StretfordHigh.com
All the latest news about Stretford High School can now be found on it's fantastic website www.stretfordhigh.com. Please head there for all future updates.
Stretford High School News Blog | The latest official school news and happenings at Stretford High School, Manchester, UK. |
09
Jul 2011 0 comments
07
Jan 2011 7th January - Tales from India
> Ok so today was the last day out in the communities of Mumbai. > I visited a community that is on Mumbai's largest landfill site. At the end of a row of houses was a river so full of rubbish you couldn't see water, and behind that a mountain - literally a mountain - of rubbish. The smell was horrendous - i was very nearly sick. And this was at the end of someones road - people literally live side by side along toxic waste. Children drink water from the rubbish filled river. It is the most astounding thing i have seen on my trip and seemed very unfair that people have to live this way. > > At the school itself there was no toilet. The main school building looked as though a strong puff of wind would knock it down. The classrooms were tiny and each sat 60 children. This school started at 12.30 and finished at 6.00 - sometimes 7.00pm. 60 children under the age of 10 and all survive 5 and a half hours of school without going to the loo! As usual in spite of everything they see and how little they have the children were so so happy and full of enthusiasm for school. They told me they want to be pilots, scientists, doctors, policemen and teachers, and they all knew they would need to work hard in school to get there. The students had their sports day - they had hopping races and a race of carrying a book on their heads. They are only 8 and 9 - it was very sweet. > > Last day in Mumbai tomorrow - we are having more workshops before everyone flies home. I fly back Sunday so i will see you all on Monday!
> > Miss E
06
Jan 2011 Tales From India: Day 3
Thursday 6th January
9.55pm Well today has been really interesting. We had training from teachers in India who are trying o show us how powerful one person can be in the world. Obviously Gandhi is from India and he taught that we should ‘be the change’ we want to see – so we learning how to go about this. Sometimes being a teacher can be really hard work and we were talking about all the problems we face as teachers all over the world. Many of them were the same and sometimes we all worry we don’t do the best job that we can – often because we get tired or frustrated or just plain fed up. Today we were talking about having a sense of possibility – so even when we’re tired and fed up still making sure we are the best person we can be and we always try and don’t give up on something just because at first it seems like it will be impossible. The teachers from India were telling us how difficult it was when they first started out. In India it is ok to hit children in school, they think exams are really important and they don’t believe in art or creative learning. Many children speak little or no English but they are taught in English and the schools are so poor they barely have paper and pencils for the children to write on – NO computers anywhere and hardly any books. It was really inspiring to hear how the teacher overcame these challenges – because they seemed like it would make teaching impossible but they all managed to make a positive difference. In the afternoon we were told we were going back out into the slums in groups. Each group had a different challenge; our challenge was to make 25 rupees each. We wrote a list of 50 things we would need to help us do this. We wrote things down like ‘something to sell’ ‘voice’ ‘smile’ ‘understanding Hindi’ etc. After we had made our list they told us to cross off our top 15 items – we weren’t allowed to use the things we had crossed off. This meant i was going to a slum unable to smile, speak, sing or sell anything but i had to make money. I was sure this would be completely impossible! The only rule we had to follow was we were not allowed to think CAN’T – anything was possible. I came up with the idea of doing a flash mob (like in the T-Mobile adverts where one person starts dancing and then a huge group joins in and before you know it everyone is dancing). So on the bus we got and we were dropped off. I stupidly said i would start the dancing (the point of a flash mob is someone starts alone and then gradually, one by one, others join in) this was soo much scarier than i expected! So we took a while deciding on a spot but we finally picked one outside a bank. As i began to dance alone – to no music – a police man started shouting at me in Hindi – i had no idea what he was saying but we made a pretty quick exit! This made me surer than ever we would never make 25 rupees each. But we could not say CAN’T so we picked another spot and began again. I have never been so embarrassed in my life – but as my group members joined in a crowd of people watched us – they were laughing and filming us on their mobile phones. We made 60 rupees. We moved on from spot to spot and performed the dance around 7 times. We made 250 rupees in total – 25 more than we needed. We agreed to give the money to some teachers in India to buy food for a local slum. I couldn’t believe we had managed to make some money, i was so excited that we had achieved something that in the first instance seemed impossible. We felt bad taking money from people who have so little – but we realised that giving someone the chance to give is pretty empowering – as giving makes everyone feel good and in a community that has very little there may not be much chance to give things to others. So my lesson from today was that achieving the impossible is possible if you have the right mindset. (I’m turning very Gandhi – I’ll come back from India very zen and peaceful – you won’t recognise me!!). Miss Eggleton 06
Jan 2011 Tales From India: Day 2
Wednesday 5th January 2011
