You made us what we are now!!!

Dear friends,
How are you all? we think about you all the time but sometimes we cannot write to you. We know that you are fine. We are also fine. It has been examination time but we have now finished them. When do you have examinations in your school? How are your teachers? How is Mrs. Cindy, our favorite teacher in your school? I hope you are all doing well.
We are really proud of you all. We have not meat you face to face but we love you so much. We are believing in a better future because of our relationship with you! Thank you so much for being our friends.
How is Olivia, Patrick, Logan, Caleb, Devan, Tucker, Aiden, Kamdyn, Andy, Jack, Jaderia, Delaney, Tyler, Kambree, Anders, Rylie, James?
We really miss to hear from you all.
From Diana
How are you all at McKAY School? send my greetings to friends like Genesis, Andre, Madeline, Kendal, Ryatt, Ethan, Olivia, Luce, Rosie, Lucy, Emma, Siara, Lindsey, Tatum, Joshua, Jacob, Austin and Mrs. Schimel. I think you are now in a new class but we still love you so much.
It is hard that we can forget to think about you every time.
We wish you all a very Merry X-timas and happy new year.
Yours, 
Shamira.

CHRITMAS IS ON THE WAY!!!!

Hello friends, We have taken long while off our blog but now we get some times especially when our teacher brings for us the computer. You know we do not have a permanent computer for use at school so sometimes it is hard to write to you.
The last few days were busy days for writing our end of year examinations but we have now finished. I am happy that they were all good and I am sure we shall all pass them. This means that next year we shall be in new classes but we shall still write to you our dear friends.
In a few weeks, it will be my favorite season of the year and this is Christmas!!!! Do you also like Christmas? I really like this time of the year and many people like it also. I like to sing Christmas songs and we are happy that our teachers will organize for all of us a party that we all enjoy together with those who live at school all the time.
Let me now wish everyone of you a very nice Christmas celebrations.
Your friend in Uganda,
Florence.

Our lovley friends in USA .

Hello AL & TC,
How are you doing there at School. We have been so busy but now have some time to write to you dear friends. We always think about you all the time and praying for you our friends. Mr. Bawalagga said that your school year has just begun but ours is coming to and end so we are still writing our end of year examinations. This is term three so we have to work hard to go to the next classes. My favorite season of the year is coming. My favorite season of the year is Christmas. What do you always do on such a day? Our teacher will make us a party at school so that we enjoy together as a family of Great Valley!!!! I like this so much. Do you also have a party at school?

From your friend,

Lillian.

We are strong because of Mrs. Schimel Cindy

Dear friends AC and RB. How are dear friends in the America? Thank you so much for writing to us. We like reading and the books Mrs. Cindy sent us are really so good for us!! You will help us send our thanks to her and her friend called Mrs. Pat. We wish you all the best because you are our great friends.

We do not swim at our school because we do not have a swimming pool. In school we have done a lot of mathematics like fractions, Multiplication, sets, Geometry and Volume and capacity. Some parts are hard but others are cheap for us. In the September examinations, Mathematics was our best done subject with most of us scoring over 90%.
We have just done our end of term three mathematics but I liked it so much! I scored 100% in it!!! Mathematics is my best subject! What is your best subject in class? We do a lot of things in mathematics but we like it all.

 I will be a great mathematician in my future if I get the chance to continue in school.

By Magala Reagan Paul.

Dear Uganda friends, 

My name is AL and this my reading partner TC. I have brown hair and TC has red hair. TC's two favorite colors are blue and pink, and my favorite colors are blue and green. We are both 8 years old and love to play sports. I'm a cowgirl and TC is a city girl. Our favorite foods are grilled cheese. We can't wait to see another post.

Your USA friends,
AL and TC

Hi Uganda friends,

This is me, AC, and this is my partner, RB. We start the day in reading groups for a half an hour in Mrs. Schimel's class. Sometimes we read articles and sometimes we read books, but this is the first time we got to go on the i Pads. My partner and I like to eat apples, bananas, and pears. During the summer we like to swim. My partner and I are learning multiplication but we're not in the same class for math class. Are you learning multiplication?

