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:

The Animals of Lake Nakuru National Park

Lake Nakuru National Park is perhaps best known for its astonishing number of flamingos - at some point during the year there are millions of them on Lake Nakuru! These flamingos eat the abundant algae that grows in the warm waters of the alkaline lake. There are two species of flamingo that live here - the Lesser Flamingo and the Greater Flamingo. The Lesser Flamingos are the ones whose numbers are very large.

In addition to flamingos, there are many other species of bird that can be seen in the park, including pelicans, cormorants, and Maribou stork. In total, there are 400 species of birds living in the park! This makes it a great attraction for avid birdwatchers.

There are a number of mammals that can be seen during a game drive. These include baboons, who especially like to hang out near where humans are eating, and the large mammals, such as Cape buffalo (pictured), black and white rhinos, giraffes and zebras.

Black rhinos were introduced to Lake Nakuru National Park to protect them from poachers. They are a highly endangered species, and highly prized to poachers. There are only about 3,600 of these animals left in the world. Currently, there are 25 black rhinos living in the park. They are fenced in, but this is mainly to keep the poachers out, instead of the animals in.

Black rhinos are endangered due to poaching, because their horn is used in traditional Chinese medicine. Between 1970 and 1996, the number of black rhinos was drastically reduced, by almost 96%. Additionally, they face danger due to loss of habitat. The students on the field trip were lucky to get to see some of these highly endangered animals, although they were far away and therefore hard to photograph!

Sagam Primary's First Field Trip

This week, I was lucky to get to go with Sagam Primary on their first-ever field trip. I arrived in Sagam the night before from Kisumu, as I would have to be awake at 4:30 AM to be at the school by 5:00 AM! When I arrived at the school at 5:00 AM, the students and teachers were already there - they had spent the night at the school! The teachers said the students had had trouble sleeping they were so excited - they would quiet down for a few hours, and then the teachers would hear talking again. After everyone had breakfast at the school, we loaded on the bus and headed off on the trip!

There were 10 teachers, 58 Standard Eight students, and myself on the trip. We first drove to Eldoret on our way to the Great Rift Valley. Watching the students' excitement at seeing the airport in Eldoret, and a waterfall along the Rift Valley was great! After we passed through Eldoret, we went to Lake Bogoria. At Lake Bogoria, there are hot springs and geysers. The students were very excited to see the hot springs! They learn about these geologic features in their social studies classes as part of the geography curriculum, so it was exciting for them to get to see them for themselves. Standing near the hot springs, it really was very hot! One of the geysers reaches over 100 degrees Centigrade, just about the boiling point of water. The guide demonstrated how you can cook an egg in the springs - it takes less than 10 minutes.

After our tour at Lake Bogoria, we got back on the bus and headed to Nakuru National Park, where we spent the night. We stayed at a Kenya Wildlife Club hostel, the students in dormitories and the teachers in bandas (like a little house). We cooked dinner with produce we'd bought along the way - cabbage, ugali, and kuku (chicken) - in large metal pots heated with wood that some of the students collected. After dinner, we were all very tired and it was time for bed!

The next morning after a breakfast of chai (tea) and bread and butter, we headed back on the bus for a morning game drive in the national park. We stopped first at Lake Nakuru, where we got out of the bus to get a closer look at the flamingoes. Lake Nakuru is a great place for people who are interested in birdwatching - there were probably thousands of birds on the lake, including flamingoes, pelicans and some species of stork. After we looked at the lake, we headed out to find the animals. The "Big 5" are lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and Cape buffalo. We found lots of Cape buffalo, and a surprising number of rhinos. Rhinos, especially the black rhino, are very endangered. The students were so excited to see the animals in person.

Then, we left Nakuru and headed back home. Everyone was exhausted, but we had a great trip with lots of good memories! As the Standard Eight students will be taking their exams in November to qualify for Secondary School, their experiences on this trip will help them to apply and really understand what they've learned in the classroom, and ultimately, to be successful in November, and for the rest of their lives!

Catie

Saying Goodbye is HARD!

When the time came to say goodbye, it was an emotional leave-taking for students, Sagam Primary teachers and Bowman staff! It felt a little bit like leaving family behind to get in the van that last day to go home. But now that Bowman teachers are home and have time to write about their experiences, stay tuned to hear some of the "small moment" stories from their trip.

