A student engages in conversation with a vendor at the Taaldorp.
Minister Irion interacts with a student during his interview with a vendor.
EBENEZER--St. Maarten Academy PSVE hosted its first-ever Taaldorp (Dutch Village) organised by its Dutch Department on Thursday, February 27.
For this event, the Dutch Department and prepared forms 1 and 2 students to demonstrate fluency in the use of the Dutch language. All form 1 and 2 students were required to meander through several simulated scenarios, having conversations in Dutch as the target language for which grades were awarded by Dutch language facilitators, said Academy on Monday.
Academy PSVE Principal Lavern Nelson, applauded the hard work of Coordinator of the “Dutch Village” Dutch language teacher Sherida Mak and her coordinating team for making this school initiative a resounding success. Nelson acknowledged the invaluable collective contribution of the Dutch Department – Head of Department Berdona Daminie, Monique Beek, Sheriva Welch and Tania Gordon – as a team for the project’s success.
Nelson expressed her appreciation for school board’s vision of intensifying instruction in the Dutch language at the school this school year, resulting in the event.
“For the 2019-2020 school year, the board of directors of the Foundation for Academic and Vocational Education (FAVE), under the leadership of Roland Duncan, has intensified the Dutch programme at the vocational campus, facilitating a low student-to-teacher ratio, allowing fewer students in Dutch classes throughout the school,” said Academy. “The resulting smaller classes for Dutch enable teachers to spend more time with students individually to facilitate learning needs of students.”
The school said the ultimate goal of the Dutch language intensification is to produce students who are proficient and fluent in spoken and written Dutch, and ultimately improve the school’s overall performance on the external Dutch examinations.
Invited guests in attendance at the Dutch Village were Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams; Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Ardwell Irion; FAVE Chairman Roland Duncan; past Principal Solange Duncan; and other distinguished guests.
