Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Learn more about Msiba, My Love
Lily Strand publishing has created a website---http://www.msibamylove.com so that online viewers can learn more about their latest publication -Msiba,My Love and its writer Ivan A. Khayiat.
It is also possible to order the book online.
The site has material from Ivan A. Khayiat's early collection of poems Quest by Day, Vigil by Night.. Msiba was launched last Friday in Suriname and has had an enthusiastic response from the public.
This coffee table photo book with the Tagore award winning poem is a collector's item and an ideal gift. The book is an excellent example of the creative skill of Surinamese.
The book was printed by Suriprint N.V and Design work was done by Studio TMC and ChadLab.com.
Suriname buyers can come to the AlphaMax Academy to get their copies.
It is also possible to order the book online.
The site has material from Ivan A. Khayiat's early collection of poems Quest by Day, Vigil by Night.. Msiba was launched last Friday in Suriname and has had an enthusiastic response from the public.
This coffee table photo book with the Tagore award winning poem is a collector's item and an ideal gift. The book is an excellent example of the creative skill of Surinamese.
The book was printed by Suriprint N.V and Design work was done by Studio TMC and ChadLab.com.
Suriname buyers can come to the AlphaMax Academy to get their copies.
Successful Visit to Jarikaba
By Jonathan Liu--High School Senior and member of Business Class
On Wednesday December 14, 2011 the AlphaMax Academy business
students went to Jarikaba Stichting Behold Bananen Sector (SBBS). The students
left school at 8:00 am and arrived at the Jarikaba banana plantation forty five
minutes later. When they arrived to the plantation Mr. Barsingh -the head of
agronomic and research department- greeted the student with a warm
welcome.
After a long trip with the bus the business students arrived
at the banana plantation. They then rode three more minutes to the banana
field. Mr. Barsingh described the field and the banana plants. Jarikaba has three farms and each farm has a
manager and two supervisors.
The banana field is 1280 hectares long. One hectare has 1900
banana trees .The banana are covered with blue plastic bags, so that the pests
cannot get to the banana.
The field has an old sprinkler system to water the banana
trees when the field is dry (mostly on hot days). They are trying to put a new
sprinkler system. The banana trees are 1.65 M away from each other and are
planted in a triangular pattern, so that each tree can get the same amount sun
light.
After the field trip the students went to the packinghouse.
There is where the bananas are packed in boxes and shipped to other countries.
In the packing house the bananas are examined to see if the bananas are too
ripe or not ripe. If the banana is not so ripe they are going to export it and
if the banana is ripe the going to sell it to the Suriname local market.
After the examining the bananas they are then thrown into a
pool of water with soap to wash the latex off the banana. The workers then
examine to find out if some of the bananas are rotten. If there are rotten
bananas they throw them away. The
workers throw the bananas back in to another pool of clean water to wash out
the soap .When they are clean the workers pick them up for packing.
The workers
pack the bananas in boxes with two different colors- green and red.
The green
boxes are for small bananas and the red box for larger bananas. Further on, the
air in the boxes with banana is sucked out, so that the bananas won’t ripen
during shipping.
After a long day Mr. Barsingh invited the business students
to sit down and gave the students something to drink and to eat. He also told
the students about some future plans for the banana sector. It was time to go
back to school so the AlphaMax Academy business students thanked Mr. Barsingh
for the tour. The students also got some bananas to bring back home.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Business Students to visit Jarikaba Banana Plantation
On Wednesday December 14th, 2011, the AlphaMax Academy business students are going on a fieldtrip to the Jarikaba banana plantation.
The trip was organized by teacher Sylvana Dankerlui .
The purpose of the trip is to get the business students to learn how the owners of the plantation set up a business there. From their example, the business students may learn how to make a business plan of their own.
Jonathan Lui - High School Senior and Member of the Business Class
The trip was organized by teacher Sylvana Dankerlui .
The purpose of the trip is to get the business students to learn how the owners of the plantation set up a business there. From their example, the business students may learn how to make a business plan of their own.
