The School Results for 2011

Here are the regional school results for 2011. Although St Zoes only entered the system for the first time this year it came 3rd out of all these 28 secondary schools. Numbers are small of course because the school is not yet fully established. Some of the schools get dreadful results and this must be a great disappointment to the children and the parents. Lack of a good school really gives these children a huge disadvantage.


It is a very good result!

No	Name of School	No. of 1st Grade	1st Grade %	No. of 2nd Grade	2nd Grade %	1st + 2nd Grade %
1.	Sacred Heart  Seminary	15	60%	9	36%	96%
2.	St. Charles  S.S	37	37%	52	52%	98%
3.	St. Zoe Sec and Voc School	1	7%	6	42.8%	50%
4.	Kasenyi S.S	16	6%	30	11.0%	17%
5.	Silver steps	3	3%	5	5%	08%
6.	St. Joseph’s Kasambya	1	2%	10	20%	22%
7.	Mubende  Army	3	2%	10	6%	08%
8.	Madudu S.S	1	2%	4	8%	10%
9.	Light S.S.	2	1%	14	7%	08%
10.	St. Matthias Mulumba	1	1%	3	3%	04%
11.	Nabingoola  S.S	1	1%	2	2%	03%
12.	Kiyuni  S.S	0	0%	3	3%	03%
13.	Kitenga S.S	0	0%	4	5%	05%
14.	Bright  S.S	0	0%	2	4%	04%
15.	Kassanda  S.S	0	0%	4	3%	03%
16.	Comprehensive  Mubende	0	0%	2	4%	04%
17.	Myanzi  S.S	0	0%	5	6%	06%
18.	Mubende   Hall	0	0%	0	0%	0%
19.	Bagezza  Seed School	0	0%	2	3%	3%
20.	Highway Kiganda	0	0%	3	4%	04%
21.	St. Suzan	1	2%	12	24%	26%
22.	Kalamba	0	0%	2	3%	3%
23.	Kakungube	0	0%	1	1%	01%
24.	Bukuya  S.S	0	0%	0	0%	00%
25.	St Charles  Lwanga   Lwangiri	1	2%	2	4%	6%
26.	St. Mugaga  Kiganda	1	1%	5	5%	6%
27.	Butoloogo Seed School	1	1%	3	3%	4%
28.	Kiganda  High	0	1%		%	%
29.

School Results for 2011

We hear a lot about building schools in Uganda. But are they any good?  Just attending school is not enough. Children need to aspire to excellence and obtain good grades just like her in Europe.

St Zoes school year ends in December with major examinations for both primary and secondary. Good results were obtained again despite a dreadful year for drought and food prices and some children not being able to get to school.

The secondary school pupils take O Level exams and out of 20 schools in the wider region we were third with 50% of the children getting 1st or second grades. We did badly at computer studies but thanks to a benefactor we can now provide 5 computers for the children this term.

Two major buildings have been on hold for nearly a year due to a failed building contract. But this is now history and we are mobilising a new team to complete the 2nd secondary block and the first vocational block which should both be complete by the end of April.

You will recall that drought problems were a real problem in 2011. We are finalising quotations for a major piece of work which while mean sinking a 105 metre bore hole and equipping it with a submersible pump, local generator power supply, water distribution system, and overhead reservoir system. Hopefully we can fund this be the autumn of this year.

Readers may with to visit St Zoes or Good Shepherd one day. Do please let me know.

HUGS is entering a team in the BUPA Manchester 10K run on May 20th. Let us know if you would like to take part and of course bring sponsorship

Also for Golfers. Dont forget that on May 16th we have the Annual Golf  Event. Teams of 4 please and the entry fee is £240 per team. Email Charlotte on c.brinsley@rjw.co.uk

Sophie-Alice and Megan our Volunteers

Two more Project Trust joined St Zoes in September and this is an entry which they sent me to tell supporters what is is like.

Sophie is teaching Senior 2 English and Literature and Megan is teaching Senior 1 English and Literature. And together we are sharing Senior 3 English Language. We decided to start with Secondary teaching so that we both got used to African English and we were able to adjust our nice Yorkshire accents to make it easier for the students to understand.

When we first began teaching we both had quite similar difficulties in understanding how St Zoe's worked. We were both very puzzled when students would randomly stand up and leave the classroom without warning. At first we thought our lessons must have been really boring, turns out they just wanted to go for a 'short call'. It was also quite hard for us when a student would say "Madam, we have not understood" ten minutes before the end of a lesson, leaving us with no time to go back and explain.

