Class swap

Thursday was our Teddy Bear's picnic at school.  It was so lovely to see all our new children and parents/carers who will be joining us in September. They came to school with their favourite teddy bear and enjoyed meeting their new teacher and having a play in their new classroom.  At the same time as the Teddy Bear's picnic all classes swapped to their next year group.  This was a chance for the children to meet their teacher and teaching assistant for the September term.

Tanzanian Travels Pt3

On Wednesday we visited lots of different schools but we had a big celebration at Iwemba School for the opening of their new library and nursery. The children sang, danced and played the drums!!! Lots of people attended including the community education officer, parents and the school committee. Mr Collier, from Seabridge school, was the guest of honour and cut the ribbon marking the opening of the library. We met up with the staff from Church Lane school who had a horrendous 5 hour journey with the roads being very muddy and the car breaking down. We all met up again in the evening and had a meal together.

On Thursday we went to Mikumi Town Primary School and did a seminar for nursery teachers. 6 teachers from local nurseries came to our school and  we talked to them about our school. The biggest shock to them is that we only have about 30 pupils per class and 2 adults. They have between 60 and 110+ with only one teacher!!!!

We shared ideas about teaching showing them things like role-play, games, using the outdoor environment to teach (thank you reception) and the rhymes that year 4 did. They especially liked

Here we go round the animals, animals, animals.
Here we go round the animals on a hot and sunny morning.

This is the way the monkey acts, monkey acts, monkey acts.
This is the way the monkey acts on a hot and sunny morning!

Yesterday we also went to Emmanual's house for lunch and he got his wife's sister to do our hair for us! I think you could see it when we skyped today. Did you also like our dresses??

Emmanual told us that he always has his teachers coming to his house!!





 

Tanzanian Travellers Pt2

Hello All from a very hot Tanzania!

Today was our first day in school and what a day it was too.

We walked with Isaac to school and were greeted by so many children all very happy to see us. After assembly we had a tour of the school to Standards 2 - 7 and the nursery. In the Nursery they were learning to write the number 6-Stiga. They were very good at it too.

We have used the parachute today for the first time and the children really loved doing this but we had to have half the class at a time - 45 children!! They liked bouncing the ball on it and playing games where they ran under it.

We spent a lot of time in the lovely library that Mrs Manley & Mrs Rivers decorated when they were here. They did such a wonderful job.

After school we were invited to Mwahcha's house for lunch. She is a teacher at the school and had made us a traditional Tanzanian meal which included plantains. This was a new experience for Mrs Wain. If you are not sure what they are maybe you can investigate that for our return to school?

Once lunch was over we had another new experience of the Ticky Ticky! A 3 wheeled motor bikish taxi that just about hold 3. It was like a mixture between being on a ghost train, a rollercoaster and the dodgems!? It took us to Isaac's house for about 70p where we met Cosmos, his son aged 3 and his wife. Isaac has built his own house and he has made it a wonderful home for his family.

Following this we went to meet the Seabridge teachers to arrange a surprise for when we return to school in the UK.

For dinner we again had been invited to a teacher's house and proceeded to go there in a power cut. We ate dinner pretty much in the dark, which included plantains! Walking part way home through a pitch black street was again something to be experienced. We now know what it is like to do a night line activity, but without the night line!!

Now time for bed up at stiga in the morning ready for school.

The final details of Italy

Our final day in Regio continued with the Scottish game: throwing the boot (which involved flicking your shoe off as far as you could); the French game of Petanque (rolling a ball and then rolling another ball as close to it as possible); the Turkish game of 'musical chairs' and of course, our contribution: the sack and egg and spoon race.

We then had a 4 course lunch! Everyone was extremely full.  After dinner we had a run-around, followed by more cake. Each country then spoke about how their schools have been embracing the Commenius project (the linking of the 5 schools).  Each school spoke in English to explain different projects each school had taken part in. Like: potato growing recipies. 

After our presentations we took part in traditional Italian sports, which involved: volleyball, penalty shoot out and an obstacle course.  Once again we were overwhelmed by the effort the Italians had gone to- providing everyone with their personal medals to celebrate the union of our schools.

After a long and activity packed 2 days we said goodbye to the Italian children and believe it or not, ate yet more food!  Another 4 course meal!  We collected all our luggage and many gifts and waved our goodbyes to all the other children and made our way to catch the sleeper train- a new experience for all.  Some expected a sort of 'Harry Potter' train... Infact what we all had was bunk beds (3 beds on top of one another)- perfect for our 9 hour journey to catch some sleep.

