Back to Normal

The last week in Lifeskills has been very enjoyable. By Tuesday we were all back into our normal routine (no swapping classes) which meant we could get back to focusing one one group of children. 

On Wednesday we took the Lifeskills class to their weekly horse riding period and they all loved it. We help them get on and off the horse and then walk two laps of the field with them. Some of the children need to focus on working their core strength - especially the ones who can't walk - so sitting up on a horse is a good exercise for them. 

On Thursday I decided to bring my guitar into class and play a little bit for the children. A couple of the boys are dead keen to learn, so I think I'm going to teach them some basic songs. One of them really needs to work on his listening skills, so getting to play the guitar will be his reward... Hopefully this bribe will work!

Friday is popcorn and pancake day which means we spend half of the morning making, packing and selling. The class love getting involved with this, it really gives them some responsibility and strengthens their sense of independence. And the pancakes taste so good... cinnamon and sugar... mmmmm. After we've taken the produce round the whole school we come back to class and set up a movie in the projector room. We're trying to do this every week now because it's a great way to teach the children about social interaction. This might sound strange, but most of the kids find it difficult  to understand emotions and what they mean. By showing them a film like Finding Nemo, you can tell them things like: "Look, now Nemo's father is sad because he can't find his son." or "They are scared because of that shark." Being able to understand emotions is an extremely important skill that they need to have when they leave school, especially if they're wanting to work.

In other news I am now sharing a room with Kathryn after being evicted from my own room (sob). Another prefect is moving into the hostel and needs a room with a shower, so I packed up all my things and moved for the third time - no, I'm not bitter. It's actually fine, sharing a room with Kathryn is good fun and this year I've had the privilege of sharing with both my partners! Zoe just got told yesterday that she's going to have to move rooms as well, so she's packing up today.

On Monday I'll be back in Juniors, so I'm expecting a week full of running and action. I'm ready!

Juniors, Seniors and Lifeskills

Last week was the first time I've managed to work in all three classes over the course of five days... A new record! There was a lot of movement between Zoe, Kathryn and myself this week because the Junior's class teacher was away, so we all switched between the three classes until Friday. 

For Monday and Tuesday I was working in the Senior class. During those two days I took one of the boys to inclusion science, history and music which he always enjoys a lot. He always travels to inclusion with a motorised wheelchair that he can control using a little joystick and on Tuesday the chair gave us all quite a fright! During history the joystick snagged on the armrest and he went zooming forward into the classroom wall, taking the desk with him. After we realised that he was laughing - not crying - everyone fell into hysterics as well. Never mess with a motorised chair, those things have power...

On Wednesday and Thursday I was working in Lifeskills. Both days consisted of a lot of counting, days of the week and months of the year and all the children are really coming along with them! 

On Friday I was in Juniors but had a half day with no aftercare because I was invited to join the Grade 10s on their geography field trip to the Mokopane Caves. After mentioning that I would be studying geography next year to one of the teachers, she insisted that I should join them - yay! It was a very interesting trip, the caves were all limestone and we had the opportunity to go inside the caves and look at some fossils, including the ancient jawbone of a sabre-toothed tiger.

On Saturday the school held another netball and football tournament meaning that we had to set up the food stall again. This time we only sold drinks and sausage rolls but it all sold fast and it was a fun morning - hopefully we raised a good amount of money for the Enrichment Centre! 

It's definitely starting to get colder now, on Saturday morning I was wearing six layers... So bring jumpers with you when you come to visit Haas family, only four weeks to go!!!

Fossilised hip bone

Nothing too exciting happened during the last week, work went on as normal in the Juniors and by Friday everyone was exhausted! It was one of the boy's birthdays on Friday so we celebrated by eating cupcakes and crisps and then dressing up. I decided to go for the bow-tie and builder hat look while other people rocked afro wigs and sparkly moustaches. It's always so much fun having a party in the Junior class because the children enjoy it so much - they especially enjoy seeing grownups dress up in silly clothes.

During our cooking period this week we made Caesar Salad (complete with yummy homemade croutons and chicken)! We're teaching the children about the different food groups at the moment so we decided to cook healthy food this week. I was with the Juniors Thursday and Friday of last week and they made unhealthy food (doughnuts with chocolate). I'm so glad I was there because they were delicious...

While we were finishing off the salad one of the autistic boys made a run for the door and actually managed to get outside the Enrichment Centre compound because someone had left the gate open. We all got quite a fright but managed to catch him just before he entered the Junior Phase of the school... This is a perfect of example of why they have been given the nickname 'runners'!

As the weather is getting cooler everyone is getting ill - I don't think I've ever wiped so much snot away in one week. At the moment the temperature is perfect during the day, it's not too hot and not too cold but in the mornings you find yourself having to put on an extra three layers. The swimming pool at the hostel is definitely being used less, apart from the occasional boarder who's had enough of studying and wants to throw themselves into cold water.

Yesterday however, quite a few of the boarders wanted to go swimming in the afternoon because it was 28 degrees and we went paint balling for our hostel outing. We all left Mitchell House in the morning and arrived at Predator Paintball about half an hour later. After setting up the braai area we collected our gear and had three - very intense - games of paintball. The first game was in a small field full of tires and huge water barrels and we each got 20 "bullets" to use. The second game was in a much more difficult environment with long grass, towers and bunkers and this is where Kathryn, Zoe and I got shot the most... Kathryn was ambushed by the hostel master while she was hiding out in a bunker and got shot in the back, leg and head, Zoe got shot on the elbow, leg and back and I was shot on the bum. I don't know if any of you have been paint balling but getting hit is painful. 

In the final game however, we managed to get our attackers back - starting with the hostel master who I shot multiple times while lying ready behind some bushes... At one point one of the hostel boys made a run for Zoe and myself while firing madly, but he soon turned around again after Kathryn popped up from a nearby bush. Don't mess with the gaps!