8am Feel slightly better after a little sleep. Today i am going to a school called Divine Child High School. It is in the middle of the community i visited yesterday so very excited to see what teaching and learning looks like in India! 11pm Another exhausting but very special day. Today is my birthday (as those of you i teach should know!!) and I have had happy birthday sung to be in Hindi, German and Latvian! I also got a birthday cake with my name on and 23 candles (i nearly fainted trying to blow all of them out!) This morning we went back into the community and i visited the students of the school in their homes (how come no-one at Stretford has ever invited me round for a cup of tea?!). The children were aged 9-11. They gave me a rose and a thank you letter that thanked me for visiting their home – very strange as usually it is the guest who says thank you but in India they have a saying ‘Guest is God’ – and all of the houses i visited wanted to buy me food and drink – which i could not accept. Some of their homes were so small and with only one bed and no other furniture. They had tiles or a stone floor and most houses had a little fan on the ceiling, the students were very excited to see me and practiced their English on me – asking me my name, my age and my favourite colour. In the afternoon i went into their classroom and watched their lesson. There were 50 children in the class. Their school day is from 1pm until 5.30pm with 1 break of 20 minutes. The first hour was an English Grammar test – then some history about an Indian King – then i read them a story (I had to explain a lot of words) before they did some group presentations to the class. Even though the students speak Hindi all their lessons are taught in English to help them learn English faster. They are very enthusiastic about school. Their classroom was tiny – maybe slightly bigger than the studio for 50 students. They sit three people to a wooden desk, they have a blackboard and a few pictures on the wall – that is it. The teacher i was shadowing showed me their library. A pitch black locked room with one book shelf with a tiny pile of books on it. I couldn’t help but think of Stretford High School and our flat screen TV’s and computers and our huge very full bookshelves. I felt so sad that these children who were so excited to be in school and so eager to learn have so little to help them do so. All the children gave me a birthday card (that they made under their desk when they should have been listening (some things are the same no matter what country!) and their teacher kept telling them to shut up (Slan – it means – sit down, shut up, listen, look at the teacher – i like how one word has so many instructions!) The whole day has made em feel very lucky to be in a country that has soo much. But now i’m tired. Night! (it’s 6pm in England – 11.30pm in India!) Miss Eggleton 06
Jan 2011 Tales From India - Day 1
Tuesday 4th January 9.00am
After an 18 hour journey (with a three hour stop in dubai) i have finally arrived in Mumbai. It is BOILING – way hotter than summer in England but it is winter here in India. I am with 3 girls all who teach in England – 1 in Manchester, 1 in Liverpool and 1 in Leeds. This is lucky as no-one seems to be here to pick us up to take us to the hotel. 9.40am Taxi driver has arrived he has piled our luggage on to the taxi in a huge tower tied on only by rope. I am VERY sceptical. Just standing in the car park about 50 horns have been beeping – i am beginning to get a sense of how busy Mumbai is. 10.30am Arrived at the Beatle Hotel to meet our hosts – an organisation called Teach For All. No time for introductions we are getting straight onto a bus (still in the same clothes – also no time to shower!) to head into one of the largest slums in Mumbai. Once we arrive we must walk around on our own and try to teach a child something. Very very frightened. Wish me luck! 1pm Safely back at the Beatle Hotel after a very hectic couple of hours. Children were very excited to see us in their community and followed us as we wandered round. I saw a tiny three year old boy holding a cricket bat and ball and managed to have a miniature game of cricket. As anyone can tell you i cannot catch to save my life – he laughed at me! The slums were very very busy – hundreds of houses in a very small space. Most houses had a curtain for a door and were only one room. This one room sleeps usually about 5 people, a mother, a father, sometimes a grandmother, and then the children. I have never met such welcoming and generous people in my life. One very old lady invited me into her home and made me a cup of tea (which in India they call Chi and is served in a very small cup – it tastes milky and sweet and has cinnamon, ginger and cardamom in it). She showed me her home, which had a small kitchen in it so it is bigger than most. She introduced me to her 3 sons who she was very proud of, he husband had died and she lived only with her sons. Her eldest son had excellent English and he translated for me – he is studying Business at college which is very rare – not many students go onto college in India as they cannot afford it. Wandering the streets i saw a tiny little girl wearing a beautiful jewelled dress and lots of eyeliner! Women older than my grandmother climbing stairs almost as steep as a ladder. Goats and chickens running everywhere. And a tiny little boy carrying a plastic bag on a piece of string. It made me feel very lucky to live in England and made me realise how much we have. 11.30pm Just got into my hotel room, had one hours sleep in the last 36 hours – spent the eveing meeting teachers from all over the world – Australia, Chile, Brazil, Lativia, Germany, peru – very interesting evening but too exhausted to type..... Night! Miss Eggleton 20
Dec 2010 School closed Tuesday 21st December
Due to the continuing inclement weather Stretford High School will be closed on Tuesday 21st December.
Christmas celebrations will be postponed until the New Year. Have a great Christmas. 19
Dec 2010 Stretford High School Closed Monday 20th December
Stretford High School will be closed on Monday the 20th of December due to the increasingly adverse weather conditions making pedestrian travel to school unsafe.
The website will be updated by 4.30pm on Monday with regards to school opening for the last day of term on Tuesday. Mr J HaseldineHeadteacher
17
Dec 2010 
10
Dec 2010 06
Dec 2010 'Stretford HOOTENANNY!' Christmas Concert
Tickets for the Christmas concert are on sale now at reception. Details of the evening below and around school. Students, staff and guest professional musicians performing on the evening. Parent letter for the concert out today. Buy tickets quick as numbers are limited.
