I asked Tumaini to send some photos featuring him in them. Here he is conducting a frog dissection and showing students how to track light through a glass block.
Tumaini expertly opens up a frog so students can study its anatomy.
Tumaini shows parallax method for tracking light.
Students study this foreign measuring instrument (an electronic scale)
Hi madam!
According to the large number of students in our schools I have decided to rotate through only five schools. As below
1.Bungurere sec school
2.Itiryo secondary school
3.Nyamwaga hill sec school
4.Nyanungu sec school
5.Bwiregi sec school.
Either (also) I have decided to conduct two session per month!
I normally deal with the following topics
Food Testing….yes they need to learn to all use safety glasses
food test
Optics
dissection
flowers dissection
Hook’s law
Up to the moment I have made three session at Itiryo sec school and Bungurere sec school.
Soon I am planning to vist Nyamwaga sec school.
I am dealing with form two up to form for only.
So the photos I sent you was some from Bungurere sec school
and Itiryo sec school.
Thanks.
Hi Madam
Did you enjoyed how the students are happy on putting their hands on science?
I need to send you a picture of how I travel with the equipments by bicycle sometimes. Thanks my dear madam.
May God bless you
….Yesterday on the way to Itiryo sec school, my two thermometer was broken down accidentally!
Hi madam! The program is well although the environment is hard! Worry not
>> for being quiet is due to environmental condition, today I conducted a
>> practical of food test at Itiryo secondary school,
>> the headmaster of the school is so happy for that!
>>
>> Either he promised to coparate with us!
>> The school is new and he needs his students to performe well!
>> he is going to contact madam Msaki.
Students investigating a voltmeter
I am so proud of Tumaini’s work and am planning a cross country trip to visit him this coming August and witness his classes first hand. Fortunately for me, I will get a chance to cross the Ngorongoro National Park and Serengeti on the way.
In the end I find myself here in Moshi over March Break. We had a workshop on Wednesday which was attended by 29 teachers and leaders.
I took this opportunity to conduct a ssession on writing reference letters for scholarship applications. This was something that clearly not many were experienced with as I noted from last year’s applications.
After this the panels conducted their own activities; Biology – preserving specimens; Chemistry – Preparation of specialize solutions through titration; Physics – Using moments to determine masses.
I 
passed on many teaching resources to the new Library at the Moshi Education Centre. They were most
appreciative and especially the book on teaching children with exceptionalities which was quickly snapped up and borrowed by Neema since the Library is not set up yet.
So I realize that I haven’t told anyone where the executive members from last year are now. Last years executive was the first to take on these roles and I commend them for their passion, energy and dedication to science education and to supporting their fellow teachers. Here’s what they are up to now.
Neema Kisanga (past chairperson and Biology Panel leader) – Neema has returned to University to work on her science degree and to specialize in teaching students with exceptionalities, specifically the deaf and hard of hearing. I have seen her recently and she is doing well. She is out of town for school but came to the March workshop and it was great to see her.
Elirehema (Co Biology Leader) – Elirehema is continuing in his position at Moshi Secondary School. He has been placed in Geography courses so is not actively teaching science. He has many other responsibilities such as Assistant Head Master in charge of discipline. He continues to support Do Science and attends executive meetings in an advisory role.
Meshack (Physics / Chemistry Leader) – Meshack has left Kiborliloni school and is pursuing interests outside the region.
Sorry for the lack of communication since January. Things have been running well behind the scences. I’ve been in Canada and the Do Science Leadership team has been hard at work here in Moshi.
They held two workshops, January and February and the attendance has been 25 or 30 teachers each time.
The new expanded executive has been great ensuring that no one teacher is overburdened with responsibility and Mme Bertha has been doing an excellent job overseeing everything. I’ll give some executive updates in the next post.
While I was in Moshi this visit, Tumaini Chacha, one of my Form VI student leaders came up with a great proposal. Tumaini will be waiting for university admission from February when exams are completed up to October when University programs begins. He would like to return to the Mara region, up near the Serengeti and Lake Victoria where he is from. He will travel around to the village secondary schools, which really have no resources at all. He will conduct student labs on curriculum topics which are required for national exams. Some topics he has chosen are Food Tests, Dissection, Hooke’s Law, Refraction, Rates of Reaction and Chemical Reactions.
DST has compiled a suitcase full of science equipment for physics, chemistry and biology which Tumaini will cart around with him. Tumaini has some experience doing such tutorials after Form IV, waiting for placement in Form V, but at that time he had no support or equipment. I’m excited about this new venture and look forward to reading his reports.
This initiative is being financially supported by kind donation from the Eid family on behalf of Mahmoud Eid.
On Friday the new DST Executive got together to finalize plans for the upcoming season of workshops Jan – June. I believe it was a productive meeting despite the fact that I had laryngitus and could not talk much at all.
I will spend my last week revising manuals, preparing kits for the January workshop and equiping executives with tools for communication.
Check out the new 2013 DST swag you see the exective modeling here. On the back of the lab coats and T-shirts is written…”i do science”.
Happy 2013 everyone…..Diana
Natalie, Yen, Xinye, Christina, Aysha Shaun, Clara and Sonia (Grade 12 Physics Class from Bell High School) Hosts for the DST Student Workshop.
Well we got about 42 students of the 60 that were promised….not bad considering. Most that came arrived again relatively on time. We had no power for my 9 computers and projector that were an integral part of the days planned activities but fortunately an electrician was rounded up and the problem was rectified and we started only about 1/2 hour late.
After a welcome and setting objectives for the day….we started the workshops that my Physics students had compiled. The first session ran a bit long due to everyone needing to become familiar with the acitivities but as the day ran on the leaders became more confident and things ran smoother.
…from Bell students to workshop participants.
At lunch we had a science trivia contest, complements of Professor Noggin (GAME)
Tumaini conducts a round of an investment game? Would you rather invest in a restaurant at the North Pole, toeless socks or a hospital in NYC?
At the end of the day during the wrap up, Ali gave a beautiful message about the hopes that everyone will open their minds and keep their minds open as they move towards a fullfilling career. He said that many are fixed on one particular objective and are blind to other possibilities. I am paraphrasing here but I wish I had had a video camera at the ready to record what he said. It would have inspired me to learn how to embed a video on this blog. Something I have yet to do.
The next day I received this text message from a student named Robert… “Oh Madame today I really enjoy the workshop. And I have learned many things about medicines, humanitarianisms many things indeed madam me and my fellow we really thank you real show me the path of my career….thanx Robert”
These students are trying their hand at writing a newspaper article about a Tornado that has hit
Investigating the relationship between number of folds of paper and weight (number of pens) the bridge can hold.
.
At the computer programming workshop, students learn to think ‘outside the box’ by seeing multiple interpretations of some art pieces.
This bridge holds LOTS…ran out of pens
Who doesn’t love playing ‘Operation’? These future doctors actually made some good connections with skills required for medicine and for repercussions of not having such skills.
Keeping the Ball in the air with your safety net…humanitarianism project team work.
Practicing the ‘Trust Fall’ ….humanitarianism workshop.
Today Kilimanjaro is shining brightly. Lots of snow last night. Yesterday there was hardly any to see.
The workshop went well yesterday aside from some minor technical difficulties which should always be expected. I’ll provide some highlights coming soon.
I’m back in Moshi as of Sunday and busily
getting ready to implement the student workshop on Friday. This is the workshop that my Grade 12 Physics Class at Bell has prepared on Career Development. I met yesterday with my student facilitators to go over the material. They seemed quite captivated by the activities so I’m optimistic all will be received well.
In the photo you can see them listening attentively to Shaun explaining his Medicine activities.
In the 3rd photo you see them sporting their soccer shirts, donated by Dr. Joynt of Stittsville. They were all thrilled to add these colourful shirts to their wardrobes.
Stay tuned for news from Friday’s Workshop.
