Students and staff of the St. Maarten Academy School unveiled a brand new school sign on the school premises last Friday.
The unveiling ceremony took place in the company of members of the school board, members of the Parent Teachers Association (PTA), Principal, Mr. Shareed Hussein and TelEm Group Manager, Marketing and Sales, Mrs. Carmen Lake-Reyes.
The TelEm Group representative said the company upgraded the school’s dilapidated sign following a request by the school’s PTA.
"We also took the opportunity to upgrade the school’s internet service and increased bandwidth by providing 4MB of high-speed DSL internet for use throughout the school facility," said Mrs. Lake-Reyes.
She said although the internet service is being provided free of charge as a contribution towards youth education on St. Maarten, students and teaching staff are however urged to use the service responsibly and safely.
During Friday’s unveiling ceremony, School board representative, and Education Coordinator/Adviser FAVE, Mr. Roberto Arrindell, thanked all stakeholders who collaborated towards the new sign project, especially TelEm Group, whom he said, "responded positively to the call of the PTA."
"First impressions are important, therefore the sponsorship of a new school sign is highly appreciated and it will say a lot about our school," said Mr. Arrindell.
The board representative encouraged the PTA to continue to implement projects and programs that build positive partnerships with teachers, businesses and family, at the same time connecting parents to their children’s school experiences and giving children fun ways to share what they are learning and doing in class and with their families.
School principal, Mr. Hussein thanked TelEm Group for providing free internet to the school saying that speeds have been greatly improved to develop a valuable learning tool for students and staff.
He agreed with the sentiment of Mr. Arrindell that education of the youth should be a shared responsibility between families, schools and the community.