Yesterday was Education Day and Parents’ Day. It was also the day that the school closed for the second term.
Parents arrived in the morning and took their seats while the kids sat separately from them. Kids were able to go and say a quick hello to their parents since they hadn’t seen them since May.
Basically at any school related function there are 3 groups. Kids, parents + teachers, and BOG (Board of Government) along with guests. Women also sit separately from men in the parents section.
Kids are at the bottom, they get the cheapest food (rice, beans, black tea). They have to sit in the worst location possible on uncomfortable chairs off to the side. Teachers and parents get better food but it’s still not the best (rice, beef, soda) and they have to sit in the back. BOG + guests get top treatment (chicken, potatoes, kale, uagli, watermelons, pineapples, bananas, sheep, goat). They get a feast and delicious meals. They’re also served by teachers and kids. They’re given bottled water and soda. They also get to sit in the front on comfortable couches.
I ended up having to help out with one of our guests who happened to be deaf. She didn’t want to be left alone in a group of hearing people who didn’t know any sign language all day long. It was a bit nervous-wrecking for me at first because that meant I was with all the important people and I’m not used to being told to sit next to one person all day long. It turned out to be a great experience. I had some good conversations with her and we exchanged contact information. We’re hoping to stay in touch in the future. It was great to actually experience some more of Kenya culture that I’ve only observed. I learned what it means to entertain a guest by Kenya standards and I learned how delicious the food tastes when you’re VIP. 😉
Basically there were several speeches given by the guests after raising the flag. The kids danced (which was great) and performed a poem. The neighboring hearing primary school came to give a short performance. We ended the day with awards. The top 3 kids in each class got prizes (stuffed animals for Class I-infants/Class 0-nursery and notebooks + pens for Classes 1-8). Teachers also got prizes for working well last year (I got mugs even though I didn’t work last year), best teacher in upper primary school, best teacher in lower primary school, best English teacher, etc.
Classes 7 and 8 were supposed to stay 2 more weeks for additional tuition since there’s a huge exam that Class 8 students have to take this fall for admission to secondary school.
Classes 7 and 8 did not want to stay at all and weren’t sure if they were staying or not. Class 7 pretty much made a run for it and escaped with their parents. Class 8 tried to escape but didn’t make it so they’re here for 2 more weeks!
We had our end of the term staff meeting today where we discussed how the event went and decided who would stay to teach the Class 8 kiddos.
Life Is About Creating Yourself 