Megan and Sophie Alice with on of the teachers

Sophie also has difficulties reaching the top half of the board. Although Megan found it hilarious, it was quite embarrassing for Sophie when she had to stand on a chair to write the mid term exam. It was even more embarrassing when she fell off the chair, much to Senior 2's amusement.

However, after the first few weeks, teaching gradually started becoming more and more natural. Megan has found that Senior 1 are understanding her much better now and are producing some really good work. Their mid term results showed that they had understood well and have been working really hard in their last term. Sophie has been trying to get Senior 2 to develop their creative skills, both in poetry and creative writing. Although hard work at first, they are gradually beginning to grasp the concept of imagination.

Megan in the school shop

We have also been trying to introduce a drama club for the students in their after school time. We had one really good and interesting session, however the following weeks it seems to have petered out. We're hoping to introduce it from the beginning of term so that it can be timetabled.

St Zoes Kitchen. This really is not good enough for the 450 children it feeds

We have been teaching in the still to be completed classrooms which has posed some challenges for both of us. It can be quite difficult for the students to understand and hear us over the noise from the classes being taught next door. One of Sophie’s lessons was interrupted by a herd of goats, followed by an even bigger herd of screaming primary children, as they charged past the classrooms.

As well as teaching, we have both had a positive experience of the school so far thanks to the very friendly and welcoming teachers and students. Senior 3 especially never fail to make us both smile. Next term we are hoping to begin being more involved in the primary section. We have arranged to help with Maths, English, PE and Art with various different classes. We are looking forward to teaching primary and getting to know more of the students. 

2012 Kicks Off with a workshop at St Zoe's

At the beginning of this year 2012, St. Zoe schools decided to launch a new beginning by holding a two-day in-house workshop for all members of staff, the teaching and non-teaching staff, for the primary, the secondary, and the soon-to-start vocational school. The event took place on Thursday 12^th and Friday 13^th January 2012, starting at 8.00 a.m. and ending at 6.30 p.m. each day.

On this first occasion, the main aims of the workshop were, among others: to remind members of their roles and responsibilities as well as their terms and conditions of service; to analyze and critically understand their job descriptions, and to discuss issues concerning the budget of the coming school term.

As point of departure the members of staff reminded themselves of the VISION, MISSION and GOALS of Kagoma Education Development Organization (KEDO) of which St. Zoe’s schools are but components. Thus, the VISION is to be a model and focused center of education, moral values and general development. The MISSION is to train an all round person capable of self-reliance. And the GOAL is to provide and promote quality, practical and affordable education, as St. Zoe schools uplift the educational standards of learners in the area and outside it.

The workshop then delved into the specific roles and responsibilities of a classroom teacher, a subject teacher, a section head, the school secretary, the school nurse and matrons, as well as the school farm manager, security personnel, support staff, and cooks.

This workshop was an ingenious innovation that involved the participation of all members of staff, except two who had travelled far for their Christmas and New Year’s holiday. The workshop was also conducted in a very cost effective manner, since there was no need to hire external facilitators. All the facilitators were from within the members of staff of St. Zoe schools.

The main challenges that were observed during the discussions revolved around financial limitations which many times have constrained the smooth running and further progress of the schools. Otherwise the workshop was evaluated by all participants as a great success which gave opportunity to everyone to express themselves in a cordial and friendly, but critical and constructive atmosphere.

As final resolution and way forward, the members agreed to help each other to implement what they had discussed, and to create an atmosphere of individual and collective responsibility to ensure the realization of the vision, mission, and goals of St Zoe schools and of KEDO at large.

HUGS Golf and Manchester 10K run

We have booked the Romiley Golf Course for the Annual Golf Tournament which as been such a popular event for the last three years.

The date is May 16th and it will be an 18 Hole Competition with breakfast on arrival, great prizes and dinner at the close.
Please put the date in your diaries or email Charlotte on C.Brinsley@rjw.co.uk to book.
We will be writing to golfers very soon.

And there are also places in the BUPA Great Manchester 10K Run. The run is on May 20th

Christmas in Uganda

Alex Tracey the author and Dominique Bryon the illustrator

HUGS would like to thank all who have bought the book ‘Christmas in Uganda’.

So far the money raised for HUGS is £1,000.

