Here at Sakeji excitement is running high and energy is running low. It’s not the students I refer to but the staff. This morning, just before lunch the ‘lorry’ (truck) pulled in loaded down with our boxes from the Canadian container (which was shipped in October). Christmas has come! Unfortunately it means a full day (especially for the men) of sorting boxes and hauling them to the appropriate buildings. Many hands were required for unpacking the food order to ensure it had all arrived and was put away in it’s proper place. Yay! We’ll get fed for another term or two. :)
It was quite exciting to see them loading up the back of a pick-up truck with all the boxes that were headed to my house and even more exciting as they arrived and I started to peek through them. But the novelty quickly wore off as I started having to weigh them all and record how much they way and check the numbers to see if they have all arrived yet. When I left my house t 2pm to return to class they had not all arrived yet, but I’m hoping they’ll be there when I go down after prep today. Just 10 more minutes! Then the fun begins. Ripping into the boxes to see what’s inside. Most of them shouldn’t be a surprise as I packed them at my house (see blogs in October) but some of them I haven’t seen before so it’ll be a nice surprise. Thanks SO much in advance to those of you who packed and shipped boxes. I’m sure I’ll enjoy everything inside. I’ll have pictures up next post.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Thursday, February 17, 2011
boosters are no fun!
Tuesday I had the wonderful priviledge of getting a rabies booster. It was totally different from the last one I got which was inter-muscular. This one was more like a TB test where it just goes under the skin. It "pinched" a bit going in, but that was it. I was told that it might get itchy so was quite impressed with myself when it wasn't bothering me at all... until this morning. Today I woke up with a large red slightly swollen circle on my arm that is INSANELY itchy at times. of course, like anything really itchy, I'm not allowed to scratch it! :( so instead i've scratched away all the skin everywhere BUT the place that's itchy hoping it will somehow help... of course it doesn't. The grade one students, who got the needle at the same time as me (most of whom were quite brave about it) seem to be having no problems. i asked if they were itchy and they said "no" and seemed to think it was quite amusing that mine was. how fair is that?!
other then that not too much is going on. mark ronald headed down to the copper belt to help pack a truck with some of the container boxes and will be bringing some back with him when he returns this weekend. the stuff he'll be bringing will most likely be food stuffs for the kichen, but it's very exciting that we'll be getting the boxes soon (Lord willing, if the roads hold). We've had a lot of rain, but not nearly as much as I remember from last year. thankfully the last few days the rain has been mostly at night or when we're in buildings (school or dining room). unfortunately i seem to have misplaced my umbrella and so have gotten wet a few times running from building to building.:S
i guess that's about it for now. can't think cuz i just need to scratch this thing on my arm! ahhh...
other then that not too much is going on. mark ronald headed down to the copper belt to help pack a truck with some of the container boxes and will be bringing some back with him when he returns this weekend. the stuff he'll be bringing will most likely be food stuffs for the kichen, but it's very exciting that we'll be getting the boxes soon (Lord willing, if the roads hold). We've had a lot of rain, but not nearly as much as I remember from last year. thankfully the last few days the rain has been mostly at night or when we're in buildings (school or dining room). unfortunately i seem to have misplaced my umbrella and so have gotten wet a few times running from building to building.:S
i guess that's about it for now. can't think cuz i just need to scratch this thing on my arm! ahhh...
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
First 1/2 term break
The first 1/2 term break has come and gone but not without leaving some lasting memories... some good, so not so good.
