By Maria Skuratovskaya | Project leader
Greetings from Midawe!
As I write this, the students of Ikirwa School are approaching the mid-point of their second semester. Those in Grades II and IV are busy preparing for their government exams, which they will face in November. Meanwhile their peers in Grade VI are already looking towards the final primary school exams that await them at the end of 2019. As is the local custom, Ikirwa has begun joining with other local schools to mock-examinations and see how are students compare and where should we seek to improve. So far the results have been outstanding.
One of the most exciting developments this year was the opening of a computer lab which was made possible through a laptop donation from a group of Team Kilimanjaro climbers. Having 15 personal computers available for both students and teachers to use has been nothing short of game changing. After undergoing mandatory computer literacy training, the teachers have dramatically reduced the time needed to prepare examination materials and as a result had more time for instruction and review. Meanwhile students in Grades V and VI have been receiving 2 hours of computer literacy instructions a week and are quickly becoming proficient with common MS Office applications. We hope that this time next year we will be able to give both students and staff access to the wealth of on-line learning.
One of the most rewarding things about working with Ikirwa School Project is watching the children grow and develop their academic and language talents, especially those kids who attend the school on scholarship, funded in great part by the contributions from you, our unwavering supporters. Invariably they start off slow, held back by their lack of language skills and poor academic instruction in the public schools they previously attended. Invariably, we see these children work hard, relentlessly catch-up and move up to the top of the class. Our greatest reward is seeing these young minds blossom and their imaginations opening up to the world of possibilities. Thank you all for joining us on this journey.
Warmly,
Staff and Volunteers of Ikirwa School Project
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