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.

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

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, I saw a group of four familiar and unfamiliar men.  Immediately, I could recognize Mr. Ben Hurl, Mr. Drepaul and Mr. Taylor, but I did not recognize the highly animated man they were talking to.  This man was Mr. N.D. ‘Wyck’ Williams.

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 and at the Academy; from his way of speaking, you could perceive that he was nervous and that he is a very energetic person.

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 and particularly the Rodney episode. He also explores the role of the university and education as an agent of social division, as well as the revolt on campus and in the wider society against the repressive forces in Jamaican society. Ikael has been described as a "sophisticated investigation of Rastafari" by researcher Michael Mitchell.

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 in his disturbing novel "ah, Mikhail, O Fidel".

Two other collection of short stories followed-- "Colonial Cream" in January 2003 and "The Friendship of Shoes"(Nov 2005)

AlphaMax Students Participate at the ICC Yoga Seminar

By Ruth Saman

On October 09, 2011, The Indian Cultural Centre, Paramaribo organized a yoga seminar on “Relevance of Yoga in Stress Management and Healthy Living.”  Nine spearkers– Swamini Krishna, Mr. Sean Taylor, Dr. Carmen Jaglall, Malty Sietaram, Mr. and Mrs. Krieshen and Sheetal Ramkhelawan and Mr. Tariq Sadiek, Mr.Almer Nascimento and Mrs. Savita Behari– shared their experience on different aspects of yoga and stress management.

Seven AlphaMax Academy students– Timothy Naarendorp, Melissa Lie, Kristina Taylor, Reann Kersenhout, Isabella Sew-A-Tjon, Ruth Saman, and Jason Hoppie– also participated in the yoga seminar.  We were invited to attend this seminar to give a quick yoga demonstration.  This demonstration consisted of different yoga postures.  Before our demonstration, Mr.Taylor gave a presentation about “Yoga and Education.”  

To get an abstract of his presentation, please visit http://alphamax-news.blogspot.com/2011/10/yoga-and-education.html.

Ruth Saman's Valedicttorian Speech to 2011 Class

Valedictorian Speech To AlphaMax Academy 2011 Graduating Class

By Ruth M.P. Saman

Honorable members of the AlphaMax Foundation, keynote speaker, Dr.Eugene Marcus, Distinguished guests, the 2011 graduating class, AlphaMax staff, students, parents, and well wishers, Allaho Abho, Peace, Namastay, Jai Jinendra, Assalaamu alaikum, Shalom Alechum, Sat Sriakaal, Good Evening.

I am Ruth Saman, and together with Shafeek Nazir we are giving the valedictorian speech for the class of 2011.

Many of you are perhaps surprised to see that two very quiet people were chosen to be the valedictorians for our class.  I guess this shows the power of AlphaMax to transform its students.

Three years ago, I came to the Academy not knowing what awaited me.  I, however, believed that I was ready for the AlphaMax challenge.  On that first day when I received such a warm welcome from both students and staff, I could immediately feel the special quality of the Alpha Max community.

In those early days, what many saw was a quiet little girl always sitting in a corner not talking much.  Three years have passed and today I stand before you, able to talk to an entire audience. 

How much I have grown, how much we all have grown, and how much the Academy has grown.  In the three years that I have attended the Academy, I have seen the Academy grown from a little school that looks like a house into a school that will soon occupy a large complex.

In three years’ time, we have done so many activities in the Academy.  In the school year 2008-2009, the Academy had their annual competitions; where we competed against each other.  In 2008, the school also produced a dramatic speech presentation called “Great Thoughts, Great Minds, Great Moments in Time”. We also completed a DVD of this production.

In 2009-2010, the school produced another dramatic presentation called “Many Faces of Love.”  I was honored to be chosen to be part of this production.  Also this year, Alpha Max began moving into its new building on Standvastestraat.

In 2010-2011, there were many positive achievements.  We had distinguished visitors.  Or art teacher’s portrait- the Four M’s, A portrait of Hope and Peace was chosen  as a state gift from the Surinamese to the Venezuelan president. 

I was also part of a group who did research on presentations on the history of Suriname.  Our group also had a pleasant boat trip on the Sweet Merodia.

During the Easter break, most of the middle and high school students went on a survival camp at Bosbivak.  This camp gave us an opportunity to understand and interact positively with nature.  We discovered the mental, emotional and physical skill that we all need.

A few weeks ago, our students planted citrus trees to show our commitment to working on national food security.  The highlight for our year was the placing of a bust of India’s most famous artists and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore on our school lawn.  Alpha Max is only one of the fourteen sites worldwide where a Tagore bust was placed this year.

This last weekend, I was also part of another group who were invited to a seminar presented by Adek students which focused on values.  This program called spotlight on values is a jointly conducted by the United Nations and the Brahma Kumaris World Spiritual University.

These events are only a small part of the life of the Alpha max community.  Our graduating class has had an education grounded on the values that leaders of the future need.

On behalf of the class of 2011, we would like to say a special “Thank You” to Mr. Taylor and his dedicated staff and teachers.  We truly appreciate your love and guidance; another special “Thank You” to our parents and guardians. You have paid for our education, not only with money but also with time, sacrifice and love.  All of you have played an important part in shaping our lives.

Fellow graduates, you have seen many friends leave the academy. Today, however, others will see you leave.  You already know that the world out there is bitter sweet.  If you hold on to the lessons you received here, you will make it!!  If you ever feel like quitting, remember that “A saint is a sinner who never fails.”

In those moments when you feel like giving up, say this affirmation:

“I take grounded action towards my dream. 

 I face the possibility of rejection and criticism with a smile. 

 I keep going no matter what may come.

 I am protected.”

I hope these words make you strong.  Know that you are always protected.

Congratulations to the class of 2011!!  Let us always remember to say the affirmation “Thou and I art never apart.”  Whenever we say it in our minds, let us remember our high school Alpha Max and the beautiful times we spent there.

I will miss you:

Azim, the guy who makes frog noises,

Shiromani, our future TV presenter

Jaleesa, our model,

Jill, crazy Ramona,

Jessica, our flying penguin,

Sharen-vess, our sloth protecter

Maryssa, our happy child

Shafeek, naked barbarian

Thank you