KANS PROJECT 2009 - WEBLOG - ST. DOMINIC HIGH

General Evaluation

2009-05-20T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hi guys. It was great to see some of you over the weekend, and it's been great hearing the stories and watching some of the pictures you all took. Kans was a huge success this year and as Mr. Hans said on his last day in class: "This year was the best ever". But can it be even better? With your help, this project (in whatever capacity) and others like it can be improved.
Please take the time to reply to this post and answer the following questions honestly, but be polite :-)

There are videos and pics that will be added very shortly, so until then, use this evaluation as a way to bide your time.

-Mr. T

1. What did you like most about the KANS project?
2. What was your least favorite part?
3. Was it what you expected? if not, how not?
4. What would you have liked to do differently next time?
5. What would you want to definitely keep the same?
6. Were you well prepared for this exchange?
7. Did you have good communication with your penpal before the arrival of our guests?
8. Will you continue to have communication with your penpal after?
9. What would you suggest we add to this program if we ever do this again?
10. Is there anything else you would like to say ?

A time to come and a time to go, the time to go has come ...

2009-05-16T02:15:00.001-07:00

As with all good things, our KANS project has reached its end. But the friendships forged and the knowledge gained should endure for far longer. Today, we gathered together with all 2nd forms and danced traditional Dutch folkdances. Everyone was super energetic, at times a bit distracting, but always excited. After that, we watched several videos of presentations made by the students of our 2nd form, and we launched the website that contains our KANS project material. The idea is to continue the knowledge exchange for not only this year, but in hte year (s) to come. Check out the site at: http://kansproject2009.wordpress.com

WHen it was time to say goodbye (officially) gifts were handed out, speeches were made, but nothing could really capture the experience of the week that had passed, and neither the trip to Hollland by our students. I hope that everyone really enjoyed taking part in this project and that it will encourage you to take part in future projects, whatever the field may be.

So finally, let us know what you thought of the folk dances, and of our own students' presentations/videos.
Check back soon for a evaluation form, and fill it out honestly, as it serves to help us make the prgoram better.
Most sincerely,

-Mr. T

Day 4: Movies and PowerPoint

2009-05-14T15:48:00.000-07:00

Another day has passed, and yet again it seems as if it were only yesterday when we first welcomed our guests. How quickly time flies. Today we enjoyed powerpoint presentations made by the students of the various 2nd Formers in the RSG and also got to watch a few videos also made by the classes. They were definitely amusing and entertaining to say the least. It was also a time for the pen-pals here in St. Maarten to get a glimpse on the videos of their correspondants in Holland: it's always nice to place a face with a name. Tomorrow is our closing ceremony and that will be again more active participation. We also will get to showcase our videos we made and debut our KANS website, so we definitely still have a lot more to look forward to.

What did you think of the videos? and the PowerPoint presentation? Does it also seem like time is flying? What are your expectations for our last schoolday with our guests?

-Mr. T

Day 3: Posters and Games!

2009-05-13T17:21:00.001-07:00

Spijkerpoepen? WHAT?! Well, if that word brought a smile to your face, you probably took part in the workshops today about typical Dutch games. Classroom 1 was divided into 5 stations where every group rotated through different types of games. Some required coordination and balance, while others required a bit of guts and bravery. I still have images of the Star squatting over the bottle trying to get the nail suspended by a belt around his waist into the glass bottle... that sight alone was priceless. They also judged the posters by the students of RSG. After the recess, the students went to lunch with some of the host students and teachers. What did everyone think of the games? Which one was your favorite? Which one proved to be the most difficult? What about the posters, which one did you like the best! Let's hear all about it!

-Mr. T

Day 2: Street Dance! Drumming AND A LIVE BAND!!

2009-05-12T20:00:00.000-07:00

5, 6, 7, 8......

