School Supplies Needed

I am preparing a collection of supplies to send down to the kids. A portion of the $3400 I need to raise consists of school supplies and uniforms. If I can get some of these items donated, less money will need to be raised which will be a huge weight off my shoulders, and will allow me to focus my effort on their tuition costs.

If you have any of the below items gently used, or are able to purchase them, please let me know and I will send you my mailing address so you can get them to me. I promise a picture of the kids with the item you send.

1) Backpacks: The kids need black or red backpacks. At the least I would need 3, one for each kid, however ideally I would love to send down 6. It is only 3 months into the school year and Yoandi's is already ripped. American quality ones would be better than what they have now, but 2 each would last them at least one full school year, if not more. They can be any style, but below are some I found that would be ideal (they are all from Target, click on the picture to be linked to more info).



2) Black dress shoes: The kids have to wear black dress shoes to school. The quality they usually buy is not the best and wears out quickly. Giving them 2 pairs each of good quality black shoes would be awesome. The boys wear regular men's dress shoes. I am not sure of their exact sizes, but they are aged 12 and 17- I am guessing men's 6, 7, 8, or 9's would fit one or the other. Andrielis wears black flats and size 7's or 8's would work.


3) School supplies: 10 notebooks each, pens, pencils, pencil cases, English-Spanish dictionary, English-French dictionary, Spanish chapter books, toothbrushes, toothpaste, soap, underwear, black and white socks, white undershirts.

If you have, or are able to purchase, any of these items please email me at ncochrane3@hotmail.com Thank you!!

Tutoring

The kids began getting tutored in January (Andrielis) and February (the boys). Since then, Andrielis has gone for 2 hours a week and the boys for 1. These classes have been amazing. Since they are done by an American, the quality is great and I am able to get frequent updates on their learning. That said, recently the family approached me and told me they think it would be beneficial to switch to an actual tutoring school, so that it would be every day and the kids could catch up more quickly, now that they are in the private school and are a bit behind their peers. Although I myself would have preferred to keep them where they were, as I liked the updates and really being able to understand how they were doing, as much as possible I want them to be making their own decisions, rather than having me dictate to them, as they know what is best in their own lives. Thus, a new chapter is beginning as they switch to tutoring schools.

For the past month, the boys have been tutored by a man named Pablo. They go for 2 hours monday-friday and sit in a class of about 30 kids. They are taught in all subjects. They love the structure of it and love that it is every day, so they are getting more time in the classroom. I have spoken with Juan, one of the other teachers at the school who works with the boys along with Pablo (the director) and Juan confirmed that they are doing well, but that their biggest struggle is reading and writing- basic literacy.

Beginning today, October 24, Andrielis will be switching to Impact English School (crossing my fingers her first class this afternoon goes well!). This is 4 days a week for 1 hour, and focuses solely on english. It is much less expensive than what I pay now for her tutoring, so I will be able to put some money away each month for her tuition next year. For her, she stressed that it is important to be in a classroom with other kids, so she can have someone to practice her english with.

October 10th Lesson

Andrielis had a final lesson with Catilin last week. For the time being, she will be switching to a different tutor, but we hopefully will switch back to Caitlin soon- more on that in the next post. They began this lesson by testing her on the 16 words she got incorrectly on the quiz last week. Of those 16, this week she got 10 correct.

Next, they did a lesson on malnutrition that I had prepared. The article I gave them, written in Spanish, talked about a treatment for kids who are malnourished in Malawi. The article can be read HERE. This article was easy for her to read, and she learned a lot; 90% of kids who receive this treatment recover from malnutrition, etc. They listed healthy vs. unhealthy foods which she understood, with a few mistakes. For example, she thought plantains were unhealthy, and had to be reminded a few unhealthy foods that she put as heatlhy (with lots of grease and oil). They talked about why these foods aren't healthy and the lack of nutritional value. She had never heard of protein before, so they talked about that.

After that, they went over the Justin Bieber video again. They started from where they ended the lesson prior, and she learned many new words and phrases (apart, girl, say, just, there is, another, look). It's a lot of new words, but because she loves the song and listens to it often it is proving a great way for her to memorize new vocab.

October 4th Lesson

Andrielis hasn't had lessons with Caitlin in the month of September, as Caitlin had a brand new beautiful baby girl! Lessons started up again and Andrielis had a lesson from 2-4pm on October 4th.

They went over Andrielis' logs from past sessions volunteering in the clinic, then they pulled out Caitlin's computer to watch youtube videos that teach english, focusing on reviewing colours and simple sentences.

Caitlin gave her a quiz to see how well she had remembered her vocabulary. She gave her 50 random words that they had worked on before (pronouns, colours, question words, verbs, time words, family members, etc). She scored a 73% on the test.

They went back to youtube and re-visited Justin Beiber's Baby song, watching a video that provided the lyrics, and going through frame by frame and translating. The lyrics, "Just shout whenever, and I’ll be there." was a tough one for her. Shout is a new verb for her. Whenever was a new word, so they went over whoever, whenever, however. She knows 'to be' but finds it the most confusing verb. They broke down what "I'll" means, although they haven't learned future tense yet, so this was also new for her. Andrielis loves music so this is proving to be a really effective way of teaching her english.

Happy Birthday!

To the cutest 12 year old I know,

May you always keep your big smile, your mischeviousness, and your love of life. I have huge hopes for you and I know you will go above and beyond what we ever thought possible. You have the biggest heart I know and you put a smile on the face of everyone you meet. I hope your year to come is one long series of happy moments.

Your sister,
Nikki

PS I am so thankful to those 11 people who donated. I reached my $200 goal by Yoandi's birthday!

Get To Know Andrielis

I told Andrielis I wanted to 'interview' her so that those sponsoring her education could get to know her better. I have translated our interview to english. Note that the pictures are of Andrielis at school, and the woman with her is the school director.

1) What is your favourite food? Rice with chicken and beans
2) Who is your best friend? Zuleiry, she goes to my school
3) What is your favourite school subject? English
4) What is your favourite song? The song "Tu" by Noelia (see at the bottom)
5) Why do you like your school? I like my school because it has a better education and many good things, for example a laboratory and library.
6) When are you most happy? When I talk to you.
7) When are you most sad? I feel sad when I don't have food.
8) Why do you want to be a nurse when you grow up? I want to be a nurse so I can have good work and so I can help my mother and my family.



Andrielis is a sweetheart. She is super girly and loves looking pretty, getting dressed up, doing her hair, etc. Her notebooks for school are all plastered in Justin Bieber's face! She is responsible and never needs to be reminded to go to tutoring or to bring her books, as her brothers always forget. She is sensitive, feminine, and smart, although she can get self conscious and isn't used to being pushed educationally. She is a dreamer, loves music, and can stop people in their tracks with her beauty. She has a big heart and takes good care of her brothers.



Please consider supporting Andrielis' education: