Category: Queen Elizabeth Country Park

MY AWESOME EXPERIENCE WITH CONNECTING CLASSROOM!

Sharing this amazing experience is absolutely the most beautiful thing ever. Whatever thoughts and memories I have about this visit matters a lot to the children, teachers and people who established the twinning project.

Bravo! To QEPP, Bravo! To the British Ccouncil for initiating this awesome global education program for both Uganda and UK schools. You should feel proud, special for starting up and fully funding this educational program that has put a huge smile to many people and children a round the world.

First, it was the plane experience!! My first time to board a plane. I was nervous, scared but again glad😀because this has always been on the list of things I ask God to do for me. The difference is traveling in air but almost the same as traveling in a bus. I’ve been to some airports but not as big as Jomo Kenyatta in Nairobi and the biggest Heathrow in London.

Thank God!!🙏We landed safely and being picked by Adam Stanley and his partner Heather Green. Everything was different, the environment, roads, houses, cars, people and weather. What a different world London is!! In 1 and half hours, we were at home, Waterlooville. A warm welcome from the Peach family, these people are amazing!!! Coffee, food, a bath and later to my beautiful room.

Morning Monday 2nd March ready to visit the park! Queen Elizabeth Country Park! My colleague Mr Thembo and I were received by the rangers Ashley and Jan. My first HOT CHOCOLATE and bread was served,very tasty! Later proceeded to the park, I was scared, I thought we were going to see deadly animals like the lions, leopards and snakes as those in QE National park in Uganda, but all in vain. Ashley kept driving us in the park. At some point we couldn’t move outside the car not because we feared the animals in the park like Uganda, but due to too much coldness and mud. We toured different places in the park including the Butser Hill National Nature Reserve. Tourists and their dogs were in as well!. We later went to Petersfield….interesting!!!

Another glamorous day! Hambledon Primary School, a place I knew even before being there! Adorable, brilliant pupils and teachers I imagined! And yes it was an admirable, colourful, charming, and beautiful place than I imagined. I was extremely happy when I was welcomed in the school. Hambledon is heaven!! Imagine going through a day with amazing people, lots of smiles, food, hugs, fascinating compliments, appreciations and even people holding the door to open for you, wow!!!!!! Everything at Hambledon Primary School is unique, the headteacher Paul has a unique friendly personality as well. Friends hold a special place in one’s heart. Thank you Mr Davies for being a friend,mentor and more!! Through the twinning project we met, I’ve learn a lot from you and this whole amazing experience will create a positive impact to me as a head teacher and the entire family of Rihamu Junior School. Lots of thanks to Adrienne, the deputy head teacher at Hambledon Primary School who led the fundraising exercise to rise money for renovating our primary one wooden class.. You don’t know the change you have made to beautify our school and the children who suffered during the rainy season.

For sure, this whole experience is worth sharing. The different places I’ve visited while in the UK are amazing. London city, Buckingham Palace and many more interesting places in London. Bournemouth at the seaside, thanks Paul this place was the best. Chichester University where we shared different experiences on global citizenship, Portsmouth in different shopping arcades and getting to understand how the UK money is used when shopping!! Liss village and Liss Junior, different pubs, the cricket pitch, Winchester and many other places I’ve not mentioned maybe because I can’t remember their spellings😀😀😀. All these places were hilarious!

The twinning project will contribute a lot to Rihamu Junior school in many ways: Through communication and letter exchange, it will improve English speaking at school. Enhancement of global learning , exposure to different learning and teaching contexts, change of perception and attitudes, cultural awareness and exchange through sharing experiences. Increased quality and effectiveness of games like cricket, tag rugby, football, dominoes, darts which Rihamu got to know through the project. Support towards the school projects like the water tank, supporting the orphanage etc. The list is endless.

I don’t have the right words to express my gratitude and thankfulness to the Peach family. They’re my parents,they treated me like their own. I felt at home and more!!!!

Again, special thanks goes to the following people who made my visit and stay in the UK so fabulous. Adam Stanley, Steve Peach, Paul Davies, Jan, Karen Peach,Heather Green, Teresa and the entire family, Jess and the lovely family, Jo Heath , Mary at Chichester university, the brownies, Ashlea, The entire staff and pupils of Hambledon and the education students I met in Chichester.

That’s part one of my UK experience,more still coming. Take care everyone,stay home and stay safe.

Shakilah Huda , Rihamu Junior School.

First PLE Sitting for Rihamu Junior School

Hello from Rihamu Junior School

Today, we are happy and excited to have our very first Primary Seven sit for the Primary Leaving Exams. It’s been a very long journey. Having started with P.1 to P.3 classes. We kept on adding a class every year. The five years down the road has been full of determination, zeal and hard work. We have been able to wither all the challenges along the way.

I am proud to report that all the teacher have put in their very best. Spending sleepless nights to make sure that our pupils are ready for the National Exams. Indeed they are ready and excited about the Exams. As I write this, they are now doing an English Paper and in the evening they will be doing their final PLE Science paper.

Security is extremely tight at all PLE centers, its silence all over and brains at work.

Shakila

Head Teacher – Rihamu Junior School

 

News from Ranger Joe

Hi everyone, Ranger Joe here! It’s been a while since my last message to you all as the other rangers and I have been really busy at Queen Elizabeth Country Park. We have lots of jobs to do as rangers, from helping out the public when they visit our site to monitoring all the wildlife in the park to make sure everything is happy! Recently we have been doing lots of fencing, a job which is important because lots of our site needs to be grazed by sheep and cows during the autumn and winter to make sure the habitat is healthy and remains a great place for the wildlife that depends on it. My colleagues and I have been fencing a big field recently for exactly this reason. We have already seen some lovely wildlife and great flowers- the next job will be to check this area year after year to make sure we are managing it properly. We will do this by monitoring the flowers and plant species which will tell us if the area is healthy and being looked after properly- I will send another post out when we start doing that to keep you all posted! That’s all for now, and as ever feel free to come up the country park as much as you can and enjoy the lovely scenery and wildlife it’s here for everyone to enjoy! And as always us rangers are never too far away to answer any questions you might have!