First Day Back At School
Monday was my first day back at work I arrived on time and then spent the next four hours looking for something to do. The teachers had not been issued with a lesson rota so they just sat chatting whilst the children got disruptive, no wonder they must have been so bored. I ended up sorting out the children’s exercise books by writing their names and class subjects on the front cover. I then went into year 1 and did the same anything to keep myself busy. A new English teacher has started called Rosemary, she is a retired secondary teacher who now lives out here and is running a hotel business. Due to business being poor this year she needed to get an income so decided to go back into teaching for a while.
On Tuesday morning the school rotas were issued, I will be working with Aunty Ken who is the sister of Mary who owns the school. We will be covering year two and year one or grande section as they have been called. As for Rosemary she is working alongside Mr Jadama who I was with last year. I spent the day very much as yesterday trying to keep busy.
On Wednesday after two boring days the teachers finally started to actually teach some of their subjects. Some of the pupils were still absent from school however over the coarse of the week they started to turn up. I spent my first lesson in year one with Aunty Ken gosh have we got a job to do. The class has about twenty two children who are aged about five years old and it became obvious from the start that they are a very disruptive group.
On the afternoon we took Lynn to Wishes Gift Shop. Whilst Paul and the children looked for a present for Teo we went to have a look around upstairs. It is like Aladdin’s cave full of lovely vases, candles and wooden mirrors. We then did some shopping in Kariba before setting off for home. We decided to walk via the path way at Palma Rima. The fields on either side were very flooded with water due to all the rain we have been having for September. When we arrived at Kotu bridge the mud flats were free from the stream and looked quite dry so we decided to take a shortcut across to the golf course. It soon became apparent that it wasn’t as dry as we thought so we ended up with very sticky, squelchy shoes and feet. Lynn didn’t seem bothered I think she now knows what Paul’s walks are like so once home we quickly washed our feet under the outside tap.
On Thursday it was the children’s first day back at Zenith. They were both a bit grumpy about going however Paul took them off whilst I went to Diana Mariam. When I picked Abigail up she said she had done nothing all day so was very bored and didn’t want to go in on Friday. On the afternoon me and Lynn had a treat we went off to take a look around Coco Ocean Hotel at Senegambia. The hotel is one of the poshest in the Gambia and very Moroccan in appearance with white washed walls and outside gardens. We took a taxi to the entrance where we walked down a short driveway and through security into the grounds. There were lots of pathways leading off in different directions with lush vegetation of fruit trees dotted about the grounds. We arrived at the reception and Lynn enquired about looking at some rooms as her sister and husband are looking to come over in February. The receptionist took us by golf buggy around the resort to look at a couple of the rooms. The rooms were very luxurious with sea views one of which had a huge covered terrace area with wicker settees. He then dropped us off outside the hotel spa. We entered the spa and were greeted by a small Asian lady, we enquired about treatments and prices. The lady gave us a brochure and directed us to a seated area beside a plunge pool and then offered us something to drink. On enquiring about the hair salon we were told the hairdresser was off and would be back next week however we were given another brochure to look at. I was surprised at the prices of the treatments very reasonable compared to the UK. As for the salon the highlights were cheaper than what Sewell charges at Yok Hair Salon so I might just treat myself before Christmas.
A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICHELLE!
On Saturday I had to attend a workshop at the school to do with lesson planning. As usual it was supposed to be 9 o’clock start however we didn’t start until thirty minutes later and there were still a couple who turned up late. Aunty Ken explained the format we would be using in the primary section and the importance of having some visual aids for the children. We then saw a lesson plan which Mr Touray uses in reception it was agreed that this would be trialled by the other reception teachers. We broke for breakfast for fifteen minutes and were provided with bread, beef luncheon meat and tea. After break we were split up into groups and had to devise our own lesson plan around one of the subjects, our group chose English comprehension. Each group then had to present their lesson plan to the others. Aunty Alberta ended up teaching us an actual nursery Maths lesson instead of the lesson plan. At 1 o’clock the workshop came to a close much to my relief I felt we could have completed the workshop in half the time if only some of the teachers hadn’t waffled on about how they teach.
On Wednesday after two boring days the teachers finally started to actually teach some of their subjects. Some of the pupils were still absent from school however over the coarse of the week they started to turn up. I spent my first lesson in year one with Aunty Ken gosh have we got a job to do. The class has about twenty two children who are aged about five years old and it became obvious from the start that they are a very disruptive group.
On the afternoon we took Lynn to Wishes Gift Shop. Whilst Paul and the children looked for a present for Teo we went to have a look around upstairs. It is like Aladdin’s cave full of lovely vases, candles and wooden mirrors. We then did some shopping in Kariba before setting off for home. We decided to walk via the path way at Palma Rima. The fields on either side were very flooded with water due to all the rain we have been having for September. When we arrived at Kotu bridge the mud flats were free from the stream and looked quite dry so we decided to take a shortcut across to the golf course. It soon became apparent that it wasn’t as dry as we thought so we ended up with very sticky, squelchy shoes and feet. Lynn didn’t seem bothered I think she now knows what Paul’s walks are like so once home we quickly washed our feet under the outside tap.
On Thursday it was the children’s first day back at Zenith. They were both a bit grumpy about going however Paul took them off whilst I went to Diana Mariam. When I picked Abigail up she said she had done nothing all day so was very bored and didn’t want to go in on Friday. On the afternoon me and Lynn had a treat we went off to take a look around Coco Ocean Hotel at Senegambia. The hotel is one of the poshest in the Gambia and very Moroccan in appearance with white washed walls and outside gardens. We took a taxi to the entrance where we walked down a short driveway and through security into the grounds. There were lots of pathways leading off in different directions with lush vegetation of fruit trees dotted about the grounds. We arrived at the reception and Lynn enquired about looking at some rooms as her sister and husband are looking to come over in February. The receptionist took us by golf buggy around the resort to look at a couple of the rooms. The rooms were very luxurious with sea views one of which had a huge covered terrace area with wicker settees. He then dropped us off outside the hotel spa. We entered the spa and were greeted by a small Asian lady, we enquired about treatments and prices. The lady gave us a brochure and directed us to a seated area beside a plunge pool and then offered us something to drink. On enquiring about the hair salon we were told the hairdresser was off and would be back next week however we were given another brochure to look at. I was surprised at the prices of the treatments very reasonable compared to the UK. As for the salon the highlights were cheaper than what Sewell charges at Yok Hair Salon so I might just treat myself before Christmas.
A BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MICHELLE!
On Saturday I had to attend a workshop at the school to do with lesson planning. As usual it was supposed to be 9 o’clock start however we didn’t start until thirty minutes later and there were still a couple who turned up late. Aunty Ken explained the format we would be using in the primary section and the importance of having some visual aids for the children. We then saw a lesson plan which Mr Touray uses in reception it was agreed that this would be trialled by the other reception teachers. We broke for breakfast for fifteen minutes and were provided with bread, beef luncheon meat and tea. After break we were split up into groups and had to devise our own lesson plan around one of the subjects, our group chose English comprehension. Each group then had to present their lesson plan to the others. Aunty Alberta ended up teaching us an actual nursery Maths lesson instead of the lesson plan. At 1 o’clock the workshop came to a close much to my relief I felt we could have completed the workshop in half the time if only some of the teachers hadn’t waffled on about how they teach.
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