Tales from School

September 4: HOREMI is number one!

After the HOREMI Junior School had already passed its first offi­cial inspec­tions by the author­i­ties with top marks, six more inspec­tors were now on site. They too could hardly believe what the school had achieved in just six months of oper­a­tion.

“We were certi­fied that our stan­dard of educa­tion is higher than in any other school in the munic­i­pality of Lubira or the sub-district of Buyanga,” reports school manager Kenneth. “Or in short: we are number one among all 46 schools in Buyanga.”

Wow, HOREMI — we are proud of you!

September 2: It “hails” good grades

Curious to know how the second trimester final exams mentioned in the last post went? The answer: great! So kudos to the teachers for the perfect prepa­ra­tion and execu­tion — and to the pupils for their great perfor­mance improve­ments and good grades. Kids from the HOREMI orphanage were also able to shine: Lilian and Karen were best and second best in the 2nd primary school class, Isaac was second best in the 1st class. And the two youngest HOREMI protégés, Rayan and Shukran, scored 465 and 464 out of a possible 500 points respec­tively in the preschool. Bravo!

Prin­cipal Naume is corre­spond­ingly satis­fied: “Our primary school pupils are now known for their ability to speak English, write and read well, inter­pret texts and answer ques­tions inde­pen­dently across all three classes. No child in any other school can do that.”

It can go on like this! Because on September 9, the third and final term of the first year of HOREMI Junior School already begins …

Help the HOREMI Junior School to main­tain its high quality and social stan­dards. Every dona­tion helps to ensure that chil­dren from the poorest fami­lies can also be admitted and educated.

August 14: Examination before the vacation

Concen­trated faces, heads bent low over exer­cise books, the occa­sional thoughtful pencil chew or sigh — does that remind you of anything? Yes, exams were never the best thing about school. But before the vaca­tions can begin, the 80 or so pupils at HOREMI Junior School must first prove what they have learned in the last trimester. (A school year in Uganda consists of three terms.) We are keeping our fingers crossed for them!

August 9: The teachers at HOREMI Junior School

It’s high time to intro­duce the dedi­cated team at HOREMI Junior School in person: Six full-time teachers look after the six class levels — from pre-school levels 1 to 3 (Baby Class, Middle Class, Upper Class) to the primary school levels (Primary P1 to P3). There is also a school cook. They all do their best every day to satisfy the chil­dren’s hunger for knowl­edge — and to fill their stom­achs during the breaks. HOREMI has to finance all salaries, including board and lodging, from its own resources due to a lack of state aid. And is there­fore happy to receive any dona­tion, such as a “teacher spon­sor­ship”.

To get to know prin­cipal Naume and manager Kenneth better, click on the names.

August 8: Music is life!

Singing, dancing, moving: All of this is an impor­tant part of daily school lessons. It not only promotes the kids’ musi­cality, but also their sense of commu­nity — and they learn and expe­ri­ence their culture through it. But above all, it’s great fun for them, as you can clearly hear and see in the video below. Music is life! And so, on the one hand, learning content is directly linked to singing and move­ment, making it easier to remember what has been learned. And on the other hand, singing and dancing is of course a wonderful relax­ation program between lessons. Go HOREMI!

July 23: A good report card for HOREMI Junior School

Just six months after its launch, word has already spread throughout the region that the chil­dren at HOREMI Junior School are receiving an excel­lent educa­tion. But that’s not all: the school’s quality of teaching and orga­ni­za­tion have now also been certi­fied by the highest author­i­ties: The local repre­sen­ta­tives of the Ministry of Educa­tion and Sports in the Buyanga district admin­is­tra­tion have visited, inspected and given HOREMI Junior School a very good rating. For example, it was offi­cially certi­fied as one of the five best orga­nized educa­tional insti­tu­tions in the area — and its pupils can also boast the best hand­writing far and wide. A big compli­ment to the school manage­ment and all the teaching staff!

July 20: Visiting day and big show at HOREMI

Today is a big day at HOREMI Junior School. Because it is the annual visiting day for the parents of the school chil­dren. From the early morning, festively dressed-up fathers, mothers and other villagers flock to the grounds to expe­ri­ence the school envi­ron­ment and the chil­dren’s skills live and to be enter­tained by them.

Thanks to their dedi­cated teachers, the kids are well prepared for this. Together, they have rehearsed songs and dances, which they are now performing to their parents and other inter­ested members of the commu­nity — a little late due to some morning down­pours, but with great enthu­siasm and accom­pa­nied by the sounds of the newly repaired elec­tric piano.

The sun is also shining again. And so the audi­ence enjoys the show in the shade of the specially erected pavil­ions and gives plenty of applause. A show that is also broad­cast live via What­sApp to HOREMI’s friends in Europe — an inter­na­tional cele­bra­tion!