Principal McDowall speaks at morning assembly. Blue House wins the boy's road relay. The school yard. Some Grade 8 students hanging out. Shreika, Makeeda, and Zakiel (middle).

"School" 2/7/2003 Yesterday was road relay day at the South Rivers primary school. The younger students participated in a relay from the burial ground outside of the village to the school. Next Thursday the activities will continue with sports day. All of the students at the school are divided into four teams; red house, yellow house, blue house, and green house. The teams have been having trials to see who will compete in the different events. I usually visit the school several times per week. The students in grades 6-8 all come for scheduled computer classes. I also help with the computer at the school which is always having problems. The school here is much different from one you would find in the U.S. The classrooms are very sparse. Concrete floors, plain wooden furniture, and a blackboard. Some of the classes are only separated by a small divider. The classes are also very crowded. Many times there are 30+ students to one teacher. These classrooms aren't filled with books or arts and crafts supplies or computers. The biggest challenge is getting students to perform. They are often just passed along from grade to grade without making any progress. There simply isn't much motivation for them to learn. It is not uncommon for a student to make it to 6th grade without being able to read at all. The male students are especially far behind. I am currently tutoring 6 students in reading, but there are so many more that need help. I wish I started working on the reading much earlier.