GAC Students visit Neotropical Butterfly Park for Research

Six are members of AlphaMax 's 2012 Global Assessment Program class visited The Neotropical Butterfly Park in Lelydorp on Thursday 17th May on a research field trip. The students are writing a research paper on a local environmental site for their science course 023. Their reports will be sent to Australia for moderation.


The GAC 2012 group consisted of Yamil Baptista, Gabriel Grauwde, Timothy Naarendorp, Vinantia Nandlal, Ruth Saman and Kristina Taylor, and was accompanied by three tutors--Mr. Milton Drepaul ( Director of the GAC program), Mr. Emiel Krak ( Deputy Principal and Head of Science) , Mr.Osafa Johnson -Science tutor, Ms. Sharon Hoppie ( Middle School Director) and Ms. Zabeeda Nazir( Middle School Tutor).

The Neotropical Butterfly Park is owned and operated by  Amera Eriks and Ewout Eriks.

The group left school at about 8.15 am and returned at 2pm. During the field trip the weather was sunny and fine but when they returned there was a tropical rainstorm in the city.

The tasks that the group did were: recording  abiotic variables they  in the park area;describing and recording the size and type of plant population in the study area;looking at  animal distribution on the site; selecting and classifying a total of six species; constructing food chains and webs for the ecosystem;describing human influence in the park and looking at the relationship between the various elements in the ecosystem.

The students thoroughly enjoyed the experience and also a delicious meal in their cafe. They appreciated the fact that Mrs. Eriks made the park available to them exclusively for the period they visited. Mr. & Mrs Eriks have two children attending the AlphaMax Academy and have previously extended their hospitality to the school.  In particular, the group would like to thank our tour guide, Rachel Dontono, for the excellent way in which she guided us through the park.
Ruth Saman

The Neotropical Butterfly Park is unique experience.  It is not only peaceful and relaxing, but also educational.  We would recommend that anyone who wants a taste of the Surinamese tropical rainforest should visit this beautiful park.

Yamil on the net

Yamil Baptisa (GAC 2012 class) has begun work on his biographical website. You can visit it at::http://yamilbaptista.weebly.com/.

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.”

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.