Everybody DANCE!! Ms. Dineke did a fantastic job today teaching our students some street dance moves. Based on the feedback by word of mouth and on the blogs, I can tell everyone really enjoyed themselves and had a lot of fun. Dineke had partially lost her voice, so the mic was a big help! Of course our kids love to dance, so they picked it up very quickly and even managed to throw their own choreography in there as well. Naomi, Sean and Walter were all very active as well! After the recess, Naomi, Sean and Walter also sat in on some of the first form music classes which featured African drumming by our very own "SHABBA"! After that the students and teachers gathered in the multi-purpose room for a show! Music was provided by the music faculty at St. Dominic together with some other local professional musicians. They played a little bit of everything, from R&B , to Reggae to Latin and Carnival music! Quite a long day! How did you like the street dance? will you bust out a few of those moves at the next party? Let us know what you thought....

-Mr. T

First day at school! :-)

2009-05-11T11:38:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day at St. Dominic High for our guests from Holland. It was great to hear everyone talking about the weekend and also nice to see the students who hadn't yet met them introduce themselves and ask questions. Naomi, Sean and Walter did a great job giving an introduction about themselves and our guest teachers Mr. Gertjan, Ms. Dineke, and Mr. Hans also made quite the impression. They presented several movies and a powerpoint presentation; detailing their school and our recent trip to it. It was great to see the reactions of the students and also to look back at a different perspective of ourselves. It was too much sometimes, as some students were a bit shy having the whole class see them on camera dancing :-) It also brought back the memories of the trip that are still fresh in my head and brought to light some moments that I had forgotten about! All in all : GREAT FUN! and a wonderful introduction.

The RSG'ers also came by and added their unique personalities to our "String Band" rehearsals during the recess. Walter was also heard mentioning he loved the food in the cantine. What else has been said so far?

What did you think of the videos? Are you sad you didn't make the effort to write an essay to go yourself? Remember this for the next time, you only get opportunities like this every now and then...what do you have to lose? enough about that....let's hear what you thought of having the kids in class with you today. Are you excited about the workshops? Blog away!

-Mr. T

They are here: First Weekend!

2009-05-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

Wow!

I knew the kids were excited for our guests to arrive, but I've been nothing less than overwhelmed with the outpouring of hospitality by our students towards our guests. You guys did a great job thus far! From the pre-partying at the airport for their arrival, to a weekend full of impromptu activities, you guys are really being ambassadors for our school and by extension: our island.

It was also great to see so many of you post on the blog, and as you may have noticed, the parents of the RSG'ers are also very happy that you are doing so! You are able to give them a window from Holland to St. Maarten, so keep it up!

I saw Naomi and Sean with their hosts on the boardwalk watching the Capoeira performance; (the teachers also came by!), and I heard that Walter showed how good he was at Basketball at Angelo's place. Later I saw a whole herd of students with Walter at the Cinema, and with the sun coming out today, most likely some of them will hit the beach.

So let us know what you've been doing this weekend. Did you try a johnny cake yet? or gone to see the planes landing by the beach? Have you jumped into the ocean yet? or collected shells? Gone to a "house" party yet? I am looking forward to hearing from all of you! so ....BLOG AWAY!

-Mr. T

Part 2 of our exchange begins: TODAY!

2009-05-08T08:49:00.000-07:00

The representatives of the RSG school from Oud-Bijerland will be arriving at 2:00 pm today!
The excitement is palpable as students here in St. Dominic make preperations to welcome them at the airport. After having heard so much about them, they are eager to impress upon them the warm and friendly atmosphere of St. Maarten. I'm sure they also have lots of questions for our guests. Are you one of the students going to the airport? What are you going to show our guests? Let's see how much of what you plan actually comes to pass and lets see what wonderful unplanned events take place these next few days! Enter your comments below!

