WISHLIST

MY MOM IS COMING OUT HERE TO MADAGASCAR AND WILL BE ARRIVING DECEMBER 26^TH!!!  Oh Christmas with family, how exciting!  I am so happy, and don’t actually think I have ever looked forward to something as much as this.  Just my Mum and I… oh how wonderful.

 

A few people have mentioned they would like to maybe send some things along with her, and to send a ‘wish list’.  I am very happy about this, so I have composed a list after speaking with different teachers in the School, so you might have a list of items needed directly from the teachers who are with the children every day and truly feel the need for such items.  Also there is a separate ‘wish list’ at the bottom, which is quite a selfish bit… in sense that I will most likely be the only one to benefit from such things. 

 

This is a WISH list... key word:  WISH

Meaning, in my perfect ‘vision valley’ world we would have all these supplies.  But I do not expect all this, just throwing it out there, because I can’t hope unless I put it into the hands of those who are able.  Maybe you are able… I put a tiny piece of my gigantic hopes in your hands ; )

 

If you are interested in sending any of these things along with my Mom, please talk with her (you may reach her at robirek@mts.net ), so she can organize it with space, and to make sure no 2 people are giving the same thing.  Also if there are ANY QUESTIONS at all about any of the items on this list, PLEASE do not hesitate to contact me at invitation_2understanding@hotmail.com.  Please be aware that I usually check my email once a week, and if I get an email with a question from you I then need to go find the answer, and then I can get back to you the following week… meaning about a 2 week waiting period, and if this is not sufficient, please speak with my Mum, and she can call me to find out and I get back to you a lot quicker : )

 

Please note a few things before you read this ‘Wish List’: 

 

* Vision Valley School (where I work) has 152 students in it, ranging in ages from 3 – 16 (Pre-primary – grade 10.. but will eventually reach grade 12 eldest class grows).  Class sizes range from 9 – 19 & teacher.

 

*I originally came out here to be the Art teacher for all grades.  I know that the subject of Art is seen by many individuals as being quite silly, and why in the world would you half way across the world to ‘Teach Art’.  I see art in many different forms; Film, drama, painting, sketching, singing, making music using a variety of home made and already made instruments, etc.  I believe creation AND interpretation are very important to individuals, especially children.  Many children have great difficulties in other subjects, Maths, English, Science, but excel in art simply because there is really no ‘wrong’ in art, and as long as they put in effort, and are able to gradually become more vulnerable in the art leading to the best representation of some truth they do beautifully.  This bestows a confidence that I know first hand can be a beautiful form of healing.  It’s awesome to ‘do Art’ using a pencil and a piece of a paper, and I know you could spend months playing around with different methods of drawing, however … the majority of kids get bored (so do I, as it is not a particular passion of mine), and when they are not enjoying the art form, they cease to create anything of any meaning.  Now you may have an idea of where I am coming from when creating this list : )

* Things like pencils, pencil sharpeners, markers, glue, scissors, rulers, geometry sets…. We can get all those things here and very good prices so they are not needed.

 

*Please keep in mind that the majority of the educational supplies we have in Manitoba, are extremely Westernized, but we rarely notice it unless we have a child from a different nationality, or somebody points it out.  I don’t want to be picky, but if there is a choice between two items in which one has extensive information on the history of Canada, or ‘famous’ landmarks in the U.S…. and the other option is quite a bit more broader but does not go into such immense details about the United States or Canada.. wonderful (Please keep this mind especially for atlases).  PLEASE, I don’t mean to be picky, and am already just so grateful that people have shown interest in this, and will be extremely grateful for whatever item(s) reach it out here, it is just something to keep in mind…

 

*Other than the requests for stickers & paper, please try and make the wisest decisions and be sure there are no perishable items coming aboard.

 

*The pre-primary (ages 3-5) section is supervised by a beautiful friend – Colleen.  Colleen was a teacher in South Africa for 11 years before she came here 2 years ago and has made a long-term commitment to living and working here for Vision Valley School.  I have spoken with her, and asked her the needs of this section.  It might sound a bit odd, but this section is in desperate need of ‘STUFF’… picture 3 year olds playing all day with their hands, rocks, and maybe some books… they need ‘STUFF’!    So if you read some of these things and think … can’t they just use their imaginations and make some of those things out of material they find, or whatnot.  Well, I think most of you know I have no problems using the ‘creative’ side of my brain, but these are things that we are unable to have because of lack of supplies/funds/ability. 

