An additional school year after COVID-19
An extra year Desperate teachers approached me for an emergency meeting. Again, through 2 years of Covid we are having problems with our students. This time it is the 1st grade. Their education has been so low for the past 2 years that it is impossible for the teachers to cram even part of the […]
A musical sidestep
Djuna was in town. That probably means nothing to you, but it meant a lot to me and to the students and teachers at the school. Djuna is my very talented granddaughter and sings in the Dutch National Choir. She stayed with me for 3 months and in addition to some traveling and some work […]
Having fun while learning about the area
A school trip, it does not happen every year and it is something very special for our students at the school. Two buses full left for the highlands to enjoy the trip and learn more about their area. As students of a tourism course, they should be able to explain to you, their guests, why […]
Three days on the trail with the Boy Scouts
Do you ever think that today’s youth are too dependent on all the luxuries around them? Although our students’ lives are a lot simpler than those of their Western counterparts, the teachers in the school felt it necessary to test their self-reliance and independence by having all the students camp in the field behind the […]
Building self-confidence with Elfin Moningka
For the third time, an old friend, Elfin Moningkay, gave a workshop for the 1st and 2nd grade students of Senior high school. Self-confidence, public speaking, body posture were some of the topics covered. Definitely skills that will help them in the future.
A new roof was sorely needed!
Thanks to all of you, our sponsors and various donations, our foundation was able to save enough money to finally solve the problem of the leaking roof of the main building. Now we can paint the building and ceilings again in the next project. Thank you so much!
Beach clean up with our students
For those of our friends who regularly see our life streams, the following is not news. For everyone else, the following brief success story. Behind Thalassa Dive & Wellbeing resort Manado is an area where shrimp are farmed. A low dam keeps the water in which the shrimp are farmed separated from the sea, provided […]
Dutch class!
The Indonesian government has introduced its new curriculum for Senior High School called “Merdeka” (Independence), allowing schools more flexibility in what to teach. As a result, I was asked to teach Dutch in both 3rd grade classes (Hotel and Diving/Tour). That was fun. When you start learning something you’ve known since you were a child, […]
Diploma ceremony 2022
In June 2022, the third grade graduated, our “Covid generation. The group that had no opportunity to gain work experience and therefore less chance of finding a job. For the diving class, we had agreed that they would do an internship for 3-6 months before looking for a “normal” job, which the whole class agreed […]
Annual Bunaken Snorkeling Tour!
Again this year there was the traditional snorkeling trip from Tongkaina on the mainland to the island of Bunaken. All participants were loudly encouraged by Thalassa guests Wim and Désirée. The snorkeling trip was captured by Wim, and in the video below (fast forward to 07:54) Arjen and Simone report on it.