The train journey passed quickly and we arrived in Rome, ready for our flight home.  Everyone was ready for a nice warm shower, more sleep and of course- a big hug from their parents!  What a trip to remember!

Tales of Tanzania (Pt 1)

Arrived at our 'home' for the week yesterday at about 5pm our time, after leaving the UK at 6am on Friday morning!!

Today we have had lots of totally new experiences!!! Including an extended morning of worship when we attended a church service that lasted about 2hrs. We had gone before breakfast intending to have chapati's on our return. However, we were there so long that the chapati seller had sold all her chapati's! It was about 12 o'clock.

Zoe and Robert and the Church Lane teachers left after this to continue to their school. Janet, who works for Tanzed and is acting as our guuide this week arrived to look after us.

She had some meetings to go to in the next village so we went with her. This was our next great adventure. Boarding a Dala Dala that was already full! An eight seater people carrier was soon to have its carrying capacity literally stretched to the max!! After playing musical chairs for about 5 minutes we were shoved into the back seats. Mr Collier, Mrs Buckley and Janet were perched on a ledge behind the driver! At this point there were 20 in the vehicle.

During a very sticky and tightly packed journey we were to make two stops. The first was to add more passengers! YES, MORE passengers to our already overloaded bus!!! The second was when the bus stopped and refused to go any further up a slight incline. At this point the 5 in the boot were removed to walk along with Mr Collier and a few internal passengers. We also collected extra occupants who clung on to the edge of the vehicle for dear life!

Once in Kidodi we visited a school to see a workshop were a community project was taking  place to help the local people develop new skills. From here we went to visit a friend of Janet's who had recently had a baby. Mrs Wain was in her element and baby Holly, so cute, even with the addition of eyebrow pencil a Tanzanian tradition to make the baby look even more beautiful was just gorgeous!

Then we hicthed a lift back catching a bus which turned out to be our driver Jacob who had transported us from Dar to where we are now.

Dinner at our hotel and then bed!

What a wonderful day, one we will never, ever forget!!
Pictures to follow tomorrow =)

Yesterday we all had a busy day... We began our morning with breakfast in the hotel- eating with the Scottish, Turkish and French children.  All schools had arrived safely- some journey's taking over a day to arrive!  After breakfast we continued with our jam-packed schedule; taking the coach to the Italian school.

We were overwhelmed by our welcome.  International flags surrounded the school's playgrounds.  We were welcomed like celebrities to Boscoe School; everyone was clapping and cheering as we all walked into their sports hall to be greeted by 600 children!  The welcome began with introductions in Italian, French and English and we were entertained by singing, dancing and musicians playing the national anthem from each country present.  Afterwards we were again, overwhelmed by our 'snack' that we were given!  Parents of the Italian children had baked many cakes and biscuits- enought, we thought, for the whole town!  They had even made individual party cakes with each countries flag as decorations!  After filling our tummies once more we were introduced to the different classes and teachers throughout the school.  Each class gave us all a small presnt- biscuits, traditional oils, cake, salami.  We could barely carry everything!  Afterwards we had a delicious Italian 3 course meal- we all thought we would burst from being so full!

This was followed by a short journey into the local town where we went to a musuem to learn about part of Regio's history and art.  We learned about two statues that were found in the ocean that were being restored.  They were discovered in the 1970's and were dated back to 200 years BC!

We then went into the town to look at the shops and buy some souveniers.  Followed by ice cream 4 of the week!  The day continued with a short journey back to the school to be greeting by yet another warm welcome.  there were marquees with the most amount of food anyone had ever seen before!  We were entertained once more with dancers, singers and then we had a huge feast!  Everyone had a wonderful night.  The children all had the opportunity to mix with one another- speaking Italian and French.  Jemma gained a little friend who wouldn't leave her alone, as did most of the blond girls as the Italians loved their hair!

After a long night we headed back to the hotel for bed. Exhausted, everyone slept well.

