2012 Class Graduation to be at Cheric's on Wed.27 June

Graduation for the 2012 class will be At Cheric's Special Event Facility--Chericlaan, Morgenstroon ( side street of Anton Dragtenweg). Wednesday ,27 June,2012,18.30 hours.

Daniel Kolf wins the 100 meter backstroke in the Bahamas

Daniel Kolf  a student at AlphaMax Academy, was the youngest person to win the 100 M backstroke National Short Course Championships in the Bahamas held in June 2012.

During the 13th Giovanni Linscheer Memorial Swim Meet June 15th - 17th, Daniel swam 7 events and won an incredible 3 gold and 2 silver medals.  In the 400 M with the Oase Relay team, Daniel set a national record in his age group.

Daniel has high hopes of winning gold at the Caribbean Islands Swimming Championships to be held in Aruba, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico from June 18th - July 6th, 2012.

His friends at the AlphaMax Academy know Daniel as a "cool" person who has not allowed the spotlight to change his attitude.  We all congratulate Daniel and his parents and wish him continued success in school and at the upcoming meets!

GAC 2012 successfully completed

Students in the 2012 GAC class successfully completed their course last Monday, June 11.


Six students were in the course--Yamil Baptisa, Gabriel Grauwde, Timothy Naarendorp,  Vinantia Nandlal, Ruth Saman and Kristina Taylor.


Four of the group have already chosen their next step in the academic world. Grabriel Grauwde will be going to the University of West Virginia to Study Engineering. He was also accepted by Dalhousie University in Canada for the same field of study. .Vinantia Nandlal will be going to the Medical University of Dalian in China to study medicine. She represented AlphaMax and Suriname at the GLYC conference in Beijing last year.

Timothy Naarendorp plans to do IT at UTT in Trinidad and Tobago.Ruth Saman plans to do dentistry at UWI in Trinidad and Tobago.She also represented AlphaMax and Suriname at the GYLC conference in Beijing last year.

Kristina Taylor and Yamil Baptisa are still considering their options but plan to start University studies in September this year.

AMA Youth Challenge Program on Tonka Island

The AlphaMax Academy Youth Challenge Programme will take place this year from Monday, June 18^th to Thursday, 21^st June, at Tonka Island in Brokopondo.

High school students are invited to participate in this special programme which we started in 2011.  Fritz van Troon, respected Surinamese field botanist, will host the Academy and guide the three day educational programe.

Tonka Island  has separate  male/female dormitories,  dining hall facilities and a nature museum. Several members of staff including Director Sean Taylor and Deputy Emiel Krak  will attend the three day event at Tonka Island with the high school students.

Students and staff will depart from the Academy on Monday, June 18^th at 8.30 am, and will begin the journey back from Tonka Island to Paramaribo at 10.00 am on Thursday, June 21^st.

Suriname Msiba My Love selected for Belize Film Festival

Msiba, My Love has been selected for Belize International Film Festival 2012 to be held from the 13-17 July.  Msiba, My Love is one of eight films selected in the animation category.  From the huge number of submissions it will be one of the 64 featured films.  It is the first time that a film from Suriname will be represented at the festival.

The Official Selection boasts films from 24 different nations including Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and the USA, who all submitted the most films to be a part of this year’s festival.  Msiba, My Love was Suriname's only entry.  It is a 9 minute movie by Lily Strand Publishing and is directed by Milton Drepaul and Sean Taylor.

Stunning images of the Suriname rain forest tell the story of an ecological crime committed on the Saramakan people in Suriname in 1964 when a hydro electric dam was built and a huge artificial lake submerged their homes.

The DVD features the reading of The Tagore Prize Winning poem - Msiba, My Love by Ivan Khayiat -- read in seven languages -- English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Hindi, Saran Tongo and Saramakan.

The central message in both the book and DVD is that humanity needs to appreciate that Mother Earth bestows gifts to us and we must have a humble and sacred relationship with her.

The editor for the film was Shafeek Nazir who also won the 1^st prize for art in the 2011 Tagore National Competition.  Shafeek Nazir , AlphaMax Graduate (2011 Class) was editor, graphics and animation director.  The pictures in the DVD were done by Rohit  Badatljawdharie, Rudi Moredjan and Studio TMC. 

A specially composed sound track by Rohit Badatljawdharie with hypnotic and haunting tones is in the background and gives its own signature to the DVD.

Msiba was chosen a state gift by the government of Suriname and a copy of the book and DVD was presented to 15 Caribbean heads of state.

A group in Brazil has invited Lily Strand Publishing to be part of their RIo 20 + participation in June 2012.

The organizers of the Festival expressed the hope that Msiba, My Love will garner more attention and perhaps progress to more success in other festivals, television, or even the big screen!

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.

A DUAL CELEBRATION & RECEPTION - Opening the West Wing of AlphaMax Academy’s School Facility

A DUAL CELEBRATION & RECEPTION

On Sunday evening, May 6^th, Mrs Kitty Ameerali, the wife of Suriname’s Vice-President, joined the Ambassador of India and his wife, Mrs. K.J.S. Sodhi, along with several members of the international community, and scores of AlphaMax Academy students, parents and friends at the opening of the renovated West Wing of the AlphaMax school facility on Stanvastestraat in Zorg-en-hoop. 

It was a Dual Celebration which also highlighted the Birth Anniversary Celebration of Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore – the first non-European to win a Nobel Prize.