Although teachers' time directly in Kenya was short, we look forward to weekly communication with our sister school as we work to share curricular units, on-going conversations, teaching experiences, and strategies for improving education and student success. Next week the "Standard 8 classes will be going on their field trip to Lake Nakuru and Kericho Tea Plantations thanks to the generousity of our fifth grade class. We look forward to Cate Oldenburg's photos and reporting of this first ever experience for these children!

Blog posts coming soon...
• Dr. Anton's final day in Sagam!
• Kate and the Bull
• The Pied Piper of Dunga (Miss Thompson)
• Teaching about Carbon Dioxide - science labs at Sagam Primary
• Sagam Primary students' first field trip

And a photo gallery -- images of Sagam Primary and the surrounding community!

Bowman Teachers' Final Day at Sagam Primary

On our teachers' final day at Sagam Primary, we were fortunate to be invited to participate in a regional "Education Day". This is a special day in which a number of schools from a local area get together to celebrate educational achievements. At the Education Day there are speeches, special performances, and awards for teachers recognizing teaching excellence. Education Days occur once a term. Schools are closed for the day so that all children may attend the special ceremonies. If the school that is hosting is near by, every child attends. As the school hosting was a long way away, only the "standard 8" students walked the long way to be present.

At Sagam Primary, as this was our Bowman Teachers' last day, all the students arrived at school on their day off at the regular time so that they would have a chance to "say goodbye" to Miss Thompson and Mrs. Glenn. Students brought an array of gifts to thank us for our time with them, including handmade brooms, hand drawn pictures and baskets. We brought them all home to share with Bowman.

Then it was off to Education Day. Traveling for half hour over bumpy roads, we finally entered the compound of the new school and found that we were once again honored guests. First we were introduced by Peter Onyango, Sagam Primary's head teacher, as members of his Sagam Primary staff, and then as Principal of Bowman, I was asked to say a few words about our partnership! And the entertainment began! The entertainment included recitation of poetry, both well-known and student-authored, and music and dancing.



Two Sagam Primary School teachers, Edwin Amollo and Gordon Omondy won awards for excellence in teaching for having the their students score the highest regionally in the most recent examinations. Having had the pleasure of watching these talented teachers teach, it is no wonder that many of our Sagam Primary students were doing well!

At the same time, it is striking how the numbers of girls attending school declines in the upper grades. School attendance for girls is often not as great a priority as it is for boys, and many families lack the funds and motivation to keep girls in school. One of the partnership challenges that both schools agree on is that we want to work together to see if we can come up with creative solutions to help girls stay in school!

And as our standard eight students (the final year at Sagam Primary) prepare for exams in November that will determine admission to secondary school, many of our Sagam Primary students who qualify, will be unable to attend due to lack of tuition. We will be looking to share the profiles of some of these students soon, in the hopes that they may inspire sponsorships. It costs $400.00 USD a year to go to a nearby secondary school. This is about the total yearly salary of a night watchman!

Further Adventures of Bowman Teachers

While we were at Sagam Primary, the Bowman Teachers and I had the opportunity to participate in all the ordinary activities that teachers and the headmaster do!  Kate Glenn and Karen Thompson both got to serve lunch to the students, and Karen took a turn helping to cook the teachers' lunch over the wood fire.  In addition, Karen, Kate and I all took over a range of different classrooms, trying our had at teaching in a different school setting.  

Miss Thompson enjoyed 

teaching a Standard 7 (grade 7) geography lesson on East Africa!  

Mrs. Glenn and I took over the Standard 2 (grade 2) class of 120 students for their full school day!  We have incredible respect for Madam Jane, whose management of the class seems effortless!  We found it easiest to teach Math, as the language is the most straightforward.  However, the students greatest love is singing, and they did 

a wonderful job of learning to sing "Row, Row, Row Your Boat".

Teaching about Traditional Luo Culture

In this video, Madam Clara is teaching a Standard 3 class about traditional Luo culture.  At Sagam Primary, students are initially taught in Luo, the home language for most families in the area.  At standards 1-3 (our grades 1-3) they have additional instruction in Kiswahili and English.  By Standard 4 (grade 4) the majority of the instruction is conducted in English, with some translation into Luo or Kiswahili to insure that students understand the content.  As most reading for information is done in English, students need a strong command of the ability to read with comprehension in English from an early age.  