Sincerely, 

AC and RB

Hi Uganda friends,

This is the story I am reading it is called journey to America. I just got started and it has been so far really good. I read this story for status of the class. I read it on Wednesday and Thursday. 

                                            Your USA friend SW 

Thank you for your prayers.

It is a time of joy that I have completed my P.L.E!! Thanks to all my teachers for that great work they have done. May God reward them much. The examinations were very good and I hope to perform very well. I want to get aggregates 4 but if not, I will also feel happy if I get 5.
At Primary Seven, we are only examined in the four major subjects, that is Science, Social Studies, English and Mathematics. 
If you score over 95% in each of the four subjects, you get a distinction 1(D1) and if you get D1 in each of them, you are one of the best candidates.
I pray hard that I get 4 aggregates because this may help me go to secondary on free place. Some schools offer bursaries to best performing candidates when they do not have money to pay their fees in secondary.

What makes me proud is that everyone of my friends said that the exams were good.

Say hello to everyone at your school.
From your friend in Uganda,
Gertrude.

Primary Leaving Examinations.

Dear friends,
We hope you are all fine. We are really very happy that we were able to successfully complete our final Primary Leaving Examinations (P.L.E). Thanks to all of you for your prayers and we are sure the results will be very pleasing. Thanks to our teachers who have also done the best job of teaching us.

We wait to hear from you soon.
Winnie and Dammalie.

Our Community Day Out about Girl Child in Uganda.

This was another special day for us. After our school debating, we had a community day out, where we had to visit families to share with us their views about girl child and their education. Many stories could bring tears to us but we learned a lot out their. We took a lot of photos but most import is that we learned that the girl child is still under many forms of abuse and discrimination.
We want to know how you take a girl child in your community.

Josephine.

GIRL CHILD EDUCATION & CHALLENGES OF THE GIRL CHILD.

HELLO FRIENDS,
Today we had a general school debate  concerning GIRL CHILD. Issues discussed were really very impressing to hear. Female teachers were very pivotal in this discussion but it was centered among girls. I was compelled to post this for you to read as well. The discussion took long time than we expected compared to the usual debating. We hold debates on Fridays twice in a month. I was really impressed by the discussion by PATRICIA, WINNIE, FLORENCE AND SHAKIRAH.Among boys, REAGAN and ROGERS were very influential.

"We must also be children like our counter parts. We must not be brides at our teenage. Every leader in the society especially religious leaders help us the girls to stay safe and in schools.
We girls face a lot of Discrimination, violence and many forms of child abuse, so every one in the world must help us against these abuses.
When we marry at young ages, we are denied our future chances.  We get unwanted pregnancies and this puts our lives at risks. Not only our lives but also our newly unborn babies.
We girls must be empowered because we have the same potential like boys.
Every one has the responsibility of ensuring our rights.
Our parents and guardians must invest in girl child as they do for the case of boy child.
In Uganda, our president always talks about gender equality. Can we have this equality if you do not invest in us the girls.
In Uganda, many mothers were married at ages less 15 years. We always here marriages of this nature but now we are happy that the police has tried to fight against this practice.
Last few weeks, we saw a father marrying two of her daughters, one aged 12 years and another 14 years. This is not right for us girls.
In most of the rural areas in Uganda, girls face discrimination and abuse. Even in our area hear there are many girls who look so young but are now carrying babies. This means they were married at young ages. This makes us cry when we see them.

WHAT MUST WE DO NOW?
Educating us is one of the best way to protect us against all these forms of abuse and early marriages. If we stay in schools, we shall be able to lay a firm foundation for our better future.

There are some of our friends already married; what can they do? They can re-access education, health services and also setting up for them vocational education like tailoring, hair dressing, and also giving their babies an opportunity to go to school. We are really proud of our teachers who have given us this opportunity to go to school.
Our local leaders must give us the plat form to express our issues.
There must be laws set against cultural practices that are violating  the girl child rights. In Uganda, there are tribes that are carrying out such abuses.
Dear our leaders, parents and teachers, be responsible and help us the girls."

