Stories for Monday

Sister decided to cancel the morning Assembly today. The day began with a damp chill in the air and she preferred that the girls begin their day in their classrooms right after breakfast. By the end of the first class period, the sky had cleared, the mist had melted away and the campus was awash in sunshine. We each began our busy day and the theme for the morning was  stories.

I began the day in Teacher Esther’s classroom. Teacher Esther is an English teacher in her first year at MGS. She is Ugandan; she was educated in Literature, English and Education at the same college in Uganda that her colleague Teacher Gilbert attended.  In her lesson today, she was building on her S1 students’ writing skills. So far this term, they had written essays in which they described themselves. They had written other pieces that were descriptive in nature. Today she asked them to write on a very different topic: The Bank Robbery. She encouraged them be expressive. If a character was afraid, “Show me; don’t tell me. Let me know what a person does when she is afraid.” The students wrote earnestly; and when they felt finished, they could meet with Teacher Esther to have a Writer’s Conference to edit their writing.

It was a productive lesson. Each girl wrote a different story, expressing different perspectives on a robbery. From robbery as a social problem, to a brave aunty who stood up bravely to a brazen robber, the stories demonstrated creativity and an interesting thought process. Teacher Esther is a teacher who encourages her students with thoughtful feedback. She expresses appreciation for their efforts to write stories that  appeal to their peers.  Near the end of class, she asked for a few volunteers to read their stories to the class. Each version of the bank heist was applauded in appreciation.

Daphne visited with Teacher Luladey’s Pre-College Program class. Teacher Luladey had asked her students to prepare a 5 minute presentation on something that they felt was very important, something that meant a great deal to them. She asked them to be aware of their audience, their voices and how well they gave their message to be clearly understood. The topics the girls chose ranged from God, to Motherhood to one students presentation on appreciating her  watch because of the importance of keeping time. Daphne enjoyed the presentations and the poise and confidence that the students displayed.

The other story of the day has to include the increasing number of girls who find their way over to the Maker Space and Sara’s work. Sara believes she saw 100 girls today…all finding time in their free time to visit the materials that now are housed in both the first and second floors of the Library and STEM Building. In between working with teachers and testing materials, Sara introduced students to the stuff. They listen so intently to her explanations and then enthusiastically build with LEGOs, and experiment with the Stop Action camera and so on. They quickly come up with their own ideas of how materials can be used.

Sister Juvenal was eager to try her hand at the 3-D printer. What did she create? A whistle…a modestly sized, dove-grey whistle that she promptly put in her pocket. She shows it off with great delight. A useful accessory for a head of school!

So there are many stories for Monday that has morphed into  Tuesday as I finish writing this text. I am sitting  in the soft early morning light on the veranda of  the Residence. As I was sitting here, I saw the several workers who come very early in the morning to clean the stone entrances of the Administration Building and the STEM building, prune hedges and plants, weed the walkways, water the greenery, fix breakfasts. Many are women. They work hard to keep this campus looking orderly, peaceful, cared for. We must include them in the story of how well the Maranyundo School operates and serves the needs of its students, teachers and administrators.

The people who care for us and our surroundings are always an important story we must remember.