The summary below plots the ongoing contact with Sri
Lanka. It starts to build up a picture of the community we are aiming to
support.
The news is archived by date, simply select the date from the drop down box
and click 'Go'.
We have been in direct contact with a number of the partner schools in Sri Lanka to thank us for the most recent shipment of resources. In addition to educational resources such as books, we also sent over a quantity of toys for the younger pupils. These have been distributed by Rev Dhammananda into the schools. Please click on link to see up–to–date photographs.
In order to allow projects to be completed and equipment to be purchased, we were able to transfer across to the charity £2000. Much of this money will be directed towards some specific schemes:
- In Nannapurawa School, the whole floor of the music and dancing room was collapsing. The surface was completely broken which made it impossible for dancing classes and performances to take place. Dancing is a vital part of the cultural background in the school. The money we are sending over will allow the floor to be replaced, and hopefully for the walls to be painted and a new door to be fitted to the room. None of this would be possible without the money we are sending .
- Additional book shelving for the library areas in both Medagama and Nannapurawa Schools. We have sent considerable quantities of books to each school but they lacked adequate shelving which meant it was difficult for the students to access the books easily.
Earlier in the year we submitted a bid to the Rothley Trust for money to improve the resources available for the Special Needs students within Medagama School. This is a very successful unit attracting students from out side the formal catchment area due to the commitment of the staff, and also due to the input of resources we have been able to provide. Currently they lack ICT equipment which will have a big impact on students with severe learning difficulties.We were delighted to learn a few weeks ago that the trustees of the Rothley Trust had granted us £800 to buy additional equipment for these young people. We are thrilled with the generosity of the Trust and have written a letter of thanks. We will be sending them information on how we will be spending the money over the coming months.
May 2011The Trustees of the Seaton Valley Sri Lanka Schools Project have met to discuss how the project will move forward once Mr Knight retires from the Headship at Astley at the end of the summer term. Trustees have agreed that:
- Ms Waldie, who will be taking over as Acting Headteacher at Astley, will also become a Trustee of the charity;
- Mr and Mrs Knight will continue to be actively involved in running the project through ongoing contacts with schools here in Seaton Valley and also in Sri Lanka;
- Mr and Mrs Knight will continue to co-ordinate the fund-raising and collection and shipping of materials. They will also help to promote and organise future visits of staff or students to Sri Lanka.
The laptops that were generously donated by Seaton Delaval First School have now been reconditioned by staff at Astley. We will now make arrangements to have them safely shipped to the various village schools. Many thanks to all involved.
Seaton Sluice First School has again been extremely successful in raising funds for the project. Pupils raised £140 through the sale of artwork. That money will be directed to the school's link school of Karimetya. Many thanks to all concerned for their efforts.
April 2011
Shipment 17 is due to arrive with a large range of educational materials, in Colombo, around April 17th.
In the March update, reference was made to a little girl attending Medagama School who had major mobility difficulties. As a result of a range of efforts within the country, we are hopeful now that the family will be provided with a wheel chair to get her to and from home. We will also try to provide a wheel chair to be based within school to allow her mobility around the site, not the least, better access to toilet facilities.
We are also trying to provide a wheelchair for a boy within the same classroom who also has major mobility difficulties.
We have had confirmation from both Medagama School and Nannapurawa that the O Level English results have all been very good this year. This is always pleasing, particularly this year as it is the first year that Nannapurawa have had Year 11 English Medium students entered for these examinations. Congratulations to all staff and students concerned.
Astley Community High School students who travelled to Sri Lanka have now completed their EPQ projects and presentations relating to a range of topics linked to Sri Lanka. It is hoped that once the materials are all finalised they can be posted as links to this website. They cover topics such as tourism, climate change impact, educational system, traditional dance culture and social customs.
Many thanks to Seaton Delaval First School for its kind donation of redundant equipment. This equipment will be sorted and dispatched in the near future.
March 2011
The seventeenth shipment of materials has now been dispatched from the school. This should arrive in Colombo for collection in the middle of April.
During the February visit to Medagama special educational needs group, we met a new student who had joined the class. She was a young girl of around 7 years of age. She has multiple physical and learning difficulties. She cannot walk so her mother has to carry her around 10 kms each day to school. The family is very poor and cannot afford either public transport of a specialised wheel chair. Through our contacts within the country we believe we have been able to identify a Sri Lankan charity group who work specifically with disabled children. We could buy a purpose built wheelchair from them, have it fitted for the specific needs of the girl and have it delivered to the school. If things go to plan, this will all happen in the relatively near future.
The examination results for students which sat them in December have started to come out. We believe the results for the English Medium students in each of our link schools have been very good. We await final confirmation.
As part of the World Book Day event earlier in the month, schools across Seaton valley collected books which will then be sent over to our link schools. The response was excellent and around 700 books were donated in total.( click on link for image) Many thanks to all concerned. We are happy to continue to receive children’s books at any time for the link schools.
February 2011
The vast majority of the sponsor money collected from the Boxing Day swim has now been received and the total, once we include gift aid contributions will approach £2000.
An application has been submitted to The Rothley Trust for funding to support the provision of extra resources within the Special Educational Needs department at Medagama School. The outcome of the bid will be known in May.
Students working on EPQ qualifications based on the Sri Lanka visit are addressing themes which include tourism, social traditions and practices, comparisons in educational systems, traditional Sri Lankan dancing, and possible impact of climate change. Individual presentations will take place in the near future.
The 16th shipment of educational materials has now been taken down to London care of Ferguson’s Transport. This shipment will arrive in Sri Lanka sometime towards the end of this month.
Money has been transferred to Astley from St Robert’s High School in Washington, which is linked to Dutegemanu College in Buttala. The money will be transferred to Sri Lanka and onwards to the school in the near future.
Astley will be marking World Book day on March 3rd by encouraging staff and students to donate unwanted books which can then be sent out to the village schools within Sri Lanka. It is also hoped that the other schools within the Seaton Valley Partnership will be doing the same.
Over half term, Mr and Mrs Knight returned to Sri Lanka to get an update on progress with the project in the individual schools. Only having a week because of the half term break meant that a great deal of travelling was needed in a short period of time in order to see as many people as possible. The recent rains had made road conditions appalling. Many places had received virtually unbroken rain for more than 3 weeks. Whilst the areas around the link schools were not as badly affected by the flooding as many areas further to the east, nevertheless, rice crops have been destroyed, prices have risen for most foodstuffs and road transport has been severely affected as surfaces are now basically water and dust filled potholes.
Medagama, Nannapurawa, Karametya and Royal College Moneragela Schools were all visited. The welcomes received were as warm as ever, and it is very pleasing to see the resources which have been provided actually in use within the schools. The schools themselves are also proactive in trying to improve the actual school environments through the collection and recycling of organic waste materials.
Time was spent with the special education students in Medagama. It was noted that there are new students within that unit who travel some distance to access the specialist support, in part funded through the project in terms of specialised resources. This is also the case in the main school in Medagama where, because of the outstanding English Medium results now being obtained by the school, it is attracting additional students from out of catchment. This would not have been the case without the ongoing support in terms of materials supplied through the project.