In this lesson, Madam Clara is teaching about some of the customs that used to be practiced by the Luo traditionally.  Some of the rules that the students found interesting and amusing were that 1) girls were not allowed to climb trees and that 2)parents were not allowed to enter their married children's houses, so if they came to visit, they needed to conduct the visit outside!  

We were fortunate to be able to view (and video tape) a range of lessons!  Look forward to a great science lesson coming soon!

Traditional Luo Dance performed by Sagam Primary Students

We wanted to share with you a bit of the dancing and singing done in honor of the visiting Bowman School team!  Our experience at Sagam Primary will last far beyond our time in the country... but it has been hard to get the richness we experienced up on line due to slow operation of the internet.  In this video clip, you are watching a small segment of a traditional Luo dance typically performed to describe the movement of the young girl to her new marital home.

Distributing "Greetings from Bowman School" Book Bags

On Wednesday we had an official assembly to present the "Greetings from Bowman School" book bags to individual children, and to honor those children whose academic achievements on school-wide exams demonstrated high performance.  As we brought 180 bags and there are approximately 1000 students, teachers decided that there would be a number of categories of performance to determine who would receive our "fabric letters".  Students were chosen based on their academic performance in class and their service to the school.  Prefect (peer leaders), scouts, and athletic performers at all levels received bags as well.

This school year at Sagam Primary is somewhat different from our own.  Although Sagam Primary is getting ready to go on their summer break, this is not the end of the scho

ol year.  Kenyan Schools go from January to December, with their longest break in late November-December.  This time frame corresponds with what is Kenyan summer, or the hottest part of the year.  In August the schools have 3-4 weeks off for summer holidays.  During these summer holidays many Sagam Primary teachers are working to extend their own education.  Teachers, as in Lexington, are engaged in obtaining additional Bachelor's or Master's Degrees in a variety of areas including Special Education and Pyschology.  Teachers often attend Universities in a variety of locations in Kenya (often big cities such as Nairobi or Kisumu) during 

this time.  As with American teachers, when engaged in these intensive three-week classes, teachers often return with additional assignments to complete during the school year.  As internet and computer access is limited assignments must be returned by snail mail!

Students take exams at the end of the school year in November before leaving for break.  The result of these exams in Standard Eight (our grade 8) determine whether or not a child will be eligible to go to secondary school (High School).  For some of our Sagam Primary children the cost of going to secondary school (about $400 a year) will prohibit even the brightest from continuing their education.  This year at Sagam Primary one hard-working, high-performing girl who was admitted to secondary school after exams last year is repeating her standard eight year!  She hopes that the Sagam teachers or community will be able to help her find a sponsor so that she may enroll in secondary school after she takes her exams again in November.  We met an additional six other high performing students in grade eight who are expected to pass the exams but face a similar problem come November!  Sagam Primary teachers express the challenge of this for student motivation.  It is hard to convince some children that they should work hard in school, when the children believe it is likely that they will not be able to continue.  Retaining students in school is a challenge, especially for girls at the upper level.  At the same time, Kate, Karen and I have the greatest admiration for the incredible job that teachers at Sagam Primary School do to motivate even the most vulnerable children, and to work hard each day to insure that every child learns!  

Kudos to the Sagam Primary Teachers!

Mary

Miss Thompson has her hair braided!

Our teachers have been having a wonderful visit to Sagam and Kisumu.

We thought you would all enjoy this picture of Miss Thompson getting her hair braided in Kisumu by the girls from "Sisterhood for Change".

Stay tuned for more posts from our experiences at Sagam!

A Computer for Sagam Primary

Last week, a computer arrived at KMET's office, just prior to the departure of the Bowman team for Sagam Primary School. The arrival of the computer was an exciting event, as this computer is the first computer that Sagam Primary School will have ever had. The contents of the packages were carefully checked, and on the following Monday, they were packed into the car carrying the team and several members of KMET's staff.