Jonathan Lui - High School Senior and Member of the Business Class
A Sony VAIO Review by Kristina Taylor
On September 5th, 2011,
I ordered a Sony Vaio laptop, on Sony Companies online. Although I had to wait an entire month for my
order to arrive, I was fairly happy with my order. An outrageous part of my laptop story is that
it is a crazy green color. Not just
apple green, but more of a neon green. This was ordered in the Sony Fashion Laptop
section of the store and I wanted to purchase another color other than a boring
silver or black computer. My laptop
costs approximately $600-750. There are
some pros and cons about the Sony Vaio laptop:
Cons:
The screen is flimsy
The CD drive is flimsy as well
It is not recommended for gamers because the card slot does
not hold all card types
The Sony VAIO came with its own type of program called Sony
Analyzer which constantly feels the need to update your computer
Sony shipping SUCKS
I only received a 1 week trial of Microsoft Office, but a
life time of Adobe Photoshop Plus
The Webcam is poor
Pros:
I love the color (green)
It is lightweight- 3.5 pounds
It comes with i3 Windows 7
It does not overheat
The microphone works well
AlphaMax End of Term Activities
All end of term examination finish today –Friday December 9th.
There are two field trips next week. One on Tues. 13 Dec for High School History students to Fort Zeelandia. The other for the High School Business students on Wednesday the 14th December, 2011. This group of students will be going to Jarikaba.
There will be a school party for all students at the main building—Scabiosastraat 4 on Thurs. 15 December from 9.am to 12.30pm.
School report cards will be available for collection between 8.00 and 10.00 am on Friday 16th December.
End of Term Field Trips
AlphaMax
Academy is organizing an educational fieldtrip for High School History students
to Fort Zeelandia on Tuesday the 13th December, 2011. The departure time will
be at 7.45am and the students will be back at school approximately 9.30am.
There
will be a fieldtrip for the High School Business students on Wednesday the 14th
December, 2011. The students will be going to Jarikaba. They will leave at
7.45am and return to school at approximately 12.30pm.
Staff
Tutor Ms. Sylvana Dankerlui will be in charge of both trips.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
10 Minutes of National Fame
by Ruth Saman
Monday November 5, 2011 was the
first day of the Children’s Day of Broadcasting in Suriname–
an initiative of the STVS and the AlphaMax Academy. Surinamese students worked with the STVS crew
to launch this project; this project might be an ongoing project. Kristina Taylor, Reann Kersenhout, Justin Ho,
Emmanuel Landburg, Jason Jones, Yamil Baptista, Aaron Cheuk A Lam and Cherise
Playfair are some
of the students who participated
in this project.
 |
| Ruth on National TV |
Along with Cherise Playfair, I
presented part of the STVS evening news for 10 minutes. During the voice checks on Friday December 2,
2011 I was very nervous, and the recording room was very cold. Before me, other students went, and when I it
was my turn, I felt as if my nerves took over because I started my presentation
before the camera man gave me the cue. When
I finally got the cue, I presented the news and surprisingly, I was calm. I was very comfortable being in the
spotlight. As a result the STVS team
decided that my performance on my screen test was good enough for me to present
the evening news. So I got the chance to be seen on television nationwide.
On Monday December 5, the day of the news presentation,
Cherise and I had to be at the TV station by 12 noon. In the morning, we came to school and left at
11. We started taping the presentation
at approximately 1.30. I felt very calm
and confident while doing it.
That night, when I watched the news, I waited impatiently on
the part of the news that Cherise was doing to end. Then there I was…reading
the news on National TV. Seeing myself
on television was something new for me, but it lasted only for 10 minutes. So I had my ten minutes of fame, I told
myself.
After seeing this, I felt that I had revealed one of my many
hidden talents.
 |
| Ruth on STVS Evening News |
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Children's Day Broadcast a Huge Success.
Children's Day Broadcast
on December, 5th 2011 was a huge success. STVS, Suriname National station and
the oldest TV station in the country broadcasted several hours of programming done
by young people.
AlphaMax
students collaborated on this project and they did so enthusiastically.
The National Evening news was presented Ruth
Saman and Cherise Playfair. They got to read the day’s news for that evening.
Jason Jones had
his hands full with the sports items. He had to interview a couple of people who
are in the sports business. Tarren Antonius and Justin Ho also did interviews on
a program called 'Monday Live'.
There was a logo
for the day that was created by Shafeek. Editing and other technical work was
done by Shafeek, Yamil, Araon and Timothy.
Parents and
friends of the AMA students were delighted at the skills displayed by our
students.
Nicole Moeljadi
Monday, December 5, 2011
Gabriel Grauwde launches his personal website
Gabriel Grauwde ,GAC class of 2012 has created
a personal biographical website. Its URL is
http://gabrielgrauwde.weebly.
Gabriel is an outstanding Surinamese youth swimmer. He is in his final year at AlphaMax Academy and is a member of the GAC class.
Gabriel is an outstanding Surinamese youth swimmer. He is in his final year at AlphaMax Academy and is a member of the GAC class.