SWEET FRIENDS

Hello our friends, 
We are now back on our blog. How are you doing these days? These days it is hot here. What is your weather in USA? There is a lot of dust at our school though sometimes it may rain. The great thing we have seen is that the books you sent us have been of help to us. We enjoy the reading and each morning, from 7:00 am to 8:00 am, we begin with reading so that we are perfect because our teachers said reading is the most important if we are to be able to interpret the questions. Indeed, thank you a lot for the books. 

Your friend, 
NANTAMBI LILIAN.

WE ARE PROUD OF OUR GARDENS.

This shows one of our maize plantation. Within the same, there are some beans. This method of growing crops is referred to as inter-cropping. We believe that since beans are legumes, they can help to increase soil fertility in the due course.
The beans are at their flowering stage and by December, we shall have them harvested. We expect high yields from this field.

The species of beans in the photo on the right produces really
good output. For very good yields, they need to be staked. We locally call them NAMULONGE II.

This is the same species as the one above (NAMULONGE II).

Here the beans are planted in a banana plantation. We call this cover cropping and we believe that this method helps to control soil erosion as they (beans) help to cover the soil from the erosive agents (wind and running water).

The field on the right was planted a bit latter than the right season. We were unable to meet the exact planting season. We expect a little good yields out here.

The gardens here are only beans. We hope to get some good yields. All the beans are at their flowering stage.

We hope that the fields will help reduce our expenditure on food costs. We are really very happy about this and next season, we hope to continue the same project.
We also have fields of SOYA BEANS and GROUND NUTS.

We're Back

Hello Good Friends,
We started our new school year mid September and we are just getting settled in. We have been doing a lot of assessments and it sounds like you have also. I teach 3rd grade. That means that my students are 8 years old and turning 9. We work hard in three subjects. In math we focus on learning number sense. We also work hard to memorize our multiplication and division facts. Third grade is when we start more reading to learn, whereas up to now, we have been learning to read. Now we will focus on reading smoothly, with expression, and also show that we understand what we read. This year we will be completing more writing assignments. Hopefully you will see that with us writing to you more. We don't have too much time for science, even though we find it very exciting and fun.
It is Fall (autumn) here and our leaves are turning colors. It is a beautiful time of year. Our temperatures are between 40-70 degrees with occasional sprinkles of rain.
I am very pleased to see all your blog entries and I hope that you continue to write. We love hearing about your lives.
Your friend,
Ms. Cindy

ABOUT UGANDA'S INDEPENDENCE.

Dear friends, how are you doing these days? We have not heard from you for long now. We hope however that you are well.
Today 09th of October is Uganda's Independence day. You know, Uganda was once a British colony but there are many nationalists who fought so that Uganda could rule herself.  This was long history ago before all of us at school were born, even our teachers were not yet born when Uganda got her independence.
On this day in 1962, the Union Jack was lowered as Uganda flag was raised to show that Uganda now has her independence from the British government.
On Monday in our class we discussed about the effects of Uganda's independence and it was an interesting topic.
We did also learn that USA was under British rule so many years ago. We said that whereas USA was ruled by Britain, she has developed ahead of Britain. So we agreed that Uganda can also grow richer as USA and Britain. 
The countries that were once British Colonies are under one body called the COMMON WEALTH COUNTRIES. Every after two years, there is a general meeting for these countries and it is called CHOGM, meaning; COMMON WEALTH HEADS of GOVERNMENT MEETING. In 2007, Uganda hosted this meeting and many presidents of member countries attended. The president of the hosting country becomes the chairperson for COMMON WEALTH for two years.
we have only been told about two leaders/ heads of Commonwealth and that is King George VI and the current Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II.
The supreme head of Common wealth is the Queen of England and she is called Queen Elizabeth II.
There is also a COMMONWEALTH GAMES that are played by all the member countries.
China, USA Canada normally take many medals.
Yesterday, we also played the INDEPENDENCE CUP, that was for just a single day and we won the trophy.
STORY BY PATRICIA AND ROSE.

