July 24, 2012

The sounds of St Jude's

This will be our initial audio post, in which you, the reader, are taken through an aural journey throughout a typical day at St Jude’s Lower Primary Campus. Click on the links after each paragraph to sample the sounds of St Jude’s. MOSHONO CAMPUS, LOWER PRIMARY, MONDAY The first sound you hear every morning at […]

This will be our initial audio post, in which you, the reader, are taken through an aural journey throughout a typical day at St Jude’s Lower Primary Campus. Click on the links after each paragraph to sample the sounds of St Jude’s.

MOSHONO CAMPUS, LOWER PRIMARY, MONDAY

The first sound you hear every morning at The School of St Jude is the revving of the bus engines. The fleet of 21 buses is woken from their nightly slumber, ready for another long days work. Beethoven’s Für Elise – the sound some buses play when going reverse – fills the morning air.

Red, green, yellow, orange and blue buses head out the front gates of the Moshono campus, scattering in each and every direction looking for bright-eyed St Jude’s students in their spiffy blue uniforms.

Once the fleet returns, the students pile out and flood the playgrounds until the morning bell rings, signaling the start of classes.

As the sun continues to peak through the morning fog that’s descended upon Moshono from Mt Meru, the students shuffle between their Maths, Science, Geography, Physical Education, Music and Art classes, taking in new knowledge and ideas. A quick break for morning tea goes by too quickly, as the sounds of tiny footsteps hurry to their next class. Before you know it, lunch time has arrived.

The lower primary students are escorted by their teachers to the outdoor dining hall, where plates of hot, nutritious meals are waiting their arrival. Bowls of rice and beans – the Monday entrée – with a side of tomato, carrot and capsicum salad, with forks and cups of water are placed neatly along the rows. Before anybody has a bite, a prayer is said.

Lunch is devoured quickly, as the students want as much time to run around and play with their friends. Because this is Monday, the lower primary students will have their weekly assembly soon after lunch. The cooks and cleaners convert the dining hall into an assembly hall, rearranging the benches to face the stage. Students pile back in to the rows. To kick off the assembly, three things must happen:

1. The St Jude’s prayer must be recited.

2. The Tanzanian National Anthem, with students on drums, must be played.

3. The School of St Jude song, accompanied by its original dance, finishes the assembly introduction.

The assembly will include everything from different grades performing songs and acts on stage that they’ve been practicing, announcements, introducing new visitors, special guests and weekly awards. After assembly, the students will go to a few more classes until the closing bell rings. The students will line up and filter into their appropriate bus, ready to take them home.

Another Monday at the Lower Primary Moshono Campus comes to a close, the sounds of St Jude’s permeating into the atmosphere, rising above the clouds, past Mt Meru, spreading far and wide as the fight against poverty grows ever stronger.

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