This morning we packed our cases, ready for home and went for breakfast.  After breakfast the Italian children arrived at our hotel.  By 11 0 clock we experienced our first acrobatic pizza show!  This involved famous acrobats tossing pizza bases into the air- very impressive.  All the children had a slice of fresh pizza before heading outside to take part in some traditional sports from Italy, Turkey, France and England.  We have brought the sack race and egg and spoon race...  We are just about to take part now, so we will hopefully let you know what happened in the games before we catch the train later this evening!

HOOP HOOP HOORAY!

Today, two teams from year 5 and 6 played in a basketball tournament at Shavington High School.  Both teams played extremely well and worked hard in all their league games. The year 6 team made it to the semi final against Wistaston Church Lane, where the game ended in a draw 1-1.  It was a very tense time as we then had to have a 'shoot out', the best of 5.  Josh Roberts was a star and won the game for us, we were then through to the final against Berkeley A team.  After a fast and enthusiastic game, and the children trying their best, we unfortunately didn't win.  The score being 3-1.
Well done to both teams who played with great passion, commitment and excellent team spirit.

Tanzanian Travels

Well, we are packed and ready to go!! 30hrs until take-off!!

We are a little concerned that our bags are going to be too heavy, but we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will allow us to take everything. The journey will be very long but well worth it when we get there.

The computer, although slow, seems to be behaving itself and skype is all updated ready for talking to everyone at school on Wednesday morning. Keep your fingers crossed that the technology will work in Mikumi.

Hopefully our next blog will be from Africa!!

This morning we travelled by coach to Pompei.  We met our guide and were introduced to the tragedy of the eruption of Vesuvius.  We saw how the town was covered in 20ft of ash- suffocating all its victims who lived at the time in a matter of days.  Most people perished within the first 24 hours.  We learnt about the excavation of Pompei and how archaeologists inserted deep holes (to create air pockets) to pour plaster to 're-create' an image of what life was like during this time.  Everyone was intrigued by the plastered victims- unknowing to the devastating effects of mount Vesuvius.  Our guide informed us that the people, at the time, did not realise what to expect and when the cloud of ash was released from Vesuvius it was too late for those people to escape.  Even the sea was not an option, as a Tsunami had also hit Pompei at the time.  We learnt that Vesuvius's eruption drastically changed the landscape of pomepi- the 'cone' of Vesuvius turning into two seperate peaks and the ocean now at a much greater distance than previously.  We were shocked to learn that the last eruption took place in 1944- so Vesuvius is most certainly not completely dormant.

After our tour we enjoyed our 3rd ice cream of the week- chocolate and vanilla.  Josh Green unexpectantly spotted the famous James Bond- Pierce Bronon!  Unfortunately Mr Mitchell didn't catch up with him to take a photo.

We then took the coach to the train station in Naples to catch our 4 hour journey to Regio.  Incidently our link school in Scotalnd- Lockerbie- were on the same train.

We have now settled into our lovely hotel in Regio and are preparing for our next Italian meal

A message all the way from New Zealand!!

Have a wonderful time with your friends Ella from nanny and dada in nz

Beach time was good fun last night, although the water was very cold.  After paddling we had a beatuiful meal in the hotel restaurant- pasta/mussles, pork/fish and a type of panacotta where we watched the sun go down.

This morning everyone is feeling refreshed and ready for the next part of our trip- Pompei!  We are leaving in just a few minutes for the coach to take us to Pompei, then we'll make our way to Regio.

Last nights meal

Catching the train

Inside the Colloseum

Roman Soldiers

Emporers ruins

Leaving for our next destination

The view from our hotel!

Day 2

Last night we all had our first experience of typical Italian food, which went down a treat.  After a well deserved sleep we were ready to begin day two of our adventure.

We started early, waking for breakfast at 7am to prepare for our visit to the Colloseum.  After several crossiants, ham, cheese, nutella and bread we made our way to the Colloseum via the metro.  Our tour guide, Gracia, told the story of Rome and the Colloseum's role in ancient times.  We we're shocked at how long it took to build- just eight years.  All built by the hands of 64, 000 slaves from Jeruselum!  We all imagined how emporers and caesers lived in Rome and explored ancient ruins.  

After a quick ride back to our hotel on the metro we had a hearty Italian lunch and margaritta pizza.  

It was then time for our next part of the journey to travel to Serrento.  The coach journey lasted 4 hours, with a little stop off.  We arrived at the hotel nearly an hour ago (5.15pm)  We were all impressed with the impressive hotel and beautiful blue sea views  

Now we're hoping to squeeze in a beach paddle in the next hour before dinner...

