Rijksdienst Caribisch Nederland OCW

ENGLISH WHAT’S NEW ... IN CARIBBEAN EDUCATION

December 2015 5 Number 5 Colophon Introducing ... A day with ... Nastasha van Simone van Hengstum 2 7 den Heuvel-Rach 13

Preface Interview The year 2015 3 Nolly Oleana 8 From Hans to Nolly 14 Highlights CONTENTS

Rock & Water Transition to English SCS students Training on Saba at Job Fair 4 10 English training trajectory 16

News in brief Column

Complaints Emergency Day 6 Procedure CN 11 in place

News in brief Festive graduation at the SCS New at RCN/OCW: Rosa Hoes 6 12 TRAINING FOR PARTICIPATION COUNCILS SCHOOLS

The participation councils (MRs) of the schools on Saba, St. Eustatius and recently went through an advanced training. The purpo-

This magazine is a publication of RCN/OCW and aims to provide se of this training was to deepen and strengthen background information about education developments to education the knowledge and skills of the MR-members professionals in the and to offer a platform for where necessary. the exchange of knowledge and experience between the islands. The topics dealt with included verbal versus non-verbal Editorial team: Elaine Marchena (final) editing, Janita Monna communication, listening skills, argumentation and ne- Column: Johannes de Vlugt gotiation. The programme also included an evaluation Photography: Wilma Böhm, Staysly Goilo, Rens van der Hammen, of the way participation is developing and which chal- Shanell Heyliger, Elaine Marchena, Janita Monna, Marika Ringnalda, lenges the councils are encountering in their work. This Felicia Schuette, Adam Watkins, Wim de Visser differs per school. Design: I-Design, Ivonne Zegveld Printing: Printgarden The training was conducted by Marco Sikkel and Al- phons de Lange of the knowledge- and service centre Do you want to react to the contents of this magazine or CAOP which specialises in labour affairs. In 2014 parti- do you have suggestions or contributions for a next edition? cipation was implemented at the schools in the Carib- Please send an e-mail to: [email protected] bean Netherlands on a limited level and the current MR-

COLOPHON Copy for the next edition should be sent in before March 25th 2016. council members have been active for one year.

2 Nolly Oleana Head of Department RCN/OCW

It is my pleasure, as Hans Kuilder’s successor, to Students’ social-emotional development is one of the introduce this educational magazine from now on. In aspects that traditionally is not sufficiently recognized that context, I also refer you to the double interview in education. To provide teachers with the tools for with Hans Kuilder and myself, elsewhere in this issue. guiding the social-emotional development of PO But there’s still a major change in the leadership at RCN/ and VO students, the EC2 Expertise Centre Education OCW to report: Rosa Hoes, in addition to being the new Care organised a Rock & Water Training this past study finance coordinator, is also the new deputy head year: a concept that has now become well known and of RCN/OCW. And last, but certainly not least, in the “An recognised internationally. PREFACE Introduction” section you can become acquainted with the new director of EOZ Bonaire: Natasha Rach. In this edition you can read, unfortunately for the last time, the column from PO school coach John de Vlugt. And the great news is that this year a total of nine I hereby want to extend my sincerest thanks to John, educational institutions have achieved the basic quality both for his great columns and for his contributions to level! The successful ones this time are the Bethel PO education on the Windward Islands. I wish him much Methodist School, the Lynch Plantation SDA school success in his future career. and the Expertise Centre Education Care (ECE) on St. Eustatius, the Sacred Heart School, the secondary Also in this magazine, attention is given to the Saba education stream of the Saba Comprehensive School, Comprehensive School, which this year again achieved a the Expertise Centre EC2 and the Saba Reach Foundation 100% graduation rate: hereby a big congratulations for on Saba and Kolegio Rayo di Solo and Kolegio Kristu Bon this great achievement! Wardador on Bonaire. Via this magazine I congratulate these institutions for reaching this milestone and I thank the school teams involved for their dedication and commitment. But the institutions that partly obtained basic quality also deserve to be complimented: keep up the good work and hopefully it’s your turn next time!

At the end of this successful year and the start of a new year, RCN/OCW thanks you for the trust you have placed in us and for your great cooperation. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

3 Photo: Adam Watkins

www.rotsenwater.nl

Assertiveness and effective anti-bullying programme

The group during one of the many practical exercises. The trainers (with the orange shirts), DURING THE PAST YEAR THE EXPERTISE CENTRE EDUCATION CARE SABA f.l.t.r.: Freerk Ykema, Jelline Ykema and Bram Schenkelaars. (EC2) ORGANISED A ROCK & WATER TRAINING FOR STAFF OF THE SCHOOLS AND OTHER PARTNER ORGANISATIONS SUCH AS THE AFTER-SCHOOL CARE CENTRE AND CHILD FOCUS ON SABA. THE TRAINING TOOK PLACE IN THE GYMNASIUM IN ST. JOHN’S AND WAS CONDUCTED BY FREERK books or a grade given for behaviour and motivation. YKEMA, WHO DEVELOPED THIS TRAINING. THE AIM OF THE ROCK & In the Rock & Water programme teachers learn how to WATER TRAINING IS TO STRENGTHEN CHILDREN’S PERSONAL AND SOCIAL create a safe environment for the children at their school.” DEVELOPMENT. WHAT’S IMPORTANT IN THIS TRAINING IS THE FACT THAT EVERY PERSON SHOULD BE ABLE, DEPENDING ON THE SITUATION, TO Physical approach POSITION THEMSELVES TO BE RESILIENT AND STRONG - LIKE A ROCK - OR That’s why EC2 chose to introduce this course on Saba. The INSTEAD TO BE COMMUNICATIVE, FLEXIBLE AND ACCOMMODATING - first day of the course was intended for the 31 professionals LIKE WATER - IN ORDER TO WORK AND PLAY TOGETHER WITH OTHERS from all educational and youth organisations on Saba to AND TO COEXIST. become acquainted with the Rock & Water approach. Subsequently there was a two-day train-the-trainer course for a total of 15 faculty and staff from the Laura Linzey Daycare Centre, the Sacred Heart School (primary “In both primary and secondary education we are seeing education), the Saba Comprehensive School, the Saba Re- more and more social-emotional issues,” says Jet Heijnsber- ach Foundation (Social Opportunity Pathways for youth), gen, EC2’s director. This can manifest itself in various forms the Centre for Youth & Family, the Body, Mind and Spirit of behaviour. While one child may develop into a “bully”, Foundation and EC2. the other child might suffer from insecurity, quickly isolating himself or behaving selfishly. Jet explains: “At the core of The Rock & Water programme follows psychophysical tea- every child’s well-being is the feeling of safety. Where safety ching methods: starting with a physical approach, including is lacking, violence can occur.” lots of physical exercises and mental and social skills are taught and learned. The choice of this teaching method The starting point of the Rock & Water programme is for is based on the fact that boys in particular are physically every child to use his or her own strength and to learn the oriented. Jet: “They have a tremendous amount of energy social skills needed to feel safe and be able to fully develop that they want to get rid of and more often than girls, they as a person. This can not be easily taught in school with text- have difficulty verbalising their thoughts, emotions and

‘What’s New?’ december 2015

4 For more information about ‘Rock & Water Training’ visit our website: www.rotsenwater.nl ROCK & WATER TRAINING ON SABA MORE ABOUT THE ROCK & WAT