OUR CROSS-CONTINENTAL CLEAN-UP

With the work we did with the Volvo Ocean Race early in 2018, our thoughts were never far from turning the tide on plastic pollution, so we decided that when the weather got better, we would attempt a coordinated clean-up with our friends in Nepal. We would set about doing a beach clean down at Milford Beach, while the Kushadevi pupils would clean up the river that runs through their village. The idea was that the two water-cleans would happen on the same day, but the weather got the better of that plan. While it was very windy here, in Kushadevi their were torrential rains which caused the river to swell so much that it was too dangerous to attempt to clean. We did get down to Milford, but our friends left the river alone and instead decided to clean the centre of the village around the small temple complex.

After the clean-ups, we skyped each other to talk about the types of waste we had found, and discovered that, although we might be thousands of miles apart, the main form of waste found in both villages was food and drink packaging.

Take a look at some of the pictures form here and in Kushadevi.

Whole School Live Link-Up

The second of our whole-school 'live link-ups' took place in March. It was a chance for our Friendship Ambassadors to share what they had learned about Nepali culture and Hindu festival rituals and then share some songs, dances and questions with our friends in Kushadevi.

The signal lasted the whole session and both sets of pupils got a lot from the experience, although next year we may move to more regular facetime sessions class to class, rather than a whole-school affair. keep your eyes peeled for developments.

In the latest part of our Sister Schools Project, our Friendship Ambassadors got the opportunity to learn a popular Nepali Children’s song: Resham Firiri.

First, they were played a pre-videoed version of Nepali children singing it, then, under Joey’s tutorage, they began to learn the lyrics before they interrupted by a surprise Facetime call from pupils at Kushadevi School, who performed the song live. Our ambassadors joined in with the chorus and produced a magic moment of inter-continental connection.