Interns/Volunteers in South Africa!

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 9

Hello again!

Today we went to a church service with Reverend Zacharia. It was such a moving experience- it was like a party for God! We were singing and dancing along with all of the people there. Solomon showed off his cool moves. We all got to stand up individually and introduce ourselves to the congregation. They were so welcoming and happy to see us. They really seemed to appreciate our mission for South Africa. They offered us “queenscake” muffins- they tasted like a mix of corn muffins and cupcakes. They were delicious after our three hour church service.
Today was also my (Solomon’s) birthday and the congregation of the church sang happy birthday to me.

Afterward, we went to the Lion Park. We drove our van through a reserve and saw all sorts of animals- like zebras, springbok, hyenas, jackals, cheetahs, wildabeasts, ostriches, antelope, and a couple of giraffes that came up to our window. The coolest were the lions! We got some really cool pictures. We also got a picture of Mr. Vassall comparing his height to a giraffe. We were able to interact with some lion cubs right before they got fed some bloody horse right in front of us. Seeing the beautiful animals in their natural habitats made us feel sorry that we ate them a few days ago. We are excited to go to an amusement park tomorrow!

Solomon and Eleni

p.s. Solomon’s birthday cake was banana bread

THE END:)

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 8

Supsies Rents (again), Yup, you guessed it, it’s us again! I know you’ve missed our colorful emails! We have a contest going for who writes the best emails, so compliments are greatly appreciated!

Today, we got to sleep until 9:30, which was wonderful. We went to the African Market where Alex, Solomon, and Sara showed their bartering skills.  Alex and Solomon bought African knives, and they are planning an epic battle to the death, so please do not be alarmed if one of them does not return home to New Jersey. (Jokes!) After successfully stimulating South Africa’s economy, we headed to Pretoria, the political capitol of South Africa. We slipped into the courtroom where Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment, and outside we saw a street magician break free from handcuffs (I think you all understand the irony ?).  Then we went to The Union Building where the current President works and part of the movie Invictus was filmed. We were not allowed in because of our lack of South African citizenship, but the outside of the building and it’s surrounding landscaping was just breathtaking.

At the Union Building, visiting in Pretoria

After seeing the Union Building we went to Freedom Park, a tribute to those who lost their lives fighting for freedom throughout all of history. From the park you can see the Afrikaners’ monument, which they built to celebrate The Great Trek from Cape Town. Our tour guide informed us that a road is being built from the Afrikaners’ monument to Freedom Park. In most societies the Afrikaners’ monument would have been knocked down at the end of apartheid, and the fact that they are connecting the two shows how Mandela successfully and peacefully brought the country together.

Solomon at his Moyo dinner celebration

For dinner we went to Moyo, where we enjoyed a unique dining experience. It was similar to Planet Hollywood, African Edition, but WAY cooler. Everyone but Eleni and Olubayi got their faces painted, and for Solomon’s almost-birthday celebration we surprised him by asking the waitress to sing happy birthday. She proceeded to bring ice cream with a sparkler candle and all her friends to our table. They shook their hips like no other, sang beautiful songs, and played fresh beats on the drums– our waitress even fed King Solomon (what the drummers referred to him as) his first bite.

After a busy day being tourists, we all played 30 seconds, a charade/board game we purchased a few days ago. We learned that Eleni has a weird way of acting out “sister,” Sara has trouble controlling her breathing, most of us have anger management, and Keith has an excellent singing voice — Oh and the seniors dominate at life.

We do have some bad news; this is the last time you will be hearing from the two of us. It has been real. See you all in a week.
Live. Laugh. Love.
Harlen and Tierney

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 7

Hi parents!
Today the group got an extra hour of sleep because the teachers at Zuuberkom, and some other schools were on strike. The reason they were on strike is the Union said they had to demand for a pay increase. We used the day for handing out books at Randfontein Primary School, the school that Emma  worked at this fall. Every student 1-7 got one book to keep and read.

The  RCL, student leaders for the school welcomed us to their school and thanked us for the books. We also introduced ourselves and talked about our time in their beautiful country. When we were leaving the kids were reading their books. Hi dad, it’s reeve. In the afternoon, we went shopping for school supplies for Zuuberkom. The group is excited to deliver the school supplies to the students.

We went to Nelson Mandela’s house, the first one that he owned. Our tour guide was apart of the student uprising and has devoted her life to the struggle. She has a constant reminder of what she went through when she was 18. On her leg there is a scar from a bullet. I can’t believe we are already half way through the trip.

From the worlds best writers,
Sean and the better and more talented Reeve

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 6

Sawbona,

Today started as usual with breakfast at 7. We packed sandwiches quickly and hopped on the bus to Zuurbekom. Everyone fell asleep on the bus…which seems to be a daily occurrence. When we arrived we woke ourselves up and headed up to the library. After picking out books to read to the classes we split up into two groups and went to the seventh and ninth grade classrooms. Although we were told that we would be helping the teachers teach the class, the teachers jumped on the opportunity to go to the break room as soon as we showed up.

Grade 7 Randfontein students

In the seventh grade room, which had fifty students, Tierney, Solomon, Sean, Reeve, and Chloe made an acrostic of South Africa, read the Three Little Pigs, and played a few games to teach them parts of speech. The kids enjoyed the chance to be read to, which almost never happens in their school. In the ninth grade room, Harlen, Eleni, Kit, Alex, and Kaitlyn played word games with about forty kids, encouraging them to think for themselves and then promoted each student’s self image by asking them to describe themselves in different ways. Harlen, Tierney, and Chloe also visited a fourth grade class. It was clear that the main strategy was that the teachers and  students used was rote memorization.

After being in the classrooms for two hours, we all went outside for another crazy recess. Kids ran around asking for our signatures and some students even signed our arms.  Everyone felt like a celebrity with hoards of kids around them asking for autographs and pictures. What was really cool about recess was that although the kids were free to do whatever they wanted, they were most excited to listen to us read stories to them. Their desire to learn was apparent, which made all of us realize how much potential these kids have and what they could accomplish with well trained teachers and adequate supplies. Although some teachers work very hard to educate their students, many lack a proper education themselves having been taught under the apartheid system.

Although we were exhausted by lunch time (who knew kids were that much work?!) we piled back onto the bus and headed to the Carol Shaw Memorial Center and School to finish unpacking and sorting the books. We inhaled our lunch on the bus and got back to work as soon as we got there. After almost four hours of work we were relieved to have the books divided and organized.

At dinner we had a guest speaker named Caroline Setsiba. Mrs. Setsiba was a freedom fighter and was able to tell us about her involvement in the student uprisings of 1976. At only 15 years old she was one of the leaders of the march that we learned about at the Hector Pieterson Memorial Museum. It was incredibly interesting to hear her story and the hardships she faced for many years after the march on June 16, 1976. She explained to us that she was forced to give birth to her first child alone in order to stay hidden from police when she was in her early twenties. Later that year she brought her daughter with her to prison for two weeks in order to feed her. She also told us about being imprisoned in solitary confinement for six months. Hearing her story made the struggle come alive, especially because she was our age when she was involved.

We hoped we haven’t bored you too much, but it has been the most powerful and serious day that we have had, but in a good way. Both being in the classrooms and hearing from the speaker has made us realize how far this country has come but also how much remains in need of change.

Ghandi Square in downtown JoBurg

On a lighter note, the group is really getting to know each other and bonding even more. We have had a great trip so far and can’t believe that we are almost halfway done! We miss you… but not nearly enough to come back early.  We would really appreciate an extra plane ticket home to bring a new sibling (or maybe a few extra seats).

Love,

Kaitlyn and ChloeP.S. Sawbona means hello in Zulu. The kids are trying to teach us some of South Africa’s eleven languages. Needless to say, we are going to stick with English.

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 5

Wassup parents?

Yeah, so basically we had our first work day yesterday. We went to Zuurberkom, one of the schools, in the morning and painted a fifth grade classroom as well as a science lab. The classroom is a pale mint color now, which looks nice. The children were excited and intrigued by us being at their school. Some even left class to see us, something not suggested but kinda cool. In the afternoon, we went to the “farm school” and packed/sorted books for other schools. Some of the kids were so excited, that they took more books than they were allotted. Some of us took time to read to the kids, and let them read the books themselves. That evening, we went to a restaurant called Carnivore where they served many exotic animals, including zebra, giraffe, crocodile, and antelope. We were so tired when we got home (ALA), that we missed one of our daily updates.

