Game On!

Khaya reports that eSibonisweni recently held netball and soccer matches against Khulangolwazi Primary School. "It was the first time for us to play...on a new netbal and basketbal court with another school," he writes. Before the matches began, there were drama performances from both schools, and everyone witnessed "amazing talents."

Water to Flow into eSibonisweni

It's been a long time coming, but the water-pump project is finally nearing completion at the school. Khayalihle, assistant to the administrators, writes, "We are about to finish our project to get water from underground. I feel great because that will be the end of water crisis in our school. We will be able to water and mantain our soccer field and water the garden."

Maintenance of the soccer field and garden were of real concern due to the extreme lack of water pressure on campus, and our intern Zack last spring spent a lot of time puzzling out how to fix the situation. As the pictures show, the garden was thriving during our visit, but its health was due to the labor of teachers and community members who filled buckets and carried them throughout to water it. During our visit, one group worked hard to devise a drip-irrigation system that several of the older boys at the school helped to install.

Khaya also reports that he, administrator Simon Gumede, teacher Bongani, and a new teacher named Miss Nsele are now responsible for maintaining the garden.

 

That's Simon Gumede on the right, an administrator at eSibonisweni
and one of the caretakers of the garden

Lisa Becker Skype Report

Teacher Lisa Becker has been Skyping with some eSibonisweni teachers regularly on the weekends! She recently talked with Simangele, Nomusa, and John.

The news…

One of the reception year teachers, Pearl Mdluli, may come on as another mentor to the Girls’ Scholarship Program. If you haven’t already, please visit the Web page for the eSicabazini Girls’ Scholarship Program.

We are still puzzling through getting 3G cards for those who were here in January to improve our connectivity; there remain significant obstacles to getting regular Internet access on the eSibonisweni campus.

We were all saddened to learn earlier this year that John had been moved by the ward (large district office) to another school due to lower enrollment at eSibonisweni. This was the first time he’d talked with Simangele and Nomusa since the start of the school year. Although he misses his colleagues, he is enjoying teaching music at his new school. Watch again the video of his students performing a song he wrote.

TRIVIA NIGHT 2011

Trivia Night is coming up on March 4. This is an annual fundraiser for the eSibonisweni Primary Orphan Program, or ePOP, and it has become a rip-roaring event. Hosted by the seventh and eighth graders, participants include sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students and families; alumni; and faculty members. The questions are devised by trivia master (and Saint Mark’s media specialist) Chad Forrester and may involve singing and dancing. So, if you fall into any of those categories, get your team costumes together and come prepared for loony audience participation at any moment.

You don't have to pre-register. Cost is $20, payable at the door, and the event goes from 6 to 9 p.m.

This is our sixth annual Trivia Night, and we know it will be as successful as events past. Supporting ePOP is also a great way to celebrate again our South African delegation. This program was dreamed up by teachers at eSibonisweni as a way to address the pressing needs of some of their students. Let’s support the teachers in their efforts to improve the lives of their learners.

The winning team from 2010. That trohpy is ridiculously huge.

Girls' Scholarship Web Site

Go here now: www.girlscholars.org.

This school year, we have gained so much traction in our partnership with eSibonisweni Primary School, and we are striking again while the iron is hot.

One of the most important initiatives to come out of our visits to the school is the Girls’ Scholarship Programs, started by Saint Mark’s parent Lynn West, who also serves as the U.S. director, and managed by three experienced mentor teachers at eSibonisweni: Simangele Ntshangase, local program head; Khanyi Mkhize, treasurer; and Nomusa Khanyile, secretary. Lynn and Fernanda Pernambuco have created a new Web site with loads of information about the GSP, as well as the reasons why it is so crucial to focus on increasing educational opportunities for girls in particular. Fernanda and her husband, Zach, worked on our behalf for three months at eSibonisweni in 2010, in advance of our last delegation visit.

Two classes of female scholars have now gone on to Dumangeze, the high school nearest to eSibonisweni. The local area is commonly known as eSicabazini, so the program has been renamed eSicabazini Girls' Scholarship Programs now that we are supporting girls at the high school level.
One of the learners who visited us here at Saint Mark’s in January is a scholarship recipient. Slindile has just begun high school at Dumangeze, and we will be following her progress and that of the other scholars. Kudos to the mentor teachers as well. They go above and beyond in their work with the girls and show impressive commitment to the GSP.

The Web site is an exciting development in the life of the program, so visit, share it, spread the word!

To parents of Saint Marks School

We had a wonderful time with you, you gave us a smile, you gave us joy and your gave us new hope. We have seen your total commitment in teaching and learing as parents, I have learnt, that, yes indeed parents can make a significant contribution in teaching and learning. Your teachers are so passionate about teaching, teaching is in their veins, keep their veins running, your investment in education mean a lot to us, because it is not only your investment, but it is for the whole world.

