Oh look! Yet another incredible sunset!

International Education Week Part 2

So this week Daisy and I have continued with the theme of 'International Education Week'. We got our kids to finish their letters and their drawings, which are now stacked in two neat piles ready to be sent off to England this afternoon. We asked some of our more switched on learners to also write thank you notes to the school that send Daisy the amazing parcels - inevitably, a couple of them were absolutely adorable to read.

Once we had finished doing the letters and drawings with a class we asked them to think about why education is important. We did this by literally writing 'why is education important?' on the board and making them come up with ten points to answer.





At first they just stared at us blankly, apparently dumbfounded at the question (we realised afterwards that they've probably never been asked, or had to consider such a question). So we tried a different tactic, asking them why they come to school. 'To learn Miss' was the usual answer. 'But why do you learn?' we asked them. Silence once again.

'Miss! Capture a picture of my work!'

But finally, after a few suggestions, a lot of hints and a vigorous prod in the right direction they finally began to come up with some ideas. We let the children come up and write their ideas on the board themselves - something they seemed to find very exciting.






Once the children had come up with their ten ideas we pointed out to them that these were the things they had to remember every time they were fed up with school. When they couldn't be bothered to come to school, or to go to study period, or to revise for an exam, they had to remember that these were all the things that they are working towards, getting a job, buying nice things for themselves and having the means to support their families (which seems to be very important to them).

Daisy showing the kids pictures of England

 Daisy and I then  talked to our learners about the main differences between education in England and education in Namibia. Things that they found the most shocking were as follows:

Photos of our photos are very entertaining!

1.) In England all children in the Year are the same age - in Namibia ages can vary widely as some children may have repeatedly failed Grades
2.) In England all children have to wear exactly the same uniform (if they go to a uniform wearing school)
3.) In England it is normal for a child to get a completely new pencil case every year
4.) In England, if it snows, you can get time off school!!!

We then let the children ask us questions about schools in England. We were asked to describe our school uniforms, sing our School Anthem - which we tried to explain don't really exist in England, and were asked to sing our National Anthem. One of the most difficult questions we were repeatedly asked was 'how many schools are there in England?' to which we could only reply 'lots and lots!'




Inevitably we ended up talking about things which had nothing to do with school or education, and were instead asked questions like 'how many televisions do you have in your house?' and 'have you ever ridden in a donkey car?' But Daisy and I didn't mind. The children were finally asking us questions and at least half the class was actually engaged and interested in what we were saying! Apparently miracles do happen!

Christmas has come early to Tses!

Much to Sachi's irritation, Daisy and I have decided to celebrate Christmas early. Making Christmas cards for all our family members (which have now all been posted), as well as hearing stories from home of Christmas cakes being made and snow, seems to have put us in the festive mood.













Since we're not in Tses for December (we break up from school on the 29th and leave Tses on the 30th) we decided that there was no harm in celebrating Christmas a couple of weeks early. So I have been busy making paper chains out of all the scrap pieces of paper we've somehow managed to collect over the course of this term. They now hang under all the door frames and windows :D Daisy also made this amazing 3D star which takes pride of place in the center of our front room (I definitely need to learn how to make one of those before I go home).


We also spent a vast amount of time at the weekend making and colouring in a paper Christmas tree (I've managed to resist the temptation of buying a waist high, fake white and pink one in Keetmans! ). Decorated with baubles, stars and bows (all made out of paper I should point out) we have now stuck it to one of our walls. Underneath we are putting our empty parcels that loving family members send to us, so that we can feel like we actually have some Christmas presents.

The Christmas songs have now been downloaded and are played at full volume while Daisy and I sing along - much to the amusement of the secondary kids. The only thing that's missing (besides the traditional essentials such as family, Christmas cake, family, Christmas food, family, snow and family etc.) is TINSEL! Which for me is truly a crisis. My love of tinsel knows no bounds! Maybe i'll have to buy some in Keetmans next time we're there :P

Disclaimer

I have been given a gentle reminder by Project Trust that I need to have a disclaimer on my blog, basically so they don't get in trouble if I say something that I shouldn't. So here it is...