Today, we returned to Zuurberkom, and finished up painting most of the classroom and the lab. During the student’s recess, we went and played with them. We were maybe kinda mobbed. They were excited to be able to hang out with us. Then we finished up at Zuurberkom for the day. Then we went to the mall for lunch, and then to the bank to exchange money. Then we went to another mall to shop and stuff… We bought a board game similar to charades.  Then we went to a store that was similar to Target.  We bought some supplies for the classrooms.  We found some posters and clipboards for the rooms. We used the money that we had raised at Pingry through pizza sales, so we got to see most of the process from start to finish, first raising the money, and then putting it towards our cause.  Then, after packing up the van, we returned to ALA for dinner.  We had ostrich for dinner!  It was good, and it kinda tasted like a mixture of chicken and steak.  Tomorrow, we have our first day of helping to teach the kids.  Some of us are a little nervous for our first day of teaching, but we are definitely excited.  We get to use the computer on the day that we write our emails… which is our motivation to write a great emailll!!!

so yaaahhh xox

Alex and Kit

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition: Day 3

Hello from South Africa-

Today was our first day at the two schools we will be working with. We were greeted with beautiful African songs and dances it was very powerful and some of us even got emotional. The sight of the smiling students welcoming us with such joy was incredibly heartwarming. We also started to realize how much of an impact we may make on these children and how important this trip will really be.

One of the students told us, “we now know we are special because you are here. You are our heroes.”

Following the welcoming ceremony we go a tour of the school and saw the classrooms we will be refurbishing. After this we split up into groups of two and visited different classrooms to talk to the students. Their interest in America was amazing. We got questions ranging from “how many classes do you have in school”, to “do you know Kanye West?”

We spent the afternoon at Carol Shaw school where in2007 the GLP group refurbished a building and turned it into a library. A small private school has now been created on this land and is in its first year of operation. The students here range in age from kindergarten to grade 12 and we spent most of our time interacting with the oldest students.

We taught the kids games and talked to them about school and life. We learned to difference between the South African question, “are you going to university?” vs. the US question of “which university are you going to?”

We are now so inspired for the rest of the trip. We are further appreciating what we have at home, especially after seeing the harsh living conditions of the students we met. We’re all so into this trip we may never come home!:)

From,

Solomon and Eleni

GLP/Princeton Summer 2010 Internship-3rd Post

How quickly our time here in South Africa is passing!

Despite a minor bout of illness early on in the week, this week has been really positive overall. While we had our first experiences with a doctor’s office in South Africa on Monday, we still made it back to Randfontein Primary School in time to continue working with the debate team on affirmative and negative speeches, with the students drafting their own speeches and working in sub-groups for the first time. On Tuesday, things were back in full swing—we returned to Randfontein Primary School and assessed students in preparation for the end of the week’s spelling bee. After school, we went to Carroll Shaw Memorial School, where the Global Literacy Program’s shipment of 60,000 books were delivered. We sorted through books, and found age-appropriate novels along with backpacks, notebooks, drawing paper, markers, and even soccer jerseys (for our all star debate team). After loading up the car, we went home and met with Shamayne, the much awaited third Princeton intern, who had just arrived from the States earlier in the day.

Shamayne at a visit to the Thelma Tate Library

This week, we also received and judged entries for the first writing contest. It was open to all 5^th, 6^th, and 7^th graders, and the students could choose from three prompts:

1. Give advice to a figure, real or imaginary.
2. If you could change a school rule, what would it be and why?
3. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Write about a time when you did something you thought you could not do.

We had some really great submissions, including first place winner Kefilwe Sediketso, who advised President Jacob Zuma that having multiple wives sets a bad example for young South African children, despite potential cultural importance. We’re looking forward to awarding the students with their prizes next week! Later in the week, we drafted prompts for the upcoming writing contest.

Probably most excitingly, we administered the first spelling bee qualification test on Friday to all 6^th and 7^th grade classes. We even found a few students preparing for the spelling test in between classes, nervous about the scores they would need to qualify for the final bee. We have lots of spelling tests to grade before next week, when we’ll announce who qualifies.

We also finished profiling the farm children at Carroll Shaw Memorial School, with our last visit to a student’s home on Wednesday. We then began to work on reading with students of all ages in the library, especially as the students just received new books from the Global Literacy Program shipment.

