After a fairly long break, schools have resumed and activities will begin to pick up again. With the not so pleasant national examination results recorded by schools in this region there is a bit of concern about how extra curricular activities will be viewed in schools. Nevertheless, we will soon be embarking on follow-up of the head teachers trained in Malindi as well as those trained in Kwale. Our annual schedule of activities is being developed and will be shared as soon as it is ready but we do expect lots of action this term!
TTEE appreciates that teachers have some useful knowledge and experiences which are beneficial for shared learning. Group activities therefore form a significant part of the seminars as seen in the group sessions and presentation photos.
another group discussion group discussionpresentation time
After a relatively quiet year, with two seasons of peak activity, 2011 is finally coming to an end. The final activity has been the Malindi head teachers’ seminar held on 29th and 30th November.
The Malindi head teacher seminar- the third of the leadership seminars since their inception in 2009, went very well. With 18 school administrators attending, it was a full house with 100% attendance of participants and facilitators. Apart from the usual first day delay (a persistent challenge, yet to be overcome) and ‘it should have been longer’ comments, the participants were very pleased with the content and facilitators. Although I found the room we had to use a little awkward we managed very well and the participants thought the venue was very good.
Lots of Merry Christmas and New Year wishes from the TTEE programme and all previous participants. We are looking forward to a full and busy 2012! And do send some feedback after seeing the final 2011 seminar photos and videos.
Mohammed, an outgoing club member standing next to a model digestive system made from paper mache. He says “creating the model was a good revision exercise for us” while it has also served as teaching aid for the Science teacher.
Can you see the pieces of cloth holding the sticks together?
Not only does the fence last longer, it uses left-over cloth that would have been waste and looks very lovely!
What a lovely fence! That was my first reaction when I saw this fence. Although the colours inject life and provide lots of variety, the intention was functional rather than aesthetic. As Pungu primary does not have a fence surrounding the school, stray goats from the community pose a big challenge to young trees that have been planted. Initially, the pupils would use strings and sisal to tie the sticks together to create the fence. However, the combination of sunshine and rain would quickly wear those out and the fence would fall thus the idea of using pieces of cloth to tie up the sticks. Clever, isn’t it?
Makame Mohammed is the head teacher of Pungu Primary located in the outskirts of Mombasa on the way to Ukunda. A long standing Wildlife Club patron, he was transferred to Pungu in 2010. This year (2011), he was one of the participants at the TTEE seminar for head teachers in Kwale where the theme was “Leading schools in environmental education”. Since then, he has increased his efforts in supporting the club Patron of his school and they have recently undertaken gapping of trees in the school compound. See the young plants in the photo below
CORDIO has been implementing a project promoting responsible and sustainable fishing among the community with a component targeting schools. This involved seminars for teachers specifically in Msambweni and Watamu followed by a schools’ competition where pupils performed songs, poems and debates as well as art work and essays.
The climax of the competition were the award ceremonies held on 23rd September in Msambweni and 27th September in Watamu. The best overall schools in Watamu were Mida and Gede whose teachers were trained in the 2006 and 2007 TTEE seminars. Here was some of the action!
Cynthia of Gede primary, who came 3rd in the debate category
The Kwale Head teachers’ seminar was a bit like the 2007 teachers’ seminar – quite a full house, excellent attendance and great participation! The project worked closely with the Kwale District Education office to identify head teachers and Divisional Quality Assurance Officer contacted all the head teachers.
For a two day seminar, it was packed with activity, with talks led by facilitators from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), Wildlife Clubs of Kenya (WCK), Kenyatta University and CORDIO as well one of the head teachers from Mombasa sharing her experience after going through the head teachers’ seminar in 2009. Here are some photos…
