Today during English Language Proficiency, I spoke with Mai at SK Chenor, which was severely affected by this year's flooding.
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| TELL2 Participant, Maiezatul Bt. Daud |
What
damages did the school sustain?
The waters reached 3 meters at their worst. The
furniture in the preschool was completely destroyed as were all of the
materials and children's work that had been left there at the end of the year.
The lining in the sura was ruined. The field sustained damage since it was
under water for well over two weeks. All
of the flowers and plants around the grounds died.
How have you and the school been
affected by the floods, in particular with regard to the start of the school
year?
Schools across Malaysia all delayed opening but staff weren't even able
to access the school for cleaning purposes until the end of the first week of
January so it was difficult to prepare. On the first day of opening the PPD
visited, and expected schedules to be working as normal. Mai prepared a PP
presentation for her Year 2 English to prepare them for the year ahead.
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| Volunteers helped paint the school & work begins next month on an English Language Space donated by TELL2! |
How
have the students been affected?
The children
were a little forgetful and distracted but in good spirits.
How
long will it take the school to return to normal?
It is functioning as normal in terms
of timetables, classes and teachers but needs some work in terms of appearance
.
I
see that the volunteers have done a wonderful job repainting the front of the
school. Despite this many of the classrooms are conspicuously lacking the
posters are props which had been here previously. How can we enrich the
classroom?
I saved most of the teaching aids and
props which i used-storing them upstairs in anticipation of the flood.
Nonetheless at the moment the classrooms need to be repainted and put back to
where they were before. It maybe an opportunity to try to create an interactive
classroom display as we did at the last CPD. I also want to showcase the
achievements of TELL on a display board. The
school environment is very important to encourage learning.
Looking
ahead to the year what English events are you looking forward to?
PAL reading day seems like a great
idea. Especially because it will give level2 students the chance to see the
TELL mentor.
Another
of our focuses will be on English proficiency this year? Do you feel that the
TELL program has benefited your confidence and expressive language ability?
Can you give me an example of this?
Of course. Previously I was very shy,
but now I am very happy and comfortable to speak English around you. Although I’m
still nervous when speaking English!
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| The Pra Sekolah at SK Chenor was completely destroyed, the new students have their lessons on the floor. |
Many
Thanks to Mai for taking the time to respond. On behalf of everyone at SK
Chenor we thank all of the volunteers who’s efforts have enabled the school to
reopen so quickly. And look forward to work starting on our English Language Space next month!
Tom James, Chenor