On a similar theme, we were able to provide a much needed new DVD player for Medagama School, plus a laptop to be used by the English Medium students to access resources from the internet...that is when there is electricity available in school! We were also delighted to present a video camera and related equipment to the media students in the school. This equipment was put to immediate use filming around the site. The camera was donated by Seaton Terrace Nursery School prior to its closure. We also saw a little boy in one of the other schools wearing a Seaton Terrace Nursery jumper which had also been donated by the school.
Overall a very positive experience. The only issue remains the numbers of students collectively in the schools wanting pen friends. Demand far exceeds possible supply in terms of students over here wanting to be involved in such a programme. It is hoped that with improved internet access in the schools more of our students will readily be involved in emailing contacts.
January 2011
The students involved in the October 2010 visit are using materials gained on that trip to submit evidence for their Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Once completed there will be a presentation of the evidence before an audience.
Most of the money has now been collected for the Boxing Day dip and the total is already in excess of £1200! Many thanks to all who participated in this fund raising event, and also to all those who generously sponsored the event. It took place 6 years to the day since the tsunami event which was really the start of the entire project.( click here for images of the dip). On the day, air temperature in Newbiggin By The Sea was 4 degrees below freezing and the intrepid bathers had to walk through snow and ice to even reach the sea.
We nearly have another shipment of materials ready to be sent off to Sri Lanka . This will be the 16th consignment in total .
On Jan 24th, Mr and Mrs Knight, accompanied by two students who went to Sri Lanka, ( Danielle Richmond and Danielle Charlton) visited Oxclose Community School in Washington, to give a presentation to staff, students and Governors about the link school they are working with in Sri Lanka. The presentation went very well and we look forward to further developing this link.
On Jan 31st there was a presentation evening at Astley where students presented their views and feedback on the October visit to parents, friends, sponsors and staff. This was an extremely successful event, not the least because of the outstanding input from all of the students who participated. They very much lived up to the expectation of being young ambassadors of the school.
Updated information from Sri Lanka regarding the recent widely reported devastating flooding would suggest that whilst the areas in which we are working have not been directly affected by flooding which has destroyed property or taken lives, the disruption to communications and the increase in commodity prices, in particular rice, will nevertheless affect everyone. A clearer picture will emerge when Mr and Mrs Knight return to Sri Lanka during February half term.
December 2010
Following our return from Sri Lanka a large number of letters were sent to thank all the people responsible for making the visit such a success. The schools and the host families were all contacted, along with the hotel in Kandy. However, our particular thanks again must go to Rev Dhammananda Medagama Thero without whose time and expertise the visit simply would not have occurred.
Our plan was to hold a Presentation Evening in early December where the students could showcase their experiences and we could invite representatives of organisations and individuals who have supported this venture and our ongoing work. However, the event fell foul of the weather. Snow and ice made conditions far too hazardous for people to travel into school for an evening event. We will reschedule for the new year when, hopefully, things will have improved.
In the meantime a great deal continues to be done
- The students who travelled over are now using the information collected to produce evidence for their Extended Project Qualification (EPQ).
- Raffle tickets were sold for the Morpeth Lions Club Christmas draw. Many thanks to Simon Pringle from the lions for organising this as the Sri Lanka project will receive all the receipts for tickets we sell.
- Calendars for 2011 showing landscape images of Sri Lanka and others showing images of the student visit are available from school priced £3.
- Another shipment of resources is in the process of being shipped to London thanks to Fergusons Transport.
- We are investigating looking into a different international shipping agent to get the boxes of materials directly up to Kandy. Whilst the current arrangement has worked very well, there are additional transport costs incurred in having to arrange collection from Colombo to bring the goods up to Kandy.
- Contact has been re established with St Roberts High School in Sunderland and it is hoped that they will be in a position to send some additional resources over to Dutegemanu College in Buttala in the new year.
- Oxclose Community School in Sunderland have already sent money over to Royal College in Moneragela and it is hoped that this link will further develop next year.
- A sponsored dip in the sea will take place on Boxing Day, in Newbiggin By The Sea. Proceeds will go towards the project. It is hoped that, weather permitting, most of the students who travelled over, will join Mr Knight and members of his family in the sea at 11.00. Sponsorship to Astley please.
The work during October was dominated by final preparation for our group visit to Sri Lanka. For the students who had been selected it was the culmination of 18 months of fundraising and preparation. For Astley, it was the culmination of a journey which had started following the tsunami of 2004, and our formal involvement with Sri Lanka generally and the charity group, Success Sri Lanka in particular.
A great deal of last minute planning needed to take place in terms of arrangements within the country plus details of documentation over here. The group of students behaved impeccably which made the whole process run extremely smoothly. They were expected to act as ambassadors for Astley and they fulfilled that role without question and with great skill and maturity.
The section below is a summary of my perspective of the visit
Trip to Sri Lanka October 2010
This time our trip to Sri Lanka was one with a difference – we took 6 Year 12 students from Astley Community High School and our son Mark, and Monica, his partner. None of them had been before and it was fascinating to see their reaction to this tropical country teeming with traffic, people and animals.
By chance we had organised the trip so that we had a few days sightseeing before we went into school, which worked really well as it gave everyone time to acclimatise to the heat and the fact that lots of people would be staring at them - we had 2 boys and 4 girls – tall and blond, which really caused a stir! Their first contact with schoolchildren came in the Botanical Gardens in Kandy, where a school trip of about 4 classes ground to a halt as all the children wanted to talk to our students.
Due to our close links through the charity ‘Success Sri Lanka’ with Reverend Dhammananda, a high ranking priest at Asgirya temple in Kandy, we were able to not only visit the Temple of the Tooth, but he took us into the room displaying the casket containing the tooth relic. This is one of the most venerated sites in Buddhism, and many Sri Lankan people will never get this chance, so we were very privileged and the whole experience was made much more meaningful to us by being accompanied by the Reverend. Earlier in the day he and two of his pupils had given us the chance to ask them all about Buddhism, so we felt we were better prepared to visit the temple.
We were very sad that this time our friend Ananda was not there to accompany us – though his family came with us on our sightseeing trips at the beginning of the week and our friend Lalith (who lives in Newcastle) was also at home in Kandy and brought his niece and nephew on the trips too – so our students were able to enjoy the company of some young local people and they all got on really well. We all went to Sigirya and climbed to the top of the rock, then visited the rock temples full of statues of Buddha at Dambulla.
We really enjoyed the sightseeing and it gave the students an insight into the whole country – the cultural sights, tourist destinations and facilities, before going off the beaten track to see the schools we support in remote villages situated in the poorest region of the island.
As we were a group of 10 plus, we had to hire a bigger vehicle than usual – a small coach with air-conditioning – luxury! It was a long journey through the tea plantations and over the mountains to Badulla, Monaragala and then Medagama, so we were glad of it. It was lovely to see the countryside and we were able to visit a tea factory, but fortunately we were able to come back to Kandy a shorter way at the end of the week and see different scenery.
