Primary School Visit in Entebbe

Primary School Visit in Entebbe

Today, Tracy took us to visit St. Theresa's Primary School to meet the teachers and to sit in on some classes. Meg visited a P5 History Class, Ali visited a P6 Math class and a P7 Science class and Emma visited a P6 Science class and a P4 Social Studies class. In each case, we noticed a number of similarities in the curriculum as well as a similar structure to the school day. The Ugandan government is in the process of introducing a new thematic approach to education and the new curriulum has already be released from P1 to P3. One of the main differences was the number of students in each class. The government of Uganda has set a ratio of 1 teacher for every 55 students which is a significant reduction from the previous situations where classes could have a ratio of up to 1 teacher to every 200 students.

After we visited the classes, we returned to the staffroom where we met with the teachers to answer questions about our classrooms in Canada. The Wildlife Club came in to present a poem, written by the teachers at the school, about protecting Chimpanzees. The students had performed in front of Jane Goodall last week at a special environmental youth day celebrating the 10th anniversary of Ngamba Chimpanzee Sanctuary. We are hoping to post a copy in the coming days.

As we were leaving, many students from P6 and P7 (similar to grade 6 and grade7) brought us messages they had written for us to give to our Canadian students. We have selected a few and included them (as they were written) below:

My name is Mwebaze Junior Daniel. I am 14 years old. I am in standard seven in the school called St. Theresa's Primary School. My message I send to you people in Canada. I would like you to conserve the environment by planting trees, flowers which will control soil erosion. In Uganda I am also doing the same to conserve the environment. When I do this, I get many things like rainfall, shade, fruits and also I am a member of Wildlife in Uganda. I conserve the environment because I like animals which live in the forest like chimps, monkeys, baboons, etc.

My name is Nsamba Stephen. I am 14 years old. I am in standard seven. My message to you people in Canada from me is to practice sanitation and join the Red Cross Society to save people's lives.

Hello. My name is Omara Allan. I am 13 years old. I am in standard seven and my school's name is St. Theresa's Primary School. In our school we play different games like football, volleyball, netball and many others. My favourite game is football and I enjoy playing with my puppies.

My name is Angella Alowo. I am 12 years old. I am in standard seven. I love caring for plants that bear flowers mainly because I really love flowers. I also like reading interesting story books and taking care of babies.

My name is Ssekandi Edrine. I am 14 years old. I am in standard 7. I'm interested in playing football and planting trees in our compound because they provide us with shade and they make the compound to look nice with fresh air.

My name is Matovu Michael. I am in primary seven. I am 12 years old. Please I would like to know more about your climate in Canada. My best diet is meat and rice. My best colour is green. I live in Kampala City. Is your climate as cool as ours in Africa? I would be grateful if you reply my request. I remain yours Matovu Michael

My name is Waiswa N Daniel Trevor. I am 12 years old and I am also in standard seven. I go to St. Theresa's Primary School. It is located in Uganda near the airport and the zoo (UWEC). I like conserving the environment. I have endeavoured to do so by joining the wildlife club of our school. We have gone to many wildlife conservation places in Uganda. I encourage you to also conserve your wildlife.

And this last one, we felt we had to include. We had finished our visit at the and were on our way back to the Jane Goodall Institute (quite a distance from the school) when we heard someone running up behind us. Patience, a little girl from primary 6, had not been able to hand her letter in before we left and did not want to miss the opportunity to share her message.

Dear My Friend,
Hello. How are you in your country? I'm glad to write this letter. Thank you very much for whatever you have done. May God bless you so much.
Your faithful, Mutesi Patience.

It was a good day!

Emma, Ali and Meg