Last summer he represented Suriname at the
International Triathlon Games in Lausanne, Switzerland. Gabriel came to
AlphaMax after spending twelve years in Barbados. His dream is to represent Suriname
at the 2016 Olympics.Gabriel’s current plan is to study in the US in the fall
of 2012.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
AlphaMax Students on STVS Children's Day of Broadcasting
AlphaMax students will be working along with other
Surinamese students to produce a day of Surinamese Children’s broadcasting to
be aired for over eight hours on STVS on December 5th.Broadcsting of
these programs will begin at noon.
Teams of high school students at AMA will be working on
scripting, arranging interviews, interviewing on camera and presenting. One
team comprising Yamil Baptista, Timothy Naaarendorp, Aaron Cheuk-A-Lam and Shaffique Nazir will be working on
technical matters.
Xiomara and Tarique Getrouwe –outstanding athletes from the
school are scheduled to be interviewed on a one hour live program that will
focus entirely on young people.
Some of our students will be part of the promo for the day
of broadcasting. Shaffique Nazir has designed the logo for the program and this
will be placed on the polo shirts that participants will wear in the next
scheduled day of broadcasting in January.
Our students will join others to be news anchors and sports
news anchors. Ruth Saman and Cerise Playfair are to be news anchors while Jason
Jones will do sports.
Films dealing with youth themes will be aired during the day
and each film will be introduced by young people.
The young people who won first prizes in the recent National
Tagore Creative Work competition will be featured. So our winners-Kristina Taylor, Claire
Patandin, Reann Kersenhout and Shaffique Nazir will have features done on them.
AMA high school business class will do a segment on the
current Euro zone financial crisis and will be interviewing two senior people
from the Ministry of Finance and a banker. This feature will be part of the
regular morning programming .Tarren Antonius and Justin Ho will be on the
streets with the regular STVS reporters.
High School music teacher Mr. Ivor Mitchell has given the
program one of his music compositions to be background music for a feature that
will highlight the art entries in the recent Tagore Art competition.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Ivan A. Khayiat's "Msiba-My Love" will be launched on Dec 9th
Masba, My Love is not only a unique collection of poems but
also a deeply moving plea for respect for mother earth, Suriname and its
people.
The centre piece of this collection is “Msiba My Love”. It is a
symphonic poem in three movements which profoundly explores the many layers of
an economic and ecological crime that was committed in Suriname in the
1960s. In the name of progress a multi-
national company together with the Dutch colonial government forcibly
removed thriving Maroon communities
from their ancestral homes to create the Afobaka hydro electric dam. These
communities had been living there for over 200 years and held a sacred
spiritual connection with their mother communities in Africa. Msiba
communicates the excruciating pain caused by the severing of the spinal
cord of not only the Maroon nation but the nation of Suriname. The emotional
intensity aroused by the words, images, rhythms, and cadences of this
fascinating poem is so great that one young Surinamer was moved to tears just
reading the poem.
Msiba however is more than the poem. It is an artistic effort
to use both the force of the poem and the powerful impact of photographic
images to create a multimedia presentation.
Each image in the book has been carefully selected to act either as a
companion or a counter point to the lines in the poem. “Reading” this poem is a multi sensory
experience which resonates at all three important levels physical, emotional,
and spiritual.
“Forest Tears”, the
second poem, poses the questions that we all need ask about our relationship
with the planet today. The collection ends with the exquisitely beautiful “I
love you” which celebrates simultaneously the love of a woman and the
country she comes from. The stunningly beautiful images of Suriname and the
poem evoke the joy of fresh new love.
Ivan Khayiat is a gifted writer with the ability to touch
the reader at the very core of his being. Everyone who reads these poems will
do so over and over. Each time the reader will come away with even greater
insights into our need to be attuned to mother earth. Each reader will also
feel the pain of the vicious crime that was committed to this peaceful nation
nearly 50 years ago.
Milton M.Drepaul
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
First IELTS Examination in Suriname
The first IELTS was held at AlphaMax Academy on Nov 26th 2011.Eight AMA students did the
examination. In the morning the students
did the Listening, Reading and writing sections. The speaking examination was
done from about 1.30 pm to 4.30pm on the afternoon of the 26th. Mr. Russell
Hammond from the British Council in Colombia flew to Suriname to conduct the
examination.
Sean Taylor Sean Taylor, Director of Studies in a comment
said,” Mr. Hammo9nd conducted the first IELTS examination most professionally –
with purposeful clarity and efficiency.