During the week in the Medagama area we were greeted warmly as usual in 6 schools with which we have links. The schoolchildren put on all sorts of performances in our honour and our students had to reciprocate on more than one occasion with impromptu singing and dancing, which appeared to be enjoyed by all! We had thought we would be able to do quite a lot of teaching between us, but the students were treated like Bollywood stars and spent some time signing autographs! Once order was restored we had some question and answer sessions and mass dancing activities lead by our students. A shipment of boxes from Astley had just arrived, so we were able to give out resources to the teachers which had been collected by us in England.
Monica, as an occupational therapist, was interested in working with the children in the Special Needs department – they loved the collage and origami activities she provided and the teacher was glad of some new ideas. Mark also enjoyed his time there, ably assisted by Salinda, a little Downs syndrome boy who hardly left his side – except to appear in all his photographs!
Medagama and Nannapurawa schools (both large schools which receive most of our resources) showed definite signs of improvement – even the toilets at Nannapurawa had been painted, but still no progress with those at Medagama. However, there were lots of new developments – recycling bins around the school, new signage and artwork at the gates – everything is starting to look better maintained. Dias the English teacher at Medagama told us that children are now travelling from further afield to go to Medagama school, as word has spread about the English facilities and high standard of teaching to be found there. This year they have 3 new members of staff to teach science and commerce in English at A Level - students in past years would have had to move to another school to do these subjects in English.
Without Ananda, it meant a lot of extra work for the Reverend Dhammananda, but everything went perfectly – the students stayed in twos with the families of teachers and the Reverend accompanied us to school and on trips to Buddhist temples in the area which were fascinating and beautiful. The girls wanted to buy saris so he even took us to a sari shop! The girls persuaded us all to dress in saris and sarongs for the last night party at Lalith’s house – the Sri Lankans in their jeans looked most surprised and had to rush off to find sarongs to wear! (There is photographic evidence of me in a sarong!)
On the last day we were accompanied by our Sri Lankan friends to the elephant orphanage at Pinnewala, then went for elephant rides – amidst much squealing as people were showered by the elephant in the river! Our new friends then went back to Kandy and we went on to the airport – very tired, but a good time had certainly been had by all.
Mark and Monica are more than likely to go back to work in the schools – we hope the trip will have inspired our students to spread the word, do more fundraising, and hopefully go back one day to see all the improvements in which they have played a part. We will go back next year – with or without students we are not sure – this trip was so good we wonder if we can top it!
Thank you
This visit could not have taken place without the help and support of a great many people, both within England but also within Sri Lanka. On behalf of the entire group I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have helped in terms of fund raising, transport, promotion, documentation and general logistics in this country.
Likewise to all our friends in Sri Lanka, without whose unstinting efforts, enthusiasm and time this visit would not have taken place.
We have written letters of thanks to all the schools and host families. However, I need to make specific mention of Rev Dhammananda Medagama Thero. Without his expertise and commitment this visit would not have been possible. As a group we were honoured to spend so much time in his presence, and the whole group count themselves lucky to regard him as a friend.
Postscript
In June our very good friend Ananda Kahawatte died in a car accident. Ananda had worked tirelessly for years to enable such a visit as this to take place. Without the work he had selflessly undertaken over our many previous visits, the current project would not be sustainable. He would have been thrilled at the success of this trip; the excitement created for our students plus the students in all the schools we managed to visit. Whilst the trip was a fantastic success….it was not the same, nor ever could be, without Ananda’s input.
However….on the road back to Kandy from Medagama we had to travel through a wild elephant reserve. Ananda always told stories of coming across wild elephants on the road, but in all my journeys with him we never saw an elephant. Until this journey when we were stopped in the road by a wild elephant making its way in its own time up the road, stopping all the traffic. Thank you Ananda!
September 2010
Aug and Sept 2010
The 16th consignment of good arrived safely in Colombo towards the end of August. We need to look at the possibility of a
different shipping agent at the Colombo end of the operation as the fees seem to be rising to an unacceptable level.
Whilst we are sending thousands of pounds worth of books and equipment over, and whilst the vast majority are donated,
it is costing the charity a great deal of money simply to pay for customs charges. We are going to actively explore the
possibility of fewer but larger shipments using a container to move the goods.
Work continues to take place regarding preparations for the October student visit to Sri Lanka. All the insurance and
risk assessment work is now signed of by the Local Authority. Virtually all the required paper work is now in place
and flight information has now been confirmed with Emirates Airlines.
Over the summer period the 6 students have continued to work on the project through fund raising and through planning
activities for the visit. Of particular note is the ongoing work by one of the students, Dale Cartie, who has organised
a number of fundraising events. As a result of his efforts Dale received a Child of Achievement Award as part of the
Pride of Northumberland event. Many congratulations to Dale in particular, but to all of the group for their continued
commitment to the Sri Lanka project.
Since the return back to school the students have been involved in
The intention is for the students to take over packs of information to the link schools, from their partner schools here
in Seaton Valley.
Most of the co ordination work within Sri Lanka has now fallen to Rev Dhammananda Medagama since the death of Ananda
Kahawatte earlier in the summer. The Rev is an extremely busy person with a great many religious duties to be fulfilled,
so we are very grateful that he has to the time to continue to support our project work.
July 2010
Consignment number 16 of educational resources for the link village schools has now been packed and handed over to Fergusons transport.
This shipment will go off to London at the start of the summer holidays and is planned to arrive in Colombo at the end of August. The
plan is to get the boxes into the village schools but to wait until our visit over there with students in October before we distribute
the materials.
Following the death of Ananda Kahawatte we have had to reassess our plans in terms of communicating with key personnel in the villages
in order for the goods to get through and also to be kept up to speed regarding news from the villages themselves. Rev Dhammanada will
again play a key role in coordinating things from Kandy. Ananda’s daughters have already indicated their desire to play a role
in continuing their fathers work by helping to manage the links to the village schools. We are hoping again that Lakmali and her
friends from university in Kandy will be able to go to Medagama school to deliver some master classes prior to the students taking
their examinations.
Email links to the village schools remains sporadic and this is something which needs to be quickly resolved. Much of the issue comes
down to the schools ability or otherwise to pay telephone rental charges. In the past, because of his business links, Ananda was able
to resolve these issues. We must now seek alternative ways to ensure there is regular contact with the schools.
At last we have received images of the distribution of goods from the shoe box collections sent via our Seaton valley partner schools.
Materials were presented across 6 separate schools. The smiles on the faces of the pupils indicate the impact and appreciation for the
goods which have been sent over to them.
The recent closure of Newbiggin Middle School provided an opportunity for a large amount of resources to be collected and sent across
to a number of schools. This included musical instruments, painting resources, plus video players and cassette tapes. Again we have
been very grateful to the county Schools Library Service for providing us with a large collection of withdrawn stock which will make
such a difference to the village children.
The group of Astley students due to travel over to Sri lanka in October have met on several occasions in order now to start planning
specific activities to be undertaken during their time in the village schools. Most of the fundraising is completed in terms of travel
and accommodation costs. Final fundraising now is for specific items of equipment we want to take over on the visit. The plan in the
early part of next term is to decide upon specific lesson plans which can be delivered in the different schools in order to produce
resources and film materials to bring back and share in Astley and the partner schools over here.
June 2010
On Friday June 18 we got to hear the very sad news that Ananda Kahawatte had been tragically killed in a car accident.
Ananda was the key person in Sri Lanka who did more than anyone else to get the project work in the link schools up and running. He
spent a great deal of his own time ensuring that links were maintained between Astley and the other Seaton Valley Schools and the
village schools in Sri Lanka.
Ananda was a great organiser and fixer, who through his contacts ensured that resources sent over went to the right people. He also
gave freely of his own time and expertise when Mr and Mrs Knight visited Sri Lanka.
Ananda and his family became very close personal friends of Mr and Mrs Knight and because of this they travelled out to Sri Lanka to
attend the funeral. Mr Knight was asked to pay tribute to Ananda at the funeral for all his hard work and unstinting enthusiasm in
helping poor village children.
Astley wishes to formally acknowledge the tremendous debt of gratitude it owes to Ananda for all he did with the Sri Lanka project.
His lasting memorial will be the further development of the link work between Seaton Valley and the link schools.
This is also a personal tragedy to his family and our thoughts are with his widow, Kanthi, and the four children.
April 2010
A great deal of time has been spent in completing the relevant paperwork for the autumn students visit to Sri Lanka. All the
required risk assessments have now been forwarded to County Hall for approval.
The visit during the Easter holidays by Mr and Mrs Knight was far from uneventful! Uncertainty regarding British Airways
industrial action at the start, changes to flight times to Sri Lanka with Kuwait Airlines plus parliamentary elections, all
contributed to an uncertain start to the visit.
On this visit Mr and Mrs Knight were accompanied by the Deputy Headteacher from St Roberts Catholic High School in Washington.
Astley had brokered a link between St Roberts and Dutegemanu College in Buttala.
The school visits were again very successful. What was particularly pleasing was the Resources Centre for Primary pupils at
Medagama School. This room is stocked with a range of resources for young children to play and learn in a variety of ways.
Virtually all of the equipment had been donated by Astley or other Seaton Valley schools.
The large shipment of resources including the shoe boxes from our First and Middle schools is due to arrive around April 23rd.
It was delayed for a long time in transit but will hopefully be delivered shortly to the village schools.
Mr Knight spoke to staff in several schools regarding the process of putting in applications for project work, which had been
agreed by the staff as a priority for the school.
Final arrangements were discussed for the students visit in October. Accommodation and transport issues were clarified and all
those arrangements are now in hand. In the near future Mr Knight will be sorting out flight details for the trip.
During the recent trip the ‘O’ Level results were announced for Year 11; of 36 English Medium students, all 36 gained a Grade A for
English Language and the access to additional reading material provided by Astley was a significant factor in this fantastic
performance.
Curriculum work was exchanged between Karymetia School and Seaton Sluice First School, with whom they are linked.
Because of parliamentary elections plus the Buddhist New Year there was limited time to visit all of our link schools. We will
hope to remedy that during the October visit.
The return trip from Sri Lanka was delayed by 7 days as a result of the volcanic eruption and air space closure in Europe.
February 2010
The focus activity for the month has been the process to select a group of students to travel to Sri Lanka in October as
Young Ambassadors, and to spend time in the link schools.
The selection process was done in an official manner to reflect the importance of the role and the scale of the opportunity
available to the young people who were eventually selected.
Applicants from the Sri Lanka Committee who have already been involved in a range of activities for many months, were given
a job description plus a person specification for the role – they had to write a 500 word letter of application prior to
the actual interview.
The decision regarding which students were to be chosen was never going to be an easy one. A range of information was
provided by staff in school, and as a result of the interview plus the match with the person specification, the following
students have been chosen:
Once their examinations have been completed the group will work with Mr Knight in developing resources for use during the
visit.
In April, Mr Knight will be returning to Sri Lanka to make the final arrangements for the autumn visit with the Astley
students.
December 2009
Focus for the month, internally at Astley, was fundraising for the student visit scheduled for October 2010. The Sri Lanka Committee
have already raised a considerable amount of money.
On Christmas Eve a number of students were involved in a bag packing event at Sainsbury’s in Monkseaton. Over a period of 6 hours,
thanks to the generosity of the customers, close to £1000 was raised.
Across the partnership over 500 shoe boxes of educational materials were collected by Middle and First School pupils. These were
packed by the pupils and collected for transport to London by Fergusons Transport.
Arrangements are in place for Mr Knights visit to Sri Lanka in April. The visit will have two main purposes:
To confirm arrangements in terms of accommodation for the students travelling over in October.
Accompanying Deputy Head Teacher form St Roberts, Washington to visit their link school in Sri Lanka which we have organised for them.
(December 26th marked the 5th anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami which started our link with Sri Lanka)
Photograph of Mr Ian Knight, Head teacher with Mr Brian Hobkirk of Fergusons with part of the shoe box collection
November 2009
Sri Lanka Update November 2009
Mr Knight and members of the Sri Lanka Committee have been invited into partnership schools to take assemblies about the shoe box
appeal. The hope is that a large number of shoe boxes, containing educational materials, will be filled and despatched to the link
school in Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lanka Committee continue to fund raise in a variety of ways in order to pay for their visit in 2010. We have received a range
of support from local organisations and individuals in terms of supporting the current fundraising.
• Procter and Gamble in Seaton Delaval have donated a range of toiletries for raffle prizes.
• Sainsbury’s in Whitley Bay have agreed that we can do a bag pack on Christmas Eve with money going to the project.
• Morpeth Lions Club have donated the money from raffle tickets sold through Astley for their Christmas draw, to go into the fund.
• Mr & Mrs Thompson of Gloucester Lodge Farm, Blyth donated £107.19 from a show jumping event they organised in the summer.
• St Bartholomew’s Church in Newbiggin By the Sea have donated £600 from their Harvest Festival events.
Many thanks also to a number of the schools which form part of the Church of England Academy in Ashington; they have donated a
large quantity of library books which we will send to Sri Lanka.
On Friday November 13th the Trustees of the Seaton Valley Sri Lanka Schools Project Charity had their AGM. What was particularly
noteworthy was the fact that since Astley started to work with Sri Lanka back in 2005 over £19,000 has been raised for the project.
This is in addition to 14 large shipments sending literally thousands of books across to the link village schools.
October 2009
September 2009
July-Aug 2009
June 2009
May
2009
MARCH
2009 FEBUARY 2009 1. To visit existing partner schools to assess progress on current projects and identify future priorities. 2. To try to establish new links for other schools within the UK. JANUARY 2009 NOVEMBER 2008 OCTOMBER 2008 SEPTEMBER 2008 AUGUST 2008 JULY 2008 JUNE 2008 MAY 2008 FEBRUARY 2008 JANUARY 2008 DECEMBER 2007 NOVEMBER 2007 OCTOBER 2007 SEPTEMBER 2007 JULY 2007 JULY 2007 JUNE 2007 MAY 7th 2007 MAY 6th 2007 APRIL 26th 2007 APRIL 21st 2007 APRIL 16th 2007 APRIL 1st 2007 MARCH 2007 FEBRUARY 2007 JANUARY 2007 DECEMBER 2006 NOVEMBER 2006 OCTOBER 2006 SEPTEMBER 2006 AUGUST 2006 JULY 2006 JUNE 2006 The political situation has made travel across the
island more difficult but the Buddhist priest, Rev Dhamananda, who visited
Astley last autumn, continues to visit the school in Panama. We received a newspaper article sent from Sri Lanka
reporting on the receipt of the first shipment of books. There was a rather
grainy photograph (below and also on the notice board in 'A' corridor at
school). MAY 18th 2006 MAY 8th
In addition to the thousands of pens and pencils collected by pupils,
substantial numbers were donated by a variety of organisations and
individuals, not the least our local Member of Parliament, Ronnie Campbell.
Thanks to Northumberland County Council, Connexions (Northumberland), Blyth
Valley Borough Council and Northumberland Fire Brigade Union. MAY 3rd 2006 They are delighted that we have raised addition
money to be transferred to help the school, and that we have collected a
large quantity of classroom equipment .. pens, pencils etc, plus another
consignment of books. However, the advice at present is to wait a while
before we make any further transfers.
The reasons are as follows: 1. Increased levels of violence in Sri Lanka
between government forces and a group in the east of the country called
the Tamil Tigers who want an independent state. 2. Hostilities have continued for years but a
cease fire has broken down. 3. If you look in the media you will see that
violent attacks have taken place and many people have been killed. 4. Transport by road has become increasingly
difficult with road blocks and major delays.
5. Our link school is in a remote location where
transport at the best of times is difficult.
6. Our boxes of materials could be impounded by
customs for security reasons even though it is clear they couldn't be used
for any illegal purpose. 7. The government is closely monitoring money
transferred to non-governmental organisation bank accounts. There could be
a risk that money could get into the hands of the wrong people to be used
for inappropriate purposes. There is no way we want our hard earned money
to fall into the wrong hands. In the short term we will continue to listen to
advice from our contact in Sri Lanka. Check the media for developments in
the country. APRIL 2006 Letters were written to a number of outside
companies requesting their support with the appeal. A number of Astley
students demonstrated particular initiative in personally contacting
organisations for donations. A sixth form student, Beth Short, individually
organised the collection of literally hundreds of pens from local bands and
building societies. By the time Astley closed for the Easter break,
thousands of pens and pencils plus other equipment had been boxed up ready
to be freighted to Sri Lanka. MARCH 2006 Basic equipment for lesson e.g. pens and pencils
would certainly be on benefit if we could collect them. FEBRUARY 11th 2006 JANUARY 30th 2006 (The postal address of the school was provided so Mr
Knight will write directly to the Principal enclosing some pictures of
Astley) Background information provided about the Panama
area. 1. Tourists rarely visit Panama due to transport
difficulties. Coastal tourist hotels were badly damaged or destroyed.
Nearby coast is famous for wind surfing. JANUARY 20th 2006 "Water scheme funded by pupils of Astley
Community High School, Northumberland, England". Water scheme due to be handed over in near future.
Details and photographs to be sent to Astley. JANUARY 2nd 2006 DECEMBER 19th 2005 Propose to dig a well, lined with bricks, 30 feet
deep and 12 feet in diameter. In addition, a 2000 litre capacity water tank
will be built on a tower 15 feet above the ground. (E-Mail sent from Astley on December 26th sending
our best wishes... first anniversary of the tsunami.) DECEMBER 6th 2005 (Books for school were dispatched by
ship from London) NOVEMBER 14th 2005 (Arrangements underway to Astley to send 30 boxes of
library books by sea to Sri Lanka. First stage of journey to London
undertaken by Fergusons of Blyth. NOVEMBER 4th 2005 OCTOBER 23rd 2005 OCTOBER 15th 2005 OCTOBER 11th 2005 OCTOBER 5th 2005 OCTOBER 3rd 2005 SEPTEMBER 2nd 2005 Severe drought in Panama area so water problems are
worse. Monsoon rains due at end of month. Presidential elections in Sri
Lanka make transport and communications difficult. AUGUST 8th 2005 The Panama area is close to the Yala National Park,
the largest wildlife park in Sri Lanka. The region was popular with tourists
for wind surfing by many hotels were badly damaged. Water is the urgent priority at the school. New
wells and a pipeline need to be built. There is no telephone or email at the
school. Electricity supply is inconsistent. JUNE 23rd 2005 He writes that the school itself was not hit by the
tsunami but the children were affected. The children were marooned and their
parents whose livelihood was based on farming lost most of their crops and
property.
Partner First Schools in Seaton Valley now all have a named individual link school in Sri Lanka. Each local school has a file of images
specific to their link school, plus numerous themed images for project work.
Year 9 students at Astley are studying Buddhism in R.E as part of the curriculum sharing activities associated with the project.
Projects produced by Astley students relating to key Christian rites of passage have already been forwarded to Sri Lanka.
Partner schools in Seaton Valley are involved in shoe box collections to provide educational materials for students in their link
schools.
(Click on link to show suitable resources to go into boxes).
Year 11 Sri Lanka Committee have now embarked on a fund raising campaign to help fund some of them visiting Sri Lanka in 2010. A
variety of local companies have already pledged support. The first sponsored event is an all night ‘work-over’ to take place at
Astley on the night of Friday October 15th. Students will spend the night working on and presenting themed talks about Sri Lanka.
The students will be assessed on this and other formal tasks; this will include helping present assemblies in partner schools. The
group of 16 needs to be reduced in size to around 4 or 6 to travel to Sri Lanka next year.
We have heard that Dutegemanu College in Buttala have now installed a computer and telephone link, with money raised by St
Robert of Newminster School in Washington. This is a link brokered by Astley.
Seaton Valley Partnership First Schools are now being formally linked to individual village primary schools in Sri Lanka. This will
mean a more personalised link to share information about each school.
Each school here will receive a background information pack detailing the local environment of the Sri Lankan school, plus details
about the school day, local culture etc.
Seaton Valley schools have also agreed to participate in a shoebox project to provide resources for the Primary pupils in the
link schools. This will be coordinated through Astley by Mr Knight and the Sri Lanka Committee.
Year 11 students who have formed the Sri Lanka Committee have met with Mr & Mrs Knight to discuss the proposed visit in autumn 2010.
Parents were invited to a presentation evening where the visit was discussed and photographs shown of the summer visit.
Year 11 students are now embarking on a range of fundraising activities both for Sri Lankan schools, and also to pay for the visit.
The schools in Sri Lanka have now received an application document in order for them to identify their particular priorities for
funding. This is to ensure that funding is fairly allocated to where the need is greatest.