Unfortunately half term got started off on the wrong note when it was discovered that there was some theft going on during "sweets" (a time when each student is alloted "40p" worth of candy to put in their candy jar). Some of the seniors are given the responsibility (and priviledge) of handing out the sweets and they took it upon themselves to give out extras, not one or two, but enough to over-fill their sweet jars. This was bad enough but when confronted about it, several of them chose to lie as well and none of them seemed repentent,rather they were just upset that they had been found out. Their actions caused them to miss out on everything for the rest of the day and they lost several priviledges including all their candy. Thankfully the juniors (grades 1-4) were able to still enjoy their day and a beautiful day it was too! We couldn't have asked for better 'beach' weather as we spent 80% of our day at the river/pool. Of course, being the brilliant person I am, I totally disregarded the sunscreen until it was too late and am now a nice lobster red. Unfortunately many of my students do not understand what it means to be sunburnt and that it hurts me when they tap me on the shoulder or jump on me to give me a hug. :S
At the dawn of Tuesday we were all a little wary of what to do about the seniors, but it was decided that they were going to be allowed to enjoy the days activities. So Lina, Rachel, Mare and I had the pleasure of taking the most senior students tubing. This time there was not great lightening shows or torrential rains, just a leisurly float down the river (getting stuck in a few places). It would have been nearly perfect if one large black spider had not decided to hitch on my tube for the ride. I let him know quickly that he was not welcome and even managed to do it without too much yelling or tipping myself off. :)Just after lunch came the rain and I was rather worried that our staff vs student soccer game would be called off! Thankfully the thunder rolled away and took the lightening with it, so we were able to proceed with out game in a light rain. We had 10 staff show up to play with various degrees of soccer "skills". The first half the students were only allowed to have 10 on at a time. By the end of the first half the score was 5-0 for the staff and we were really ready for a break! The second half we decided to give the students a little break, so they got a fresh "new" team of students and were allowed to add an extra 2 players. Us old 'fogies' rallied together and managed to shut them out until the last minute of the game. The final score was 7-1 for the staff. I was quite impressed with the effort put forth, especially by those who didn't really want to play, but did so because i asked them too. :) It was suggested by some that we have staff/student games on a regular basis. I thought this was a pretty good idea, however, my leg muscles today aren't agreeing with me! Over all it was a great way to end out our 1/2 term break. The extra fresh air, sunshine and excercise wore our more then myself; one of my grade one students literally fell asleep in my arms during video last night and several of them looked rather drousy in class this morning! Hopefully they'll we'll ALL get a good nights sleep tonight and be ready to tackle classes again tomorrow!
Unfortunately half term got started off on the wrong note when it was discovered that there was some theft going on during "sweets" (a time when each student is alloted "40p" worth of candy to put in their candy jar). Some of the seniors are given the responsibility (and priviledge) of handing out the sweets and they took it upon themselves to give out extras, not one or two, but enough to over-fill their sweet jars. This was bad enough but when confronted about it, several of them chose to lie as well and none of them seemed repentent,rather they were just upset that they had been found out. Their actions caused them to miss out on everything for the rest of the day and they lost several priviledges including all their candy. Thankfully the juniors (grades 1-4) were able to still enjoy their day and a beautiful day it was too! We couldn't have asked for better 'beach' weather as we spent 80% of our day at the river/pool. Of course, being the brilliant person I am, I totally disregarded the sunscreen until it was too late and am now a nice lobster red. Unfortunately many of my students do not understand what it means to be sunburnt and that it hurts me when they tap me on the shoulder or jump on me to give me a hug. :S
At the dawn of Tuesday we were all a little wary of what to do about the seniors, but it was decided that they were going to be allowed to enjoy the days activities. So Lina, Rachel, Mare and I had the pleasure of taking the most senior students tubing. This time there was not great lightening shows or torrential rains, just a leisurly float down the river (getting stuck in a few places). It would have been nearly perfect if one large black spider had not decided to hitch on my tube for the ride. I let him know quickly that he was not welcome and even managed to do it without too much yelling or tipping myself off. :)Just after lunch came the rain and I was rather worried that our staff vs student soccer game would be called off! Thankfully the thunder rolled away and took the lightening with it, so we were able to proceed with out game in a light rain. We had 10 staff show up to play with various degrees of soccer "skills". The first half the students were only allowed to have 10 on at a time. By the end of the first half the score was 5-0 for the staff and we were really ready for a break! The second half we decided to give the students a little break, so they got a fresh "new" team of students and were allowed to add an extra 2 players. Us old 'fogies' rallied together and managed to shut them out until the last minute of the game. The final score was 7-1 for the staff. I was quite impressed with the effort put forth, especially by those who didn't really want to play, but did so because i asked them too. :) It was suggested by some that we have staff/student games on a regular basis. I thought this was a pretty good idea, however, my leg muscles today aren't agreeing with me! Over all it was a great way to end out our 1/2 term break. The extra fresh air, sunshine and excercise wore our more then myself; one of my grade one students literally fell asleep in my arms during video last night and several of them looked rather drousy in class this morning! Hopefully they'll we'll ALL get a good nights sleep tonight and be ready to tackle classes again tomorrow!