First, Mrs. Sodhi, wife of the Ambassador of India, cut the ribbon for the Tagore bust-garlanding ceremony which took place in the garden adjoining the AlphaMax facility.  Ambassador Sodhi, ICC Director Sunil Bhalla, George Ramjiawansingh of ArtVibes, and Emiel Krak and Milton Drepaul of the AlphaMax Academy, subsequently joined Mrs. Sodhi in placing garlands around the impressive 250 kg bronze bust of Tagore which was sculpted in India.

Later that evening, Mrs. Kitty Ameerali cut the ribbon leading to the West Wing of the renovated school facility.  The West Wing was expressly named after Tagore, the international humanist who had devoted  large portion of his adult life to education and teaching.  Tagore was the founder of the world famous Shantiniketan school and the Viswa Bharati University in India.

The ‘dual celebration’ on May 6^th was the AlphaMax Academy’s culmination of a year of activities revolving around India’s poet laureate Tagore in Suriname.

To recap, activities in close collaboration with the Embassy of India and the Indian Cultural Center of Suriname included:

1.  In May 2011:  An art exhibition and cultural evening which included dance and poetry at Fort Zeelandia – co-sponsored by Art-Vibes, ICC and the AlphaMax Academy
2. The Tagore Bust-unveiling ceremony on June 4^th, 2011, where Suriname’s First Lady Ingrid Waldring-Bouterse unveiled the bust with Ambassador K.J.S. Sodhi.  One of the highlights of the Tagore bust-unveiling ceremony was the ICC-sponsored Bihu Dance Troupe which had travelled from Assim, India, to perform.  This was their premiere performance in Paramaribo.
3. Activities also included creative writing and art competitions for students and also adults in Suriname.  The panel of judges included members of the University of Suriname, Schrijvers Groep ‘77, and prominent artists.  The Awards ceremony was held at the Anton de Kom University of Suriname last October.
4. Finally, there were also lectures and video presentations on the life and work of Tagore at various venues.

Rabindranath Tagore was born on May 7th, 1861, and died on August 7th, 1941. The Tagore bust at the AlphaMax Academy is one of a dozen effigies unveiled worldwide to mark the 150th Birth Anniversary Celebrations worldwide. Tagore is the author of one of the anthems students and teachers of the AlphaMax community use daily in school assemblies.

AlphaMax opens Rabindranath Tagore Wing

AlphaMax opens its new west wing this afternoon. There will be an open evening with an Art Exhibition, DVDs done by the school and visual material supplied by ICC Suriname.

The evening is also a celebration of Rabindranath Tagore's birth anniversary.The new wing is named -the Rabindranath Tagore Wing. A bust of the distinguished Indian artist and Nobel Prize winner was placed in the gardens of the school in 2010. It is a state gift from the government and people of India to the government and people of Suriname.

Visitors will be able too see the DVD 'Msiba, My love' which has audio in seven languages. AlphaMax is also releasing its DVD of its 2010 dramatic presentation 'Many Faces of Love'. Both these DVDs were done by Shafeek Nazir -2011 Graduate.

Pearson College in Vancouver Canada Offers a Scholarship to A Suriname student

While there are scholarship programs available for Surinamese students to study off-island after graduating from high school, few have the opportunity to attend a high school abroad. Lester B. Pearson College of the Pacific, located on Vancouver Island ,in Canada, is now offering such a scholarship.

 The College is pleased to announce that the 2012-13 academic year will see the first-ever selection for a scholarship to Pearson College in Suriname. Lester B. Pearson College is a member of the United World Colleges or UWCs. UWCs are an association of twelve international boarding campuses situated all over the world.

Ms. Suzanne Tremblay, Manager Special Projects will visit Suriname on Mar 29 and Mar 30 to meet student and interview students who are interested in the scholarship to Pearson.

After graduation, UWC alumni have doors open to the world’s best universities, with high numbers accepted every year to Ivy League schools, including Harvard, Princeton and Dartmouth, as well as to Oxford and Cambridge in Britain.

 Lester B. Pearson United World College of the Pacific is committed to providing educational opportunities to students from the Americas, the College decided to extend an offer of a full scholarship for two years, worth approximately $80 000, to a high school sophomore or junior from Guyana. The scholarship covers tuition, accommodation, food, books for the academic years 2012-13 and 2013-14. A committee of leading educators and alumni from the College will select the student.

Five associates with the AlphaMax Academy attended the first Virtual Educa Caribbean conference,  with  a focus on the non  Spanish-speaking Caribbean that was held in Paramaribo at the TBL February 29 to March 2nd, 2012. The event took place concurrently with the VII Inter-American Meeting of Ministers of Education organized by the Organization of the American States.
The objectives of the Virtual Educa Caribbean conference were to:

1. To include non Spanish-speaking Caribbean region in the activities of Virtual Educa.
2. Offer participants the opportunity to see concrete evidence of how ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and innovation in education are applied, including examples and best practices through workshops, exhibits and conferences.
3. Focus  not only on advanced technology but also show participants the low-tech means that are available.

One outstanding seminar was presented by Dr. Kenneth Sylvester, of the Caribbean Knowledge and Learning Network (CKLN).  The first public announcement  of the Caribbean’s dedicated research and education high-speed fiber optic network, C@ribNET was completed.  The Project Purpose is to improve the relevance of tertiary education and training institutions in the Caribbean, by increasing the number of relevant accredited tertiary education courses and programs supported and offered to a significantly increased numbers of Caribbean students.
Other associates of AMA, please fell free to write about all the outstanding seminars!