Burmese Martyrs' Day

We can't believe it's Monday already!

Dazed and confused!!


Wakey wakey!

We arrived at school this morning to be met with a very proud Pho Cho holding a new sign that shows that Say Ta Nar is now an officially listed learning centre. Well done Say Ta Nar to be recognised by the Thai government.

Congratulations Say Ta Nar

We started the day working with the Grade 2's and 3's, continuing our wildlife work. We collected in the cameras from last week and the children assured us that they had managed to take pictures of some animals - fingers crossed! We brainstormed with the children which local animals they wanted to teach the Pirniehall children about and we managed to narrow it down to 8. We put the children into groups according to their chosen animal and they created beautiful diagrams.

Frog diagram

They then used their illustrations to collaboratively create a group talk. They were given a speaking frame to help them. To begin with the children spoke in Burmese but with a little encouragement from us they spoke in English and this was the result.

Preparing to talk


Talking positions boys and girls!

Talking about frogs!

We headed downstairs to work with Grade 1 before lunch and taught a Maths lesson using the whiteboards we had brought last year. We focused on adding 10 within 100.

Not much room

The children were confident with their number up to 100 and were able to work together to write their answers on the whiteboards. It was great to see everyone involved and whiteboards really are great for checking that everyone is understanding.

How many more?

Today we also worked with Grades 4-7 and formed Say Ta Nar's Eco Committee.

Say Ta Nar's Eco committee

We discussed Pirniehall's Eco code and its importance. Then in pairs, the children brainstormed their own ideas for Say Ta Nar's Eco code.

Helping each other to come up with ideas

The children have come up with some fantastic ideas which we managed to narrow down to 5 statements which will form their new Eco code.

Today was a bit chaotic because it was vaccination day. Almost every child at school had to have 2 injections. These injections are vital for their health and were supplied by Shoklo Malaria Research Unit. The children were very brave but there were a few tears.

Pupils had to be measured and weighed

Ouch!

The 19th of July is Burmese Martyrs' Day.

The day is observed to commemorate General Aung San and several other national independence leaders, all of whom were assassinated by a rival political group. Aung San was the father of Nobel Peace laureate and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. We found this poem on Wikipedia which we thought was quite touching, please follow this link to find out more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burmese_Martyrs%27_Day

Aung San Zarni
Born on February 13 was he
Born in 1915 to Lawyer U Pa Tha
In the City Of Blessed Meguay
Mother's name was Daw Su
The year 1947 died he,
On July 19th everyone weeped.
He is the cause of our Independence.
He is the father of this nation.
The blessings he had given us, the words he had uttered.....
How can we ever take those out of our minds......

Pho Cho had worked hard to make sure that the children and us understood the significance of the day. The children acted out what had happened on the day and it helped to make everything clearer for us. All of the teachers got up to speak and the children sang a song about the events of 19.07.47. Everybody sang their hearts out and it was a poignant moment that we won't forget.

Neeshar in full flow


Aung San and his cabinet