By Christopher Drake | Project supervisor
Dear friends and kind supporters of Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara Foundation,
Warmest greetings! We are now well into the first term of this new academic year and are pleased to say that the new students we welcomed to school have settled in well, bringing our total number of students to over 140. It’s been a pleasure to see the children settle in and make new friends as students, parents and teachers get to know each other and the school community grows and looks to new opportunities ahead.
The break before the new school year went by quickly; we made use of the time when the students were away to let builders in and continue to work on some of the remaining building and interior work, including fitting out and furnishing the two guest rooms and installing shelves and desks for the library. At the same time, in collaboration with partners and local community health centres, we were delighted to be able to build on previous years’ medical outreach work with visits to local rural and former migrant worker communities to carry out basic health checks and offer interactive health education and first aid talks and workshops.
An important part of the extended week of health activities was our partnership with local universities to whose students we offered service learning opportunities and who in turn provided invaluable support, interpretation and coordination assistance. A highlight was the day spent with the girls at a Catholic hostel where art was an important part of sessions on emotional and mental well-being as was a touching closing ceremony with communal singing and sharing of insights learned. We also welcomed two university students from America (one on his third visit!) and it was a delight to benefit from their enthusiasm, warm-heartedness and commitment to education.
Like many places around the world, we have been experiencing climate change and very hot weather so were pleased to be able to find a nearby venue where we can hold swimming classes for our young children, who enjoyed splish-splashing relief from the heat. Expanding on our science activities at school, preschoolers went on a mini-trip to Taman Pintar, a venue created to allow youngsters to explore science displays and learn about the universe while the toddlers visited Rumah Dongeng – The Story-telling House – for fun activities and listening to stories. Continuing on the theme of stories and books, we brought International Literacy Day to life by encouraging all children and teachers to dress up like one of the characters in a favourite book of theirs and then read about the character they had chosen.
A round-up of activities would not be complete without mentioning our parents and the Parents’ Group continues to hold regular gatherings and discussions for mutual sharing of experiences and perspectives about how best to support and nurture their children hand in hand with the school, helping ensure a consistency and complementarity between what is learned and put into practice at school and at home.
Parents were also enthusiastic participants and co-organisers of our recent Wellness Week during which fitness coach Kev and yoga instructor Franca built on their wonderful fund-raising support for the school and flew in especially for the occasion, taking teachers, support staff, parents and invited guests through several days of exercises, self-defence skills and yoga practice. A healthy mind in a healthy body is a timeless aspiration and we all felt stronger, more flexible, confident and happy after the sessions! Many thanks Kev and Franca!
And thank you all for your kind support; we’ve come a long way and it is encouraging to see the building approaching completion and some of the classes beginning to fill up. We hope that you will continue with us on this journey together as we strive to offer life-changing educational opportunities to young learners.
With much gratitude and warmest wishes from all of us at Yayasan Taman Cipta Karya Nusantara.
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