-Mr. T

- Back on St. Maarten -

2009-04-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

Well, we're all back on the friendly again. Some of us made it in time for J'ouvert and the Grand Parade. Others came back during the frantic Queen's day celebrations. All in all I think we are happy to be home, and excited to host our new found friends in the coming weeks. I only hope that we can equal the reception we received by the students and host families. Sounds like a task we all are very eager to undertake. This blog will also be updated during the visit of the RSG'ers to St.Dominic so that we can all share our experiences together. To those who just came back: welcome back, and to those that have been here for a bit longer: Enjoy the last few days of vacation, as Monday we start school again! How was the flight? what were the conversations like on the plane? Did you manage to sleep at all? How will this experience change your perception of your own classmates and your own school? I look forward to hearing from you all.

-Mr. T

Corpus!

2009-04-24T07:13:00.000-07:00

Our last day with the group. I can't believe how quickly time has passed. After another round of tears and hugs, our group joined the Mavo 2 fieldtrip to Corpus: A 7-storey-high interactive trip through the human body. While very simple and a bit geared to the younger students, the level of detail and ingenuity that went into it's construction was impressive. The 3-D films detailing some of the body's processess were very cool. My personal favorite was the room which was modeled like the inside of the eye. After the 45 minute tour, we entered the interactive section of the building which I think the students got the most enjoyment out of. There were lots of interesting set-ups, which included a video game that allowed you to kill bacteria by throwing bean bags on a huge flat screen, and there were also "health stats" stations that allowed you to check your blood pressure, heart rate, BMI (body mass index)and fat percentage (I, myself clocked in at 9.2 %). What did you think of Corpus? was it a satisfying end to the trip? What were the emotions as we said goodbye to the rest of the St.Maarten crew?

-Mr. T

Post-Workshop Assesment

2009-04-23T13:36:00.000-07:00

We are heading out to Corpus tomorrow, but as we depart to our seperate destinations thereafter, we would like to hear from YOU. We would love to know your opinion about the workshops etc and the KANS project in general. So please, SXM kiddos and RSG'ers please take the time to react to this blog post by answering the following questions:

-Mr. T

1. What did you like most of the KANS project?
2. What was your least favorite part?
3. Was it what you expected? if not, how not?
4. What would you have liked to do differently next time?
5. What would you want to definitely keep the same?
6. Were you well prepared for this exchange?
7. Did you have good communication with your penpal before the trip?
8. Will you continue to have communication with your penpal after?
9. What would you suggest we add to this program if we ever do this again?
10. Is there anything else you would like to say ?

Thanks so much for your cooperation

Workshop day # 3: Capoeira and our closing ceremony

2009-04-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

Jinga! Jinga !

Well I am dead tired. But at the same time, very excited. Time seemed to just fly by. The kids seemed very enthusiastic and I was very happy to notice that some of them had done their own research into Capoeira and knew a few movements already. Again some of the students came after class again to do it all over again. Hasib was my "volunteer" (read: victim) and he did a fantastic job. The rest of the SXMers took turns helping out the RSGers and also doing some of the filming. Of course most of the kids were interested in learning flips and tricks, but by the end of the class, they had learned enough moves to put a little sequence together. I promised to send some video tutorials to them during the rest of the year and that's a promise I intend to keep.

After the workshops, the rest of the Havo 2 students all got together in the gym. They sang, and made the party train. They played Hollandse spelletjes, and exchanged gifts. It was time to therefore say goodbye. Ekta gave a very passionate thank you speech which resulted in a sea of tears from Lisa. This was soon followed by everyone else. Everyone clearly had a good time and it was dawning on everyone that now this part of their lives was over and "normal" life was about to continue.

On behalf of all the teachers, I want to thank all the RSG'ers for their enthusiastic support and willingness to learn something new. To our hosts, thank you , everything was fantastic and we look forward to hosting you when you come to St. Maarten. To our St. Dominic Kids, thank you for being shining examples of our school and St. Maarten in general.

Let me know what you thought of the Capoeira workshops today? was it harder or easier than you thought it would be?

-Mr. T

Workshop Day # 2: Dance!!