 

-Powder paints (LOTS, many different colors):            There are absolutely NO powder paints on this entire island!  They do have small tubes of acrylic and watercolor paints, but they are far too expensive to buy in large quantities for the classes to paint anymore than on one small piece of paper throughout the whole year.  We can make powder paints out of flower, water and ink refills for pens, however it goes moldy and does not keep even in a sealed jar, also we are limited in colors (red, blue… purple).

 

-PAPER:            We can occasionally buy colored paper here, but it is mighty expensive, and it is a rare occurrence that it is in stock.  It would be WONDERFUL to have stacks of construction paper & different types of paper (like shiny stuff.. right now, there are some candies that are wrapped in shiny cellophane, and we’ve been using that when we can get them)  but anything, if you ladies have some extra scrap booking paper lying around, we could definitely use that!

 

-Set of atlases:              A dear friend, and fellow teacher - Georgina, is the Geography teacher for grades 5 and up.  She has ONE atlas, and does a ton of mapwork, and has to photocopy that atlas so many times – it is such a waste of paper, and it gets destroyed and lost and we can’t photocopy that much to begin with anyhow. 

 

-A set(s) of novels all grades:            We have one set of novels (I think we have 9 of them) for the entire school – it is ‘Of Mice and Men’, so if any schools out there have some extra sets of novels, we would GLADLY have them.  Just please send me the name first so I might be able to ask the English Teacher if that is fine.  (This is actually such a dream… I don’t even want to think about it because even the possibility makes my heart jitter)

 

-Paintbrushes:            ones with big handles, decent ones that young children can use and not completely destroy them after 5 minutes of use.  Also once with decent brushes for the older ones to use.

 

-Containers:            PLEASE pack everything in containers!  Ah, everything (and I am VERY serious when I say everything) is caked in dust and dirt, and containers would help greatly in the prevention of having to throw out things like books out because they have become wrecked.

 

-Chalkboard Erasers:            Right now we use odd pieces of foam/sponge… it’s used to make the mattresses and pillows out here.  They DO work, but they take extra long to erase things, and make a noise that makes my insides shake.  Oh how lovely it would be to have north American chalkboard erasers!

 

-Sponge cut outs:            to dip into paint and make pictures… shapes

 

-STICKERS!:            stacks and stacks and stacks of stickers… 16 year olds enjoy getting stickers, just as much as 3 year olds do : )

 

-Cookie Cutters:            to cut out playdough.

 

-Tracing Stencils:            for the young once…  like animals, transportation, food, etc… the kind that have different ‘themes’. 

 

-*STUFF*:            Ha, this is for those of you who have experience running a daycare, or are familiar with working with young children… like toys & games & supplies suitable for children ages 3-5. This ‘Stuff’ is very important, and it is extremely difficult for people who are giving funding to understand the importance of it unless they are the ones in there with the children to understand.

 

-Lego… who doesn’t love lego?

 

Educational DVDS:

            -Africa: tribes, food, history, etc.

            -WW1 & WW2

            -**The Human Body**

            -… anything ‘educational’… I’m sure we can fit it into one of the grades’ curriculum ; ) 

 

Fimo Clay:  In term 4, Wendy (another teacher) and I are doing an after school extra curricular activity for the kids who are interested (right now I think we have 21 signed up).  It is making jewelry and we can purchase beads here (unfortunately they are not cheap) but I would still like to use the material from here as much as we can, to encourage those students who wish to do this later on in their lives to, and they are able to use the skills they learnt with the material they have at their fingertips rather than being dependent on materials from elsewhere.  However I would like to do a bit of a ‘treat’ with them near the end, where we can use FIMO clay, and they can create their own beads (A few years back I tried with plasticine, and playdough, but neither works even close to as good as fimo clay).  Fimo clay can be pretty expensive (about $3/little bundle.. but if you shop around there is a good chance you may find some on sale.  Michaels, Artist Emporium (On St. James), Colors (on Pembina).  I know once I stocked up on Fimo Clay from Michaels, and I got them for 98 cents a piece from Michaels)

 

-Laminated Posters:  *WORLD MAPS!!… many of those please, the alphabet, numbers,  timestable, Grammer Rules, etc.  Teachers, you would be the people to go to for this one.. what do you have up in your classroom?  Please note:  Do not give anything on cursive writing, as they have a different type of cursive writing here and any posters with our CDN French style cursive writing would disrupt the unity.  **It is extremely important that these be laminated, please get them to my Mom ASAP so she can laminate them. 

