Angela Drijvers succumbs to
illness in the Netherlands
~Wescot-Williams expresses condolences~
PHILIPSBURG--The education system was plunged into mourning over the weekend when news spread that former Sundial School Director Angela Drijvers had passed away in the Netherlands, after a brief period of illness.
Drijvers had served the island’s education system for 36 years.
In a press release on Saturday, Education Commissioner Sarah Wescot-Williams said Drijvers passed away early Saturday morning in the Netherlands, “where she was taken for medical treatment.”
The Commissioner said she was deeply saddened by Drijvers passing. “In addition to having known Angela for many years in her capacity as teacher and later directress of Sundial school, Angela’s family and mine lived next door to each other on the island of Aruba. After returning to St. Maarten, we both eventually ended up residing not too far from each another in Cole Bay. Our children have grown up together and have remained friends, even as adults, all having families of their own.”
The Commissioner said Drijvers had visited her shortly before she took ill to speak to her about an idea she had for an educational institution, similar to a middle school for children leaving elementary school. “The late Mrs. Drijvers had developed this idea along with several parents of Sr. Regina School, where she assisted students with reading. While she had retired from teaching, education and the youth of St. Maarten had remained concerns of hers.
“My condolences, those of my family and of the Democratic Party, go out to Mr. Drijvers, Patrick and Ervin and their families as well as the wider family of the late Angela Drijvers. May you find comfort and strength in your faith and in each another,” Wescot-Williams said.
Drijvers, who was crowned “the building principal,” during her many years at Sundial, had helped shaped many future leaders in the classroom and had worked arduously to develop Sundial School to its highest potential during her years in education.
St. Maarten born Drijvers, who held the post of Sundial Principal for 10 of the 35 years she had spent at the school, was educated in Aruba and Holland and began her journey at Sundial as a sewing teacher shortly after she returned to her homeland St. Maarten in 1970. She had just completed her tertiary education and one year of teaching at the School for Home Economics in Aruba.
Sundial school developed tremendously over the years with Drijvers at its helm.
According to current Sundial directress Ms. Mireya Regales, the school will dedicate Monday May 26 to informative sessions on the passing of the late Angela Drijvers and reflection on her life. Parents who usually pick up their children are asked to do so at 10 o’clock in the morning when these sessions are scheduled to end. However, due to legal restrictions, exams will proceed as scheduled.
