First Days of Teaching!

Hey again! 

Georgetown team here! 

Before our first class!

We’re all settled in nicely at Rima’s Guesthouse and are beginning to be able to navigate ourselves around Georgetown. Tuesday was our first day of teaching since arriving, and the 4 of us (Allie, Adam, Janet, Haily), all taught together. Our first lesson was at David Rose Secondary School in West Ruimveldt and we could not have asked for a better first class! The students were extremely polite and participated actively in our lesson on values, goal setting and physical activity. It was so awesome to see how excited the kids were to have us there. They also gave us some feedback on what they wanted to learn in future classes.

Chatting with some of the girls at the David Rose after school program.

After class, we moved next door to the David Rose Health Centre, where we worked and played with the children in the after-school program. Janet and Haily led the girls (ages 6-15) in an informal version of the previously taught lesson. In return, the girls helped Janet reach her own goal of becoming a better Guyanese-style dancer by giving her some pointers, which evidently ended up with everyone on the floor laughing. The boys covered similar materials, but largely focused on physical fitness by playing some sports with Adam, while Allie occupied the ones who were too young for the lessons and games. Working at this Youth Space was a great opportunity to informally teach the children, but also relate to them on a more personal level.

Today, Wednesday, we taught in pairs at Sophia Primary School in two grade 6 classes, with about 40 students in each class. Allie and Adam’s class was very enthusiastic and each student created excellent “SMART” goals for themselves. Haily and Janet’s class was excited to create both short-term and long-term goals. Both lessons were very successful and we are looking forward to returning to the school next week to continue our first unit on physical health.

Chompin' on some sugar cane! Yummm

After a brief tour of the exciting Starbrooke market, we travelled to the Ruimveldt Children’s Aid Centre. We ran activities and discussions with kids aged from 4 to 17, and also got to help in preparing dinner. Allie and Haily bonded with the older girls, talking about similarities and differences between Canada and Guyana. The girls also gave us some super helpful insight on the prevalent health issues with youth in their area, that we can integrate into our lesson plans. Adam bonded with the older boys, discussing issues such as violence amongst youth. Janet was busy being trampled by tiny children. They were an amazing group of kids and we can’t wait to go back!

Classic Adam doing lunges (Ruimveldt Children's Aid Centre)

After a busy day, we returned back home to Rima’s Guesthouse where Joe was waiting for us, having returned from Berbice today. Sadly, we will be saying goodbye to our amazing project directors, Beth and Joe, as they fly out of Georgetown early tomorrow morning. We enjoyed one last dinner out together, complimented with some Karaoke. We are going to miss their guidance, friendly faces and wonderful company, but the torch has been passed and it’s time for us to make this project our own.

It has been great going into the schools and getting to know the kids, and we cannot wait for the lessons to come! Our project directors have prepared us well, and now its up to us to follow through on what we have been preparing for all year!

Lots of Love, 

Allie, Janet, Haily and Adam!