A large shipment of resources, number 14, is stored with Fergusons in Blyth in preparation for transportation down to London.
At Astley, Mr Knight delivered lessons to all the Year 9 classes about the Sri Lanka project, what had been achieved and what the future
priorities will be over the coming few months. As a result of the lessons a large amount of resources were donated by pupils and these
will be sent off to Sri Lanka in the near future. Many thanks to all pupils who contributed.
Year 10 pupils from Astley were on hand at Seaton Slice Harbour Day. They manned a stall all day, promoting the project and raising
money through the sale of postcards designed by a Sri Lankan student.
The Year 8 Intake Week culminated in a very successful Sri Lanka day at Astley. All the intake pupils were involved in producing
materials which will be sent over to our link schools. The Year 10 Sri Lanka Committee pupils were on hand to help coordinate the day.
Many of the intake pupils have already signed up to have pen friends in the link schools.
Resources were received from Durham Johnston School who are moving sites. A large quantity of books were donated which will be of use
to a wide range of students in the schools. In addition, many thanks to Mrs Docherty at Seaton Terrace Nursery. As the school is
closing, they were able to donate a large quantity of materials which will be of great benefit to the primary aged students in Sri
Lanka.
Seaton Sluice First School ran a Sri Lanka event towards the end of term. This was very successful and culminated in pupils producing
artwork on a project about elephants. This artwork was sold to parents, the proceeds going to the Sri Lanka project. Many thanks to Mrs
Love , her staff and pupils for their efforts.
During the first three weeks of the summer holiday, Mr and Mrs Knight returned to Sri Lanka. The first 11 days of the visit were spent
travelling to and working in the various schools. In summary, this involved
Visiting 8 different schools. It is hoped that some of these can be linked individually with some of the partner schools within
Seaton Valley.
• Meetings with staff, school principals and students in each of the schools.
• Teaching classes in the schools.
• Helping to distribute resources already sent over to the country.
• Discussions about further joint project work between schools over there and here.
• Ways to develop the internet connections already existing, and those which need to be developed.
• Discussions about existing projects, particularly the playground planned in Nannapurawa, and designed by a pupil at Astley
(Charlotte Falconer).
• Spending time with the Special Education Department at Medagama. A large amount of resources , including lego had been sent over
to these students. Their response was fantastic.(See the photographs relating to this .)
• Organising and helping in the painting of two of the schools. This involved working with groups of parents over a weekend to
paint classrooms and corridors.
• Working with a group of students in one school collecting up litter from all around the site, and promoting to the students and
the staff the importance of keeping the site looking tidy and safe.
• Presentation of resources in the Childrens Hospital in Kandy. This involved presenting children’s orthopaedic footware to
a surgeon, plus soft toys to the day room for children recovering from operations.
As ever it was a very busy visit, but also extremely successful as it reinforces the ongoing links between Seaton Valey schools and a
growing number of schools in Sri lanka. The impact of the work is clear to be seen and there are many opportunities to continue to
expand the links in future. Anyone interested in becoming involved should contact Mr Knight at Astley.
We received news that shipment 12 had arrived safely in the schools. This shipment contained musical instruments for the Music department
students in Medagama. They are studying for an examination in music and up to now they are having to use instruments which belong to
their teacher. Violins, recorders and guitars were donated by Music Dept at Astley and by pupils at Astley.
Arrangements finalised for visit during summer holiday of Mr and Mrs Knight. With the end of the civil war, it is hoped the security
situation will be sufficiently improved to allow them to travel to all our link schools, including Panama in the far SE of the country.
A competition was held to design a new , sustainable playground for pupils at Nannapurawa School. Year 9 and 10 pupils from Astley came
up with a range of designs using local materials. The design judged to be the winner came from Charlotte Falconer. A plaque with her
name will be attached to the equipment once the playground has been built. Many thanks to Mr Jones for coordinating this project.
Following and assembly at Astley , there is now a core group of pupils who are going to work closely with staff to promote the Sri Lanka project and to be the group from which some individuals will hopefully have the opportunity to travel to Sri Lanka in 2010.
We now have an internet link with Medagama School so that will make it easier for pupils to develop more regular contacts with Sri
Lankan young people.
Shipments number 12 and 13 have now been despatched from the school. As ever these were transported for the
first part of the journey to Sri Lanka by Fergusons Transport of Blyth.
We have heard that the Global Curriculum Project bid to the British Council to provide financial support for exchange visits to and
from Sri Lanka has not been successful for his round. It is a competitive bidding process and the British Council received far more
bids than could be funded.
The comment from the British Council was that whilst the bid was strong, our relationship with the Sri Lankan schools is still very
much on the basis of a donor (Seaton Valley Schools) and recipient (Sri Lankan schools). Given the enormous gulf in terms of
resources and expertise that is understandable. Whilst we will continue with the support role, which is the aim of the charity
status, we will work to develop the curriculum project elements in order to resubmit the bid for future consideration.
Currently, pupils at Astley are designing new playground equipment for Nannapurawa school; their current equipment is old, unsafe and
not fit for purpose. The plan is to design equipment which will be educational, made locally and constructed of sustainable materials,
timber and rope. It is hoped the construction work will be undertaken during the summer holiday.
The planned performance by a dance group from Kandy had to be postponed due to visa difficulties. We believe that this is now
resolved and it is hoped the group will be coming to England and performing at Astley in July.
The rapidly changing situation within Sri Lanka, in terms of the civil war, has recently propelled the country into the headlines
around the world. Whilst the focus of the ongoing conflict remains in the far north of the island, the indirect effects of the civil
war continue to be felt everywhere. Our link schools are away from the fighting but nonetheless the population are affected directly
and indirectly by a conflict which has lasted 26 years.
Contacts on the ground indicate no change in the security situation in and around our link schools. Mr & Mrs Knight intend to visit
all the link schools in the summer, including Panama in a predominantly Tamil area.
Background
Involvement with Sri Lanka dates back to the tsunami of December 2004. Initially it was Astley Community High School sending resources
to one school directly affected by the tsunami.
The project has expanded to include all of the Seaton Valley Partnership Schools, 8 in total, working with and in support of 4 schools
in Sri Lanka.
Key to Schools
1 = Nannapurawa
2 = Medagama
3 = Karimetya
4 = Panama
Nannapurawa: A 5 – 18 yrs Through School with c1400 students.
Karimetya: A 5 – 12 yrs Primary School with c100 students.
Medagama: A 5 – 18 yrs Through School with c1400 students.
In total about 4000 Sri Lankan students are having their education improved as a
result of the project.
Aims
Key Partners
Success Sri Lanka: A Buddhist charity based in the city of Kandy. Without the support of their staff in particular
their Treasurer, Mr Ananda Kahawatte, and their Project Director, Rev Dhammananda, Medagama Thero, the project could not operate.
British Council: They have already funded link and reciprocal visits to allow staff to travel between the counties.
Fergusons Transport: The Blyth based haulage company transports our boxes of resources down to docks in London at extremely
reasonable rates.