HI FRIENDS.

Hello our friends, how are you doing? We have not heard from you nor communicated to you for some long time. We had our term two holidays but we have returned to school. there has been a lot of tests for us but now we are almost done with them. The weather has been fair this season because there are no much rains.
We also had successful netball competition last time.
Bye for now.
Nanuddu shakirah.

How are you dear friends?

Hello friends in the US, how are you there? We have not heard from you for quite long. I hope you have been on holiday. Here school begun three weeks ago and we are having a lot of tests because this is our promotional term and so we have got to be so busy.
How is Mrs. Cindy? We have not hear from her so so long also.

Magala Reagan.

The Spirit of Reading Starts Here.

Hello everyone,
Greetings from Uganda. It is rainy here, what is it like there in the US? We have recently been busy but thinking about you all the time. We have enough reasons to pride in you all. Thank  you Mrs. Cindy for the courage we have got from you. We have come to realize that it is the fact of this relationship we have that our children have picked the great desire to be at school.
With the simple survey I have taken, all the children who have so far participated in this relationship have not missed school unless it is a serious case of sickness. Those who entirely sleep at school do not take a day without asking me about friends in the USA. This indicates that the communication they make has attracted their interest in being at school all the time. Whereas there are other factors that affect their regular attendance, they always want to be at school.
For this, I would like to continue my appreciation to you for this great work!!!
Thank you for the reading books you donated to us. These books have become a point interest for a number of girls who enjoy reading. From this point, I can realize that the cry of our government and many humanitarian organizations that strive for the girl child education begins here!! Whereas most organizations here and the world over which want to increase girl child education can adopt such tactics to inculcate the interest into the girl child at an early age.
Thank you always and we shall always be proud of you. Thanks to all your other friends in the same struggle.

(Bawalagga Yaledi)

"IF THEY CAN, THEN WE CAN"

Today we had a community clean up day where we had to move around the community, cleaning and teaching the people about the importance of proper sanitation.
The event was led by primary five pupils. The event was titled "Clean Up Live Healthy"
Do you also have such activities in your community? The next clean up day will  attract the area councilor next month.
We encouraged the community members to value the environment, by avoiding poor disposal of rubbish and human waste to avoid sanitation related diseases. In our area, these are some of the commonest sicknesses that we suffer.
We also encouraged the people to plant trees where possible because the GLOBAL WARMING is a threat to our community and the world as a whole.
"If other people can, then we can"
Written by Rose and Shamirah.

Hello Friends in the US.

 There is nothing better than reading! Because of your support, we shall become the future leaders of our country. Thank you everyone.
From HARRIET (Center in the hind row)

Dear friends,
How are you there? We are fine. we have just finished our term two examinations but they so nice to me. How have you been through the vacation? I have missed hearing from you but I have not also written for long. How is Mrs. Cindy? You know she is our great friend that we cannot forget always. I love using the computer so much.. What do you always do in the vacation? How is you family? when will you start school again?

From your friend in Uganda,  
NAKIMULI LINDA.


Hello Rosie, Andy, Logan, Olivia, Tyler, and Lindsay
I an so glad that I got a chance to write to you once again. How has your life been recently? I have been busy with examinations but finally through with them. 
Yes, we had a nice competition in netball and our school won all the games at zone level, and division level.
We also went up to the district level but it became costly that we could not proceed. We have taken photos and you will see them soon. 

How is Mrs. Cindy? Thank all of you for the generous love you have for us!!! I know God will bless you. Send our greetings to all the teachers.
Yours friend,  
ROGERS.

BEST FRIENDS WE HAVE.

Hello my friend,
Aiden and Andy, I hope you are fine. We are fine here in Uganda. It has only been dusty but finally we have some rain but I hate rain again. Some of my friends have problems at home when it rains. How is Mrs.Schimel? We really miss her so much. We have been so so so busy with many examinations for this term. We have had mock examinations. I hope you had a nice Track Meet! I also like the track but I am not so good. When do you have to be back to school? 
We shall soon post some of the pictures here on the blog. 
sen my greetings to all the teachers at your school. 


