WHAT IS VE? Motivational Day at PSVE Academy New SBO school
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WHAT IS VE? Motivational Day at PSVE Academy New SBO school
Issue#1February 2012 WHAT IS VE? Page 3 Motivational Day at PSVE Academy Page 6 New SBO school Page 5 Fun Day with YDP Page 7 Welcome to the first issue of the VE Monthly Magazine! W The SBO Service Center Walter J. Nisbeth Road 59, Philipsburg (Pondfill above Carl & Sons Bakery) Sint Maarten Office hours are from 8.00 am to 5.00 pm Monday - Friday Tel: 543-0497 / 543-0498 Fax: 543-0479 Email: [email protected] Website: www.sxmve.com Contact persons per group are: YDP Janelle Presentacion Shameda Delaney Sharon Richards ASVE/ SBO Saskia Kliphuis Iris Cloosterman Shameda Delaney PSVE/ VSBO Zuleima Salmon VSBO Project Assistant Sharry Maynard 2 elcome to the first issue of the Vocational Education (VE) monthly Magazine!!! We are proud to announce the commencement of the Information Campaign on Vocational Education (VE) 2011/2012. The VE information campaign, funded by USONA, is aimed towards informing businesses, parents, students or anyone interested, about the vocational education system currently in place on the island. The VE monthly magazine supports this information campaign and will be updating you on VE news, upcoming VE events and activities, the construction progress of the Advanced Secondary, Professional & technical Vocational Education School, (being built behind Raoul Illidge Sports Complex) as well as allow us to get your opinions on related VE topics and/or issues. We would like to truly encourage you to use us as a platform to become aware of and discuss about the Vocational Education system on the island. If you have any remarks or questions pertaining to Vocational Education on a whole or the VE magazine itself then please get in contact with us by sending us an email to [email protected]. You can also follow the campaign and get more information about us on our VE website www.sxmve. com or check us out on Facebook: “VocationalEducation VE” or Twitter: “VocationalEdu”. For now, please sit back & relax, and I hope you enjoy our first monthly issue of the VE magazine! Sincerely, Sappho Spronk Campaign Manager for the Vocational Education Information Campaign 2011/2012 Have you thought of becoming a teacher... lately? Introductory Message F or the young child, teenager and young adult, the idea of work and career features prominently in their dreams of the future. These dreams include their study choices and in how they imagine their lives will unfold for the future. Not only do they see their future in terms of providing for the means of survival in terms of food, clothing and shelter, BUT also in the type of work and career that they would like to participate in. Young children play games seeing themselves as pilots, policemen, nurses, teachers etc. They are absorbed with their future careers and can tell you from an early age what they want to become what professions they would like to be involved in. We need to listen to them and provide them with the best education and training that will satisfy their dreams and wishes! Traditionally we have separated the world of “work” from “education”. Traditionally we have viewed “education” as having a purely academic and intellectual experience and we have perceived “work” to be practical in nature, and that the individual involved in work would use “their hands more than their head”. In this new age of Information Technology that we live in we can no longer separate “work” from “education” and training, for technology has made them irreversibly intertwined. Technological revolutions and innovations in science and technology, during the 20th century, have created new domains of knowledge and new disciplines so that both education and training is now necessary for persons to be able to work and compete in the workplace. Our focus now is to prepare our youth with the knowledge and skills that they need to function and produce for themselves and for the society in which they live, thus our focus on Technical and Vocational training (TVET =Vocational Education) in St. Maarten at this time, in this age comes at the right time so that our youth can have a new chance to live a life of purpose and productivity in this 21st century. We encourage you to make use of the information here on this website, to post your questions to those who can give you the right information and to guide you into a future that if you are trained can only lead to a bright and prosperous future! Best wishes and a prosperous future! Patricia Lourens Division Head for Educational Innovations. DERPI 3 What is Vocational Education? Vocational Education (VE) comprises of PSVE, YDP & SBO. All three groups form the basis of vocational education on the island of Sint Maarten. Vocational Education nurtures your skills, so that you can become a working professional by providing you with 50% classes (theoretical knowledge) and 50% job training (hands-on skills). ASVE / SBO Advanced Secondary Vocational Education/ Secundair Beroeps Onderwijs PSVE / VSBO Preperatory Secondary Vocational Education/ Voorbereidend Secundair Beroeps Onderwijs PSVE is a four-year high school training program, which prepares students with preliminary knowledge and hands on skills to join the workforce. There are 2 years of basic education followed by 2 years of vocational training. Graduates from primary school can choose to pursue a study of choice at a PSVE school. SBO involves commercial, technical and professional vocational training which prepares graduates of the program to enter the job market, by learning the knowledge and manual skills needed to get the job done. There are 4 different levels to choose from, but based on your educational background, you stream into a level that best fits you. After completing a level 4 course in SBO, graduates on this level are qualified to go for their bachelors’ degree if they choose so. !"