2009-04-22T10:59:00.001-07:00

Oh Po Slave, Oh oh Slave....Oh Po Slave....
Work Vi ! Work Vi!
Work Vi! Work Vi! Work Vi! Work Vi!

Those are words that everyone knows now after a wonderful day of dance workshops given by Miss Arlene Halley. Ekta, Lisa, Hasib and Hazel led the classes through the movement as they were explained and reinforced by a very enthusiasitc Miss Halley.

As a slightly-biased observer, I must say the kids from RSG blew me away with their enthusiasm, especially the 2nd group. They really did well in the Ponum and were great when it came around to the solos. Some of them even came back for a second class during their free period!

After that we still had some time for some hip-shaking merengue!!!!! Suavemente by Elvis Crespo proved to be a very popular song here in Holland as well as all the students and teachers recognized it and were up to the task. Some were a bit hesitant to partner up with members of the dreaded opposite sex, but eventually they all got a chance to dance....(even Mr. T and Mrs. Belzer got in on the action).

After the class was over , some students even spent their entire recess learning some breakdance and capoeira steps, and danced to some other local Caribbean music with the sounds of "Hot and Groovy" and "Feel da Rush" filling the auditorium.

But finally it was time to go, one more day of workshops ahead. Keep the energy going guys!

What did you think of the dance workshops? Do you remember where the merengue comes from? Let us know your perspective! Blog away!

-Mr. T

Workshop Day # 1 : The way we play sports at St.Dominic

2009-04-21T07:41:00.001-07:00

Today Mrs. Belzer gave our first workshop of the week. She definitely set the standard for the rest of the week. She explained how because of the lack of (Sport) facilities at St. Dominic High, we spent a lot of time playing "games" that don't require much additional material. Ekta, Hazel, and Lisa together with Mrs. Belzer all introduced the games and split the classes up into groups. Hasib was right at home explaining the nuances of Cricket to the RSG'ers. We had a GREAT time! Earlier in the day the St. Maarten delegation also took part in some traditional dances after a short demonstration by the Dutch students. A moment of spontaneous bonding occurred when Lisa recognized a hip hop dance choreography and joined in seamlessly with the RSG girls.
How was your day today? Let us know what the workshop experience was like for you by reacting to this blog post!

-Mr. T

LINKS!

2009-04-20T12:13:00.001-07:00

Ask and you shall receive!
Look to the right -->
You will find links to the Weblog of RSG as well as the KANS project and St. Dominic High websites.
You will also find links providing more information about the topics we covered in the presentation today: Dance on St. Maarten and Capoeira.
Enjoy! be sure to leave comments by the videos and to leave reactions here at the blog!
-Mr. T

Introduction To Workshops : success!

2009-04-20T11:43:00.000-07:00

Today we (the teachers) gave powerpoint presentations detailing our plans for the week. It was very well received. Some classes were more rowdy than others, but in general everyone was well behaved and seemed genuinely interested. The St. Maarten students did a great job presenting and made quite the impression on the students here in Holland. Unfortunately they were still a bit shy and therefore could not properly demonstrate a "st. maarten wuk-up", (*cough cough* Lisa ), but I'm sure they'll do better during Wednesday's workshops.

After the presentation we all sat and watched some short videos made by the RSG'ers and we were all entertained and impressed. They did a great job! Some traditional dutch songs rounded things up and we headed off for the day, eager to return to start the actual workshops.

Let us know what you thought of the presentations today......

Mr. T

Welcome!

2009-04-18T14:45:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone. On this blogspot,you can follow the experiences of the students taking part in the KANS project 2009. This site is set up by the students of the 2nd form of St. Dominic High, St.Maarten. The theme this year is "Cultural Diversity: A Timeline", and therefore the site will continually be updated with videos, posts and pictures relating to this theme.

Check back soon for more info!!

Just in case this is your first time blogging, here's how to post. If you want to post a new topic, click above at the navbar on " new post". If you want to react to a previous post, just click on the comments link under the topic