The School of St. Jude, Moshono Campus

My first day was a day of discovery. But I think each day will be.

The driveway was filled with vans, each a different bright color, and each saying The School of St. Jude with the happy lettering style of the school. I found Tara in the office of the Moshono campus, and the introductions began. Then a little walk around the school grounds, and a visit to the library. Then it was lunch time. Everyone eats together, at the same time. The dining area/assembly room/theater is in the middle of the campus, and is roofed, but without walls. The classes sit together, with their teacher, and the remaining teachers and visitors sit at the front few tables. Before eating, the students stand and say a grace. That first day, and each school day since, we have had a rice or bean dish and a vegetable dish, spiced with a tomato salsa that has quite a kick. Each meal has been tasty. No complaints. After lunch, the students have a recess, playing on the swings, the climbing structures and slides, running and playing tag, and doing all those imaginative games children devise. The supervising teacher wears a bright yellow sash, easy to spot. As the students went back to classes, my introductory tour continued with a short bus ride to the boarding campus. The students walk the distance each day, taking a short cut through the fields, small plots planted with banana trees, corn, coffee, and vegetables. I am eager to take that walk, but need a guide, the first time, at least. (Short cuts can lead to long delays...ask Frodo.) The boarding campus is terraced, with a great soccer field on the lower terrace, a dining hall/assembly room on the next level, and the two dorms following on up the hill. The boarding students rise early, make their beds and do their chores and have breakfast, then come to school together. Students of all ages board (except for the very youngest), and return home Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. At the end of the school day, 3:30, the boarders return to their buildings, and their afternoons and evenings are tightly scheduled with chores and classes, which are held both before and after dinner. They also have "family time" to discuss things that the house parent and teacher can help them sort out. The boarding campus is planted with grass and flowering bushes, and looks out over the fields across to the foothills of Mt. Meru. It is a picture postcard view. Back on the Moshono campus, I spent the remainder of the afternoon in the library, covering textbooks with sturdy brown paper so they could be issued to the students who are just starting a new school year. A few classes came in for a library time, and the librarian read a story, and then the students looked at books. The collection is great, and any student from home would find their favorites on the shelves. I found "The Story of Ferdinand'" of course! When the last bell of the day buzzes, the students line up for their buses, which zoom off in a cloud of dust. After school, with the campus quiet, I sat in on a Kiswahili lesson, which was way too advanced, but still interesting. Maybe I can find a tutor? And that ended my first day at school.