Sunday, February 6, 2011
So Sorry!!!
I have tried to write/post several times over the last few weeks but have had lots of problems with the internet and storms. SO... here is a blog written last Wednesday and I'll try and post again on tomorrow or Tuesday.....
Sorry about the delay in updating my blog. It seems like every time i have a spare moment, the internet is not working or there is a storm and we’ve had to turn it off. So I’m typing this now well the internet is off in hopes that as soon as it comes back on I’ll be able to post.
Things have been flying along, some days faster then others. I am always so shocked at how quickly the months go by when you’re kept busy. My 19 students are certainly keeping me on my toes! I have had days (and sometimes weeks) where I’m ready to pack it all in and find an easier, more boring job; but then one of the students will do or say something and I remember why I’m here and how I actually DO love teaching. :)
My grade one students are slowly beginning to learn the classroom rules and understanding commands/questions in English, but it is definatley a daily struggle for us all! The past few days have been most encouraging as the one student who I’ve been the most worried/stressed about is finally coming around. She is still a real handful (not behaviour, just academic) and very much behind, but the light is beginning to dawn which is so exciting! She actually was able to read words for the first time today and I almost hugged her! I don’t want to get too excited about it yet, because I know that one day they’ll ‘get it’ and the next they won’t remember anything; but we’re definitely headed in the right direction. I was going to say it just gets easier from here, but I know that’s not entirely true. Rachel has been a great help and has moved on from being a teacher’s assistant to actually teaching the grade 2’s math and language/grammar. This has allowed me to focus and work more on the grade ones, specifically those who are behind. Joint classes (social studies, science, health etc) are still rather draining, but that’s not unusual.
The other thing which I’m quite excited about is that we’re starting a Ladies Bible study for the staff/teachers of Sakeji tomorrow. It’s one thing I really felt was missing last year when I was here. Although we are daily in the Word with the kids, sometimes I feel like I’m missing an ‘adult’ perspective. I’m not sure who all will come, but I know it will be a good time of sharing and fellowship.
Well I must go and get changed so I’m ready for swimming lessons when the bell rings! Not really looking forward to it today as it’s kind of a cold, wet day. But who knows, maybe things will change in the next 30 mins… it’s been known to happen before. :)
Ttfn!
Sorry about the delay in updating my blog. It seems like every time i have a spare moment, the internet is not working or there is a storm and we’ve had to turn it off. So I’m typing this now well the internet is off in hopes that as soon as it comes back on I’ll be able to post.
Things have been flying along, some days faster then others. I am always so shocked at how quickly the months go by when you’re kept busy. My 19 students are certainly keeping me on my toes! I have had days (and sometimes weeks) where I’m ready to pack it all in and find an easier, more boring job; but then one of the students will do or say something and I remember why I’m here and how I actually DO love teaching. :)
My grade one students are slowly beginning to learn the classroom rules and understanding commands/questions in English, but it is definatley a daily struggle for us all! The past few days have been most encouraging as the one student who I’ve been the most worried/stressed about is finally coming around. She is still a real handful (not behaviour, just academic) and very much behind, but the light is beginning to dawn which is so exciting! She actually was able to read words for the first time today and I almost hugged her! I don’t want to get too excited about it yet, because I know that one day they’ll ‘get it’ and the next they won’t remember anything; but we’re definitely headed in the right direction. I was going to say it just gets easier from here, but I know that’s not entirely true. Rachel has been a great help and has moved on from being a teacher’s assistant to actually teaching the grade 2’s math and language/grammar. This has allowed me to focus and work more on the grade ones, specifically those who are behind. Joint classes (social studies, science, health etc) are still rather draining, but that’s not unusual.
The other thing which I’m quite excited about is that we’re starting a Ladies Bible study for the staff/teachers of Sakeji tomorrow. It’s one thing I really felt was missing last year when I was here. Although we are daily in the Word with the kids, sometimes I feel like I’m missing an ‘adult’ perspective. I’m not sure who all will come, but I know it will be a good time of sharing and fellowship.
Well I must go and get changed so I’m ready for swimming lessons when the bell rings! Not really looking forward to it today as it’s kind of a cold, wet day. But who knows, maybe things will change in the next 30 mins… it’s been known to happen before. :)
Ttfn!
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