Day 5 - Thursday 24th October 2012



Loyola's Football pitch


After meeting at the school the group visited a craft market, lots of time spent wandering and selecting presents and souvenirs.  Then onto another area to visit the very famous Tingatinga Cooperative.  This is a group of arts that work together to produce a distinctive style of painting that is known as Tingatinga art.  At St Paul's we have a Tingatinga style painting outside the hall, it has fish on it.  Again many items were purchased!

Then back to school for lunch and time to help make a video of life at Loyola High.  This involved interviewing on camera students from Loyola. 



David videoing the school sign

Tomorrow is a public holiday in Tanzania.  It is the festival of Eid-Ul-Adha, a Muslim holy day. Tanzania is roughly 33% Muslim.  For Muslims it is a day to thank the Almighty for one's good fortune and to share it with the less fortunate people. The day marked by the slaughtering of animals as sacrificial offerings, after which the meat is distributed among the needy and deprived. We have seem a lot of goats in the city ready for the sacrifice tomorrow!

We are not going to school, instead we are going to visit a small town an hour's drive up the coast called Bayamoyo.  Hopefully we will go swimming in the Indian Ocean.  The weather has been very warm all week so far 30-33 C. 

Day 4 - Wednesday 24th October 2012



Miss Fatuma Husein with Geography mini-text book

 Today was a much quieter day!  We just went to Loyola High School.  Mr Dell was busy with meetings with teachers.  He met with Miss Fatuma to discuss the Geography Project.  She had worked with Miss Thomson to help produce a joint mini textbook to be used in both school.  In St Paul's Miss Seproni and Miss Laverty also worked on the project.  It looks at global warming and considers the impact on Tanzania and the UK.  Students in both schools will be using the textbook in class soon. 


Lara helping a student fill in the 'Hand of Friendship'

Ciaran writes "We got to go into some classes, I saw a History A level lesson and a Maths lesson.  It was very different to lessons in England.   We got to use some computers and went on the Internet."

Later in the day St Paul's students went in to lessons - the equivalent of Year 7 and 8 to do the 'Hand of Friendship'.  Loyola students were very pleased to find out about our students.  


Annette with Bellal at the front of class explaining



Hannah teaching the class

Loyola student filling in the sheet

Reflections on Day 3 by Lara

“Our third day was hectic to say the least!  We arrived at Loyola High School and we saw an assembly where we all gave a little speech and of course Miss Bacon had perfected her Kiswahili.  Today was the day of visiting the cluster primary schools.  So we went to Gonzaga Primary School where we were treated to another assembly with a small marching band.  After this we had a cup of tea and cake.

We carried on to our next primary school, St Therese’s Primary School.  However we were very late due to really bad traffic jams and we also had a puncture so after a tyre change we eventually got to the next school. We were treated to lots of nice food and we were warmly welcomed. 

Pit Stop!

Then we were off to our last school, by this time we were exhausted, however St Joseph’s Primary School was very welcoming but we were fed again! Eventually we were off again home, sometimes on very bumpy roads – our own rollercoaster!”

Day 3 - Tuesday 23rd October 2012 - Visits!

We started today with Assembly at Loyola High School.  Miss Bacon impressively addressed the whole school in Kiswahili; students and staff were very impressed. 

All the St Paul's students introduced themselves and said a few words about their experience so far. Mr Dell made a presentation to Miss Harriet and Sr Columba, (staff at Loyola High) thanking them for their work and giving them a gift.

"The challenge of the day was at Gonzaga Primary School (partner school is St Lawrence's Catholic Primary School, Feltham) their children sung the Tanzanian national anthem, then we were asked to sing our national anthem to them "God save the queen.." surprisingly we were quite good!"

"Today we visited 4 schools in total and got to talk and interact with pupils in the different schools."  Hannah

"In the schools we were given refreshments and treated to various entertainments, including a Maasai song and dance from 2 students at St Joseph's Catholic Primary School."  Annette

Hannah's reflection on Day 2

"Today we had to be in school at 7am, which is 90 minutes earlier than in the UK.  We had a tour of the school and got to meet all the Heads of Departments.  We also go to have a chat with the Headteacher and also the school counsellor.

Near the end of the day we meet with members of Loyola's student government.  We prepared questions to ask them and they answered with confidence.  The Loyola students asked us questions about St Paul's.  They were particularly interested in the fact that we have four seasons, (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn), whereas they only have two seasons:  Dry and Wet.

Overall we learnt a lot about Loyola High and the Tanzanian education system: the school day; routines; lessons; roles and responsibilities.

We all had a great day and got to meet so many new and kind characters around the school.  Everyone was open, welcoming, and helped us to feel very much at home.

