Joseph Toussaint, a student from the St. Dominic High School is the winner of the 2010 Black History Celebration quiz, said the Conscious Lyrics Foundation (CLF).
The prize was presented on Saturday, March 13, at the Blue Point electronics store on the WJA Nisbeth Road. Blue Point was a main contributor of the quiz prizes.
"Once it is for the students of St. Martin we are willing to make our contribution," said Blue Point manager Naresh Vaswani.
Toussaint, a third form student, scored the highest among the 117 participating students. The four high schools that participated in the quiz were Lycée des Iles du Nord, St. Maarten Academy, St. Dominic High School, and Learning Unlimited, said Shujah Reiph, president of CLF.
"Joseph is very studious," said Marie Richardson, assistant principal at the St. Dominic High School. Richardson coordinated the BHC quiz at her school.
A happy Toussaint walked away with a Toshiba laptop computer, a laptop bag and 2GB jump drive, all valuing over $900. "I’m very thankful to Blue Point electronic store, Artsen Service Station, Erick Ambulance, Kwik Bargain, Philipsburg Jubilee, Library, Orlean’s Grocery and Cul de Sac Grocery, for supporting this annual Conscious Lyrics project," said Reiph.
The students had to answer 26 multiple-choice questions, identifying St. Martin national symbols, dating events in history, naming historical personalities around the world, and outlining the geographic location of countries involved in the Black Diaspora.
"The trickiest question for me was the one on who was the founder of the Beach Islander department store, it was tough to decide between Irad Doncher and Vincent Doncher," said Toussaint.
The prize giving brought to a close the 19th annual Black History Celebration. CLF is very pleased with the support we got this year and looking forward to a bigger celebration for the twentieth anniversary in 2011, said Reiph.