Tilchen Award for Excellence in Teaching

Yesterday was the last day of school which meant awards for the top students in each class.  This year, we added a new element.  We also gave awards to the top teachers.  Teacher Joyce and I worked with Henry Timnick to create an award for effective teaching that would reward teachers who had done well this year.

The award requires three things:  effective teaching, hard work with a positive attitude and fair, respectful discipline.  The recipients of the awards were determined by student survey, observations and student performance on exams and classwork. 

This year, we were lucky to have three clear winners.  They were presented with certificates and cash awards that were donated by Henry Timnick in honor of his mother.  The teachers and the students were very surprised.  It was so fun to be able to reward the teachers for their hard work.  They were extremely grateful for the recognition.  It was a wonderful day to be at KEMPS!

Below is an introduction written by Henry Timnick that describes the award's namesake: 

Ottilie ( Tilchen) Schroeter Timnick was born in Russia of German parents in 1894. She immigrated to Canada in 1928, penniless, because the Bolsheviks expropriated her family's wealth and property in the Russian Revolution.
She had to start all over in a new land at age 34, learn English, and help her family survive a devastating world depression. She graced those fortunate to meet and know her for 108 happy years.

Through hard work and strong faith, Tilchen led her family to prosper in Regina, Canada. She was the embodiment of a Renaissance woman. She was a talented singer and mandolin player, gardener, actress, herbalist, story teller, and loving mother.

She was an unforgettable person, who made everyone laugh and feel important. Tilchen's life was about serving others.

Although she didn't have an extensive formal education, she educated herself by being a voracious reader, and amazed everyone with her quick wit and brilliance. Education and music were at the top of her list for everyone in her family, and even with limited means during the depression, she somehow found the money to send her children to the best secondary school in Regina.

She would have been thrilled to have visited KEMPS, to meet all the wonderful and beautiful children, and to speak with the Administration and teachers of this extraordinary school. And because she believed everyone ought to do their best in everything one does, she taught us that the goal in one's endeavors should always be to reach EXCELLENCE. She had little patience with mediocrity.

How excited she would have been to celebrate with the teachers who will be receiving their Tilchen Teaching Award of Excellence today.

Her humble and very proud son-----Henry Otto Timnick        November 11, 2015

Karibu Kibeta

We had visitors this month!  Bishop Rimbo from the NY Metro Synod, his wife, and other members of the Synod paid a visit to Bukoba. The NY Metro Synod has been incredible partners to KEMPS over the years so everyone was excited to see them and they were excited to visit again. 

The students put together a show for the visitors.  It included singing, dancing, skits, etc.  Watching the kids perform is always one of my favorite moments.  When the Ngoma, traditional dancing, started, the Bishop even joined in.

The visitors also came with an array of amazing gifts from the members of their churches.  They brought art supplies, jump ropes, tennis balls, an entire suitcase full of snacks for us, and I think the favorite......a new soccer net.

We used all the candy they brought to celebrate Halloween.  The students all said 'trick or treat' in exchange for sweets.  It was a fun way for us to celebrate and include the students!

And of course, Halloween is also Nino's birthday.  So we spent some time celebrating him as well!

Thanks again for all the goodies and for visiting.  We enjoyed having you here!

Asante Sana Grace Lutheran Church in Yorktown Heights, NY

We would like to say a BIG THANKS to Grace Lutheran Church in Yorktown Heights, NY.  A few months ago, I was emailing with Inge and Bob Schnut and they asked if we needed anything.  As usual, we needed pencils for the students.  They are tough to come by here in Bukoba.  But we also asked for chess boards.  Trevor has been running a chess club for months but with only one real board.  We made more out of paper but the 'pieces' were difficult to keep track of.

Inge and Bob organized and pencil and chess board drive at their church.  And the results of their efforts have arrived and the students couldn't be happier.

There are SO many pencils.  The students use pencils for drawing in Vocational Skills and PDS.  Below is a picture of some of the students being sponsored by Grace Lutheran Church with some of the pencils.

The chess club has taken on a whole new dynamic now that they have so many boards.  The students are such fast learners.  We have already had one tournament and hope to have another soon.  There is also talk of building a life size chess board in collaboration with the Art Club....

Oh Happy Day

This morning was a special church service celebrating children. It started off with a parade where the children waved flowers and sang songs. The older students led the church service. When it was over, the students got to enjoy some snacks, sweets and soda.

