First Day of School!

First Day of School!

Yesterday, Monday the 15^th, was the first day of school!  Tasha, Nataly, Kelli and I loaded up in the taxi and headed off to school with Jan for our first day of school at AI Steenkamp.  We arrived to school at 7:00 for the morning worship and devotion.  By 7:20, we went outside for the opening ceremony.  All the students line up, in their blue/white/gray school uniforms in the courtyard area (it’s all cement, but courtyard is the only way I know how to describe the area).  This is the area that all school assemblies take place.  As I walked out with Jan, since I was unsure where I would go with the reaction of the teacher I was assigned to the day before, I was snagged by Mrs. Somses.  She said she wanted for formally introduce herself and shook my hand.  She then apologized for the way she responded the day before, explaining to me that she had not been consulted about my placement, she is moving from grade 1 to grade 4 and doesn’t know the content, and she was really caught off guard.  I completely understand her uneasiness with hosting me with everything else she has going on, but I was happy that she seemed to be warming up to me.  The assembly began with the students, lead by one of the female administrators, began singing.  They sang hymns, they sang the national anthem, and they sang a few other traditional songs.  The principal got up and spoke briefly to all the students and informed parents that after the upcoming school board meeting, they would hold and Q&A meeting with parents about the Free Education Act.  The next speaker was the school’s pastor.  An older, thin man walked up to the podium and began his sermon.  Now I cannot tell you a thing that he said, as the entire twenty to thirty minute sermon was entirely in Afrikaans.  The integration of religion, 99% Christianity, in schools is astonishing in comparison to back home.  After the sermon, the principal returned to the podium to go over her four rules, and expectations of the parents, at the school.  Her first rule was for all children to be at school on time, between 7:00-7:10.  Her second rule was for all students to arrive to school in the appropriate school uniforms and for the children to arrive clean.  She emphasized the school is overcrowded, so it is imperative that the children are clean, clean, clean.  Her speech floated in and out of English to Afrikaans, so there were pieces that I obviously missed.  The third rule that she gave was for the parents to be invested in their child’s learning: keep them off the street, make sure they are doing the homework, and be sure they are studying.  This was one of the rules that she spent the most time on, showing her investment in the children’s future and taking their schooling seriously.  The fourth rule that she touched on was the importance of respect in the school.  She told the parents to be sure that their children are well behaved, and that ill behaved students, disrespectful students, and bullies will not be tolerated at Steenkamp.  The principal then called up Jan and the rest of us students to be introduced to the entire school and parents who came for the opening ceremony.  We all stood on the podium as she introduced each one of us and then gave Jan the microphone for a brief introduction.  The next part of the opening day ceremony is the most interesting: promotion.  All the students return to the classroom from the previous year, here they sit and wait while role is taken.  The teacher will then call the names of the students who had passed their grade and they line up, all the students who did not pass are publicly left in the classroom to repeat the grade while all the other students are walked to their new classroom.  During this time, Mrs. Somses was unsure where she was supposed to go, her old classroom or her new one since she was changing grades.  I told her that I could wait around with Jan and wander around while she figured everything out.  Jan and I watched as all the students dispersed to their old classrooms, preparing for the big moment to change grades.  After meeting some parents and children, all of whom seem to be interested in the Americans at their school, I finally found Mrs. Somses in her classroom.  As I walked into the classroom there was an audible gasp as the students realized that they were going to have the American teacher in the classroom, a very big deal to most!  Mrs. Somses took role of the newly promoted grade four students.  This part was a bit of chaos, and I was asked to sit at the teacher desk during this time.  At one moment, Jan came to visit with Mrs. Somses and she asked her if she was comfortable with me in the classroom.  Thankfully, Mrs. Somses was entirely honest and admitted to that she really was not comfortable with hosting me (I say thankfully because I would rather have a cooperating teacher that wants me in her classroom and is excited for the support, than someone that is entirely uncomfortable with my presence).  So Jan asked her if she would mind if I hung out in her classroom for the day so I could see how the first day of school works along with provide Mrs. Somses with as much support as I could.  She said that it wouldn’t be a problem.  We explained that the group of us would be leaving Wednesday (today) for the north and we wouldn’t be back to Steenkamp until the following Tuesday, giving us the time to find me a new placement.  I hung out in the classroom for about ten minutes before one of the administrators came down and said that Mrs. Somses had an appointment with the principal and she needed to take her, aka: Alyssa gets to be in charge of the classroom.  I thought, “No, problem! I have the book, If You Take a Mouse to School, a perfect first day of school book.”  Normally, a meeting would be about thirty minutes, right?  So I introduced myself to the students, explained where I am from in the United States, and the route I traveled in order to get to Katutura.  As I had 42 students staring back at me, intrigued simply by my presence in their classroom, I started reading the book.  I walked around the classroom as I read, trying to get close to as many students as possible and to ask as many questions to lengthen the time I could get out of the book.  This “thirty minute meeting” ended up lasting about an hour and a half, when Mrs. Somses returned to the classroom, gathered her things, and left.  Sooooo, I was now teaching the rest of the day and I had no paper, no pencils, chalk that didn’t work well on the chalkboard (Yes, chalkboards!), and only three books that I had brought with me.  Talk about teaching by the seat of my pants.  I finished the book and had the students turn and talk with the person sitting next to them, something I don’t think happens often from my observation of their uneasiness with it.  I then taught some routines and procedures for my classroom.  This was something I knew I needed to do in order to last through the day, but I also knew that I wasn’t going to continue in this class but I went with it anyways.  I instructed the students on how I will get their attention, a call and response.  I say, “Claa-aass” and the students say, “Yeee-ess” in the same tone that I do.  The students responded quite positively to this and it worked wonderfully.  I went over a few other procedures, sign language to ask for the restroom/water break, answering questions, etc.  I started reading the second book, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and about half way through I realized it was time for break.  The students all stand behind their desks, say/sing a prayer and then exit the classroom after I exit first.  In the staffroom, I quickly began trying to plan out what I was going to be doing with the students for the remainder of the day, as I had NO SUPPLIES with me to teach with.  Tasha, the PLU student in the special class, told me that she had a small ball she brought with her if I wanted to play a game with the students.  I went back to the classroom at the end of the thirty minute tea break and told the students that I was going to read If You Give a Mouse a Cookie from the beginning and they needed to pay close attention so they could be successful in the game afterwards: I had decided to play a comprehension/silent ball game with the ball Tasha gave me.  The game worked well and it ate up more time without school supplies for the students.  I had the students talk in groups of 3-4 to compare and contrast the two mouse books that I had read and explain which one they liked more and why.  The students throughout the day were on their very best behavior and I was happy to see that the seemed to be responding well to me, my positive reinforcement, love, and encouragement.  I had my students take a brain break and we did some classroom stretches/yoga to get some blood flowing and stretch out their legs after a long day.  I had one last book, Giggle, Giggle, Quack that I read at the end of the day.  Again, I asked lots of questions throughout the book to extend time and to maintain their interest in the book.  It worked well and the day ended.  It was quite successful, despite having next to nothing to work with at school.  At the end of the day I had my students line up and told them I wanted a handshake/high five/or hug from each before they left: I got a hug from every single student.  Talk about a rewarding day!  By the time we got back, we were all BEAT.  We all took a nap, got up and went out for dinner at the famous Joe’s Brewery for one of the best dinners.  Once we got back we had to back for our week up north, as we are about to visit the cheetah foundation, Etosha national park, the tent schools, and traditional Himba villages.  Phew, that was a lot!  I hope you made it through all that!