The feedback has been very positive and thank you to The Good Shepherd School, St Zoe’s School, Stockport College and to our author and illustrator. 

We hope to sell more books next Christmas. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all our readers. Do please use the comments box below to let me know your views on the Blog or what you would like to hear about.
Good Shepherd special needs school at Fort Portal planned for Christmas by every child (there are 120) getting one present to give to another and they were all placed under the Christmas Tree until present giving.

And as a special treat the Chairman of the local authority funded a special day out for the children to travel over the Mountains of the Moon (The Rwenzori's) to visit Bundibogyo which is the most western part of  Uganda and which borders on Congo.
There they visited the hope springs and met some of the race of Bambuti, who we call the pygmies.

We are planning for 2012 and will let you know what the ambitions are for the new year and also let you know how the schools did in the very important end of year national examinations which took place in December.

A Child is Born

I often remember a message I first heard from a very successful salesman. It went like this '.. the more people I meet the more sales I find I can make'. I think the same applies to opportunities. Meeting lots of people so often can lead to opportunities one would never have thought of.

HUGS worked with Sr. Theresa of the Banyateresa Catholic Sisters to build Good Shepherd Special Needs School.

The same order of sisters run the Maternity Hospital at Fort Portal and it has been possible to help a number of volunteers to spend time there over the last two years. The hospital with about 230 beds and 5 doctors and 7 midwifes delivers between 2000 and 3000 babies each year. We are looking to develop a twinning arrangement with St Mary's Hospital, part of the Central Manchester University Hospitals Trust where about 7000 babies will be delivered next year.

Ruth and Jill who are both Paediatric Research nurses have just returned from Fort Portal and found it a wonderful experience. More later but these pictures were taken at Virika Hospital

The same group of Ugandan friends introduced HUGS to the Lira Babies Home, an orphanage in one of the most troubled areas of Northern Uganda. Sr Demmy usually has between 30 and 50 babies to look after and the generosity of HUGS supporters means that we have been able to fund about 20% of the running costs last year and next year. It costs about £15000 per year to cover all the costs.

My picture shows Sr Demmy with twins taken into the orphanage in the last few days. They are about one day old in the picture.

Although HIV/Aids has reduced very substantially in Uganda is is still a very serious killer. The Lira Babies home looks after many children who have inherited this condition.

 The picture show a group of helpers at Lira with 5 HIV youngsters.

We have had some great letters of thanks from our Uganda (and Rwanda) friends who want to tell you how much they appreciate the efforts and the money donated.

Christmas Thank You from Good Shepherd to all Donors

Thank you very much for your letter and Asobora Christmas book which made us very happy.  The Teachers and Children were so happy to read the stories of Asobora, Busobozi and Magezi, they made them laugh their heads off!  We take this opportunity to thank Denise for her tireless effort and initiative she has put in this project.

Please send all our thanks to the many donors who have helped to make our school such a wonderful and happy place.

Theresa

OUR DEAR DONORS,

Good Shepherd Special Needs School is the first school of its kind in Western Uganda.  It started in 2008 with 40 Children, this year 2011 the enrolment has increased to 120, and 11 Teachers.  Categories we have in this school:                               

• Visual speech and hearing impairments
• Physical impairment
• Learning problems and autism
• Communication problems
• Medical issues
• Hyperactivity

The school has taken its first few hesitant steps on the road to changing attitudes towards disability and setting itself up to educate or act as role model for the wider community. The Vivid examples are the photos I have sent you, Stella has down syndrome and severe intellectual impairment.  As in African culture Parents tend to neglect children with disabilities take it as a curse, so the story of Stella was very sad when the neighbours told me that her Parents keep her locked in the room, they don't want anybody to see her! 

 When I visited the family, Stella was a miserable child, she started crying when she saw me.  I pasuaded the parents and she started at our school, now is a happy girl is being equipped with practical skills and her Parents are also happy.

The same story with Derrick who can neither talk nor speak, he was also a miserable Child but now is happy as you see him in the picture.

We have a variety of activities as singing, dancing, drama, sports etc to make the children happy and feel at home.  More so they improve academically as they are given special, individual attention in class.  Again we thank you very much for your generosity and kindness towards these vulnerable children, because without your contribution we couldn't have managed as most parents are reluctant to pay school fees in time or  not to pay at all as they take these children to be useless, but we have tried our level best to sensitize and we shall continue as some have started coming up with positive attitude.