Viva parents of St Marks school Viva!!!!!!

Khaya

Passport to South Africa

All our teachers and students enjoyed another spectacular Passport Day. This is an annual event for Saint Mark's, during which we visit a particular country or region. We learn about the people, languages, music, dance, traditions, arts, crafts, and natural features of the chosen destination. We've been to Native America, around the Black Sea, to the Middle East, and to Brazil.

In 2011, we capitalized on having the delegation here from our South African partner school and let our guests run the show! They worked hard until the last day to get their lessons and stories ready. And, as noted by our Passport Day chairs, Jenny Peng and Lisa Der Legge, "It takes a village," and our community rallied to get it all organized, from the food to the rotation schedule. 

Sausalito-based watercolorist Gabrielle Moore-Gordon graciously allowed the reproduction of some of her artwork to illustrate our Seven Pillars of Character. With the design of parent Cornelia Fauser, we had beautiful posters around campus.

Here's to another amazing Passport Day!

Moeketse (center), Aaron (right), and a third professional drummer set up at the front of the school and set the beat for the day.

Singing for us

Drumming workshop

Making bead necklaces

Telling stories

Teaching about the region Maputaland

Wayne Getz, professor of environmental science at UC Berkeley, presents about the animals and habitats of Southern Africa, and about the tension between human development and habitat conservation. He was assisted by alumna Alexa Stevens '06.

Snow Day!

The group was treated to a weekend in Tahoe, thanks to the family of fourth grade teacher Donna Young. They lucked out with beautiful, sunny weather and loved the change of pace from their busy days at school--and who doesn't have fun sledding and throwing snowballs?

Sugar is Sweet

Last week the visiting eSibonisweni learners and their Saint Mark's buddies learned how to use XO laptops to draft reflections on their first week together. The Saint Mark's students were fascinated by the tiny, lime green XOs with their innovative operating system, Sugar. The eSibonisweni learners bravely expressed themselves in English, using "best guess" spelling. The photos captured using the XOs' built-in cameras say it all!

Hi. Our names are N. and D. During the first week we went to many clases including P.E.

N. and D. are 12 years old. I visted grade 6 with D.

N. and D. like to play football (soccer). I like Esibonisweni and Saint Marks. I have many friends at Saint Marks. N. and D. like to draw cars. We like apples.

Hello are names are T., L., and J.! We have had a fun time this week! On Monday, we had sembile. in pe we danced, ran. drew. played with friends. played basketball.we went on the spinny thing.me and Ashley sat in Ashley's house

HI MY NAME IS S. AND J . SO.LAST WEEK WE START WITH MATHS HISTROY ;ENGLISH SPINISH.SO WE AJOY TO LEARNING ABOUT ENGLISH AND HISTORY I AJOY TO SEE THE BIG BRIDGE.I LIKE THE FOOD IN SAINT MARK SCHOOL AND TO SOCCER.IM WEL TO BE HOUS OF AIR. SO THE THINGS I AJOY FROM JOHANIBARG TO ATLANTA STATET TO MOVE EROPLAIN.I LIKE ALLMOST EVERYTHING.

Hi our names L. and K. My favorite part was waka waka dance. i had fun with Ms. scott. i enjoyed drawing and meeting all the people.








S. and A. We had lots of fun this week. We like ice cream and basketball. We ate vanilla ice cream and played basketball at recess and we went to the 7th grade boys basketball game. We like puzzle. The easy. We played football(soccer) We danse in PE.

S.: My fraind T. and Daisy. I lake Music. I Miss Esibonisweni Primary School.

T.: I am having fun with S. She is really kind and fun to be around. She is a fast runner. She can make friends fast.

We Are Together!

My best day in America

Ngikuthokozele kakhulu ukuyovolontiya esontweni lase Glide. (I liked our volunteer visit to Glide to serve lunch) bekuyiphupho lami elikhulu kwamaningi enginawo(it has been my biggest dream among many)

I also had my time with top music producers in america

WHO NEEDS P.E.?!

Volunteering at Glide

Today members of the Saint Mark's community and the teachers and learners from eSibonisweni volunteered to serve lunch at Glide in San Francisco.  It was a great way for them to learn more about the various communities in the Bay Area, and it was a fabulous opportunity to create friendships based upon helping others together.  The photos and captions, courtesy of parent organizer Kelley Warner, document a little of the experience.  Thank you to everyone who helped make this wonderful day possible!

I think the kids are much like the kids here - they don't get the full impact of what they are seeing/doing, but they got what they could.  It's just amazing how some of the playfulness is just pure human nature.  Three of the boys were next to me - we were moving the food trays along the runners and two of the boys were putting salt and pepper packets on the trays.  They turned it into a game - zooming the tray past as fast as possible, so the salt & pepper guys were trying to "hit their mark".  So very funny.  Nomusa  has that infectious smile - the fellow in charge, David, immediately told her that she would be his greeter.  She greeted each lunch goer (client) and gave them their trays with that amazing smile.  I saw her get very wide-eyed when she saw some of the clients that were coming through.  She noticed that one fellow went through the line 5 times.