Glen Carrier: This shipping company transport the boxes by sea for collection at the docks in Colombo (Sri Lanka).
Emirates Airlines: On several occasions they have agreed to allow staff travelling to Sri Lanka to have an additional
weight allowance in order to take extra resources to the schools.
See Sri Lank link on Astley website to follow progress with the project to date
www.astley.northumberland.sch.uk.
News Update:
Seaton Valley Sri Lanka Schools Project: Charity Number: 1127933
This status allows the project to tap into other sources of money (trusts etc) and to claim back Gift Aid on any donations.
An application has been sent to the British Council. If successful, the grant of £10,000 will pay for two staff from Sri Lanka to
travel here and for two staff from Seaton Valley to go to Sri Lanka. In addition it will pay for equipment to go into the Sri
Lankan schools to support the project which is about the causes and local impact of climate change on the respective schools.
We should hear in May if the bid has been successful.
Current priorities include:
Current priorities include:
Current priorities include:
Current priorities include:
(These need to be agreed after proposal visit by Mr Knight in summer holiday. Due to remoteness and a dangerous security situation, access to Panama has been limited. Hopefully it will be possible to safely visit in July/August)
We are in the process of trying to arrange new links between another Primary School and a large 5 – 18 college with two other schools in England – St Robert of Newminster Catholic High School in Washington and Welbeck Primary School in Nottingham. Mr Knight and his wife have visited the Sri Lankan schools and are submitting reports to the proposed link schools.
Indika is the disabled student whose artwork has been used on calendars and Christmas cards. The money generated will go to Indika.
As a result of discussions with the Principal at Medagama, Indika will be allowed to stay at school (he is already 22) and will be
an artist in residence. We will provide the materials to enable him to produce large scale murals around the school site.
Money from the sale of calendars is going into a bank account which will provide him with financial security.
During February half term, Mr Knight and his wife returned to Sri Lanka. The purpose was two fold.
Medagama
Nannapurawa
Karimatya
As ever we were received with great courtesy, and ceremony, in each
school. Special assemblies and presentations were organised plus the
chance to discuss ongoing projects with staff and students. The impact of
our intervention in terms of resources and curriculum support is very
obvious. We have come back with a raft of ideas for further support.
The visits to new possible link schools were also very positive. Hopefully a partnership will emerge for St Roberts Catholic High School
in Washington and Welbeck Primary School in Nottingham.
In addition to the school visits, Mr Knight met with the Secretary for Education and agreed on a programme for government support to the
schools.
The calendar project involving the disabled student at Medagama, Indika, has resulted in him now commissioned to do public artwork around
the school, plus gaining financial security from the sale of his paintings.
The bid to British Council for a Global Partnership Grant has now been submitted.
Additional teaching and learning resources were brought back and are currently in use at Seghill First School supporting their Key Stage
2 Sri Lanka project.
A draft bid has been completed by Mr Knight for a Global Curriculum Project Grant from the British Council.
Working with the agreement of the Heads of English Medium at Nannapurawa and Medagama Schools, the bid identifies a common theme relating
to the impact of climate change on each of the school communities. Pupils of all age groups will be able to be involved in this project
and exchange information between the schools.
The draft application has been submitted to the British Council in Edinburgh for scrutiny. The signed agreement by all Headteachers
will be completed during Mr Knights’ visit to Sri Lanka during February half term.
On 30th January Mr Knight is attending a British Council Development Meeting in Newcastle where the bid will be discussed.
We have been approached by and Occupational Therapist regarding a quantity of orthopaedic shoes for children which we could send to Sri
Lanka. They are all new shoes and of high quality. A hospital in Kandy will be approached to see how best the footwear can be utilised.
We will investigate the possibility of commissioning a physiotherapist to visit each of the village communities.
Astley has compiled a calendar of images painted by a disabled student in Medagama School. The
student, Indika Dharmapola, has never received any formal art instruction yet his paintings of
village life are extremely vibrant and skilful. We are selling the calendars for £3 each with
all the receipts going to set up a trust fund for Indika. We are also using one of his images
for the school corporate Christmas card.
On November 27th the school hosted a visit by Mr Nimal Bandara. He is the Permanent Secretary
to the Sri Lankan Minister of Education. He is an extremely influential civil servant who is
very impressed with our project working and who can be extremely helpful in our future plans.
After visiting the school and meeting some governors he and his family were entertained in the
evening at Mr Knight’s home.
Another consignment of educational resources sent to Medagama and Nannapurawa.
Given the rapid deterioration in the exchange rate between the £ and the rupee (25%
decline since April) we have decided not to transfer significant amounts of money until
the situation improves.
During the autumn half term break Mrs Tricia McDougal from Holywell First School travelled
to Sri Lanka as part of our project and spent a week working at Nannapurawa School.
Whilst she was there it was possible for her and some of the pupils to communicate live
to Mr Knight via Skype on the laptop which was provided for Nannapurawa. The visit was
extremely successful and Mrs McDougal is working to develop further curriculum links with
Nannapurawa.
Now both parts of the reciprocal visit are completed (Mr Kumara to Astley in June and Mrs
McDougal to Nannapurawa in October) the final report has been sent to the British Council.
The intention is now to apply for a global curriculum bid for additional funding to promote
exchanges. This will occur early next term.
Money generated from sponsorship locally plus contributions from the wider Sri
Lankan community in this region and elsewhere meant that Mr Knight met his target
of raising £3000 for the Sri Lanka project via his sponsored bicycle ride.
Click this link to view images of the from the trip.
The formal application to the Charities Commission for charitable status for the
Seaton Valley Sri Lanka Schools Project has now been posted. It was not possible
to forward this before this time because £5000 needs to be raised in the financial
year immediately prior to application. Whilst we had raised and forwarded
considerable amounts of money it was not over £500 in one year. We have now exceeded
that threshold.
Hopefully we should get to know the outcome of the application before the end of term.
Ongoing discussions with the Sri Lankan authorities are trying to resolve the
issue of taxes being demanded when our shipments arrive on the docks in Colombo.
Mr Knight is writing to the regional Education Ministry for Uva Province to get
the existing agreement with Medagama and Nannapurana formally registered, with
the Government. It is already registered with the British Council but government
recognition is needed in order to allow future visa applications to be more
straight forward. It will also allow for Mr Neel Kumara to be reimbursed for
expenses incurred during his visit to England.
Mr Knight successfully completed his sponsored bicycle ride from John O’Groats
to Land’s End. Despite it being a very wet August and it raining on each day of
the ride, he completed the 985 mile route over two weeks in 77 hours of cycling
(click here) for photographs of the ride. At the time of writing the overall
total in terms of sponsorship is unknown as sponsor forms are out in a variety
of places here and abroad. Retrospective sponsorship would be appreciated.
Please contact Astley.
Partnership Schools participated in non-uniform fund raising days for the Sri
Lanka project.
Through a contact at County Hall, we were informed about learning resources
being made available at Chatton First School near Wooler. The school was closing
at the end of term, and there were a wide range of resources which would be
gratefully received by our schools in Sri Lanka.
