Lagoon Day at Takitumu school

Today was lagoon day for the fifth and sixth graders at Takitumu school. We accompanied them on the bus to the market in Avarua where it was held. It was very well organized and covered all things relating to keeping the lagoon healthy - everything from proper disposal of light bulbs to worm farming to identifying fish to creating laws to protect the lagoons of the Cook Islands. It was all very informative – I know we volunteers learned a lot. All the school children of Rarotonga had created sea creatures out of rubbish and they were all on display there. It was an amazingly beautiful display. We then had a free afternoon to explore on our own as the children returned to school. We went to a local beach and spent some sun, sand, and sea time. Our evening was a trip to a restaurant in Avarua. Early to bed for our trip tomorrow to Aitutaki.

Word of the day: vegemite sandwich = knuckle sandwich

More reading time

Today at Takitumu school things began a bit slowly. The keys to the library were misplaced so Barb was not able to continue with the computer program. This allowed more reading time with the children. Steph was able to visit with the preschool centre and was invited to attend a local ECE conference. The attendees graciously allowed her to participate and even translated the workshops for her. Dinner was at High Tide followed by a practice performance at the National Auditorium in the Manuke hostel. As always the dancing and singing was a highlight of the day. We are off to lagoon day on Friday!!

Message of the Day: “To understand the culture, study the dance. To understand the dance study the people.”

Words of the day: tamariki – children

Making paper airplanes

Wednesday at Takitumu school! Steph continued reading with the children in pairs while Barb worked with them on the Nessy computer program. We are nearly ready to move on to spelling in that program. At afternoon playtime the children were very excited to be making paper airplanes and trying to fly them in the wind. Many of them landed on the roof. One can feel the excitement in the air since the school term is about to end. One of the teachers brought in cooked banana for us to try – it was very sweet. Engia baked bread so we got to try that, too. After school we walked back to the KiiKii on the back road. It was a lovely walk past many fields of mango, pawpaw, bell peppers, and other crops. It was very quiet with a beautiful backdrop of palm trees and Rarotonga’s majestic mountains! We even saw and old ceremonial airai-tonga site where the investiture of an airiki chief took place.

Words of the day: biscuit – cookie    rori - sea cucumber

Your basket and my basket will feed the nation

A rainy day in Rarotonga! We shared our work on the 50^th anniversary invitation. Engia was pleased and requested a few changes to ensure the photos included all students and teachers. Positive feedback was also received from the teachers. Steph began the day singing with the grade one class – always a highlight for her. The children are progressing well with the Nessy computer program and Barb noted even the children whose letter-sound recognition is not as strong as others’ are doing well. We managed to miss the bus once again and took the anti-clockwise bus down to the homework center. We supported two young children who are new to the center and have not spoken yet there. We were lucky to receive a ride home from Jane, who shared a bit of the history of Global Volunteers.

Message of the Day: “Your basket and my basket will feed the nation.”

Words of the day: Oroenua – horse

Today's reader, tomorrow's leader

Monday! Today Barb started working with the students on the reading and spelling computer program Nessy. It’s definitely a hit with the children! They are progressing well and will continue to work on this for the remainder of the next two weeks. Steph continued to read to the children in groups of two and read to the fourth- and fifth-grade class. We talked politics and history with the 6^th grade teacher, Puti, and were given a lesson in Cook Island political structure and history. Some of the children mentioned that they saw us pedalling around the island on our green bicycles on the weekend.

Message of the Day: “Today’s reader, tomorrow’s leader.”

A spectacular school assembly

Our first week at Takitumu came to an end; the time is flying by too quickly. The school held their assembly in the morning which was a spectacular sight for us to experience. The children sang many traditional songs including our first experience with hearing the Cook Islands national anthem. Their voices and spirit were both inspiring and emotional for us to hear. We continued our reading time with the children and tried our first ice block. Barb will begin to support the children on the Nessy computer program next week and will complete the 50^th anniversary invitation for the school. The day ended early as the children would be practicing sports in preparation for the end of term island competition between schools. We took advantage of our free time on the beach by the KiiKii. We enjoyed a fish dinner at a local restaurant where the local beach cat bullied his way into a few bites of fish.

Message of the Day: “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit.”

Words of the day: chip butty = French fry sandwich

A successful day at Takitumu!

A successful day at Takitumu! We are both feeling like we are getting in the groove of the school and the children. Steph had an opportunity to observe the grade one classroom, sing songs with the children, and spend time individually with them. We continue to work with the children in pairs on their reading and to read aloud to them as a class. We joined them in their afternoon break running races across the field, frolicking to and fro in the wop wops! After school we toured the circumference of the island via the bus, pinpointing future excursion destinations. After rest time we were treated by GV to a lovely beachside dinner at a local restaurant where we were so lucky to observe a whale breaching.

Message of the Day: “Don’t judge success by the harvest that you reap but by the seeds that you sow.”

Words of the day: wop wop = boondocks  ice block = popsicle