8 Apr 2008 - Zambia School Exchange Project

Since Autumn 2006, St. Catherine's & Niza have had a Year 3 class link. Maggie Bweupe, the proprietor of Niza Trust School, Choma, Zambia visited the Year 3 class to begin the partnership. Both schools believe that the partnership will strengthen the Global Curriculum and assist students to become more responsible global citizens.

The Year 3 Geography Curriculum is taught mostly through this link with a partner school and attempts to raise awareness of global citizenship, diversity and the importance of social justice  in sustainable development. This is a unique and exciting opportunity for the children to learn more creatively.

To build a more purposeful and effective partnership both schools applied for British Council Reciprocal Visit Grant funding for £1900. The BNDfC have also provided an additional £500.

Maggie and Amon, a teacher at Niza, visited St. Catherine's last month, during their visit they met our School Council and talked about pupil voice in their school. They took part in classroom-based activities with Year 3 and comparing our local area with Niza's. They found, in particular, the regular interventions that Mrs Flynn and other teaching assistants run interesting. Amon explained that for most of their students, English is not their first language so learning to read and write is challenging.

Mrs Rigby and Miss Booth are due to visit Niza Trust School in Zambia in June 2008 to follow joint curricular projects and ensure that we can plan future sustainable activities. We would like to explore the possibility of using ICT to connect our classrooms with Niza.

The cost of the exchange project exceeds the total amount of the grant, and the School Council have very kindly agreed to support the project by donating the proceeds of the toy sale. In addition, proceeds from this week's disco will go towards meeting the cost of the project, to ensure that the extra cost does not deter either partner school from trying to raise the standard of the Geography curriculum.

Look out for the display at Parents Evening, we have some great photos of Maggie and Amon enjoying their visit to our school!