This blog is a personal blog written by Hebe Barlow. As such the views expressed in this blog are those of Hebe Barlow and not those of Project Trust.

Fun in the sun

It's amazing how entertained Daisy and I can make ourselves with next to nothing. For example, using a breath-taking sunset to take a variety of photos both beautiful and funny. I'm not sure if this simply proves our immaturity or whether we're simply geniuses at keeping ourselves entertained!

The beginning of a breath-taking evening

Trying to steal the sun?

Now she's trying to eat it!!!

Oh look! The moon!

My gymnastic skills have not improved with age

Developing my career as a peeping tom

So pretty

My mugshot collection continues

Cool lines in the clouds!

It's amazing how much the colours can change in one evening

Our mountain

The sky is on fire!

International Education Week

This upcoming week it is 'Internation Education Week'. However, our kids are also starting their exams this week so we had to celebrate it a week early - not that they minded! Daisy and are I both hoping to set up a pen friend system with my old school and a primary school in Daisy's village and so we decided to incorporate it into the weeks theme.

Since the majority of our children simply cannot write we gave them the choice of either writing a letter, drawing a picture or doing both. The children that decided to write were handed a list of ten questions which we wanted them to address in their letters. They were:






1.) What is your name?
2.) How old are you?
3.) What Grade are you in?
4.) Where do you live?
5.) Do you have any brothers and sisters?
6.) What is your favourite subject?
7.) What is your favourite sport?
8.) What is your favourite tv series/ movie/ singer
9.) What is your favourite thing about Namibia?
10.) Do you have any questions about England?




Inevitably there was a range in levels of ability in the letters. Some of the children wrote brilliant letters, and were truly interesting, while some simply wrote one word answers. But oh well, hopefully receiving a proper letter from an English child will make them a bit more enthusiastic next time!





The children that drew pictures were told that they had to draw pictures related to Namibia. They were absolutely delighted by the animal stencils I provided them. There were five of them to begin with, two lions, a monkey, a giraffe and an elephant.

Unfortunately one boy thought it would be hilarious to rip one of the stencils up and so sadly Mr Elephant is no longer with us in this world (although I may try CPR with some cellotape!) But it was lovely seeing them actually getting enthusiastic about their work. Drawing really seems to be popular here!


So Daisy and I now just need to collect in the last few bits of work, and then hopefully we can send all the letters and drawings off to the two schools next Friday. Not a bad weeks work if I do say so myself :)

Prestige awards

Last week Novak Primary School held their 'Prestige Awards', an awards ceremony to celebrate the academic achievements of the children throughout both the lower and upper primary school. It was held in the Roman Catholic Hall (which is also the dining room for the primary hostel).

It was brilliant to see so many of our kids there - they got an award if they achieve a Grade B or above in one or more subjects. And to our delight there were absolutely loads of family members supporting the kids - something which doesn't really happen around here.






I took up my usual role as paparazzi (much to the children's delight). Daisy and I had to process into the hall along with the rest of the teachers, following behind the tiny, and completely adorable lower primary choir. Watching them try to walk while stopping their hats from falling off their heads was admittedly pretty hilarious. I had to resist picking them up randomly and giving them a big hug just because they were so adorable!

So we sat and listened to the speeches from the principle and various teachers. There was even a speech from an ex-pupil who had managed to achieve just A's throughout her time at school and then went on to get an amazing job and even (if I understood what she was saying correctly) was crowned as 'Miss Namibia'. One of our learners turned around in his seat half way through the speech and informed us with the biggest, proudest grin on his face that that was his big sister.



So we watched as our children were called up onto the stage, clapped and cheered (particularly loudly for our favourite learners, even though that's probably not technically allowed). Afterwards we chatted to some of them and gave our congratulations, and of course inevitably many of them begged for me to 'catch a photo' of them with their certificates.