Arranging for Sagam Primary School to have a computer was one of the first priorities for the partnership. The computer will be beneficial to both students at Sagam and at Bowman. At Sagam, the students and teachers will have access to resources that simply would have been impossible for them to access before. For both Bowman and Sagam students and teachers, the computer will allow us to connect to each other despite the large distances between us. We can share stories and experiences, photographs and activities, and the computer will act as the vital link. The school has been preparing for the arrival of the computer by securing the room in which it will be housed.

On Monday, the team traveled with the computer to Sagam Primary School. After introducing the newest arrivals of the Bowman team to the entire school, by going classroom to classroom, there was an assembly which was attended by all of the teachers and students at the school. During this assembly, several speeches were made introducing the partnership officially to all of the students, the Sagam teachers were introduced one by one, and the Bowman team members were introduced. After a series of performances by Sagam students (check back soon for video clips!), the computer was officially presented to the school. With all 1,000 students gathered around, the boxes were unpacked, and the parts were held up for all to see. The excitement in the air was very real, amongst both teachers and students.

Computer training sessions will be arranged for the teachers of Sagam Primary, so that they can use the computer to its full potential. Regular maintenance has been scheduled through KMET so that the computer's performance remains optimal, and it has a long life. The computer is the first step in creating a sustainable, mutually-beneficial partnership, because it makes it so much easier for us to communicate with each other while we are thousands of miles apart. Hopefully someday soon, blog posts will be coming from Sagam Primary School's new computer, and the posts can be used as a unique teaching tool for students in both countries.

The team will be arriving back in Kisumu shortly, after having spent an entire week up in Sagam working at the school. We will share their experiences here soon, as well as more posts from the first assembly (including pictures of the distribution of the bags made by Bowman students!!) so stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Teaching Multiplication of Fractions

Although teaching resources vary, both Bowman and Sagam teachers like to be sure that children can complete math problems in more than one way.  In this video, the teacher (mwalimu) is showing children two ways to multiply a whole number and a fraction, by repeat addition and by use of the traditional algorithm.  

Games on the Playground

At Sagam Primary School's version of recess, children play the same kinds of games that we play on our playground at Bowman.  Check out the girls and boys playing hopscotch and notice the soccer games in the background.  Soccer is a popular sport for boys and girls in Kenya, and is called football here.  

Check out the School in Action!

On a weekend trip to Uganda, we found a faster internet connection and wanted to share this video Mary took on her visit to Sagam last week.  One of the students is leading the others in song.  At all grade levels, teachers and students use a lot of "call and response" to keep lessons active and to help students learn.  

Jambo, and Greetings from My First Visit to Sagam Primary School!

My first visit to Sagam Primary was an amazing adventure. The school is only a short drive outside of Kisumu, but there is no question that you are in the country. The countryside is lush and green, with all sorts of vegetables growing. Each home here, country or city, has what is called a “kitchen garden”. Various sorts of kale, greens, spinach are a staple of the Kenyan diet, and the they are often picked fresh and cooked for dinner. Often the kitchen garden includes corn, herbs and a range of other vegetables! In the rural homestead areas, you have the treat of fresh milk from the cow and fresh eggs as well.

As you approach Sagam from Kisumu you have to pass over the equator from the southern hemisphere to the northern hemisphere! My father tells me that when one passes the equator for the first time, you are supposed to be thrown a party to celebrate! While I am not sure that this was the reason for our celebration, my first day at Sagam Primary was quite eventful. I spent the first day talking with the head teacher (head master) and getting to know the teachers. The girls’ dance in my honor gave me the feel of a visiting dignitary! The school is large (over 900 students) and the classrooms are often quite crowded. Still the feeling of energy and excitement for learning is very powerful.

On the second day, I had the opportunity to talk at length with Peter Onyango, the head master. We compared the educational structures of our systems, and found that they have more in common than they are different. Kenya works on an 8 – 4 – 4 system for schooling. Eight years of primary education (our grades 1- 8), four years of high school, and four of college. Early Childhood Classes that house students from approximately 3 1/2 years on take the place of our traditional Kindergarten. Parents pay a nominal fee to send their children to this special preparatory program. While it is not much, this can be prohibitive for some. The provincial minister of education says that these fees are being phased out! Keeping students in school is an important part of Kenyan’s educational strategic plan.