Pingry School Summer 2010 Global Learning Expedition #1

Pingry students collected, sorted and packed books in preparation for the summer 2010 trip

The Global Literacy Project is welcoming our summer 2010 volunteers from The Pingry School to South Africa on July 30th. We are excited to offer students the opportunity to connect across continents and cultures. The student volunteers spent the last six months collecting, sorting and packing thousands of books which arrived in late July to South Africa. The students will now help create a school library as well as a community literacy program in Randfontein. Look out for future updates!

GLP/Princeton 2010 Summer Internship-2nd Post

Now that we’re settled into our internship work at Randfontein Primary School, things are going really smoothly. The teacher we were filling in for returned, and we were surprised to learn that our students’ behavior improved dramatically when she entered the room. Since her return, we’ve been focusing on literacy-specific programming. We spent about a week working with English classes from grades one through seven. We would split the classes into two, with one of us teaching them to use the computer lab (particularly working on word processing and research) and the other reading with the students in the library.

Small group reading in the library...

Now, we’re working on the specifics of a 6^th and 7^th grade spelling bee that we’ve organized. We compiled a list of about 300 level-appropriate words, reviewed them with the students and teachers, and spoke to all of the participants about how to prepare for the competition. We even found a computer program which helped the students practice their spelling after hearing words dictated to them. The first round of the spelling bee will be next Friday, and we’re really excited to begin! The teachers have been really supportive, and have included some of our words in their English classes as well.

Our extracurriculars are going quite well, too! We’re working with the debate team on formulating proposing and opposing sides of an argument, and they’re learning about the formal order of a debate. We even found some enthused students arguing intensely outside well after debate team practice ended! This week, we began what we hope will be a series of creative writing contests for 5^th, 6^th,and 7^th grade students. We created a list of prompts from which the students can choose to write on, and each week winners will be selected from all the entries. This week’s prompts include creating a narrative about a time when you did something you thought you couldn’t, giving advice to a person either real or imaginary, and persuading the principal to change a school rule. We’re looking forward to reading the entries, and awarding the winners with books and other prizes.

We’ve also started our work at Carroll Shaw Memorial School. In addition to mentoring some of the older students and talking about higher education, we’re in the process of profiling 32 students who attend the school and live on nearby farms. It’s been trying at times visiting the students’ homes, though we’ve found the experience of meeting with their families one of the most rewarding aspects of our work. Along with creating the profiles, we have been working with many students in the library after classes end. We created a book club and reading incentive program this past week. We distributed book logs, completed book forms, and story maps to the students, with each of the above having a correlated point value that students can redeem for books and stationery. We hope this will give students an additional reason to come to the library during their free time. For those students who are still struggling with reading on their own (which includes many of the farm children, including some older students), we’ve been reading to them aloud.

We can’t believe how quickly our time here is passing, but we’re definitely enjoying every minute!

Christina and Emma’s South Africa Adventures! WK14

Randfontein Primary School students with happy smiles over their new books

This week at RPS we handed out the books and colored pencils from the book drive. The kids were all so excited and everyone kept comparing it to Christmas.

One boy said that he would keep the book for a few years and then give it to his little brother

So many of the kids could not believe that they actually got to keep the book. They asked over and over when they had to bring the book back. Once they understood that the book really was theirs, one boy said that he would keep the book for a few years and then give it to his little brother, another girl said that she would give the book to her kids when she grows up, and one kid planned to keep the book until he was 100 years old. They were all so grateful and wanted us to thank those of you who donated books.

The library at Zuurbekom is finally finished. We put up signs and finished dotting all the books. From the minute we opened the library doors until it was time to leave, the library was full of students. Kids from every grade came whenever they had the chance. One group of ninth grade girls even offered to sweep the library just so that they would get to be the first ones there in the morning. The third grade boys continue to drive us crazy, but even they are so eager to learn and get their hands on a book. At both RPS and Zuurbekom we were reminded how happy and excited these kids are to have access to books, especially when they can bring them home.

Because this was our last weekend in South Africa, we visited all of our favorite spots. We also saw a Kwasa Kwasa (music from central Africa) band. We can’t believe that we have less than one week left. It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to the kids. See you soon!