All the candidates were very comfortable with his professionalism and
the ease and style in which he presented the exams.”
On the following Tuesday Mr. Hammond had good meetings with
officials in Paramaribo, including the Ministry of Education.
Sean Taylor, Director of Studies said.” As a result of Mr.
Hammond’s visit here and his discussions with us, at the AlphaMax Academy, we
are poised and prepared to forge ahead with IELTS in further helping to shape
the horizon for quality English education in Suriname.”
The IELTS test is a standardization test to check the
communication capabilities of an individual in areas of listening, reading,
writing and speaking. IELTS is
compulsory for anyone who intends to study or work in a country where the
language of communication is English. Since 1989, the IELTS test has been a
worldwide approved test that measures the communication ability of an
individual. The IELTS test is recognized in over 120 countries and in more than
4000 institutions and government agencies. More than 5 million students take
the IELTS test every year worldwide. It is the fastest growing English language
standardization test to date.
The IELTS test is an important proof for immigration
formalities in countries like Australia, New Zealand and Canada. The IELTS test
is a recognized medium by professional bodies, immigration authorities and
other government agencies. The IELTS test is similar to the TOEFL test.
.
Monday, November 28, 2011
THE IELTS EXAM
On Saturday 26th November, 2011,
the IELTS exam was conducted for the first time in Paramaribo, Suriname at the
AlphaMax Academy. The International English Language Testing System known as
the IELTS exam consists of four sections. The four sections are: Listening,
Reading, Writing and Speaking. The Listening section is 30 minutes long, the
reading 60 minutes, writing 60 minutes and the last part speaking is 15-20
minutes long.
The IELTS exam was taken by eight AlphaMax
Students: six from the GAC program and two from the GED program. The students took classes on Monday and
Wednesday evening taught by Mrs Sylvana Dankerlui to help them prepare for the IELTS exam. On November 26, Mr Russell
Hammond, an Englishmen from the IELTS agency came and conducted the exam.
I have taken the TOEFL exam before and it is different
from the IELTS exam. The difference is that in IELTS you have a speaking
section however in TOEFL you have a grammar section. The structure of the IELTS
exam is different from the TOEFL exam. In the IELTS you have two writing tasks
however in the TOEFL there is only one writing task. However, for the rest is
was about the same.
Written by: Gabriel Grauwde (GAC Class 2012)
Shafeek Nazir--Future Moviemaker
By
Vinantia Nandlal GAC 2012 Class
Shafeek is a
graduate of the AlphaMax Academy (2011 Class). He was Valedictorian for his class and on
graduation night he made a very moving and personal speech about the impact on
his life of the unique AlphaMax program of studies and activity.
For his work during the Academic year he
received the Gandhi King Award, the Humanity Award, Art Excellence Award, and a
Tagore Art award. During his student year at the Academy, he also made an
excellent video about Gandhi’s life.
Shafeek
found the experience at the Academy quite intriguing, because the AlphaMax
seeks to bring out the talents and the gifts of each student. He hopes to come back and teach in the near
future. He is looking forward to earn a degree in Bachelor of Science as a
starting point for his career.
Currently,
he is working at the AlphaMax Academy as computer administrator. He has worked
On many
projects for school and also outside school through AlphaMax Academy. He has also
done a
Brochure for
the President’s office. Someone
mentioned that Shafeek will soon release two spectacular videos –Msiba, My Love and Many Faces of Love
Shafeek has had
extensive experience with major graphics software. He has demonstrated significant creative
skills in the multimedia industry.
I asked: How did you find out what your skills were?
“
Shafeek
replied, “It all started when I got interested in finding out how movies,
cartoons, games, and all other TV programs were made. That’s when I really started
seeking knowledge on these items and it helped me creating a starting point building
up my skills.”
One of my
tutors told us recently that someone said to him that one day we might see
Shafeek on stage in Hollywood receiving an Academy Award for a movie he made. I
am looking forward to that day when he places Suriname on the world movie map.
Yamil on the net
Yamil Baptisa (GAC 2012 class) has begun work on his
biographical website. You can visit it at::http://yamilbaptista.weebly.
Yamil says :”On this website I will be keeping a blog about anything that I
find interesting. Also this website has a purpose to promote myself; I have my
resume on it, and I also keep a small portfolio to advertise my photographic
skills. The last page is a basic contact form in which anyone would be able to
contact me.”
