Form I Class

Meet my Form I English class. Not only are they my freshman English class, but I am their class teacher. That would be similar to a homeroom teacher. I am responsible for them. Again, keep in mind this is a boarding school, so not only am I to keep track of their academic progress, but also deal with any issues that might arise during the boarding portion of their day.

Issues that I have had to deal with thus far:
* illness, mostly malaria

* wounds on legs (I don't know why, but several girls have had sores on their legs that are deep. It's not similar to anything I've seen before.)

* rebounding (This is a new vocabulary word for me. It means they snuck back in the serving line in the dining hall and got a second helping. Unfortunately it was on beans and rice day, everyone's favorite. That meant some girls did not get to eat that meal because there wasn't enough food.)

* locks on desks (Students need to lock all of their items in either their trunks in the dorms or their desks in the classroom.)

* phone calls home (It is the class teachers responsibility to determine whether the need for the phone is a valid one and then allow students to flash their parents when they need to talk to them.)

* gossiping


* report cards

They begin their final exams today with a week and a half remaining in this term.

I am pleased to report that these are for the most part well behaved and motivated students.

Leadership Visit

Sam Stanton, Executive Director of Maryknoll Lay Missioners, and Margo Cambier, Director of Mission Services, have been on a two week tour of Tanzania and Kenya. The purpose was to see all of the missioners and visit their work sites. They scheduled a half day per missioner. On their last days in Kitale they visited both of our schools.

They had never been in Kenyan schools before, so they were in for a treat. John asked several of his students come and talk informally with them.

Because of their schedule, it worked for them to visit my Form III class. On Monday, I asked the girls to organize themselves for the visitors. They love to recite poetry and sing so I requested they have a couple of poems, talk about our school and then sing some songs. It was great. Sam and Margo loved it, as I did!

Bernadine recited a poem then Charity and Mary talked about our school. They sang two traditional songs with dancing. Some girls even had "costumes". Sam requested a Kiswahali song he knows. That lead me to ask for a couple of more songs that I have heard them sing at assembly or church. I'm sure we disturbed the classes around us, but it was so much fun.

We then had about 15 minutes where the girls could ask questions of Sam and Margo. It was interesting to note what kind of questions they asked and compare them with questions they ask me.

All in all, it was a successful visit for everyone.

(It was on Ash Wednesday. That is why Sam has ashes on his forehead.)