 

-Place Value blocks & Counters: for Maths, right now I have cut out pieces of paper and drawn and cut out units/ones, blocks of tens (but drawn out the units inside the tens) and the hundreds (with drawn out tens and units within).. and then the cubes are nonexistent.  Some children are really struggling with this, It can be used for grades 1-5 and I think it helps for them to work with their hands.

 

-Puzzles: Easy & difficult

 

-Educational games: Some suggestions; scrabble, pick 2, Boggle

 

-NIV English bibles:   VERY IMPORTANT THAT THEY ARE NIV… we are short of about 70 bibles.. but just putting it out there.. it’s impossible to find English bibles here.

 

-Films for ‘fun’ Days:  Any DVD’s you might have at home, that perhaps you don’t watch anymore, or you would like to encourage your son or daughter to get into the spirit of giving by choosing one of their dvd’s to give to a child on the other side of the world : )

            Like, The Lion King, Cars, Lilo & Stitch, any of the Fairy tales (Like beauty and the beast), Aladdin, Lady & the Tramp, Nemo

 

-English Educational Computer Games:  Just this month we received 20 brand new laptops from France!  Mr Mammy is the computer teacher, I KNOW he would really really appreciate some kind of English programs to help out… I don’t have any idea of the cost of the Magic School Bus computer games, but I remember at DTS/ELI… those were the games to play (I LOVE the space ones) Schools – this is another one for you, I do not know who is in charge of computers at DTS, LCI, ELI, or  LBC, but if any of you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them.  Oh, just a heads up, the French keyboards are quite different from English keyboards, so please be aware of the typing games that show where your fingers go on the keyboard… make sense?  I asked him if he could have anything at all what would he have, and he said 'POSTERS!' so he could show computers pictures or words or things that connect to the 'computer world' and how to use them.  As for software, he said anything that has to do with; drawing, word processing, movie making (english definitely), GAMES (for kids & adults), typing programs, maintenance, etc.

-Paper Shredder:  There is no recycling in this country in the sense that they have no buildings or places that do the recycling.. but the people of Madagascar do get my utmost respect in using every little thing until there is nothing left.. even if the garbage bins are overflowing… you can be sure that within the next couple of hours somebody will be by to pick out every little thing that might be created into something one might be able to use.  HOWEVER, we throw out a truly atrocious amount of paper at the school, and I would like to keep all the paper in bins and then shred it and teach the children how to make paper, and then we can use that home made paper for class projects… and maybe even cards and then sell them… awesome fundraiser potential ; )  which ALSO can teach the children business skills, etc.. ah, so much good to come from a paper shredder!  Maybe some of you people passionate about the environment (ahem.. Tenniel, Robyn…) might have some ideas on this one.  

 

$ for things the following:

            -SOCCER BALL(s) (right now some of the kids bring their own, but it would be so awesome of the school could have one so we know where it is at all times, and any class would be able to use it)

            -MATERIAL: to cut and make flags or kind of jerseys for the kids to differentiate teams during P.E. or other activities.

            -$250 <= the cost of an additional suitcase onboard international flights.  This is dependent on the amount, size, and weight in supplies coming with my Mum.  Personally, I believe $250 is well worth it to get the items requested for the school that we are unable to get out here, and if we were to order it and have it shipped it would cost much more (the cost of sending an envelope the size of a computer paper to Canada, is about $90… and then its’ not even guaranteed to reach its destination)

 

*If you are interested in giving money, but not in this fashion, there is a project I am very much in support of and have a deep respect for the people who are running it:

 