GAC Program 2011/2012--1st Term
By
Timothy Naarendorp –GAC class 2012
This year’s GAC
group comprises of six AlphaMax students including myself. These students with
their chosen field of future study are: Yamil Baptistal (Aerospace Engineering),
Gabriel Grauwde (Civil Engineering), Timothy Naarendorp (Electrical Engineering),
Vinantia Nandlal (Medicine), Ruth Saman (Dentistry), and Kristina Taylor (Philosophy).
The course
started on September 5th with six modules .These modules consisted
of: Academic Listening and Speaking Skills (001), Academic Reading and Writing
Skills (002), Study Skills for Independent Learning (003), Mathematics 1:
Fundamentals (004), Introduction to Computing for Academic Study (005), Business,
Science & Social Science: Communication Skills (006). Everyone soon hustled
to finish their assignments as soon as possible and of course everyone did. The
first module was finished on November 18th. The second level of the
GAC program will start inNovember and end middle of March.
I asked two
of the GAC students to comment about what they think about the class. The first
student, Kristina Taylor, commented, “It is challenging, but not difficult. If
you set your mind to it you can do it and that is what we did, we set our mind
to it and finished level one of GAC.”
Gabriel
Grauwde commented, “Regardless of the intensive program the GAC offers, I think
that this course will fully prepare me for the road that lies ahead.”
I think,
like Kristina that the program really was challenging and I believe it will
become even more challenging with the levels 2 & 3 that still wait ahead of
us. The GAC program really prepares student for their University work. It makes
them more responsible and lets them think at a whole new different level.
One of the
most interesting days was November 10th when we had the mock interview
rehearsing us for an interview with the admissions section of a University? We
were all dressed up in professional attire and brought
our personal statements and resumes.
AlphaMax
has been giving GAC courses since 2007. They also do SAT, PSAT, TOEFL, IELTS
and GED exams.
If anyone would like to know more about the
AlphaMax; please visit http://www.alphamaxacademy.com/
Representing Suriname at Conference in Berkeley, California
In July of 2011, I visited Berkeley, CA, together with my
mother. This was a trip to represent the AlphaMax Academy at the National
Student Leadership Conference It was a very exciting and learning trip and for
sure a life's milestone for me.
By Yamil Baptista ---GAC 2012 Class
In July of 2011, I visited Berkeley, CA, together with my
mother. This was a trip to represent the AlphaMax Academy at the NationalStudent Leadership Conference It was a very exciting and learning trip and for
sure a life's milestone for me.
I arrived in Berkeley on the 4th of July after a 12-hour flight
from Miami The conference did not start until the 6th, so
we settled in the university city. In the morning of the 6th we walked over to
UC Berkeley's Residence Hall's center. I signed up and went through their
standard procedure. I received the dorm
key mom and I went over to the room. It was my first time seeing an
American-style university dorm. Not much later, my mother left, and I was on my
own from then on. I quickly got around
speaking to people; this was another achievement for me because I am a very shy
person.
During this experience I learned a lot more than I had
expected, both about engineering and about myself as a leader. We endured
through some trust activities in the cold parks of San Fransisco (I can not
remember the name.) The group which I was in also were challenged with the
creation of a sea perch. This was a challenge for all of us and it was the best
opportunity to learn skills from each other, and also learn about each
other.
Next to the activities we had to engage in, we also visited
a few places such as: the San Fransisco Exploratorium, Intel, Pier 39 and 43½.
We also had a boat tour, passing by Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Although the conference was 10 days, it felt
like we knew each other for years. This was indeed one of the best experiences
in my life.
Interview with Gabriel Grauwde
By Kristina Taylor GAC 2012 Class
Q: Name the first thoughts that come to your
mind while you swim.
A: “I think about the race and how I am going to
win the race.”
Q: At what age did you start swimming?
A: “I started swimming when I was four years.”
Q: Would you say you started swimming for fun
and exercise or did you start to become the high achieving athlete you are
today?
A: “I started swimming for fun and I loved the
water. When I saw that I had talent, I
started to swim for competitions.”
Q: Did you have any inspirations to start
swimming or were you just persuaded by your parents?
A: “Ian Thorp inspired me to swim.”
Q: How old
were you when you started swimming competitions? Do you remember the
competition? If so, explain.
A: “I was 7 years old. It was the Short Course Nationals in
Barbados, I swam the 50m breast- stroke, and I won a silver medal. It was a fun and intense competition despite
my age.”
Q: About how many medals and trophies do you
have?
A: “I have about 400 medals and 21 trophies.”
