Minister of Education, Culture, Youth Affairs and Sports Hon. Silveria Jacobs, met with Chairman of the Lions Quest Programme Wally Havertong, President of the Lions Club Richard Boyd and Lions Quest Commitee member Oralie Boirard, on Tuesday September 26th 2012.
The Lions Club have approached the Minister to discuss her possible endorsement of their programme: Lions Quest.
The St. Maarten Lions Club will be launching their Lions Quest programme entitled "Skills for Growing" for afterschool programmes and other non-school entities.
The programme is designed to equip educators with current research, materials and strategies for addressing critical issues facing youth.
Trained programme instructors can help foster in young people important life skills, healthy attitudes, strong character, positive relationships, and active citizenship, through easy-to-use classroom materials, superior professional development, and important community partnerships.
Five schools with the Community After school programme and the four after school Programmes will initially take part in the training. Each school will provide four persons for the training. The public schools will have at least 35 teachers trained to be able to implement the programme.
The Minister sees this program as a positive initiative from the community by way of the Lions Club as a service group. It is also in keeping with the Vision of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport.
The Minister therefore commends the Lions Club for bringing this Lions Quest Programme to St. Maarten and endorses the programme, as a start to being able to implement community schools in all the other schools on St. Maarten.
The St. Maarten Lions Club through its own fundraising projects and its corporate sponsors will be able to fully finance the project. The aim is to start the programme in February 2013.