Highlights of my first trip to Sagam were many… but I will just share a few. First, I love the commonalities of all children! On the playground you can see multiple games of soccer (in Sagam they call it football) hopscotch, and jumprope! In walking round to the classrooms, I was greeted warmly by all, but was especially taken by the youngest class. Told by their teacher to “greet the visitor” they did just that. Each little child crowded in to personally shake my hand and offer me greeting! It was a little bit like an enormous group hug!

Most often with the slightly older students, my greetings and actions were responded to with giggles and stares. An occasional brave child would greet me with “how are you?:. As the Kenyan English accent and the American English are very different, even though most of the older children speak English, my speech is considered very funny, and students have a great deal of difficulty understanding me!

My first major challenge was being escorted by the headmaster to an eighth form class (Grade 8) and being invited to “teach writing”. The headmaster assured the students that he had been talking with me and although I was “hard to understand” that he knew they could if they listened carefully. He then instructed me to give them an assignment that we would grade later together. For the next 45 minutes, with only chalk and a blackboard, I tried to recreate from memory some of those classic graphic organizers that have helped our students over the years write stronger essays. Certain ones didn’t make any sense! If you don’t eat hamburgers, the metaphor of an essay like a hamburger, doesn’t really cut it. Students were very respectful, though I question how much they actually learned. Since the teacher left me with the group, it was hard to tell about the response. Needless to say it was quite an adventure.

Later, I had the opportunity to see a number of teachers in action. In some ways the school is totally unlike ours. There are no books except required school books. There are no manipulatives for math, extra resources, or even worksheets to complete. There are no cupboards or book shelves. In some ways the school is just like ours. Each room is filled with smiling and eager students looking to learn. Each class has a teacher that sincerely wants to bring out the best in each child. The missing materials can be deceiving and one can come to the wrong assumption about the instruction! I was very fortunate to see a number of terrific lessons. One was a science lesson that could have been taught in either location. A group of fourth grade students (about 60 of them) were learning about plants and the parts of a plant. The teacher led students through a classic lesson, first reviewing what they had studied before, next taking the students outside to get their own leaf to study and finally using a diagram on the chalk board and a call and response pattern to help children identify and label the parts of a plant in their science notebooks! Other than the size of some of the leaves, and the lack of magnifying glasses, this was a lesson that would have been well received in our classrooms as well.

In a math class that I observed, students were learning to multiply a fraction by a whole number. Using the materials available (chalkboard and chalk) the teacher modeled TWO ways to find the answer, and encouraged the students to figure out which one worked best for him or her. He walked students through the problem on the board, used diagrams and pictures to remind students of equivalent fractions, and still was able to circulate the room and check on student answers. It is always a pleasure to watch such wonderful teaching!

In addition to trying out my hand at teaching in the eighth grade, I also got to teach the 120 second grade students. In Kenyan schools students learn THREE languages. They start their schooling in their home language (at Sagam this is Luo). In first grade they add Kiswahili and English! The proportion of classes of each changes as they go through the forms (grades) in order to insure that every child is able to communicate well in English and Kiswahili! So my form two class consists of relatively new English speakers! We decided I would focus on a subject I knew, English! Although they couldn’t help giggle at my pronunciation! I thought I would be clever and teach them “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, but they already knew it! I ended up teaching them “Little Cottage in the Woods” and nursery rhymes! I have some wonderful video clips to upload to our blog to share – but the internet connections here are not allowing us to get more that a few seconds up!

The opportunity to spend extended time in a school other than one’s own is a true blessing. Sagam Primary School is an vibrant academic environment, supporting many children who have few resources! I can’t wait to share this wonderful place with my teacher team!

Mary

A Warm Welcome for Bowman!

Bowman teachers Karen Thompson and Kate Glenn arrived in Kisumu on Tuesday morning. They had a full day of introductions to KMET (Kisumu Medical and Education Trust), Kisumu and Kenya, and then visited Sisterhood for Change at KMET's Nyamasaria clinic. The girls performed two songs and danced for the Bowman team, welcoming them to Kenya. They even managed to get all 3 members of the Bowman team to dance with them! Here is a short clip of the girls performing for the team.