Q: I heard you recently won the Telesur Marathon
on the Suriname River, how do you feel about that achievement?
A: “I feel proud because I won, and I am really
proud of myself; on the other hand, I felt disappointed because I expected to
win something more than a trophy. Without
the support from m friends and family, I do not think that I would have won”
Q: Explain the feel of the Marathon.
A: “ It was an intense race, yet at the same
time the intensity made me excited!”
Q: About how
many hours do you swim per week?
A: “I swim
15 hours of training per week.”
Q: Do you have those days where you say you
don’t want to go to training?
A: “Yes I do, but I have a goal to achieve, so I
must work towards that goal.”
Q: Do you have any role models?
A: “Michael Pheleps and Kosuke Kitajima motivate
me the most.”
Q: Is there a message you want to give the other
swimmers out there, maybe a message of motivation?
A: “I just want to say, ‘hard work pays off’!”
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Tagore Awards Ceremony
The Suriname Rabindranath Tagore Creative Arts Awards Ceremony was
held on Tuesday, November 22nd at 5:00 p.m. at the University
Guesthouse on Leysweg.
This important event celebraedthe work of more than 30 Surinamese
student- and adult-artists.
The wife of
Ambassador Harvey Naarendorp (Suriname
Ambassador to the EU based in Paris) handed out awards to over 30 creative artists
from Suriname who won school and national competitions in creative art and
writing (prose and poetry) competitions.
The
competition, which was launched in May 2011 by the Suriname Tagore Celebrations
Committee, attracted more than 135 entries from students and adults in
Suriname. Judges for the national competitions included members of the
Schrijvers Group'77, Art Vibes United, and the University of Suriname. There
were more than 75 creative writing and art entries from students attending
schools in Paramaribo, Wanica, and Commewijne.
The prestigious Tagore Art Competition was launched to mark the
150`" Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the first
non-European and person of color to win a Nobel Prize (1912). Born in 1861,
Tagore was a prolific writer, dramatist, poet, artist, philosopher, and
international humanist. Across the world, national and international
competitions are being held to uphold values in creative excellence in
celebration of Tagore.
Ten
AlphaMax students were among the 40 prize winners in the first Tagore Creative
Arts competition in Suriname.
AMA
tutor Sylvana Dankerlui guided the packed audience through an enchanting
program that celebrated Rabindranath Tagore’s influence on the world and in
this special case on Surinamese young people. Mrs Dankerlui gave a passionate and delightful account of
Tagore and how his ideas influenced others.
This
was followed by a song done by the ICC singing teacher. She sang one of
Tagore’s compositions. Her performance held the audience’s rapt and they gave her an enthusiastic round of
applause.
The
highlight of the evening was the reading presentation of the winning entries in the writing
competition. The audience was thoroughly impressed not only with the ideas and
style of writing but with the confidence and poise of all the winners as they
delivered their pieces. Many commented later on the kaleidoscope of Surinamese
faces of all races and the range of artistic expressions.
Parents
and friends commended the organizing committee for an unusually delightful evening
which placed the creative work of young Surinamese at the center of national
interest. All the winning art entries were placed along the walls of the auditorium
and in front of the audience.
Monday, November 21, 2011
AMA Press Release on Tagore Awards
ALPHAMAX ACADEMY
Motto: “In Diligent Pursuit of Excellence”
Scabiosastraat 4 (Zorg-en-hoop), Paramaribo
Suriname
Tel. 597-401356 * 597-400588
Email: info@alphamaxacademy.com * lily@sr.net
Suriname Rabindranath Tagore Creative Arts Awards Ceremony
Tuesday, November 22nd, 5:00 p.m. (1700 hrs) – University Guesthouse, Leysweg 70
PRESS INVITATION
The Suriname Rabindranath Tagore Creative Arts Awards Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, November 22nd, at 5:00 p.m. at the University Guesthouse on Leysweg.
You are cordially and warmly invited to attend and provide coverage for this important event celebrating the work of more than 30 Surinamese student- and adult-artists.
First Lady Mrs. Ingrid Bouterse-Waaldring will hand out awards to over 30 creative artists from Suriname who won school and national competitions in creative art and writing (prose and poetry) competitions.
The competition, which was launched in May 2011 by the Suriname Tagore Celebrations Committee, attracted more than 135 entries from students and adults in Suriname. Judges for the national competitions included members of the Schrijvers Group ’77, Art Vibes United, and the University of Suriname. There were more than 75 creative writing and art entries from students attending schools in Paramaribo, Wanica, and Commewijne.