Day 2 - Monday 22nd October 2012

We arrived early as school starts at 7.30am.  The day consisted of meetings, a tour, discussions.  We learnt a lot about Loyola High.

Fr Binamungo (Headteacher of Loyola High) presented with a book from Miss Bacon

First Impressions

Lara “The early start was a bit of a shock!  Tanzanians generally wake up early as the sun rises around 6am.  Loyola High is really welcoming, lots of smiles and handshakes.”

Hannah “The streets are very noisy and crowded.  I was stared at, which at first was very strange but now I am getting used to it.   I have experienced a warm welcome from everyone I have met.”

Students writing their first impressions

Annette “The people do not hesitate to provide you with anything you need – especially chilled drinking water in the heat.”

Ciaran “My first impression was the HEAT; it is humid, hot and sticky! I have been on buses here, some roads are very bumpy.”

Day One - Sunday 21st October 2012

“Today we arrived in Dar Es Salaam, capital of Tanzania.  Our flight left at 7.20 pm from Heathrow on Saturday evening.  Although I spent the entire length of the flight sleeping because I have the flu, many of the others stayed up and watched movies.

We landed at around 6.35 a.m. local time.  Immigration was not a problem and we found our bags successfully.  But as soon as we left the airport, the heat hit us like a tidal wave.  On average at this time of year in Tanzania, the temperature peaks at around 30 degrees centigrade at midday, roughly double the temperature in the UK now.” Annette

As we left the arrivals hall, at about 7.30am, we were greeted with a sea of smiles as many people were at the airport to greet us.  Students and staff welcomed us with the Kiswahili word 'Karbiu', meaning warm welcome.  After quick words of welcome we boarded cars and went to our hosts family for some rest and refreshment. 

Mass at Loyola High School
We met up again for a welcome Mass.  Excellent music enabled us to reflect prayerfully, as we prayed for each other's schools and the success of the exchange.  Miss Bacon did a reading, and Mr Dell thanked the Tanzanians for their kind welcome.

After Mass we have a supper in the school and two Loyola students, entertained us with song and music.
A great start to the week!

More to follow

The Journey Out - Saturday 20th October 2012

We all met at Terminal 5, Heathrow at 5.20pm, and after checking in, Mr Dell won the award for the heaviest suitcase (29kg).  Some of us rushed around getting last minute presents for the families we are staying with, while others browsed the duty free shops.  Very soon we board our 9hour 35 minute flight to Dar es Salaam.  It was a night flight, so we lifted off in the dark and arrive in Dar es Salaam as the sun was rising. 

Welcome to blog

Welcome to the St Paul's Blog  - Below is a summary of the first part of the exchange:

Tanzanians spend week at St Paul’s - March 2012
We welcomed Fr Binamungu, (Headteacher), Madame Harriet (Geography Teacher) and 4 students from Loyola High School as part of a British Council funded exchange programme.  They spent a total of 9 days in the UK.  The students and staff attended most assemblies and met with many people at St Paul’s.  The staff worked on further developing various curriculum projects: the Geography project on sustainability; the English project; the RE project ‘Make Poverty History’.  The Loyola students also got to know the English school system, taking part in a variety of lessons.

Classroom Contact

Every class in Year 7 had a special lesson during which the Tanzanian students spoke about themselves and our students asked them questions about what life is like in Tanzanian as well as what it is like to go to Loyola High School.  Many of our students really enjoyed these sessions as it provided a chance to speak directly to someone from Africa in a frank and honest way.  The Tanzanians also got to ask our students their views and found out many interesting facts about life in the UK.

Social and Cultural Opportunities

During the 9 days, there were many opportunities for the students from Tanzanian to get to know their partners; time to develop friendship.  There was a tour of Guildford that included: visiting Guildford Cathedral; using the shopping facilities; going Ice Skating at Guildford Spectrum

London

A walking tour of London was a highlight of the week for many: standing outside Buckingham Palace; going around the Eye; hearing Big Ben chime; visiting the Catholic Westminster Cathedral; even going on a tube was a new experience for some. 

 

Time for departure
The last day in the UK involved a tour of Windsor and some for last minute shopping!  Then back to school for final farewells (some tears!) and on to Terminal 5 at Heathrow.  As the Tanzanians left it was ‘goodbye for now, see you all later’; St Paul’s students and staff will complete the second leg of the exchange in October 2012. 

Thank you

Thank you to all the families who hosted the exchange students from Tanzania, especially for the staff who helped out with various visits; Mrs Gilbert and Miss Thomson.  And a big thank you to all the students and staff of St Paul for welcoming the Loyola High staff and students, they had a great time.  Mr Dell.