In addition to training in various vocations, the Sisterhood for Change girls also learn about peer education. One of the major ways they do this is through music. On community outreaches, the girls sing songs about health issues that are relevant to the community, as a way to spread their messages and teach people about how to protect themselves. When the girls leave Sisterhood for Change, not only are they now able to find a job to support themselves and their families, but they themselves are empowered to know their own rights, and they are able to empower members of their communities in women's health and women's rights. The power of their music is truly inspiring.

The Bowman Team is going up to Sagam later this week to unite with the Sagam Team. Check back soon for more updates from them, and expect a post soon from Mary with her thoughts from her first trip to Sagam...

Karibu, Dr. Anton!

Karibu (welcome)!

Mary arrived safely last Thursday morning to Kisumu. She has spent the past several days exploring Kisumu and meeting the staff of the Kisumu Medical and Education Trust (KMET), the organization that first connected us with Sagam Primary School. KMET has been involved with the school previously, and also manages the hospital in Sagam. Mary has had the chance to visit KMET's clinic in Kisumu and their Sisterhood for Change project, which trains young women (ages 12-24) in vocations including tailoring, catering and hairdressing.

Currently, Mary is on her way for to Sagam to visit the primary school and spend a few days getting to know the teachers and students. She will be in Sagam until Thursday, discussing issues related to the partnership, generating ideas, and planning the way forward. She will surely come back from Sagam with lots of interesting ideas and information to share!

Last week, the teachers at Sagam were so eager for the arrival of the team. They said that this project is a "dream come true", that they always dreamed one day they would have a sister school partnership like this. Now, it is a truly exciting reality. We are looking forward to welcoming two Bowman teachers next Tuesday - check back soon for more updates and stories!

A Visit to Sagam

Jambo from Kisumu, Kenya!

I took a trip to Sagam last week, to meet the teachers and the headmaster and some of the students. I arrived at noon, just prior to lunchtime, and had a quick meeting with the teachers. We discussed some of our hopes for the partnership and came up with a "wish list" for educational supplies. It includes wall clocks, crayons and colored pencils, educational posters for the walls, calculators, and geometry sets. We also talked about some ideas for long term projects - like a library for the school (right now, they just have some books stored in the headmaster's office).

After meeting with the teachers, I visited some of the classrooms. The classrooms are crowded - in Standard 1, one classroom has 75 students. I thought this sounded like a lot until I heard about the Standard 2 class's situation. Typically, there are two teachers for each grade level. However, Standard 2 only has one teacher - and as a result, all of the students are in one classroom, with one teacher. There are 120 students in one classroom. Despite this, the kids have a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and thought it was hilarious when I took their picture. The picture above shows some of the students; I couldn't fit them all in one picture.

Being a part of the Millenium Villages Project, the school has a nutrition program that provides lunch to all 900+ students at the school. The students line up in a surprisingly orderly fashion, with older students going first (they need to get back to class sooner, and eat faster than the younger students). The school has a large kitchen facility, with huge pots cooking a delicious-smelling lunch. The rationale behind the lunch program is that first of all, it didn't make sense for them to provide lunch to some students (orphans, for example) and not others. Secondly, they found that not only did it take more time for the students to go home and come back to school, frequently they came back having not eaten any lunch. This program ensures that each student gets to eat, every day. The photo above is some of the students lining up for lunch, with the school building in the background.

It was a great visit to the school, and nice to put faces to names. The students and teachers alike are so excited about this partnership, and they can't wait for the Bowman teachers' arrival!

Catie

Welcome!

Welcome to BSSSP's new blog!



This blog has been created to update everyone on recent activities and adventures as we embark on this exciting new path. We will continue to update the blog both from Kenya and the United States as we collect more stories to tell and to share important news.



The Bowman-Sagam Sister School Partnership hopes to open doors to our primary school students in both the United States and Kenya. As a sister school partnership, students in both schools have the opportunities to learn about cultures and traditions in both countries. BSSSP is also providing scholarships to students who may not otherwise have the opportunity to attend school. We believe primary education is a basic human right, and strive to see all children have the opportunity to attend school.



For more information or to support us, please email us at bowman.sagam@gmail.com!



The Bowman-Sagam Sister School Partnership