Mpilonhle Going back to Primary School!
Mtuba Primary School
The past 4 weeks have been quite an experience for Unit 3. We have been taken back to primary school. This is the first time that we are giving the Mpilonhle Service to the learners in Primary school. The most impressive part of the days have been assembly time in the morning. Listening to those young girls and boys singing has been an eye opener. Although we were only there for the Grade 5 to 7, it has been the learners in Grade R to 1 that have stole the show in the entertainment category.
1st week : Phuzudele Primary School
This school only has 3 grades. That means only 3 classes to work with for us. It is situated close to Nhliziyo high school and is one of their feeder schools in terms of grade 8 learners. We were welcomed with open arms in this school and were allowed to do our job without interruptions.
They do not have any computers in this school but all the learners were able to grasp the basic concepts quickly. I was shocked at how well they did in my computer class. The principal concluded that the reason could be most of the learners use cellphones at home.
This was my first time working with 11 year olds and 12 year olds but I enjoyed it. In the middle of my 1st computer lesson to the Grade 5s one of the 12 year olds asked “So how do we save our work?” That is how fast they were moving in their knowledge.
Their teacher trains them on how to sing properly after school. The results of these lessons are unbelievable at assembly. I wanted to call the people from the show “SA’s got talent” after hearing them sing.
They were very happy that we came. For a small school in terms of numbers, we felt it is one of the most well run primary school around.
2nd Week : Mchakwini Primary School
This school is situated at Mfekayi area. Masibonisane High school & Mdungandlovu High school are the two schools that are very nearby. Its a big school in terms of classes and enrolment.
Now the tricky part was that primary school kids have an even shorter attention span than high school kids. After 50 minutes in a lesson they start being restless. They want to go out or they just cannot sit still for more than an hour. We had to cover the bulk of the lesson within the 1st 45 minutes while we had their undivided attention. After a few days I got a good hang of this. I could show them some funny video clips just to get them interested again in the lesson.
Mchakwini goes from Grade R to Grade 7. Guess where my computer class was placed…….Right next to the very noisy Grade R learners. I had to use my use some of my skills to get them to keep quiet a few times.
3rd & 4th Week : Mtuba Primary School
This is the school we are currently working from this week. It is also a big school and everything has gone well so far. We are in the second week of our two-week stay there.
Our journey back to primary school life has been interesting up to now. It has reminded us of a time when everything around us was so big and intimidating. This has certainly brought back some memories.
