Hi again!
Look at this, two posts in one week! I’m trying to make up
for my severe dearth of posts these past few months.
Term
2 started on May 30th. Prior to the start of term, I had a quick
trip to Swakopmund for a meeting for GAIN (Gender Awareness in Namibia), a
committee that I’m on within Peace Corps. As a committee, we are very busy
planning a camp called Camp GLOW (Girls and Guys Leading Our World). Camp GLOW
will take place in August, during the 1 week holiday. Camp GLOW happens in many
Peace Corps countries world-wide, but each camp is a bit unique. For Namibia’s
Camp, we focus on developing leadership skills, emotional intelligence,
communication, and teamwork, fostering equality across genders and tribes, and
setting goals for the future. I am co-planning and co-facilitating leadership
day with Steffi, an awesome PCV! Camp GLOW has been going on for many years and
is a life-changing experience for the 44 schoolchildren who are selected to
attend. In order to make Camp GLOW accessible to all communities within
Namibia, we make everything for camp free of charge. The kids who come don’t
have to pay for transport to Windhoek, accommodation, food, etc. However, in
order for this to happen, we need help! We have already done a great deal of
fundraising within Namibia, but we aren’t quite at our goal yet. If you’re able
to donate (no matter how big or small!), please consider investing in
developing Namibian youth. It would mean so much to me if you can help fund our
fantastic camp!
Here is the link: https://donate.peacecorps.
Alright,
the solicitation is done now, I promise. On to talk about the start of Term 2!
I had a really great first week back at school. To be honest, I wasn’t really
feeling ready to start teaching again. But, those feelings quickly subsided
once I was back in the classroom with my awesome learners! They completed Behavior
and Academic Performance Contracts where they also had to write their goal
grade for Term 2. We went through their report from last term one-on-one and
both signed the contract together with their expectations for the term. I am so
excited about these contracts and their goals (and also excited to be able to
waive a contract back at them if they aren’t fulfilling their end of the
deal!). The kids were really serious and behaving well during the first week. They seem
very ready to conquer term 2 and I feel the same. Get this— a few of my classes
requested that I give them MORE homework this term! You can rest assured Miss
Christy will be doing just that J
I also started a new classroom management method last week-- "Learner of the Week!" In each class, we came up with a list of behaviours that the LOTW will exhibit (e.g.: on time, does homework, not absent, participates, behaves well, sits properly, wears uniform properly, etc.). The rewards for being learner of the week are as follows: 1) A certificate! (Namibians love certificates for some reason) 2) Some sort of food item-- either a piece of fruit (if I have it that week) or some sweets! 3) A pen from America!
When I announced the LOTW in all four of my classes last week, one thing was universal among them-- extreme excitement!! A few of the kids ran around the room, fist pumping, showing off their certificates. Some were a bit more subdued, but all were equally proud and eThank you Sandra and Lynn for the pens! I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces when I told them that the pen was from America. They held it in their hands as if it were gold!
This week, grade 7s started to read the book Holes! It's definitely a challenge for them, but I think they’ll
really enjoy it. So far, they like the book, but I think they're a bit discouraged by how many words are unfamiliar to them and how slow it's going... just trying to remind myself everyday (because I'm also slightly discouraged by how many words they don't know) that slow and steady wins the race!
I haven’t decided on
a book for grade 6 yet. I'm currently planning to go with the book Frindle, but if you have other suggestions, I'm open to them!
Non-school related highlight of the week: Picking up a skirt I had made by a local seamstress with fabric I bought in Tanzania! It looks awesome and I can't wait to wear it!
That’s
all for now! Have a fantastic day!
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