Written by: Barbara Burke
2/14/2010 10:27 PM 

The news from the Jubilee School in Narok has been very positive since beginning the school year in early January, 2010.  Although the opening of school got off to a slow start due to heavy rains and a country wide strike of 'taxi drivers' or matates, the children eventually arrived and settled into their fully operational dormitories.  This year there are 132 students enrolled in the Fr. Symon Jubilee School for Nomads, and those students are divided among four grades: 3rd, 4th, 5th and now 6th. The littlest ones, arriving for the 3rd grade, are just getting acquainted with 'boarding' at school, however, they have caught on quickly, thanks to all of the help from the experienced older children.  Our Matron has managed the transition for the children beautifully and is still sleeping a good deal of the time in the sick bay of the Girls Dormitory, keeping everyone feeling safe and secure.  The continued construction of the Matron's House, with plumbing and electrical finishes underway, is nearing the end of the major building stage and our Matron is looking forward to being able to move in!

The 'new school year' excitement continued with the arrival of Fr. Symon three weeks ago in Narok.  He has been very busy, first and foremost, engaging the children and faculty and also interviewing to hire another teacher. I have spoken with him a couple of times on the telephone since he arrived, and he has sounded elated with the return of the children and arrival of the new students. Nearly all of the students are boarding this year, which makes for two dormitories brimming with schoolchildren!  Should any of our dear friends and/or readers feel inspired...we will certainly be looking into building another dorm in the near future so that we may continue our intake in 2011.

Fr. Symon has also devoted nearly all of his time overseeing the continued construction of the Dining Hall and Kitchen/Storage Building as well as a Teacher's House on campus.  As you may recall, during this past summer, the foundations were laid for both buildings.  According to the last conversation I had with Fr. Symon, the walls were up and the ring beam was being completed for the Dining Hall and Kitchen/Storage facility, while the masons were making steady progress on the walls for the Teacher's House. Materials were in place to start work on windows, trusses and roofing, as well.  Given the enormous commitment many of you have made to the Jubilee School, Fr. Symon is determined to oversee as much of the construction as possible, constantly conferring with the engineers and architects to ensure buildings of the highest standard when complete. He has been delighted with the progress that has been made since he arrived and says that he has photographed much of it, to be put in our website's gallery upon his return. I am eager to see how the Campus now looks, with the Dining Hall and Kitchen/Storage Facility nearly as big as the Classroom Building, only with one floor, rather than the two stories in the Classroom Building.  Given the multi-purpose of the Dining Hall, it will have a significantly higher ceiling than the Classroom Building and will also incorporate a small stage for assemblies etc. So much more to look forward to!

Finally, this past weekend was to be a Visiting Weekend for parents and families of the students and Fr. Symon was looking forward to that wonderful gathering.  It is on those occasions when he has an opportunity to speak with many of the parents and hear their questions, feedback and any concerns. He always enjoys those visits, as do the children! 

Well, I suppose that is enough of an update for now.  I expect Fr. Symon will have much more to share in the next few weeks and I will keep you posted. Happy Valentine's Day and thank you for your faithful and most generous support!

Trackback Print

Tags:

Categories:

Location: Blogs Barbara Burke's blog

Your name:
Your email:
	(Optional) Email used only to show Gravatar.
Your website:
Title:
Comment:
Security Code Enter the code shown above in the box below
Add Comment   Cancel