The prestigious Tagore Art Competition was launched to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, the first non-European and person of color to win a Nobel Prize (1912). Born in 1861, Tagore was a prolific writer, dramatist, poet, artist, philosopher, and international humanist. Across the world, national and international competitions are being held to uphold values in creative excellence in celebration of Tagore.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Mr. ‘Wyck’ Williams Visits the AlphaMax Academy
An historical moment for the Academy and its mango tree
By Ruth M. P.
Saman-- GAC 2012
On
a sunny Tuesday morning when I walked through the gates of the AlphaMax Academy Mr. N.D.
He
visited the AlphaMax Academy on Tuesday, November 8 and Wednesday, November 9,
2011, and joined the AlphaMax High School students/teachers in assembly. During this morning’s assembly, Mr. Williams
was welcomed to our school and Suriname, and he also had the opportunity to
speak with us. He introduced himself and
talked about his experience in Suriname
After
the break, we experienced a historical
moment were Mr. Williams came up with the idea of writing a book about the
famous mango tree that lies in the soul at the AlphaMax Academy. Mr. Ben Hur had observed some time ago to Mr.
Drepaul: ‘The mango tree blooms at the same time, but the fruits ripen first on
one side and then later on the other.’
This surprised and amazed me that Mr. Ben has noticed it, and this was
also the source of Mr.Wyck’s idea of writing a book about the mango tree.
After
this, Mr. Wyck came up with another idea of including the High School students
in helping him write this story. This
would then become a writing competition and the winner will receive a
prize.
The
next day in the writing class, Mr. Wyck spoke briefly about the creative
process about the tree. He gave us ideas
of how this story about the mango tree could look like. He motivated us and made our minds run with
possible ideas to write the best story about/based on the mango tree. After the last meeting with Mr. Wyck, we took
group photos under the mango tree.
I think Mr. Wyck has triggered our students’
enthusiasm for writing a creating story about the mango tree. Now we have to find our Muse and write. By doing this creative project, student’s
hidden talents will be unleashed. I am sure that Mr. Williams will be amazed with
the wonderful stories that will be ready for him to read in March-April.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
N.D. (Wyck) Williams was born in Guyana in 1942.
He went to Jamaica
as a student to study at University of the West Indies at Mona in
1968. As a student he witnessed the riots following student demonstrations
against the banning of the late Dr. Walter Rodney. This is now referred to as
the Rodney
riots 1968. He writes of being powerfully influenced by the radical, nativist
currents in Jamaican culture - reggae and yard theatre - of this period. He had stories
published in Jamaica Journal and Savacou and in the anthologies, One
People's Grief (1983) and Best West Indian Stories.
In 1976 his first
novel Ikael Torass won the prestigious Casa de las Americas prize. It draws on
his experiences in Jamaica
Williams lived for a
time in Antigua
before moving to the U.S. where he lives in New York.
His works, from the short stories of The Crying of Rainbirds (1992), the
novel, The Silence of Islands (1994), the two novellas My Planet of
Ras and What Happening There, Prash in Prash and Ras (1997),
to the short stories in Julie Mango (2003), all published by Peepal Tree
Press, explore both an island and a diasporic experience.
In 2002 Williams
published his searching look at the teeming underclass of New York
Two other collection
of short stories followed-- "Colonial Cream" in January 2003 and
"The Friendship of Shoes"(Nov 2005)
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
My Trip to Auburn University
On Saturday 22nd October,
2011, I left Suriname together with my father, mother and brother to go to
Auburn, Alabama in the United States. That morning we took the flight to
Trinidad where we landed safely.However, we had to wait five hours for our
flight to Miami. Next, we went to Atlanta, Georgia, where we slept for the
night and the next day, we made our way to Alabama by car.
The main purpose of the trip was to
visit Auburn University and to get firsthand experience of what it is like at
the university. Auburn is on the top of my list of universities to attend so I
decided to visit. My father’s colleague is a professor at Auburn University,
Montgomery and we stayed by him. While I was there, I got the chance to get see
the university, get a campus tour, tour the engineering department, meet with
the swim coach and also have a meeting with Admission Advisors.
I visited the university’s website but
being there was totally different. I was impressed with the University’s
facilities and their reception of me as a potential foreign student. The trip
was an amazing experience and one of the best experiences I have ever had in my
life.
Written by: Gabriel Grauwde ((GAC 2012 Class)--AlphaMax Academy
Monday, October 24, 2011
Xiomara Getrouw Continues to do well in Athletics
By Jonathan Liu-- AMA Senior
Xiomara Getrouw a 17 year old
student of AlphaMax Academy who has been inspired by her mother to become an athlete.
