Term three began with a team of committed primary school teachers from the US who travelled to Makhanda to assist with the Holy Cross School Reading camp. The trip was facilitated by Love Must Act, a philanthropic non-governmental organisation (NGO) that supports projects around the world, including a training facility for eye-care nurses in Gaza and Holy Cross School.
The team of teachers spent most of their time at the Holy Cross Camp at Assegaai Trails, but also had the opportunity to visit Grahamstown Primary School and spend three days at Holy Cross observing and teaching.
The visit was extremely beneficial to teachers from both countries as there was lots of time to share best practice, as well as stories about triumphs and challenges. The teachers from the US were impressed with the behaviour and manners of learners at both the schools they visited. The South African teachers were interested to learn that many of the challenges we face are similar to those faced by schools in the US. As an example, many learners in the US are in need of school lunches. Most of the visiting teachers are from Kentucky and it was surprising to learn that many of them teach learners whose home language is kiSwahili!
In addition to classroom interactions, the teachers enjoyed a game drive at Amakhala. They also met with Cameron McConnachie from the Legal Resources Centre who engaged them regarding the Right to Read Campaign’s call for binding reading regulations within the context of South Africa’s poor foundation phase literacy rates. According to McConnachie, “Excellent insights were shared by the US teachers from their experience of steadily improving literacy rates an the use of laws and funding to create change.” It is worth noting that 96% of the learners in the US reached the low benchmark for literacy in the 2022 PIRLS test compared to 19% in South Africa.
One of the travellers was the son of a teacher, Luke Chapman. His contribution was to share his passion for lacrosse with learners at Holy Cross, Victoria Girls and PJ Olivier. He and his teammates fund raised so that le crosse equipment could be left for the Holy Cross leaners to continue to hone their skills. Additional donations of books, comics, stationery, and clothing were made by individual members of the group.
Nicci Hayes, the principal of Holy Cross, said that the trip was, “incredibly successful at multiple levels.” She feels that trips like this one are a unique and important feature of the school, “I have no doubt that exposure to people from other countries is one of the factors that helps our learners to broaden their horizons and increases their thirst for knowledge.” She also noted the benefit of forging international partnerships for teachers including the benefit of resource sharing.
Story supplied by Holy Cross Principal Nicci Hayes