We finished off the paint balling with a braai and then drove back to the hostel bruised and sore. It was a great day and I think it was the kid's favourite hostel outing yet. It was lovely to see that they enjoyed themselves.

Hostel Team

First field in action

Last field

War wounds

Zoe's elbow shot, owow!

An African Week

I spent the first three days of this week working in Lifeskills, but then on Thursday I had to move down to the Junior class because one of the classroom assistants was away for her children's graduation ceremony.

On Monday we were honored by the visit of Debbie, a woman who has suffered from cerebral palsy her whole life but refused to let it get in the way. The Enrichment Centre asked for her to come and speak at assembly to give the college a better idea of the disease. She gave an extremely moving speech informing us about her early life, how the doctors told her she would never walk, talk or live independently. Debbie is now doing all three and also has two diplomas in Computer Studies and Business Administration - a huge inspiration not only to the children of the Enrichment Centre, but anyone who happens to meet her!

During my time in Lifeskills this week we visited the library to get some books on gardening. Hopefully the books will help the children understand the processes involved with growing vegetables, like planting the seed, watering etc. We also had our pancake sale in the playground on Wednesday, so we spent the morning making cinnamon pancakes and then set up our stall in the Junior Phase playground and sold them in the afternoon. After all the pancakes were sold we walked back to class to count the money. I think we made about R230 - about fifteen pounds, which goes a long way here.

In Juniors this week it was very hectic because it was one of the girl's birthdays, we had to set up for the staff function on Friday and prepare all the children's mother's day gifts for them to take home. By the time Friday arrived we were all pretty exhausted - Thursday and Friday turned into 14 hour working days trying to get things ready for the staff function.

Zoe, Kathryn and I were in charge of the function setting for the Enrichment Centre, so we turned a corner of it into a kraal - a traditional African cow keep. We outlined the perimeter with roughly cut branches and spent Thursday and Friday evening painting life-sized cows that we stuck on the wall. All the effort was worth it because everyone seemed to love the layout.

The function was African themed and all the Phases around the school (Junior, Intermediate, College, Admin and the Enrichment Centre) had to prepare one course of a meal. The Enrichment Centre were in charge of the starter so we made some soup and bread which went down very well. The setting of the function was quite fun because everyone had to walk round the school to the different phases for each course. We started in the Junior phases for cocktails, then walked over to the Enrichment Centre for starters, College for main, Admin for pudding and finally Intermediate for coffee and tea. Because the evening was African themed it meant that we all had to dress up in traditional African clothing - we definitely can't pull it off as well as they can... but we tried!

On Monday I start another five days in Juniors, it will hopefully be a little calmer than last week!

Our floating cows

Action shot

Kathryn looking fabulously African

The cow herders

Zoe serving soup

Two in One

Junior Week

As you know, last week the internet wasn't working properly so I decided to wait and see if it would sort itself out. It turns out it hasn't, so I'm just going to write a post without pictures this week. Hopefully in the near future I'll be able to share some images with you all.

The week before last I was in Juniors and it was very enjoyable. On Thursday - the day we do art - we decided to take the children round the Enrichment Centre garden and collect various flowers and leaves  that they could then stick onto a painted tree. The outcome was beautiful and is now stuck up on the classroom wall! On the Friday - our assigned cookery day - we all made chicken burgers which tasted amazing... The only problem was that this was at 9am so most of the children didn't want to eat their lunches afterwards (I can't blame them). 

On the Saturday there was another sports festival, but this time it was for the Junior Phase of the Mainstream school. The Enrichment Centre held a food stall at the event so Zoe, Kathryn and myself went along to help. We assisted in the kitchen by frying chips and battering corn dogs (very American). The corn dogs actually tasted quite good even if they didn't seem particularly appealing... But everything sold extremely fast and I think we made about £300 from the event which is fantastic!

In other exciting news from a fortnight ago, we got boards put up above out doors - yay! Up until that point there was a massive gap above each room's door, which meant it was quite noisy and the hall light could shine in. Talking about rooms also reminds me that I now have a confirmed place at Queen Margaret's Halls in Glasgow - so I think I'm all set for September!

Senior Week

Last week was quite a strange one because it only lasted three days. We had a Monday holiday at the beginning of the week and then Friday was another holiday, all the children were a bit confused when we started telling them on Thursday that it was the end of the week. Some even threatened to come in on Friday. Autistic children usually find it very difficult when their routine is disrupted in some way, so we assured them all that next week would be back to normal.

It was an emotional Tuesday because one of the boys in the Senior class had his first big trip away from home. When he arrived at school all the kids in the Senior class walked him to the bus and waved goodbye. It may not seem like much going away for only one night, but when you're handicapped with cerebral palsy it's a huge achievement - we're so proud!

During our cooking class on Thursday we made omelettes - I am now equipped with a mean set of omelette making skills... The same thing happened with the children's lunches but we all agreed that it was worth it.

Over the weekend our volunteer friends from a nearby town called Matox paid us a visit. They brought a boy from their class with them because it was his birthday and they wanted to treat him. We took him to see the new Fast and Furious film (testosterone overload) and then went swimming in the school pool. Both of these experiences were completely new to him as he'd never been to a cinema or a swimming pool before. I think it really reminded us how lucky we are to have access to such things. He was almost in tears!

Overall it's been a great couple of weeks, and not just because of the two long weekends! Sorry about the black and white appearance of this post, hopefully by next week I'll be able to post pictures again. I would also like to quickly congratulate my cousins, uncle and my dad for taking part in a half marathon this weekend. I haven't heard from them yet so I hope they've survived. Super proud of you all - wish I could have been there as well!