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School events:
1. Today is Saturday, but classes continue on weekends. Three more students have signed up for Niubi Village School, and we’re attending morning reading, cultural reading, English, and music classes. Military training was suspended during the third period due to heavy rain. Xiaoyi (a volunteer at Heart of China) is currently unable to teach at Niubi Village School, so teachers here will continue to take over for the time being.
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Niubizi Village School
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Another child signed up.
2. At the Ren’ai School in Qunxin Village, classes continued as normal this morning, primarily consisting of military training, cultural reading, art, and morning reading. One particularly noteworthy military training session was a unique one: two instructors organized all the students to march out of the school, divided into groups of four, and help clean up garbage in public areas and the resettlement area. The students were enthusiastic, and the villagers were very welcoming. We hope that through similar activities, we can cultivate a sense of discipline, teamwork, and public welfare among the children, while also educating the villagers on public welfare.
3. The afternoon interest and reading class at Qunxincun School continued as usual. Many children arrived before 1 a.m., but the official borrowing of books began at 1:30 p.m. The children lined up one by one to enter the reading room to borrow books, then returned to their seats to read quietly. We were delighted to see some of the children engrossed. After about an hour, when some children began to tire, we began group activities. Teacher Ajia began by reading aloud to the children. Those who didn’t want to listen could read on their own. Later, several students were invited to the stage to practice storytelling. Finally, Teacher Chen Chao led the students in singing and playing musical games. The afternoon activities concluded at 3:30 p.m.
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Queuing for books
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Very orderly huh? :)
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How attentively you read!
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Very attentively written!
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Let’s sing some songs and take a rest.
4. Currently, the school’s main courses are very popular among children, including morning reading, cultural reading, military training, art, music, and fun English. Children here usually speak the local Sichuan dialect, and teachers generally only use the dialect. Only the Chinese teacher reluctantly uses unstandard Mandarin when reading texts. Local parents report that the most noticeable change in their children during this period is that they have started speaking Mandarin, and they speak more than before. One parent said that he has two children, one in fifth grade and one in the first grade of junior high. The junior high child, who attends Dongqi Middle School, was very quiet for a period after the earthquake, and for two days he neither ate nor spoke. He is very welcome to the school and very grateful for the teachers’ work.
5. In the afternoon, a special girl named Pan Yuli came to the school on her own initiative, wanting to enroll. She was thirteen or fourteen, high school age, but she hadn’t attended school since kindergarten. Her mother had remarried and brought her to the village. She has a congenital heart condition, and even moderately strenuous activity (like walking a few hundred meters in a row) becomes overwhelming, requiring her to squat and rest. We learned about her lack of basic communication skills. We sympathized with her situation, but hesitated to accept her application. We asked other children to invite her mother to the school. Her mother explained that due to their financial difficulties, they hadn’t been able to get her child surgery (though doctors reportedly believed it was a possible cure). Consequently, her situation persisted, with no school willing (or daring) to accept her. We told her mother that the school welcomes this girl to attend classes and study at any time. She can do what she can and does not have to follow the curriculum. She can go to any class she wants (it is recommended to start with the lower grades). According to our brief observation, this girl has certain learning and communication skills, and is very eager to study. We hope that her parents can overcome difficulties and try to pick her up and drop her off every day. If not, please ask other classmates to accompany her to and from school.
6. After school in the afternoon, I walked a group of children back to their nearby homes and stopped by to visit their families. A short 10-minute walk took us a full hour and a half. The children were so enthusiastic, they kept me company, chatting and playing along the way. When I got home, they made sure to give me something: fruit, flowers, biscuits, mineral water, milk, and so on. Although they were only a handful, they still filled me up. Most of the parents were away, but the villagers I met enthusiastically exclaimed “Thank you! Thank you!” upon hearing the teacher had arrived. When I finally said goodbye to the children, they kept chanting “Goodbye, teacher! Goodbye, teacher!” until I was out of sight.
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This is the first time I send these kids home.
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Children in the village grow up early :)
From what I’ve observed, the villagers here have done a good job of self-help production, and their resettlement has been good. Some of the better-off families have already had electricity. Next, I intend to apply to the village committee to have electricity connected to the school as well.
Aside from the lack of electricity, the constant rain and the extreme humidity, which made the teachers’ accommodations difficult, the school was in excellent condition in every way. Everyone jokingly said it felt like a resort. The volunteers were reluctant to leave, and the children were even more attached.
Argentine Primera División record on the evening of June 21