I think the teachers really enjoyed it. I had a great conversation with Zodwa on the ride home, and she really loved Glide.  She is Methodist at home, and she made this connection that she gives money donations at her church for work that the Methodist church does to feed people, and she said, "I helped feed those people today." 

We drove down to the wharf via Lombard street - so fun.  Then we got down to Fisherman's wharf, and they saw live crabs, and some of the teachers tasted cooked crab and liked it, but commented on how much work it was to get out of the shell.  Then the kids had a blast at the Musee Mechanique.  Carol's friend that owns it greeted us at the door and introduced the museum to them.  Then he took them to his favorite exhibits, and Carol had pockets full of quarters for them to try everything.  It's so funky and fun.  The kids favorite, hands-down, was the driving video games where you feel like you are in a race car, and the grab-it machine where they tried to scoop gum balls.  Some senior citizens were there (I think part of a tour group) and a couple of the women were so taken by the kids they gave them a bunch of money for the machines so they could watch them have fun playing!

As we were driving home two big container ships were passing under the Golden Gate!  So we had a discussion about what is a ship and what is a boat.

 

 

 

Massage Time!

Mel is a trained massage therapist. Simangele and Zodwa were happy to let Mel "practice"!

Khaya Using Chopsticks

We had Chinese food at Donna Young's house and everyone learned to use chopsticks. Khaya is now an expert!

John and Nomusa 5th grade music.MOV

Technology can reduce paper work

Today we had a meeting with Saint Marks's technology experts. 4 computers are donated for all teachrs of eSibonisweni, with the aim of strengtening friendship between these schools. The most important thing for this setup is to connect learners and teachers for both schools. Now teachers are learning to use these computers. As a group from eSibonisweni we are out of words to show our appreciation, I think the most important part is to make use of this wonderful opportunity, this would be our biggest word of showing our appreciation.

Thank you guys
Khaya

Words of Welcome

A Student Recalls An Early Meeting Opportunity

On Friday, January 7, I went to dinner with my mom, Kendal and Kendal’s mom at Applebees at North Gate Mall.While we were there we saw Mrs. Becker, her husband and four of the South African students and three of their teachers. We introduced ourselves and spoke to them for a while. They had just gotten off the plane and were hungry. Their flight was over 14 hours ,and they told us how only one of the teachers had ever been in an airplane before. They looked exhausted, but excited. When I asked one of the students what he thought about San Rafael, he said, “It is very nice, but cold." - Wally

Are We There Yet?

Lower School Welcomes eSibonisweni

My Day with Samke

Today was the day Samke came to Saint Mark's school, and I enjoyed having her around.  When she arrived in my classroom after her school tour, everyone greeted her and some people hugged her.  We had fun talking at recess with a group of girls from Saint Mark's.  She is quite fast at running and energetic. During our 5th-1st buddy activity, she was enthusiastic, and she spoke some English.  She practiced a lot.  When she used a red marker, she wrote the word "red."  When she used gray, she wrote "grey."  I learned that gray is spelled differently in South Africa.

Samke and I are the two girls in the center of the photo (from Saturday night).  Samke loves the Izzy drinks that we have in our hands. - Talia

A Day of Fun Without End....

Sanele and Sbusiso have been staying with us and the fun never seems to stop--it's like Groundhog Day. After a big experimental breakfast where we continued to learn what they like to eat (no, it's not chocolate ice cream), Sanele and Sbuiso tried their hand at jumping on a pogo stick.

 
We then had enjoyed a lovely mass before heading off to Muir Woods where the sun shone long enough for the boys to hug a redwood and see the tops of some pretty tall trees. We also saw a few coho salmon swimming up stream to spawn.

We were then off to San Francisco headlands for a beautiful view of the city before meeting up with the rest of the group at the Exploratorium.

I enjoyed watching Khaya try to make some big bubbles at the Exploratorium. He was having so much fun, he went into a hall of mirrors to try and clone himself so he could stay a little longer--or maybe it was so the clone could go in the Tactile Dome.

Let's just say, the journey through the Tactile Dome is no longer down my alley, but that's ok since I had a lot of other adults to spend time with while the young and/or more daring ventured in. Hats off to Simangele, Nomusa and Zodwa, you were all braver than me!!!!  The children (and John) really seemed to like the Dome.  

 After the Exploraturium, we indulged in some great Chicago style pizza and then headed to House of Air--a room full of trampolines where the boys jumped around and had a great time perfecting a flip. They did it!!

 Not surprising, the boys fell fast asleep last night dreaming of their first day of school. They were up early the next morning in anticipation of a great day at Saint Mark's. Based on the welcoming parade and the assembly in the gym, I bet they have a great day.