She started her journey to become a
great athlete when she was six year old. She always aims to achieve the best in every sports she compete and
always thinks positive Among her recent achievements was her selection to
represent Suriname the 2010 Miami Half Marathon.
Last October she was a member of the
team of athletes representing Suriname in the International Guyanese Games held
in Suriname. Suriname, Guyana, and French
– Guyana, participated in the competition. Xiomara won the 4th place the female 6km time trial on October 21. Later in the games, on the 23rd
October, she was third in the female long distance run (35 km).
Xiomara says
that she was very keen to compete with the athletes from Guyana and French
Guyana athlete in the competition. Before the competition she had set her mind
to do her best and to win her events as all great athletes do.
After the competition she felt pleased with
her performance although she did not win first prizes.
Xiomara plans
to enter soon national cycling competitions .She
is also training for the Srefidensi marathon and this year’s Miami Half
Marathon
Saturday, October 22, 2011
To Us; Reann Kersenhout's First Prize Speech in Tagore Art Competition
Reann Kersenhout won the first prize for prose in the Junior section of the National Tagore Art competition held in May 2011. This is her speech.
To Us
A great Sind once said, “Forced as we are to live in a society which is itself tyrannical, and which cannot always be gainsaid, I was often obliged to concede what I did not believe in, but what others around me insisted on. But I always had it in my mind to create an atmosphere.” This Sind, who goes by the name of Rabindranath Tagore, awakened us to acknowledge the difficulties that lie ahead. One of these difficulties is grasping our freedom.
Freedom from greed, fear, anger, and narrow-minded convictions is a challenge we need to face. Because we are surrounded and influenced by illusions and walls even in our own society, it reaches our inmost being. Yet our thoughts, our feelings, our truth should not be trapped; as long as that is free we can all escape.
But what is freedom? Freedom is not an object, and therefore “free from” is different from “freedom”. It all starts with the “freedom of mind”, the thoughts, the sensitivity, the awareness. To allow your moral thoughts to wander freely and guide you, it would mean that you have mastered one of the basic senses of freedom. And it is because you allow these thoughts in, you will realize that disciplining yourself is also a form of freedom. Being free means upholding the truth, for only then can you really face the lies that form a blinded vision. It will also make you see that freedom is not only what is desired, but being able to control that desire. Naturally freedom brings peace for it satisfies an inner calmness. This and many more are the inner realms we are looking for. But we should not look far into vanity to search for our freedom, for Nature is constantly reminding us that freedom is right here to allow us to change for the better; to strive for perfection. Nature, with its very grace, is telling us through the changing of the days that we have a new chance everyday to become better. In fact we receive freedom from the universe; we just need to appreciate and allow ourselves to connect with it.
Strangely enough, the restrictions that do not permit us to be free are of our own doing. Somehow we have allowed our thoughts to become corrupted and have therefore created systems that confine us. Generations pass, and now the illusions are controlling- or even worse -shaping us. Look at education, for example. The task of guiding our children’s knowledge and development has become too much concerned with whether you understand the text rather than becoming wise in life. Yes, even education is part of the difficulty, but it is not only education. What about laws? What is it based on these days? Do free people, free minds need law? The creation of such restrictions is due to the belief that we were not free. Free people are never really concerned with just law but with justice, which should be what law is based on. And this justice is really found in our own inner court, in our moral consciousness, which brings us back to the freedom of mind.
Although we are at this stage of the world, we should not degrade ourselves. We could for example, redeem ourselves from a “tyrannical society” by creating an atmosphere. But what exactly is the atmosphere? It is the energy glowing from us, encouraging our thoughts to direct itself in a direction that will show us our path of freedom. And to create an atmosphere is to create a space that will allow us to do this. A great way to apply this atmosphere is in education in order to start with the children. This is what it is about, educating our children in the free way so they can create a better tomorrow.
There are certain reasons why people such as Tagore come and bring us something. He reminded us that there are ways to improve. And that is freedom; it is a chance to get better. So now we as humankind, as children of the Universe, are at a new age, and are asked to accept this chance. The real question is: will we do it? Will we stay in our confined space, or shall we head in a new direction? Change is something that will always happen, but the only thing to do is to change to become perfect; to become free. It is true that we are facing growing challenges, and major successes. It is therefore our job to get rid of the foolishness of the world, and bring a proud, unified, and free name to our Age.
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