CUL DE SAC:---- Governor of St. Maarten His Excellency drs. Eugene Holiday recently paid a special visit to St. Maarten Academy as part of his efforts to familiarize students on the role of civic responsibility and pride in St. Maarten.
Governor Holiday arrived at the Academy and was greeted by the principal, drs. Tallualah Baly-Vanterpool, staff and students during a special assembly. He was treated to renditions by the Academy school band and a dance by the CXC examination students who are currently being prepared by the National Institute of the Arts (NIA).
Drs. Baly-Vanterpool in welcoming the Governor to the St. Maarten Academy stated that “we are blessed to have a governor who has education close to his heart” and that “we are left feeling more enriched by his visit as he always imparts some knowledge. Today he would be teaching the CAPE students about civic responsibility.”
The Governor shared a message with the student body by encouraging them to know their talents and that their imagination could lead them to success. The lesson for the day was the parable of the talents and third former Kai Morton shared a poem entitled “Your imagination can lead to success.” The governor saw it fitting to reiterate the messages that both the parable and the poem espoused as he ensured that students were made aware that they all had talents and that they could “actualize and visualize their success.”
After the special assembly, he was then escorted to the library where he met with the Honour Roll students. Governor Holiday later gave a lecture to the CAPE students about civic responsibility. He shared with them several fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to life; to live in freedom, especially freedom from inhumane and humiliating treatment; the right to privacy and a home; freedom of religion; the right to an education and of association; the right to equal treatment and to vote; and freedom of expression. During the interactive session, he fielded questions from students on various aspects of the topic. He also spoke about how he was able to get selected for the job and his life experiences.
Governor Holiday said the students are the future of St. Maarten and that he “was very much impressed at their level of work and enthusiasm for learning” as was evidenced by his visits to various departments. He was also impressed by the CAPE Digital Media students on the creation of their website to reduce paper-based information and their photography skills seen in the work displayed. He was treated to a hologram in the CAPE physic class and was also able to see a “hair-raising” experiment using electricity.
His Excellency subsequently showed his artistic bent by producing a screen printing sample in Art class; this he signed. His talk of being an excellent athlete was also put to the test as he was given the opening serve to start off the exhibition volleyball game between the national representatives for St. Maarten and a male team.
The Governor is the representative of His Majesty the King in St. Maarten. The Constitution gives him certain responsibilities which include oversight for external affairs, defense and internal security, administration of the Courts, and good governance of the country.