#$%&'(&!)%&*+,"-.+/"$&012,"-.+/&345-%6& & 378&9:;<& & !"#$%&'($ )*+*,$-$ &'($)*+*,$.$ &'($)*+*,$/$ '123*,4567$ "*85**$ &'($)*+*,$0$ & & <3*0&& 94$ ":;,4<1$ & 4 #')$ #=)$ >=)$ YDP Youth Development Program YDP is a second chance educational program that aims towards training youngsters who were not able to finish secondary school (high school). The program focuses on educational growth as well as personal development, preparing youngsters to enter the job market. YDP also provides youngster who have fully completed a course in the YDP program the possibility of furthering their studies by transitioning into an ASVE/SBO level 1 or 2 course. FUTURE PLANS: AVE (Advanced Vocational Education. Being developed is a comprehensive concept of V.E. that will include SBO adult skills education, professional and technical vocational education & skills courses. I Renovations of PSVE/VSBO classrooms & Language Assessments n June 2011, the process of renovating classrooms in three different PSVE schools began. There will be a newly renovated classroom for metal located at MPC, a newly renovated classroom for care and technical science at the St. Maarten Academy PSVE and also newly renovated ICT, arts & crafts and technical science classrooms for The St. Maarten Vocational Training School (SMVTS). The renovations are being made to ensure that all classrooms meet the PSVE standards and that care and technical science can be offered at Academy PSVE. Not only are the classrooms being renovated, but language assessments are also being done. The assessments are looking into the methods used by teachers to teach languages and whether these are suitable for the type of students they teach. Ultimately, the goal of the assessments is to indicate if the teaching methods are effective, if not which teaching methods needs to be used, if the teaching methods are effective is there extra support needed to increase effectively such as, training or resource materials. This project is to make sure that the students receive education in classrooms, meeting the requirements with the learning environment and materials necessary and from trained teachers. The initiative comes as part of Program Education and Youth Sint Maarten and is financed by the Dutch Development Funds via USONAv. The program Manager is Drs. Angela Dekker and the advisor from USONA for technical projects, Mr. H.Dwarkasing. The School Board SVOBE is responsible for the financial part of the electrical works for MPC and the preparation and supervision for the electrical and plumbing for the 3 projects is CECC. These projects are financed with Dutch Development Funds via 5 Motivational Day at PSVE Academy T he St. Maarten Academy PSVE is doing some exiting things this year. They have officially introduced their Motivational Day and this very first event was a great success says Mrs. Barbara Cocks, student care coordinator at the school. The objective of this Motivational day was twofold. 1: To motivate the students and 2: To inspire the students into making more conscious decisions in the areas of sexuality, drug use, violence and overall decision making. They organized a fun and information filled day to get the students informed and aware. They had local speakers who addressed the various topics such as Zylena Barry, Attorney at Law (violence); Pastor Adamus (drug use); Dr. Illis and Mrs. Schaminee (sexuality & STDs) and Mr. Sprott, Police Officer (violence). Besides the local speaker they had DJ Outkast on the “ones and twos” and Mr. Entertainment himself Versatile who emceed the entire 6 event and also entertained with an energetic musical performance at the end of the event. Throughout the course of the day the school introduced their new wristbands saying “YES to PSVE No to SVD”, SVD being an acronym for Sex, Violence and Drugs. All students received a band and the entire event was kept in the school gym. Although the Motivational Day was deemed a success by both students and organizers alike the school has no intention on stopping there. Throughout the year there will be a targeted follow up to this event. The student care team of the school designed a method of measuring whether or not a student is making wise decision. All students of the PSVE will receive this tool. They will be expected to keep track of their own decision making; their home room teachers will also be monitoring behavior and helping students track their behavior. Not only that, the students themselves will also be called on to keep each other in line. At the end of the school year the