Week 4

Hi This week has been interesting too. On Tuesday there was the programme review for VSO.  This was a 5 hour long meeting with the head teachers and staff that Roisin has worked with, looking at the impact she has had on their schools and the value she has given to them.  We also looked at what they wanted to do in the future.

I was invited to some joint training at the TTC (Teacher Training College) in Kibungo  (in the South)  with Denis Walls who is doing the ELA role in that district until December.  I left Musanze at 4pm on Tuesday evening to travel to Kigali (2 hrs) then on to Kibungo (3 hours).  The training was held in the TTC at RAZA sector.  The room was very large and with lots of visual aids for the teachers to see.  29 Head teachers and teachers attended the training.  Jen (the TTC teacher) taught a model lesson covering the four areas of speaking and listening, reading and writing.  This was combined with using a text book.  Something we are very used to but they are not.  We then looked at different strategies for involving all the pupils in the lesson using visual aids as well as games, memory games, card sort activities, and pure visual aids which can be used in a number of different ways.  The whole day was interesting and as usual there were fantas and mandazi’s (a kind of dough ball) for break time.  The journey to Kibungo took me 5 hours in all so a long way to go but it was a great day.  I travelled back on Thursday morning. 

Thursday from 10.30am onwards it rained all day and has been raining today (Friday) from about 11 this morning too.  This morning I went to Kiryi school to meet with all the teachers and then to plan and teach some lessons with them.  Again this was well received.   The Head teacher and other teachers at the school are very keen to learn and delighted that I had decided to work with them.  We have arranged a training session for their staff and the staff of two other schools on 2 November at Muhoza II school.