Ciao

First day in Rome!

It has been a long and adventurous day so far in Rome!  Very busy!  We started our journey in the very early hours of 3.30am and arrived in Italy on time where we headed straight for our hotel accompanied by our Italian guide- Norman!  We settled into our luxurious rooms and ate our well deserved lunch.  The afternoon kicked off with a short coach ride to the Treve fountain.  Here we threw our coins into the fountain and made a wish,  that we would all one day hopefully return to Rome.  This was also the site of our first Italian ice cream- today's flavour: crema and chocolate.  We then set on foot to explore all the ancient sites of Rome, including: the Spanish steps, Piazza Navona, the Pantheon and the extremely impressive Vatican City.  Sore feet-a plenty- we then finished off our afternoon in a typically Italian souvenir shop.  Is was then back to the hotel for a well earned rest, shower and change of clothes.  The day was made especially nice by the beautiful sunshine and the friendly Italian people (who were intrigued by the sea of Shavington Primary red t-shirts)

We are now off to a typical Italian restaurant for pasta, pork and panna cotta. 

We have had a fantastic first day so far and we are looking forward to a lovely meal tonight, a well deserved sleep ready to tour the Colosseum tomorrow.

Missing Dragons!

As part of their literacy unit, year 3 are looking at report writing.  Their topic is Adventure and Mystery for this term and they wrote a report about dragons being missing around the school.  This involved a detailed description of their dragons and how they had escaped.  They then composed a newspaper report  about the mystery!

They then drafted a radio broadcast to air to all of the school and parents around school.

A Very Early Start

An unusually quiet  week at Shavington Primary School this week and this was due to the fact that Year 6 were doing their Sat’s papers.  They worked extremely hard and used their skills to achieve their best.

On Monday, year 6 are setting off for Italy at 3.30 in the morning!  The itinary looks action packed, starting with a tour of Rome, stopping at the Vatican and the Coliseum and passing all the other main tourist attractions.  Day 2 will be an early start to walk to the Treve Fountain and Rome’s main shopping area. The coach will then take them on to Sorrento where they will spend the evening. Wednesday will see them have a three hour escorted tour of all the sights in Pompeii and then move on to Reggio Calabria, where they will spend the next two days with our International Partner School.  During this time they will be staying in a hotel near to the beach with a swimming pool and lots of sporting facilities.   While they are there you can follow what they are doing by looking at our school blog and you will see a daily report and photographs of their activities and visits.

Mr Mitchell, the staff and children will try to Skype to the school while they are there.  This will be shown in a whole school assembly.

A ROYAL STREET PARTY!

On the last day of term we had a Royal Street Party to celebrate the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton.  Everyone really got into the spirit and we had bunting around the playground, decorated tables with Union Flag serviettes and flags and a long table that seated about 180 children.  There were lots of sandwiches and delicious cakes, which were kindly donated to us by Parents, Carers and Grandparents.

Before the event took place each class dressed a girl up as a bride.  The only materials we could use were 4 white bin bags, some doyleys and a roll of white toilet paper.  The brides were paraded around the long tables, to the ‘Bridal March’ echoing from the speakers.  There were some very imaginative dresses and they all looked spectacular.

After the food was devoured we had a giant game of ‘pass the parcel’.  Six parcels were passed around and the winning prizes were commerative mugs.  A great keepsake to remember the event.

The climax to our street party was a replica wedding of the Royal Event.  Louis Stannard and Poppy Slater were our Bride and Groom and Ava Bloss was their Bridesmaid.  They would have given Wills and Kate a run for their money as they looked absolutely wonderful in their full wedding outfits.  Poppy was wearing a beautiful lace wedding dress with a full veil and Louis looked handsome in his morning suit and top hat.  Ava completed the occasion with a maroon full-skirted bridesmaid dress.  The ‘Bridal March’ was played as they paraded around the playground.  Everyone waited in anticipation for that ‘first kiss’ and they didn’t disappoint the crowds.  All that was left was for them to cut the cake.  This was kindly donated to the school by Annalise Rowe’s Grandma and we are very grateful for her generosity.

The day finally ended with a rendition of ‘God Save The Queen’, where everyone stood up to sing!

A fantastic afternoon, which was enjoyed by everyone and a big thank you to those people who helped to make it a great event.