Proof of the pudding

Lesley has returned to Germany to meet our new grandson, Miles, and provide some support for his parents, Tim and Elli. She will also spend some time in the UK visiting Alice, Chris and Everlee. I will return to Europe for the Christmas holidays, and then we will both come back to RVA at the…

We have made it to half-term (or mid-term, as they call it here). Six weeks of teaching done, and now we have a few days break. On Wednesday this week, all my classes had a test on Unit 2 of the curriculum. Thursday was a compressed timetable before the students leave campus, and not the…

As a teacher, I spend a lot of time in my classroom. I am fortunate that all my lessons are in the same room, and I don’t have to share it with any other teachers. The classroom was previously used for Computer Science, so has large desks connected by wooden platforms which were used to…

Last weekend Lesley was busy helping with the Titchie Field Day (a sports day for the primary/elementary school). Parents of some the youngest pupils (up to Year 6) were visiting the school for the weekend, and she was helping organise egg-and-spoon races, upholding proper primary school traditions. On the same day we were invited by…

Rift Valley Academy is in the second year of a four year set of themes, around which many aspects of school life are centred. Last year the theme was “Absolute Surrender” (to Christ). This year the theme is “Balance”. The following years’ themes will begin with C and D, but I don’t know (or can’t…

The Rift Valley Academy school sits on the outskirts of the small town of Kijabe. Lesley and I ventured down there to do a spot of shopping. This is our local shopping centre: From left to right, there is the Superduka (or supermarket) run by Sarah, where we were able to buy various groceries, and…

This week has seen a faculty meeting, a Maths department meeting, a school-wide staff meeting and a Professional Growth in-service training day. I have finished my lesson preparation for the period up to half term, and loaded all the information into Schoology, the school’s Learning Management System. Today saw the arrival of the first pupils…

We have finished our face-to-face New Staff Orientation, getting to understand the layout and operation of the school. In parallel I have been working through a self-paced training course for the on-line Learning Management System they use. Last week it was a blank canvas, with just a couple of training courses for me to work…

We have spent the past few days settling in to our new home at the Rift Valley Academy. We have been allocated a two-bedroom semi-detached house, with beautiful gardens. Fortunately we don’t have to maintain the gardens, because to boost local employment, we are encouraged to employ local workers for a few hours each week.…