Mr Robinson's school blog
Tuesday 29 November 2011
Family Learning for EYFS
This morning, we are delighted to have parents and carers from children in the Early Years Foundation Stage (EFYS) who are spending time with our Children's Centre Teacher, Mrs Jo Smith and our Reception Teacher, Mr Adam Walker. Adam and Jo are supporting parents and carers develop 'creativity' with their children - giving practical examples of activities that can be carried out at home.
Monday 14 November 2011
Our amazing world
Throughout our visit to Tanzania, we have had the opportunity to further explore our world. This video shows how wonderful our world is.... and is a tribute to the scientists who help us see the world in a new way.
Earth | Time Lapse View from Space, Fly Over | NASA, ISS from Michael König on Vimeo.
Time lapse sequences of photographs taken by Ron Garan fragileoasis.org/bloggernauts/Astro_Ron and the crew of expedition 28 & 29 onboard the International Space Station from August to October,2011, who shot these pictures at an altitude of around 350 km with a high ISO HD Camera developed by NHK Japan, nicknamed the SS-HDTV camera. All credit goes to them.Sunday 13 November 2011
New photos of Dar Es Salaam
If you are returning, there are some new photos added... so click through the link for 13 more photos from Dar Es Salaam
Saturday 12 November 2011
Friday 11 November 2011
Developing a GSP
Today we are meeting with the Tanzanian schools headteachers and lead teachers to explore how to develop an effective Global School Partnership. Most importantly the partnership is about mutual learning and not about fund raising or charity. The drive is to share the outcomes of joint learning projects; learning together in an equitable and sustainable way.
More to follow as blogging via Kindle 3G is very fiddly!!!
More to follow as blogging via Kindle 3G is very fiddly!!!
Wednesday 9 November 2011
Unable to get online
So, we have now been in Tanzania (Dodoma) for four days and visited eleven schools - a mixture of primary and secondary schools. The challenges facing the teachers here are pretty big!
- Class sizes in Primary Schools have not been less than 60 per class teacher - one school had over 105 children in EVERY class
- Many of the schools have no electricity or running water
- The children have to travel long distances to get to schools
- Basic resources, like desks and text books are scarce
Having said that, we have been encouraged to hear teachers talking about developing 'more effective methodologies', one headteacher talking about developing leadership qualities and the role of partnerships in developing teams of good teachers.
Tuesday 8 November 2011
Monday 7 November 2011
School visits, day 1
Today began our visit by meeting with a number of officials from the District of Dodoma. They were able to discuss with us their role in developing schools (both primary and secondary).
After this we visited our first two primary schools which were between 3 – 5 kms from the city centre. We were warmly welcomed by the headteachers, staff and children. At one school, the children lined the driveway into the school singing and clapping their school song and the national anthem.
After this we visited our first two primary schools which were between 3 – 5 kms from the city centre. We were warmly welcomed by the headteachers, staff and children. At one school, the children lined the driveway into the school singing and clapping their school song and the national anthem.
Kilimanjaro - view from the aeroplane
Kilimanjaro, with its three volcanic cones, Kibo, Mawenzi, and Shira, is a dormant volcano in Tanzania and the highest mountain in Africa at 5895 metres
Arriving at Dodoma
We arrived at Dar es Salaam airport at 7.00am local time. The bags were delivered pretty quickly and straight out at customs. We were met by Gosbert Damazo who is the Regional Director of Education for Dodoma.
We packed up into a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove for 6 hours to reach the capital of Tanzania, Dodoma. The landscape between Dar and Dodoma changed quite dramatically from a lush, tropical region with rich landscape through to a much drier region, up on a plain.
Dodoma has been the capital of Tanzania since 1973 however, it has never really taken off as, although very central within the whole country, Dodoma is quite isolated and desolate.
‘Dodoma’ means ‘sinking’ or ‘sunk’. The explanation is that it was a metaphor for the fate of invaders unable to escape the spears and arrows of the brave Gogo defenders. However, tales are told of an elephant that came to drink in the Kikuyu River which got stuck and started to sink.
Our Hotel is called the ‘New Dodoma Hotel’ which was originally built by German settlers during the First World War. Since then it has been refurbished and the most popular hotel in the city.
Background information about the education system
• Preliminary Education: age 5 – 7
• Primary Education: age 7 – 14
• Secondary Education: age 14 – 18
• Advanced: age 18 – 19
• University students take out a loan to pay for the course and then pay back as soon as working
• School are supposed to be inspected twice a year but in reality it does not happen that way.
We packed up into a Toyota Land Cruiser and drove for 6 hours to reach the capital of Tanzania, Dodoma. The landscape between Dar and Dodoma changed quite dramatically from a lush, tropical region with rich landscape through to a much drier region, up on a plain.
Dodoma has been the capital of Tanzania since 1973 however, it has never really taken off as, although very central within the whole country, Dodoma is quite isolated and desolate.
‘Dodoma’ means ‘sinking’ or ‘sunk’. The explanation is that it was a metaphor for the fate of invaders unable to escape the spears and arrows of the brave Gogo defenders. However, tales are told of an elephant that came to drink in the Kikuyu River which got stuck and started to sink.
Our Hotel is called the ‘New Dodoma Hotel’ which was originally built by German settlers during the First World War. Since then it has been refurbished and the most popular hotel in the city.
Background information about the education system
• Preliminary Education: age 5 – 7
• Primary Education: age 7 – 14
• Secondary Education: age 14 – 18
• Advanced: age 18 – 19
• University students take out a loan to pay for the course and then pay back as soon as working
• School are supposed to be inspected twice a year but in reality it does not happen that way.
Saturday 5 November 2011
Friday 4 November 2011
Why are you going to Tanzania?
So why am I heading to Tanzania? As part of our school cluster (South Lambeth Schools' Partnership) we put in an application to develop partnerships with international schools. All twelve schools in the partnership were part of the bid to the British Council. The bid was successful and we were linked with a group of schools in Dodoma, Tanzania.
I shall be carrying out a 'scouting' trip with Mike Richardson (Partnership Business Manager) and Lara Massey (Assistant Headteacher from Dunraven School) to visit the ten link schools, establish a contact and consider how the partnership could work. A delegation from Tanzania shall then be coming to London in January 2012.
Members of staff from each school within the partnership will then make a further visit to Tanzania in Summer 2012, introducing and commencing projects of work between Tanzania and London and kicking off our Global Partnership.
The purpose of the Global Partnership is about learning and not charity - considering issues like global citizenship, sustainability issues and economic development.
See a map by clicking here
Watch a short BBC film about schools in Tanzania
Profile of Tanzania
I shall be carrying out a 'scouting' trip with Mike Richardson (Partnership Business Manager) and Lara Massey (Assistant Headteacher from Dunraven School) to visit the ten link schools, establish a contact and consider how the partnership could work. A delegation from Tanzania shall then be coming to London in January 2012.
Members of staff from each school within the partnership will then make a further visit to Tanzania in Summer 2012, introducing and commencing projects of work between Tanzania and London and kicking off our Global Partnership.
The purpose of the Global Partnership is about learning and not charity - considering issues like global citizenship, sustainability issues and economic development.
See a map by clicking here
Watch a short BBC film about schools in Tanzania
Profile of Tanzania
Move from Wordpress
I have joined the rest of the school and moved from Wordpress to Blogger as a home for our school blogs. Find out more about my visit to Tanzania here.
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