Letters to Our Ugandan Pen Pals

Eight classes at Churchill have written letters to our new pen pals in Uganda and the letters have been sent! They will get there soon (I hope). The post office promised they'd be there in six weeks, but said they'd hopefully arrive much sooner. I hope our new friends at Good Times Primary will like to learn about life in Canada and look forward to hearing about what life and school is like for them!

Working on Pen Pal Letters - photos by Haydon

 We now have two sets of Pen Pals, our Fielding Friends AND our new Pen Pals in Uganda! That means we're doing a lot of writing and a lot of reading in Room 209!

 Finley got a chance to show our second Virtual Student Teacher, Daniel, around our classroom!

We Have Pen Pals...in Uganda!

Hi boys and girls,

  I just got great news in my inbox today! We have been paired up with a school for Pen Pals! Our "Sister School" is called Good Times Primary School and is located in Kampala, Uganda, Africa!

  After the March Break, we will get together with Dana's class and write our introductory letters to our new African friends and I will send a package from Churchill just before Easter weekend (on March 28th)!

  I got a little bit of information about Good Times Primary in the email introduction:

School Summary

Good Times Primary School was founded by Mr. Ronald Mpagi in 1992 in order to offer affordable high-quality education to the children of low income families in Kasubi and nearby neighborhoods. Mr. Mpagi was motivated by his own fortunate experiences with education, and wanted to help reduce illiteracy caused by poverty. Today the school has 45 teachers and 17 additional staff to cater to the needs of over 1,600 students, many of whom are boarded in the school's 5 dormitories. The school currently has 21 classroom blocks, and has plans to build more as funding becomes available. Other challenges include a library that is too small for the size of the school (it accommodates only 20 students and has too few books). The school also needs a computer lab and computers, wells and tanks for reliable water supplies, additional toilets and washrooms. In order to address all of these needs, the school also has plans to expand onto more land, and hopes to negotiate favorably with neighbors willing to sell. Once additional land is available, Good Times Primary School intends to expand co-curricular activities and sports, add classrooms, and build a recreation center. Despite its difficulties, the school is proud of its students' achievements in both academics and sports.