Starting Young ~ Understanding For Life
There are six primary schools in the Kodumela area. This is a happy coincidence because there are six Primary schools in the Wallingford Schools Partnership (Brightwell, Crowmarsh, Cholsey, Benson, Warborough St John’s, St Nicholas, and Fir Tree in Wallingford). Our aim is to link each of the primary schools here with one of the primary schools, in Kodumela – this has already started by linking Cholsey with Mamokaile School.
| We sent over a ‘Lucky Bear’ for Mamokaile School last December to be used as a teaching aid and for children to take home and record his weekend activities in a diary as we do in Cholsey School. Shortly after this in the next pack of work we received from Mamokaile School was a diary letter from a child who had said she had thought Lucky Bear would not want to go home with her because she was so poor. This moved many of us deeply; Dawn Allum who had made the bear was so moved she knitted a bear for each of the other primary schools in the region which we took over with a letter for each school to explain how the bear could be used. |
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We very much wanted to visit all the schools, however the rural and large geographic nature of the area prevented us fitting them all in. We did manage to spend time at four of the six schools: Mamokaile, Metz, Makgaung and Macaigwana. It was a privilege to meet the head teachers of these schools and to pass on the bears we had brought. It was clear how much the schools desperately wanted to link with an English school, and to enjoy the exchange of work, ideas and information that we have established with Mamokaile School. I explained the only reason we had linked with Mamokaile first was because Lucy, a child sponsored by Choko members, attended that school and at the time we had not realised there were five other schools in the area.
The link with Mamokaile School works extremely well. Often it is work generated as part of our curriculum that is sent over. Our children are learning so much about South Africa, the climate, food and lifestyles from the exchange with Mamokaile School. The children in Mamokaile are learning about Cholsey and the work we do in school.
| The time we spent at Mamokaile School was rewarding and exciting. Rosina, the head teacher was quite justifiably proud of the school and its pupils. She was also clearly delighted to have us in her school and managed to fit in a visit to all her classes to sing, read and chat with the pupils. All the work we have sent over takes pride of place in the classrooms and her office. I had thirty seconds to remember all the names of the children in the class I work with because she had a photograph of them we had sent her last Christmas on display in her office! |
I also had chance to discuss education in Mamokaile School with her and found:
• There are no special needs provisions or money for SEN children from the government – children with special needs attend school but within classes of 45 – 60 and 1 teacher.
• The textbooks used by the children are very old and out of date.
• Teaching resources are desperately short.
• Children are taught in English in all subjects apart from home language lessons during and beyond grade 3 (age 7 –8 and above)
• Children move up a grade when they make sufficient progress rather than according to age.
• School meals are cooked by volunteers and bought to the school gates in wheelbarrows and consist of a drink of water, Meali meal porridge and bean stew every day - in many cases this is the only meal the children get each day.
• Rosina was concerned her school was understaffed compared to Cholsey, I explained that a higher level of payment from central government was made, kitchen staff salaries were paid as well as some financial payment for individual SEN children allowing the employment of extra staff.
• Our efforts to explain the nativity play had worked quite well although they were clearly confused by the children not being in uniform but in costume in the pictures we had sent.
• Christmas carols were still a source of confusion for them as were my attempts to explain the colds and flu experienced during a British winter which had resulted in an aborted attempt to record the school carol concert because of the constant coughing during the service. However Cholsey, with its usual community spirit, has solved this with Dot Chapman’s idea that St Mary’s church could record a carol concert in the summer so we can send it in time for Christmas!
The schools link is an exciting part of the Choko concept allowing the youngest members of our village, and hopefully the wider learning community of the Wallingford Schools Partnership as well, to take a full part in this project.
Written by Val Bolt - Cholsey School