HABARI NEWS: MARCH AND APRIL 2017
After my last blog letter on Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School, the school first trimester had one month left before breaking for the first school holidays of the year or as we like to know them in Kenya, Easter Holidays. There were many activities taking place during the month of March besides academic.
One of the extra curriculum activity that takes place during this first trimester is ball game. The school trains their teams and then at a given date assigned by the Education office, local schools in a given area compete and form a strong team to the next level. Father Ntaiyia School had over sixty-three participants in Soccer boys and girls, Volley ball boys and girls and Net ball girls. After the local competition we were able to have 32 pupils from Father Ntaiyia going to represent our school at the next level and these were 15 girls and 17 boys.
END OF FIRST TRIMESTER 2017
While the ball games were at their peak the students were also preparing for end of the trimester examinations. Prior to the end of trimester our final class had an interschool’s examination for the same grade and out of five schools I was told they ranked number two. This year we have a large class of 61 candidates and this is challenging for the teachers because marking or (grading) course assignment for all students takes a lot of time. It is my hope that all of them will make it in the final examination while at the same time we all have to admit that there are always slow learners.
End of trimester examinations went on well and were ranked before the students went home so that the academic report for each student is recorded in their report form along with other information to be taken by each pupil to parents. Parents /guardians are expected to review the report form and if they are not able they may discuss it with the class teacher when they bring their child back to school after the holidays. Father Ntaiyia School makes every effort to involve the parents in the progress of their children, even those parents who cannot read and write are informed on what is going on.
Every first trimester of the school year brings new students to the school and our teachers understand that the new students come from different parts of the county or Maasai land; some may have been learning well and others may not. Teachers feel it is their duty to work hard and bring all the new students to the required standard of education for their age and grade and this is not usually easy.
SCHOOL LIFE:
Generally, school life has been going well during the first trimester and student population this year is more than we ever had before. We have enough conveniences we need for the 282 students thanks to friends of the school. The staff though has to be extra focused on supporting students through their journey in academic and other school activities.
Students reported back to school reasonably well starting May 2nd after their Easter break and learning started well as expected except for students who were still on the way back to school. Sixty students have already been involved in music practice for extra curricula activities that takes place this second trimester of the year. This took them to local competitions that form a strong team with other schools for further competitions. I am not keen for students travelling from the school because of the political campaign going on during this election year.
Teachers have reported that their review of the end trimester examination indicated that a good number of new children who joined various grades in our school this year who needed to be tutored to catch up with those who have been here already did well. As I have mentioned before in other letters, our new students at times come from remote schools where some of them may not have completed the expected syllabus for their grade and so find it challenging to move on at our school. Our teachers quickly find out the new students who need to be coached in order to catch up.
DROUGHT IN KENYA:
In my February letter I mentioned that the President of Kenya had declared the current drought in Kenya a national disaster. Most of our students’ home areas are affected by this drought which has killed some livestock and caused crop failure – creating food shortages. Without livestock and crops, farmers and pastoralists (Nomads) lose their livelihoods. Most of the parents, however, have reported they are still managing with what they have left. In the School we continue to experience the effect of this drought not only by changes of weather but by the fact that prices of food have gone up more than 30% and is not very available. Some families have lost the source of their income but for those who may be employed, many of them have not paid for their first trimester school fees and some still owe for last year. National news report on deteriorating food situation, and that yearly inflation, or the general rise in prices of goods and services, rose to a five-year high in April this year. Cities and towns that depend on food from rural areas are experiencing high prices of staple food. I hope to discuss this situation with the School’s Charity BOD in our next meeting.
A latest report in local papers states that due to the prolonged drought and soaring food prices, the locals from pastoral community (Maasai) have been worst hit by food crisis and people living not far from our School are being given relief food. Many Kenyans are being forced to cut down on essentials. Local papers however, have reported that 4 out of 10 citizens have in the last three months gone without food due to lack of money. A teacher is reported to have said. “At the moment, I can’t afford to buy bread, milk or sugar and we eat meat on rare occasions. If I spend on meat, my kids will drop out of school,” he says.
ELECTION YEAR IN KENYA
This year is election year in Kenya and with past experience it brings worries about the danger of a violent campaign. According to local polls, 70 percent of Kenyans say they are worried about a repeat of that violence of the past. “The fear of widespread violence erupting cannot be ignored,” said one of the Catholic Bishops. It is said that people are already witnessing that communities are beginning to be suspicious of one another, investors are wary of investing in Kenya, foreign tourists and other visitors are canceling their visits to the country due to security uncertainties, lenders employ a wait-and-see attitude, and the general economy of the country has stalled. Religious leaders are urging politicians to lower the political temperatures and are preaching peace.
Fr. Symon Peter Ntaiyia
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