Schools and language

Kairabe!

Today we would like to tell you all about

some of the beautiful plants we have in The

Gambia.

Slide 1

Kairabe!

Today we would like to tell you all about

our school and education in The

Gambia.

We go to school between 7 to 12 years old.

We go to Gunjur Lower Basic School which is in the Western district of The Gambia from 7

to 12 years old (grades 1 to 6).

We go to school from 9 am to 3pm, but some children

only go for half a day because we do not have

enough teachers or classrooms.

Slide 2

Getting to school.

How do you get to school?

We walk to school. It is always hot and our

school is about 3 km away.

Slide 3

Our school uniform.

We do not wear socks, just sandals or flip flops. Some

of us come to school in bare feet.

My school uniform is a green and white dress, which all the girls wear The boys wear

shorts and shirts.

Slide 4

In the morning.

They cost 1 dalasi each and this

money goes to the school fund to help

pay for chalk.

When we arrive at school we can buy

small bags of nuts or bags of baobab

iceceam if we are hungry or thirsty.

Slide 5

Our teachers.

We have teachers and teaching

assistants in our classrooms.

Our head teacher, Mr Jallow has a small

office and there is a staffroom for all the

teachers.

Slide 6

Our classrooms.

We sit on benches. We have a few

posters on the walls which our teachers

make.

Our classrooms have small windows but there is no glass in

them. There are about 40 children in each

class.

Slide 7

Our lessons.

Our lessons are all in English, which is the first thing we learn

when we go to school. We are taught English,

Maths and Social & Environmental Studies.

We have text books for English, Maths and SES. In

grades 5 and 6 we also study science. We take

tests every year. We study the Koran every day.

Slide 8

Our lessons – Social and environmental studies.

We are proud of our country and learn all

about it and about the meaning of our flag. We sing our national anthem with pride.

From Book 2, for 8 year olds From Book 5, for 11 year olds

These are pages from our SES text books. In SES we

learn about how to look after ourselves, our

country and how to live healthily and happily.

Slide 9

Our lessons – Social and environmental studies.

We use our senses to check whether our

food is good to eat or not.

From Book 1, for 7 year

olds

Why don’t you try doing this?

Slide 10

Our lessons.

These are pages from our English

text books.

In English we learn how to read and write. I like comprehension activities and writing

stories.

From Book 3, for 9 year

olds

Slide 11

Our lessons.

In Maths we learn about adding, subtracting,

multiplication, division and how to solve

number problems.

I like solving problems and have just started to learn

about equations! We take tests in English, Maths and SES at the end of

every year.

From Book 5, for 11 year

olds

Slide 12

Our lessons.

We have a special Islamic teacher for

this.

This book is called the Koran. It is the holy

book for Muslims – like the bible is for

Christians. We study the Koran every day.

Slide 13

Our books and pencils.

Our teachers write on blackboards

with chalk.

We buy our own pencils and books to write in. We do not

have crayons or other resources.

Slide 14

Water breaks.

I am a water monitor and it is my job to fill the bucket with water from the

school pump.

If we get thirsty during lessons we can get a drink of water. We keep a bucket of water in the classroom and have a drink using a

shared can.

Slide 15

Our playtimes.

Donkeys, goats and chickens often

wander through our playground.

We have a big playground which is

sandy.

Slide 16

Playground games.

What games do girls like to play in

your school?

I like to play clapping games, French

skipping, fill the bottle and sometimes football

with my friends.

Slide 17

Playground games.

What games do boys like to play in your school? Lamin’s favourite game is

football.

And I also like the cashew game where you

have to throw small stones at a cashew nut

to see who gets closest.

Slide 18

Playground games.

Sometimes we will get 3 sticks and play a jumping game, a bit like

hurdles.

We also like to dance if someone plays a tune like my friend Yama

who is beating an old oil container with two

sticks.

Slide 19

Sports days.

I won the running race!

Do you have sports days?

What is your favourite event?

We have sports days and we all love these

days!

Slide 20

Assemblies.

Our head teacher talks to us and we sing our national anthem. What are your assemblies

like?

We have assemblies outside because we do

not have a hall.

Slide 21

Lunch times.

We sit together on the floor in the

dining room and share the food. We eat with our hands.

We are lucky and have a school kitchen where

lunch is cooked – usually meat with rice.

Slide 22

Our school garden.

The fence keeps the cattle and rabbits

out. We are growing bananas, cabbages, lettuce

and onions.

We have a fenced school garden and are

growing fruit and vegetables.

Slide 23

Our school garden.

We fill old oil cans and bottles from the

pump and use these to water the

plants.

We have to water our garden every day and we all help with this

job.

Slide 24

Nursery school.

Not all children can go to nursery

school because we have to pay for this

and we cannot always afford it.

Our cousin Ati goes to nursery school and

she loves it.

Slide 25

Winnie’s nursery school and Gunjur nursery school.

A teacher’s baby safely in

a box!

Upper Basic School.

Our family pays for this and he will go there until he is 16

years old. He wants to be a doctor.

Our older brother Abou Goes to Upper Basic

School.

Slide 26

We like going to school and learning.

.

What are your favourite subjects?What is your school

like? Do you like going to

school?

Slide 27