-A friend and fellow teacher (Jaco and his wife Ilca) have recently begun going out of the city to an extremely poor area, and feeding the people once a week.  They have 3 people (Jaco, Ilca, and Naomi) that go on a regular basis.  They hang out with the people and feed them a good meal.  I wish so much that I could be a part of this, however they do this every Monday at 11AM… this is when I am teaching.  I do plan on going on the break coming up (Oct 20^th), and am looking forward to it.  But for now all I can do is pray, and put the word out there.  I am sure $ would be very helpful in the purchase of food and any other necessities that may arise.  Also, just a heads up, Jaco is from South Africa, but has been living and working out here for I think its 9 years… so he knows the language, the culture, etc… CHURCH (Faith-0-Rama.. you too!), this is especially for you.  Ephesians 4 has been on my heart since my very first night in Antananarivo, it speaks about the Unity in the Body of Christ, and how we have One God, One Spirit, One Hope, One Love (… Any U2 fans?)… This is a wonderful way to bring together part of the body in Manitoba, and part of the body in Madagascar.  I know you are probably all doing things with your money, and please do not misunderstand me in saying I believe this to be a more worthy cause than another that is perhaps on your heart.  I just ask that you think about it.  I have not mentioned anything to Jaco (pronounced EEE-AA-CKOOO), and have absolutely no plans on mentioning this to him, rather I would like to just give it to him if anything comes up… like ‘surprise!  This tiny part of the Body 2 oceans away loves you and supports what you are doing’.  I just ask that you think/pray about it, please and thank you.

 

 

All for ME!:

 

-Grandma’s strawberry jam

 

-Grandma’s Christmas cookies *with icing & sprinkles

 

-A WPG Free Press

 

-4 Recess Chocolate Bars: I’d like my roommates to taste it, they haven’t even heard of it!

 

-Photos of: Dan & Mathew & Brendon & Aiden, Uncle Bob & Marie’s family of 4, Tenniel’s tummy, Dan & Sarah’s family of 3, Faith-o-Rama, Spence family

 

-Computer speakers:  I would use these A LOT.  The kind that gets it’s power from your computer (USB outlet), that you don’t need to plug into a wall... (Darny – if you don’t use yours, can I have them?  I’ll take you out for Boston Pizza Pepperoni Pizza & beer when I come home : )  )

 

-Aluminum Water Bottle: But not a flashy one

 

-The Message Bible old AND new testament (A small travel size):            we have biblical studies once a day, and the children don’t really understand the text from the NIV, but one of the other teachers has a MESSAGE bible, and I read to them from there, and it is much easier to understand. 

 

-2 tuning forks – I don’t know what its’ called, but it’s a tiny metal thing that looks like a fork with only 2 prongs, and you tap it against something (ANYTHING) and it rings an ‘E’ note… excellent for tuning instruments, especially for areas in which electronics are hard to come by. (cost: I think they are less than $5 from Long & McQuade).  I would like to give these to Mammy who is in charge of all the Music things that goes on with the school and church.

 

-Books:            -Any decent books about Islam… But please ask me about this one, I’d prefer to learn more about from a non-bias point… does such a book exsist?

-Books recommended by Tim Rogalsky, or Cyndy Warkentin.

            -Any good books… I’ve been doing a lot of ‘reading for fun’, and so I’d prefer nothing too ‘indepth’ unless it has to do with Islam.  Reading has become a time to relax, and I prefer the books to allow my mind to do that.  … But please NO John Grisham …I’d still like to read words put together in a semi-beautiful fashion. 

            -Maybe check with me to see I’ve already that novel.

            -My favorite authors: Alice Seabold & Oscar Wilde

            -Fun novels to read to the class: Right now we’re reading Rhold Dahl’s classic - ‘James and the Giant Peach’, they have already read Matilda and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  

 

- The following DVD’s:

-ELF (with Will Ferrell): I have this one @ home, Mum, if you could just ask Cathy where it is I am pretty sure she could find it.

-The Santa Clause (With Tim Allen)

 

-Anything ‘Christmasy’:  Catherine you are my go to person for this... you understand this serious business of being well prepared for the most wonderful time of year.  How I will possibly prepare for a ‘Christmas party’ without you is truly beyond my imagination… but I’m going to try...  Thank goodness I have Celine’s Christmas Album to get me started.  But some things I think might help would be-Scented candles that smell the way your (Catherine’s) apartment smells… is it apple cinnamon?  LOTS of those, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I have been craving that since I left, I really should have brought some with me.  and also a Celine Dion hoodie signed by her son, along with a rant written by Dad about how she needs to cut his hair… these are just some suggestions that might cheer up Christmas time away from my lovely family ; )  Oh, also, I can’t forget a video of Catherine singing and dancing to Celine’s Ave Maria.