sports programme

the end of the nepali school year at Wenddy I House went off with a bang and the sports programme for which we've been practicing since i began working there. the kids were all ready to execute their newly acquired marching skills and sports adeptness for their parents. the grounds were set up with white chalk outlining the running lanes for events, tents to keep the attendees cool, a speaker system for announcing, a keyboard to accompany the school song and national anthem, a guest speaker lined up and a prize table full of awards for top finishers both in sport and the newly completed academic year. it was quite a display, yet all the while lower caste workers were lugging bricks and dirt on the side where the new classrooms are being built in the back ground. the students at Wenddy I House (spelled with 2 ds and an I in the middle because a fortune teller said it would bring about more luck than with just 1 d and no I in the middle) come from far more affluent families than where i student taught a month or so ago. it's a private school and the parents pay a more substantial tuition than at the public school level. it's like night and day in terms of resources and facilities. sports day was a good example of this, i suppose. the kids did their best in the mid day sun and were happy when the mother's got involved by playing musical chairs and the father's, by playing a balloon game. afterwards we had awards and refreshments and sent them home for 2 weeks on break to recover and regroup for next year. in the meantime, we can't say exactly when that next year will actually begin because elections are only a few days before the supposed april 14 start date. no one really knows what will happen with all of that...we just wait and hold our breaths that the maoists play nice. the teachers are doing prep for next year, this week and i'm realizing just how unorganized and ill-prepared the teachers are. lalita, the head of the school is giving me full reigns which is good, but daunting considering i don't know that much about the national curriculum, testing, grading policy, and virtually everything else involved with the nepali school system. i definitely can help with teacher training, esl and lesson planning, but the rest is going to take some time! one step at a time... love, j