Weights and Measures

Last week, the school inspectors visited KEMPS.  They spent two days meeting with teachers, reviewing paperwork and office processes, walking around exploring campus, etc.  It was a stressful two days for the staff but it also seemed to spark some good conversation about teaching.

One of their requirements was that we update the student record cards with heights and weights.  There isn't a scale at school so we had to improvise.  There is a spring scale used for weighing flour, rice, etc.  So the students had to hold themselves up on the spring scale while a teacher read their weight. 

It was sort of like the President's Fitness test gone terribly wrong because not only did you have to do a pull up in front of everyone but then they also yelled your weight out for the teacher to write down.  But I'll say it ended up being a pretty funny moment.

Full Speed Ahead

We are now in the final months before the end of the school year.  In fact, we've got a short 11 weeks remaining.  As you can imagine, this is a very busy time for the students, staff and for us.  Trevor has started a 'Math Club.'  He works with students on an online math program called Khan Academy.  It has been difficult so far because we have very limited internet.  He uses the two modems that we have at our house which means that only two students can work at a time.  But we are hopeful that the internet in the computer lab will be working this week and then he will be able to work with up to 10 students at a time.  The students really enjoy it and we hope it helps push them quickly on their math skills.  He does this work in the evenings and weekends so it keeps us all very busy.

I have been working in partnership with the Head Teacher to push the teachers' thinking around academic standards, high expectations, creating a rigorous work environment, etc.  It has been challenging but I think we are starting to see some really good things happening.  I worked with a committee of teachers to create a rubric that outlines a definition for highly effective teachers.  This week we roll the rubric out to the full staff.  After that, I will be training teachers to do observations using the rubric.  Hopefully after that, we will be able to start doing some regular professional development based on what teachers need help with.

We've also started pushing for teachers to have more opportunities to work together to problem solve and think about what their students need.   I've seen some really amazing grade level meetings in the last few weeks.  There are so many good ideas here for what we need to do to help students achieve more and I love to see teachers having conversations about these kinds of topics. 

We are also looking to hire a few more teachers so this week we have interviews.  I'll be sitting in on the interviews.  Hopefully we'll be able to fit some great new teachers.  Once we have those teachers hired, things will get a little easier for teachers who are teaching a lot of extra classes right now. 

In addition to all the things happening at school, Trevor and I have also started training for the Serengeti Marathon at the end of November.  It is really difficult to run long distances when you live on a mountain!  So I'm a little nervous about how all of this will go.  But I'm sure that come December, we'll look back and feel proud about all we have accomplished both personally and professionally.

Land of a Thousand Hills

During the September holiday, we traveled to Kigali, Rwanda.  It was a wonderful week and much needed rest.   We stayed at a really nice boutique hotel called, Heaven.  The owners are from the US and have written a book, A Thousand Hills to Heaven, about their experiences building a post genocide community at their restaurant and hotel.  The staff were wonderful and the food at the restaurant was amazing.  If you ever visit Kigali, you must eat here!  Below is a picture of Nino with his favorite staff member.  He would tell her that he loved her at least once a day.

We visited the Genocide Memorial and it is difficult to describe that experience.  I've read and heard stories about it before.  But nothing prepared me for the pictures, belongings, names, etc that filled the museum.  It was very difficult to walk through and read about the lives that were lost.  But it was an important experience as well.  To be able to understand a bit about what the people of Rwanda experienced and how they are trying to move ahead was an incredible opportunity.

In addition to learning about the history of Rwanda, we were able to just relax some.  We had wonderful food, swam, bowled, went to the movies etc.  Patricio also got to take an art class at an art gallery the he really enjoyed.  And probably our favorite thing was that we went on a walking tour of one of the oldest neighborhood in Rwanda.  Patricio learned to pound cassava leaves and after the tour, we got to eat a delicious meal prepared by the mother of our guide.  All in all,  it was just what we needed to recharge for the final months of school.

A Long, Busy 'Summer'

It certainly has been hot enough to feel like summer!  When we arrived here last August, the rainy season had started early.  So we though the temperature was always cool and breezy with a once a day rain.  But we have learned this August that it can be very hot and dry here.  We expect the rains to start anytime and for it to finally cool down a bit.