Dear my friends, 
How are you there? I konw you are fine. we are fine also. It is sad that you will leave Mrs. Cindy`s class. will you still met her? I hope so because she is a very beautiful teacher. I also wish she was my teacher here. 
I love using a computer and when I grow up, i will get a copmuter. How is the vacation? I hope you have enjoyed a lot.
Stay well my dear 
We shall write to you again. 
Your friends in Uganda,     
REAGAN AND ROGERS.

HELLO SWEET FRIENDS.

Hello friends,
It is nice that we have again got the chance to talk to you. We have been so busy with examinations but finally they are done. i hope you are fine. Thank you so much for the books you sent us!!! They are so good to read.
Now that I am a little free with no examinations, i will be spending enough of my time to read them. How is the vacation? They have told us that you are still on holidays. We shall have just a very short term holiday and then we start  our term three.
Please send our greetings to all the friends there, more so to our lovely friend, Mrs. Cindy.
Your Ugandan friend,
NAMUDDU SHAKIRAH.


Hi my friends,
It is Lillian once again. Sorry that we have been away for so long but I hope you are fine there. we cannot have enough words to show our friendship. How are your families and school? I hope you will be back to school so soon. It is sad that our bracelets have not yet arrived here but the books are already here!! Thank you a lot for showing us that much love!!! 
I always feel proud to write to you all.
Wish you the best of luck,

From Nantambi Lillian.

On Our Way To Summer Vacation

Dear Uganda friends

Hello friends what does your teacher look like? We do not have a crowded classroom I see you have a crowded classroom. My whole class wanted to congratulate you and say good luck on netball for July. We are ending school on June 19th. When do you end school? My class went to a track meet. A track meet is when you and a bunch of other schools compete in field events. We made Tshirts for our principal Mrs.VanNice. We tidied the shirts. The Tshirts had a cancer sign on the back of the Tshirts.

By Rosie

Hello Uganda friends we are not going to be in ms. Cindy's class next year but we will still keep updated with you. We will be in 4th grade. I like ms. Cindy she is a very nice teacher she is very creative who is your teacher why do like her do you have a picture of her. If you do then we would like to see the picture. A lot of us like sports do you like sports why is netball a fun sport? What is a fun thing to do in Uganda? What is it and what is it like. We had a school track meet  it was really fun we got to make our own shirts.

                                                            By Andre and James

Hello are names are Genesis and Tyler. We are good. I feel sad that your classroom is Crowded.Congratulations on netball and good luck in July. We exercises our brain by math and  reading.Are classrom  friend are doing good.

Dear Uganda friends,

How are you? Our names are Austin and Jack. We are glad that you like the iPod. Congratulations on Netball and good luck in July. Our school is fine. How is your school? I am so sorry that you have a crowded classroom. How do you exercise? Me, Austin, I'am 9 years old and Jack is 9 years old.When we get in 4th grade and higher we will still chat with all you good people and great teachers. And our teacher Mrs.Schimel will still chat with you too.

                                                                                  

Dear Uganda friends.

We are glad we share this relationship with you guys. Do you like the Ipod? We saw the pic that you took with the ipod. Congratulations on your success with Netball. We all hope you do well in July. How

 do you play Netball, it looks like a really fun sport. What does your teacher look like? What are your school colors. Ours are blue and white.

What are you doing in school? We just had a school track meet, it was awesome! You could do the 50 meter hurdles, 50 meter dash, 100 meter dash,200 meter dash, softball throw, discus,shot put, long jump, javelin, and there where relays.  There was the 4x100, and 8x200.

This picture is Aiden and Andy doing the Usain Bolt pose. He is the fastest person alive and to ever live.

  Dear Uganda friends,

    Our school is going good.

