Walmer Happenings

I realize I have been updating a lot about travels and job searches these days, so I thought I would give a quick update of what is going on at Walmer High. Al and I are getting back into the swing of teaching a lot of kids after almost two months off for winter holiday. We are still working on class projects with each of our classes, and despite how long it has taken, they are finally starting to shape into a final product. The Grade 8 learners are working on cookbooks that are written in both English and isiXhosa, as well as helping Alice and I plan a community health fair for September. The fair will include fitness activities, HIV/AIDS screening, counselling services, a DJ, dancing, and some healthy food! The Grade 8s will also be selling their cookbooks at the fair. The Grade 9s are finishing up their “restaurants” that they have designed. Their final business plan, building design, menu, and security plan will be bound into a report that will be used for the business competition. The class that creates the best business wins a pizza party!

Alice and I had both lost a bit of motivation with the projects because they were dragging on much longer than we anticipated, but as we see the groups at work and the final product coming together, we are reminded why we began the projects in the first place. Regardless, we are excited to wrap-up this unit and move on to different types of teaching. Our goal for the final term is to work with the head of the English department and the English teachers in targeting smaller groups of learners that are in need of extra English help. We are continually overwhelmed by the number of learners we teach each week and are really excited by the possibility of working closely with a smaller group of students that we could get to know and help with specific needs! So I will keep you posted on that progress.

This past weekend, Andrew, myself, and 5 other friends went to Bushmans River for the weekend (about 2 hours up the coast from PE). Andrew’s gran, uncle, and family have property there, so we stayed in one of their houses on the river. It was great to see a part of the country that his family has such strong ties to and that I had heard so much about. Saturday morning, 3 of us ran the Mountain Drive Half Marathon (and yes, half of it was up a mountain)- it was tough but we had a great time! The rest of the weekend was spent watching the Olympics, relaxing, and braaiing. Winter seems to have hit pretty hard in August, so it wasn’t ideal weather for swimming or outdoor activities. Alice and I are grateful to have planned so many trips in August to get out of the PE wind, but our next one is going to be a cold one! Tomorrow, we are headed to the Karoo- an area north of PE that spans through much of the southern inland, to road trip for a few days. The Karoo can be very hot or very cold, and it looks like we are going to get the very cold weather- highs of 4-8 degrees Celsius with chance of rain and snow! Yuck. There’s not much to “do,” if you will, in the Karoo- its lots of farmland and historic small towns, but we are excited to explore and hopefully get a hike or two in as well. Will post some photos and updates of that trip next week. Enjoy your warm American weather- we are more than jealous on this side!