student of every class with the highest points will receive a prize. They will receive the Behavior Star Award and other prizes which may range from a Kindle to a mobile phone. Mrs. Cocks indicated that this was a pilot project. If deemed successful it may become a yearly activity within the school. This Motivational Day stems from the brainstorming of the student care team who saw the need to tackle NEW School being built for SBO/Adults, Second & Chance Students! O n September the 5th 2011, the construction of the school for Advanced Secondary, Professional & technical Vocational Education began behind the Raoul Illidge Stadium located in Cay Hill. Close to the Fire Department you can already see the new campus for the Hillside Christian School rising high, and next to this –closer to the Puma Road - contractor Taliesin has laid out the foundations for the new School. Classes are being taught within a few classrooms located at various high schools, namely MPC, SMVTS, Sundial and PSVE Academy until the new school is completed and open. The School will fulfill the need to facilitate SBO students with their own classrooms and utilities. The construction as well as the inventory of the new Advanced Secondary, Professional & technical Vocational Education School is funded by the Dutch Development Funds for Education and Youth. Pream Architects designed the school and also monitors the construction process together with DERPI (Division of Educational research, Policy and Innovations) and VROMI. The school will consist of: a computer lab, a media center, 5 general classrooms, skill labs for automotive/ maritime, construction, carpentry, welding/ metal and electrical/plumbing, a teacher’s room and staff rooms. It is aimed to be completed in August 2012, just before the new school year starts. The construction as well as the inventory of the school is funded by the Dutch Development Funds for Education and Youth. Pream Architects designed the school and also monitors the construction process together with DERPI (Division of Educational research, Policy and Innovations) and VROMI. In the next issues of the VE quarterly magazine, you will continue to be updated on the construction progress of the Advanced Secondary, Professional & technical Vocational Education School. 7 Fun day at Guana Bay Beach! Youth Development Program treats its students to a day of fun in the sun “Events like these have been organized in the past; for example the PC repair classes were treated to dinner at various restaurants including Pineapple Pete, Berry’s and Peg Leg. They would also go to the movies. The SPW1 (caregiver course) was treated to a tour at an upscale daycare and lunch at Pineapple Pete’s. That’s just a few of the motivational activities that have been done by the YDP.” T he Youth Development Program (YDP) is a program geared towards motivating and educating our young people on St. Maarten. YDP is for youngsters (between 16 and 24 years) who were not able to complete secondary education therefore YDP has always known the importance of continuously motivating the students in the program. The most recent motivational activity included a fun day at the Guana Bay Beach for the students that began the program in September 2011. The fun day was organized by their teacher Mr. Peter Arndell and guidance counselors Ms. Sharon Richards and Ms. Shameda Delaney. Students learned the basics of surfing from Mr. Arndell who is also heavily involved in the community when it comes to sports and youth development. The students also did team building activities in which students enjoyed the activity 8 where they had to balance a stick as a team. However YDP was not the only one treating that day; the students decided to cook and bring their favorite foods to the fun day. Dishes such as baked chicken, locrie, potato salad and rice and peas were enjoyed by both the staff and the students...yummy! All in all, the students got a chance to bond and interact with one another in the effort to keep them motivated, focused and in general good spirits. Events like these have been organized in the past; for example the PC repair classes were treated to dinner at various restaurants including Pineapple Pete, Berry’s and Peg Leg. They would also go to the movies. The SPW1 (caregiver course) was treated to a tour at an upscale daycare and lunch at Pineapple Pete’s. That’s just a few of the motivational activities that have been done by the YDP. Motivational outings are one of the tools used by the program to stimulate students to successfully complete the program and keep them motivated along the way. Experience with the groups until now has shown that these motivational activities/ outings do work! The motivational activities as well as the program are fully funded by USONA the Dutch funding agency. However if anyone would like to assist us in motivating our youngsters in becoming educated responsible citizens; our door is open! We also motivate the students through guest lecturers who come and deliver motivational speeches to the youngsters. Remember; it takes a village to raise a child! Want to know more about YDP and what we are doing for our youngsters in the community please feel free to call us at 5430497 or email us at sxm_ydp@ hotmail.com.