Friends Old and New: Skilled Labour

Having decided to ignore the rather outdated warning about houseguests, (that they smell or go stale after 3 days), this turned out to be a smart decision. Old Friend (OF) Rob Fielder and New Friend (NF) Simon McBride spent a busy few weeks at WTA in February/March, which proved to be invaluable...

... although like all SD hardworking visitors, they both probably wondered, at times, if the Kenyan coast might have been a more relaxing choice. 

NF Simon brought a wealth of school leadership wisdom and practical educational advice to the new senior team at WTA. During the two weeks, he packed in a wide range of conversations and discussions. From spending quality time with Charles, to mentoring the Headteacher and senior teachers in their first few weeks, Simon also found time to interview focus groups of students about their views of the school - which they loved sharing with him. Despite being a 'first-timer' to Uganda, Simon's recommendations and thoughtful observations were very well received. Fortunately for WTA, he appears to love talking timetables, spreadsheets and policies.

Very usefully, Simon was still with us to help with another significant 'WTA First' when Paul Ibbott, (another OF), led two teacher training sessions for Heads of Department. What made this unique was that Paul delivered the sessions from his home in Romsey and all the teachers were gathered together in the WTA Meeting Room. Happily the technology all worked that day, the internet remained strong and everyone was in the right place at the right time. Miracles do happen! Thanks to Paul's previous visits to WTA, the teachers were very comfortable with the conference microphone setup, so at times, the discussions sounded more like a friends' reunion than a remote training session. WTA can do Zoom. Of course, this bodes very well for future training options. 

Rob also got stuck into the educational side and spent time with the A' level Physics group again, discussing solar energy and different types of engineering. Such practical sessions are a breath of fresh air from theoretical, textbook-based teaching and show students how to apply knowledge. However, he could mostly be found exercising his 'drain brain' by further improving the school drainage system, creating some shady seating areas and even rustling up some beam designs on the last day for 8 new teachers' houses. In his (minimal) spare time he revealed some surprising ornithological skills. Allegedly, he and Jerry seem to have a secret plan to create an 'I-Spy' book of 'Ugandan Birdlife' in the future.

March brings extreme heat and there is still a serious lack of rain, so working conditions are both demanding and dehydrating. The classrooms are stifling in the midday heat and working on the building site is exhausting, but happily, both OF Rob and NF Simon survived remarkably well. As an addition to all their skilled labour, their itinerary included the delights of a trip to the old site at Katikamu and a bigger adventure to Murchison. 

And on a cheesy, building-related note,  'Friendship is the only cement that will ever hold the world together'. We deeply appreciate having such helpful old and new friends/visitors, who thankfully ignored the ancient, three-day houseguest warning.