We do exercises every school day. There is also the exercise where you do active stuff like sports. Congratulations on Netball and good luck in July. We are sorry that your classroom is so crowded. We only have one more day of 3rd grade but we will be in 4th grade really soon. We won't have Mrs.Cindy next year we will have a new teacher. We miss you. Bye

Dear friends, 
School is doing well but we only have 1 day left of school  but we will back in September.I get exercise every day by 

reading doing math walking my dog and working out.Congratulations on netball and good luck in July.Do you have summer plans? I do. I am going to a lot of places, too many to name. Well you have heard from me now its my friends turn to say hi.

Your friend, LN

 Dear, friends,

 Hi. All is well here in the USA. For summer I am going to Yellow stone, Wyoming. It will be fun. I will miss you. You are my best friends. Good luck in July. Your friend, CG

Dear Uganda

Congratulations on Netball and good luck in July. What does your teacher look like? Can you send us a picture of her or him? Netball sounds like a fun sport. What kind of instruments do you have. We have LOTS of different instruments. This year we had the 3rd grade track meet. It is really fun to do the events. We also went to McNary dam. Do you go on field trips.  How many people are in your class?

Your friend,

Tucker

Great job on your netball! Good luck in July! We hope you win. We play a game like netball called volleyball. What other sports do you play? We like to play Baseball, soccer , football. 

     We are leaving for summer vacation soon, but  we will still type. We hope you will still type too. 

        

Dear Friends from Uganda,

    School is great and tommarrow is the last day of 3rd grade but we will still talk to you on the blog. We will be back in school in September but we will be in 4th grade. How is your school? We take exercises on school days but there is also the exercise that means we are active and we do that in P.E. Congratulations on Netball and good luck in July. We are so sorry that you have a really crowded classroom. I hope we get to see a picture of your teacher and school. After we leave 3rd grade we still get to be your friends and talk on the blog. When we leave 3rd grade we get a new teacher but we will still be able to see Mrs. Cindy we call her Mrs.Schimel. We really miss you. Bye

You have nice smiles!!

We are so proud of you our friends in the USA! We are now happy to be using our iPod camera! It is really fun to use! Thank you so much our friends. We have learned how to take the photos and videos.

How is school now? We are in term two here and things are interesting. How is Mrs. Cindy? we have been talking about her in our class.

We saw the photos you posted on  the blog but they look so beautiful. We are so happy to be part of you.
(By Nantambi Lilian)

Here We are in our school uniform and in class hours.

This time we were in class. It was time for doing an exercise. How often do you take exercises? Everyday we have to write exercises in most of the subjects. 

Some of my  friends who stay at school throughout while they are playing at school on Saturday.

Raising up the arm is me Patricia and my friend Namubiru on the right, while giving an answer to the questions in class.

Here we won the zonal net ball competition and we were awarded the jersey we are putting on and that ball as well! It was so great for our school! We shall represent the division on the district level in July.

Here is me (Namuddu Shakirah ) with twisted hair. How are you friends?

I saw you had a nice class, our class seems congested than yours so I always want to enter  early in class to find a place and desk to sit on. Do you ever get such in your class when the desks are not enough? What do you use to sit on in your class.

In the front is me(Aisha) while discussing for my friends about the early Missionaries in Uganda.

Take a Look at Some of our Photos we Took with the Lovely iPOD

A Very Special Gift

On May 13th we received a very special gift! Thank you Uganda friends!

We couldn't wait to see what was inside!

Did you know that the giraffe is my (Miss Cindy) favorite animal? This banner means a lot to me, thank you.

We love the beautiful bracelets you sent.

 We wear them all the time and really like to tell people about them.

The postcards are precious too. Each picture on them was fun to see and learn about. Your words of kindness to each of us also made us so happy.

We think you all have very nice handwriting.



Here we are with our gifts of friendship.

And here are the rest of us with these beautiful cards. They look like they were made with natural products, like bark. They are very intricate and beautiful.

Me (Miss Cindy) proudly showing off my bracelet.

Thank you dear friends for this package, but more importantly for your friendship.