Tody we had a very early start to the day. We were picked up at 7.15am to be in schools for 8am. School starts at 8am every morning and finishes at 2pm. The day is split up into half hour sessions. One thing they told me was that every Friday they don't have to wear school uniform as they bring in 1 Rand towards fundraising.
I was priviledged enough to observe a Grade 6 class (Year 6) today having an English lesson. This was followed by a visit to a Grade 4 class (Year 4) where the children had an African cultures lesson where they cover drama, dance, music and visual arts. I loved it! Here are some of their projects on building houses in the traditional african way.
A special part of the visit to school was meeting the Soulbuddyz. This is a group of children, a little like our School Council, who meet voluntarily after school from Monday to Thursday. They have a programme to follow which focuses on social issues such as drugs, health awareness, bullying etc. The children discuss the issues and then they complete tasks to communicate their understanding. By doing this they collect points which go towards an annual total. They won the national competition last year and were able to renovate the school toilets.
After school had finished we were taken to the Hector Pieterson museum and Nelson Mandela House. This was a very moving experience as the sister of Hector Pieterson, a 13 year old boy who was killed in the protest on 16th June 1976, explained the events of the day.
This is a picture of the bedroom of Nelson Mandela and his favourite portrait of himself.
Tomorrow there is a strike protest and so we are unable to go into schools. What tomorrow brings is a big surprise.
Take care everyone,
love Mrs Narraway xx
Hi, It has been raining today and on Monday morning we woke up to frost! So enjoy the beautiful weather whilst you can!!
ReplyDeleteMy favourite animal is a lion. Have you seen any? Mr Ridings x
Hello Mrs Narraway!
ReplyDeleteWe all enjoy reading your blog and finding out about our link school in South Africa and hearing about your experiences. The children were so pleased to see their messages and to read your replies. They have given me another set of questions to ask you today! My question is: what do the children do after school has finished? Are there any after school activities apart from School Buddyz? Hope you have another fun and interesting day tomorrow! Mrs Urmston x
I really love the African houses activity. Our year three children have been learning about Viking houses- I wonder if they can do something similar? Mr Duckett told our governors about the Robin art you are going to complete for our PAN exhibition-they reallly liked that idea! Enjoy school tomorrow. Give my love to everyone. X
ReplyDeleteSorry about the delay with Year 4's questions - my computer crashed halfway through inputting them, so I will try again!
ReplyDeleteHi, How is class 4? Josh
Were the crocs scary? George
What do they use to make the houses? Molly
How many animals did you see? How long was the safari? Miss you! Carla
How do they travel? Alex
What is your favourite part of all? By the way I miss you! Mia
Hello Mrs Narraway, What time is it in South Africa compared to the time in the UK? James
Mrs Narraway, What was the most weird animal that you have seen so far? What did the worms taste like? Kim
What did the dried worms taste like and what did they feel like? Taylor
Hi Mrs Narraway, How are you doing? Why are the teachers on strike? What are the names of the houses they were building? love Millie
I miss you loads! Is Africa an interesting place? Is the hotel comfortable? Love Beth x
How many children have been greeting you? Why is there a strike? I miss you loads and loads love Holly xxx
Are you enjoying the wildlife? What museum did you encounter? Have a good time, from your best memories (?) Adam W
Dear Mrs Narraway, are the children planning on writing back some letters? I miss you! Millie
Why did the teachers go on strike? Where is your hotel? What's the highest temperature you are witnessing? Ben
Hi, are you having a great time? What was in the museum? see you soon. Morgan Mc
Why is your favourite animal a giraffe? Clara