It has also been a very busy term since returning from our holiday.  There has been a lot to do to prepare students for exams.  We also had preparations for the Standard VII graduation. And there was an epic football match between our Standard VII boys and the boys from the school behind ours.  We have one week of school left before heading our for a much  needed week vacation. 

Here are some pics for the events of the past month...

The football match was pretty amazing.  Our boys scored a goal about half way through the first half.  Because everyone was busy preparing for graduation, they only let the older kids go watch the game.  But the younger kids kept sneaking over and watching until they would get sent away.  But then finally, they let everyone come for the last 10 minutes or so of the game.  They were so excited. The sang and clapped the entire time there were there.  It was quite the cheering section.  We were still leading 1-0 until the final minute or so of the game.  Then the other team was awarded a penalty kick.  We thought all was lost.....but they missed!!  You can't imagine the cheers from our side.  The final whistle blew and you would have thought we had won world cup!  The team was cheered the entire walk back to campus.  It was nearly impossible to settle everyone back down for lunch and afternoon classes!

Yesterday was the graduation for Standard VII.  It is our second graduation here and it was a lot more enjoyable when I actually knew what was happening and had participated in the preparations.  All of the classes prepare songs and performances to celebrate Standard VII.  And the graduates themselves prepared things to show everyone else.  Then they received diplomas and gifts.  Finally, there was a big meal and celebration with their families. 

Standard VII dancing onto the stage:

Standard I performance:

I am the class teacher for Standard VI.  This meant I had to help them prepare their presentation.  We did two.  The first was a dance and song.  The second was an English presentation.  They described what they have learned about writing essays including the writing process and types of essays.  And then four students shared their essays.  It was really great.  I was so proud of them!

Traditional dancing:

Once of Patricio's closest friends here is Shedrak, a Standard VII student.  Patricio was happy to see him celebrated at graduation but so sad to think about him leaving next week.

Vacation!

We have been on a grand adventure for the last week or so.  My sister flew into Dar after her months hiking the Camino de Santiago.  She's tired and injured from her pilgrimage but so elated to be spending time with the boys.  And the boys couldn't be happier to be with her. 

We were supposed to take a train for the first leg of our journey but there is a railway workers strike in Zambia so we ended up on the bus.  This bus was much nicer than the one we rode last time so we didn't mind.

We traveled to Livingstone where we staying in a place that was a little like fancy camping.  The hardest part was how cold it was.  We've definitely gotten used to the temperature in Bukoba because we were freezing.  We had fun though.  Patricio got to play chess with Samantha and Nino got to play on a playground.

Then we walked across the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  The walk was a little challenging considering we had all of our luggage and 2 kids in tow.  But it was worth it to get our first glimpse at Victoria Falls along the way.

In Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, we are staying at a wonderful house we found on Airbnb.  We never would have guessed how much we'd use that site here in Africa.  But it has been so helpful.  For the price of a hotel room we have a 4 bedroom house.  Having a kitchen and room to spread out is so helpful for us when we travel. 

We spent a day exploring the Falls and it was incredible.  We are catching it at the end of the rainy season so there is still a ton of water and mist.  In the dry season, there is a small pool at the top of the falls that they let people swim in. I guess there is a natural rock wall that keep the swimmers from going over the edge.  I can't imagine ever doing that....

We also planned a day trip to nearby Chobe National Park in Botswana.  The highlight of that park is the elephants.  Our guide told us there are an estimated 75,000 elephants living there.  He also explained that the 4 countries bordering Chobe (Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia) have all agreed to not put up any border fences so that the animals can freely migrate in search of food.  Pretty cool.

We still have lots to do on our vacation....so more pics to come.  We are just so grateful for the amazing opportunity that this experience has awarded us.

Cooking

 Any one who knows us, knows that we love to grill.  Finding the equipment to grill has been quite a challenge.  Last night we finally had everything we needed to give it a try.  We grilled some steak and veggies.  The experience wasn't without frustration (charcoal troubles, skewer issues, nosy neighbors) but the end product turned out well.  Next up, chicken....if we can find someone to kill, pluck and cut up the chicken of course.

School is closed for about 7 weeks.  That is a long time for Patricio to be out of school.  He thrives on routine and predictability.  So we have a schedule of tasks that he has to complete everyday, although he gets to manage the order and timing.  One of his tasks is to complete a chore.  Today's chore was to cook lunch with Trevor.  It was nice to see him back in the kitchen as he used to this often in Memphis.