From Bricks to Books - Sagam Village Builds a Library!

"At the moment that we persuade a child, any child, to cross that threshold, that magic threshold into a library, we change their lives forever, for the better."

President Barack Obama, Chicago, 2005


The brand-new library at Sagam Primary School is really starting to take shape! In an earlier post (November 2011) we described the origins and first steps of this wonderful project, which is a collaborative effort between the Sagam Village community and the Bowman School community. It is exciting to see the walls in place, with spaces for windows and doorways, and to know that Sagam students, parents, and teachers will soon experience that "magic threshold" that leads to a world of discovery, reflection, and new understandings.

Construction is now in Stage II - the "Walling" stage - and progress is evident through the pictures posted here. What materials are required to build a new library in a village in Kenya? For this stage of the project, the community has gathered, constructed, or used:

• 70 bags of cement
• 6000 bricks (made in the village)
• 15 kg of ordinary nails
• 400 ft of timber
• 4 lorries full of sand
• 2 lorries full of ballast

along with a variety of other materials, and the labor is being completed be members of the village community. We look forward to receiving more updates as the progress continues!

Year 8 Students - 2011 Residential Trip to Lake Nakuru National Park

Sometimes, the best learning takes place when we venture beyond the school grounds. Residential trips are wonderful opportunities for students to take what they have learned in their classes and apply it directly to experiences at special locations. At Bowman School in Lexington, MA, 5th grade students attend a residential environmental education program in a wooded setting where they explore science concepts and work in teams to complete projects. At Sagam Primary School in Kenya, the Year 8 students travel by bus for a residential study trip to Lake Nakuru and the surrounding countryside to study geography, geology, agriculture, and their natural environment.

Lake Nakuru is located midway between two major cities in Kenya - the capital, Nairobi, and the city of Kisumu, which borders Lake Victoria in the western area of the country. (Sagam Primary School is located about an hour's drive northwest of Kisumu, not too far from the border to Uganda.) The Year 8 students at Sagam prepare for their trip by studying the ecosystem, climate, and physical features of the region prior to departure, and continue their learning through both guided and independent experiences upon their arrival at Lake Nakuru National Park. Like the students at Bowman School who travel a distance for their residential trip, the days for the Sagam students are filled with opportunities to discover habitats and scientific concepts that come alive in a natural setting.
The countryside around Lake Nakuru contains soil that is rich in nutrients, and there are many farms in the region. The view to the left is from one of the hilltops in the area that the Sagam students visited during their travels.




To the right is a photograph of some of the students who attended the trip, along with teacher Mrs. Jane Rogo (who visited Bowman School in 2010) and Sagam School Head Teacher, Mr. Peter Onyango. This Year 8 trip to Lake Nakuru National Park has become a yearly tradition at Sagam Primary School, and is made possible through contributions by the Sagam Village community, combined with funds that are raised by students, parents, and staff at Bowman School in Lexington, MA.

Sagam Primary School Library - Building a Foundation for Learning!

An exciting new project is now underway at Sagam Primary School! With funding support from both the community of Sagam Village and the Bowman School community in Lexington, Massachusetts, a new library is now under construction at Sagam Primary School. This collaborative initiative will enhance the ability for students at Sagam to select and read books from a variety of genres and at multiple levels, and will provide resources for both the the students and staff at Sagam, as well as community members from the village. The first step in construction was clearing and leveling the area where the library will be built.
In the photo to the right, one of the teachers at Sagam Primary School shows how the foundation, built using bricks that were manufactured locally, have created a strong, level foundation for the planned library building. The soil in Yala province is rich with clay, and there is an area within walking distance to the school where bricks are manufactured by local residents of the village. As the walls begin to rise from the solid foundation, local village residents and faculty from the school tour the project.



During visits to Sagam Primary School in the summers of 2008 and 2010, Bowman staff brought collections of books for students and teachers to use in classrooms and for general research. The books included selections of nonfiction texts, novels, teacher resources, works of fiction, and picture books that described how young people live in a wide variety of culture throughout the globe. These books will form the basis of what we hope will be a rich collection of resources for the community of Sagam Village.

2009 Sagam Primary Eighth Grade Class goes on a field trip

Although teachers Len Swanton and Shelley Cochran were unable to go to Sagam Primary this summer, the eighth grade field trip with students from Sagam Primary to view some of the natural wonders of Kenya is scheduled to go forward as planned. Stay tuned for more exciting collaborations.

Bowman International Festival

Teachers Karen Thompson and Kate Glenn shared some of the things that they learned in Kenya with students and families.

Scholarships for Sagam Primary Graduates!

Bowman School is proud to announce that through donations, money earned through the craft fair and through student art projects that we were able to send eight Sagam Primary students who completed their schooling in November to secondary school. These eight students, orphaned, partial orphaned or vulnerable, would not have been able to attend school without our help. To attend secondary school in Kenya, one must be able to pay school fees. It costs approximately $400 to send a student to secondary school. The first term results are back. Our sponsored children have done very well. If you would like to sponsor a child, full or partial, please consider a donation to the Bowman-Sagam fund, care of the Bowman PTA, 9 Philip Road, Lexington, MA 02421

Watch this spot for more information about our sponsored children and other connections with our sister school.

In the News!

Mary recently wrote a trip report of this summer's trip to visit Sagam which was published in the Lexington Minuteman. Check it out here!


Another video from Sagam: