggers a shift in one’s behavior. Behavior is guided by thoughts and our thoughts are guided by our behavior system”. To illustrate this point she made us participate in an activity called, “The Change Game”.

On our second day, Ms. Gupta dealt with  leadership attitude. She presented a chart that showed how these attitudes develop. She explained that there are eight aspects of leadership attitude. These are listening, availability, acceptance, flexibility, discerning, judging, responsibility and team spirit. She explained each one them with real life anecdotes. She, then, drew a pie chart and divided it into eight sections, each housing one of the points. With this, she showed us how they intertwine and relate to each other.

After that, she showed us which power you have when you are able to do all the eight leadership attitudes. With listening you have, the ability to withdraw; with availability, the ability to back-up; with acceptance, tolerance; with flexibility, accommodation; with discerning, discrimination; with judge, decision making; with responsibility, the ability to face situations; and with team spirit, co-operation.

We are very glad Ms. Gupta came and gave us this seminar. She opened our eyes to perceive things we have not noticed before, but were already there. One important thing that I learned was that we must not ridicule people if they are trying to change. This is usually why they are afraid to change. Instead, give them that boost of confidence that will help their transformation run smoothly. If, however, our friends have bad habits, we should tell them honestly, but in a way that is not hurtful.

Nicole Tjon-Kie Sim GAC 2008- 2009 group AlphaMax Academy

Leadership Seminar for Senior Students

On January 8th & 9th, 2009, the six AlphaMax Academy Global Assessment Certificate students along with four Academy high school seniors, attended a self-managing leadership seminar conducted by Miss Meenakshi Gupta, a professor of education, who studied at New Delhi University, India. The "Self-Managing Leadership" seminar was intended to stimulate the inner-awareness of students, discussing issues such as 'Coping with Change', 'Effective Leadership skills', and 'Skillful Relationships'.

"In my view, much of this course coincided or sparked reflection on matters and issues covered in the Academy's GAC "Independent Learning Skills" course. I learned a lot. It was fascinating."
Also in attendance at the "Self-Managing Leadership" Seminar were GAC instructors, Mr. Milton Drepaul (GAC Coordinator), Mr. Emiel A. Krak (Math Instructor), Hortence Claver-Taylor (Business Instructor), and Academy Principal, Sean F. Taylor (GAC 003 Course Instructor).

Marciano Proeve

Making a Difference - Three Thousand Miles South

Sixteen-year old Yehudah Webster is the kind of kid that were he to don a Mets baseball cap backward, you'd walk straight past him on a busy thoroughfare in Manhattan. But engage him in a conversation of mutual interest, his gentle, intelligent eyes and manner would rivet your attention. With his black woolen tresses styled in locks, were he to grab a wooden staff and his favorite 'tallit' (a shawl) in a rural setting, you'd easily mistake him for a sheep or goat herder in the highlands of Abyssinia.


But, since September, this Jewish lad from Newark, New Jersey, has brought renewed faith and vitality - tearful joy at times - to the members of Neve Shalom Synagogue in Suriname, home to the oldest surviving Jewish community in the Americas which dates back to the mid-seventeenth century. In this little window of time, one time-honored Jewish tradition - reading the Torah - almost lost at Neve Shalom has been salvaged and restored.

This year, on the eve of the Jewish high season of festivals, at the behest of Neve Shalom's President, Jules Donk, and Cantor Jack Van Neil, ancient Torah Scrolls were ceremonially removed from the Ark, processed towards the bima, placed on the lecturn, and with the synagogue's 'yad' (a hand-shaped pointer) in hand, young Yehudah began fluently reading from the Book of Deuteronomy in ancient Hebrew. His innocent eyes were alit as his voice thrilled and resounded in the synagogue chanting the eon-aged Hebrew tropes.

"My Hebrew teacher, Cantor Rikki Lippitz from Oheb Shalom Synagogue in South Orange would be proud of her student in Suriname. I think the same goes for Rabbi Mark Cooper," young Yehudah said.

As innocuous as this commonplace event was, it was a milestone in Suriname: This was the first time for the year the ancient Hebrew texts were being read at Neve Shalom. It brought tears to the eyes of Cantor Van Neil who made no attempt to conceal his emotions - twice he wiped his eyes with the fringe of his 'tallit'.

"I've been playing the role of Cantor at Neve Shalom for the past 18 years following in my father's footsteps. And I can tell you a lot of people come to Suriname, but the flame is not burning [in them]. That day when Torah was read, I felt amazing happiness. It was full. I am very sensitive and couldn't help but cry," Cantor Van Neil revealed.

According to Yehudah, "For me, this is a life-shaping experience; definitely unique. It has given me the opportunity to find myself and refocus the faith aspect of my life."

"Three years ago at Oheb Shalom, I had my Bar Mitzvah, and this was the beginning of my journey in finding my self. But like many kids, after a while, one tends to lose the focus. Coming to Suriname has definitely put me back on track. Apart from my studies at school, the key force in this vital process has been my Torah readings on 'shabbat' and festivals at Neve Shalom. It's an honor to be here."

Just prior to and during the high season, on Thursdays, while his fellow students played chess and scrabble, Yehudah would slip away from school - with permission, of course - to go to Neve Shalom to assist with shining the synagogue's centuries-old brass chandeliers.

"I feel extraordinarily blessed with this experience. Just entering Neve Shalom is amazing in itself because here is the oldest Jewish community in the region. It's awesome to be able to serve in this way using a skill they've almost lost, and one which I've studied every week for the past eight (8) years as a Hebrew student of Torah."

Yehudah felt deeply honored on Yom Kippur when he was invited to help Cantor Van Neil and Mr. Donk with the service. "I'll never forget this experience. Everything went beautifully on the high day," he said.

Although he's thousands of miles away from home and synagogue, this young black American teenager with wooly locks is making a big difference with his gift and knowledge of ancient Hebrew.

Looking back, last August, as he bade farewell to scout companions and traveled 3,000 miles south, ostensibly, Yehudah was just seeking quiet space - away from the all-too-familiar teenage distractions - to focus his intellectual forces on college-board examinations. Back then, he thought his semester-long respite from Newark was just a study-stopover at the AlphaMax Academy, a small, private international school in Paramaribo, Suriname. What Yehudah did not anticipate when he boarded Continental Airlines is that his coming to Suriname would tap and stir deep spiritual yearnings by simply singing familiar ancient Hebrew tropes in one of the oldest historic synagogues in the Western hemisphere.



Ivan A Khayiat is a published free-lance journalist and writer. He holds degrees in Mass Communications and English, and resides in Suriname. AlphaMax: http://www.alphamaxacademy.com For information on Neve Shalom and the historically significant Jewish Settlement called 'Jodensavanne' (a United Nations World Heritage Site), please visit:http://www.jodensavanne.sr.org