Mr Knight and his wife travelled up to Chatton and brought an entire car full of
resources – books, equipment, musical instruments, painting materials, etc back
to Astley. In addition to these resources, the Governors of Chatton also donated
a substantial amount of money from their school charity account. Many thanks to
all concerned; it is apt that a small village school over here is supporting
pupils in a village school in Sri Lanka.
In addition to the Chatton resources, we also received a substantial donation of
books from Blyth Community College library and English Department. Many thanks
to the Headteacher, Ms Knowles and her staff. This large shipment was despatched
via. Ferguson’s Transport at the start of the summer holidays and is due to
arrive in Colombo in early September.
The partnership schools were delighted to welcome Mr Neel Pushpa Kumara,
an English Medium teacher from Nannapurawa school in Sri Lanka. Neel
visited for two weeks. Whilst spending most of his time at Astley, he
also visited Whytrig Middle School, Seaton Delaval First School, Seghill
First School and Holywell Village First School. At Holywell he spent the
day with Mrs Tricia McDougal who will be on a link visit to Sri Lanka
representing the partnership in the autumn.
Neel’s visit was very successful. Feedback from pupils has been
extremely positive. The report on the visit which must be submitted to
the British Council will be made available over the summer.
Another large consignment of resources for the Sri Lankan village
schools left Astley early in the month. They will arrive by ship in the
middle of July.
Artwork produced by Indika, the disabled student at Medagama school, has
been photographed and prints will go on sale. All proceeds will go to
Indika and his family to help fund his future welfare.
The training continues for Mr Knight as he prepares for his 1000 mile
sponsored cycle ride during the summer holidays, to raise money for the
three link Sri Lankan schools. Sponsor forms are available at Astley.
Clarification received at last regarding the link visit of a Sri Lankan
teacher to Astley and the other partnership schools.
Mr Neel Kumara, the English Medium teacher from Nannapurawa School will
visit Astley between June 16th – 30th. Arrangements will be made to ensure
Mr Kumara has the opportunity to visit all our partner schools during his
stay.
Confirmation received that Medagama National School will now be allowed to
offer ‘A’ level English Medium classes. This is partly the result of the
additional resources the school has received through the Seaton Valley Sri
Lanka Schools Project.
All partnership schools are having non uniform days to raise money for the
Sri Lanka project. On May 23rd Mr Knight visited all the partnership schools
apart from Holywell. He arrived at each on his bicycle to promote the non
uniform day and his sponsored bike ride for Sri Lanka during the summer
holidays.
Artwork by Indika, the disabled pupil from Medagama School is being printed
for sale to generate income to support him at home.
May 22nd Mr Knight gave a presentation to Blyth Rotary Club regarding the
Sri Lanka project. The presentation was well received and we believe a
donation will follow.
Plans for a member of staff, Justin Brewitt, to visit Nannapurawa National
School had to be cancelled at short notice. The escalation of conflict in
Sri Lanka, which coincided with the sixtieth anniversary of independence,
made the overall situation within the country too unsafe to allow Justin to
travel. It was extremely disappointing for all concerned, but safety had to
be the principal concern.
We had received information from contacts within the area where Justin was
due to stay indicating that terrorist activity was happening in that
district. This was backed up by information on the Foreign Office and BBC
websites. The British Council who are sponsoring this visit supported our
decision, and will fund an alternative visit later in the year when things
are, hopefully , on a more secure footing.
Mr Knight and his wife are travelling to Sri Lanka in April, with a plan to
visit the village schools and assess ongoing progress with the various
projects.
The pupil letter writing projects are well underway and many pupils now have
received reply letters from pupils in the village schools. Our pupils are
now starting to really appreciate the difficulties of communications via
post, and also the reality of growing up in a country with a civil war still
affecting people’s lives.
In Nannapurawa School, funding from the Seaton valley Partnership is now
paying for major refurbishment of a science room. Internal redecoration has
taken place and new equipment is on order over the coming weeks. They have
also received another consignment of learning resources, books, equipment
etc.
In Medagama School, following the autumn visit by Mr Knight, 40 pupils have
been fitted with reading glasses, after being identified as having real
problems with their sight which would only progressively get worse . Through
our intervention these children can hopefully now progress properly with
improved chances of success. Also at Medagama, through money we have been
able to donate, they have been able to refurbish the ICT room…….they
received some computers from Astley before Christmas.
In Panama School, they are in the process of doing extensive decoration work
in preparation for having new science facilities, again paid for through our
work.
In the run up to February Half Term, several of the partnership First
Schools were involved in Sri Lanka projects as part of their International
Primary Curriculum. Mr Knight did presentations in Seaton Delaval First and
Seaton Sluice First Schools , to set in motion several days of cross
curricular activities , all linked around a Sri Lankan theme. Sri Lankan
contacts from Newcastle, Mr and Mrs Welamedage, came into two of the schools
to do traditional food demonstrations. The whole event was extremely
rewarding and a learning experience for all concerned.( click on link for news article)
Over 75 pupils across Astley Community High School, Whytrig Middle and
Seaton Sluice Middle Schools are now taking part in the letter writing
project with the Sri Lanka schools.
Additional resources were added to a shipment due to arrive in Colombo
around February 15th. All of these materials are heading for Panama School.
The recent upsurge in violence in Sri Lanka makes it more important than
ever that we continue to forward resources to Panama which is in the remote
and troubled SE area.
Discussions are ongoing with the Sri Lankan authorities regarding the cost
of clearing our donations through customs in Colombo.
Plans for a link visit for one of the Astley staff – Mr Justin Brewitt, to
work in Nannapurawa Village School, during the February half term, are well
advanced. The visit is funded by the British Council.
A reciprocal visit of a Sri Lankan teacher to come to Astley in April, again
British Council funded, is being organised. Paperwork from Astley has been
sent to the Sri Lankan authorities.
Several of the Seaton Valley Partnership of Schools are planning Sri Lankan
themed events in the coming weeks as part of their International Primary
Curriculum.
Astley Headteacher, Mr Ian Knight, is planning a major fund raising event
for this coming summer. The aim is to raise £1000 for each of the village
schools by cycling from John O’Groats to Lands End.
A sponsor form link will appear in the near future on this site if you would
like to make a donation.
Another shipment of educational materials leaves Astley en route for Sri
Lanka. Seaton Sluice Middle School donated £365 for the project following
fundraising by pupils and staff.
Private donations of writing resources, books and equipment from:
• Members of St Cuthberts’ Church in Blyth donated books and art equipment,
in particular for Indika, the student with learning difficulties at Medagama
School.
• Mrs L Miles, from Evesham in Worcestershire, donated writing and
mathematical equipment, and books.
• Mr T Miles, a student at Prince Henry’s High School in Evesham,
Worcestershire, donated £20 of his own money.
• Mrs R Rogers, from Evesham in Worcestershire, donated reference books and
children’s reading books.
On the final day of term, Astley held a big charity event – The X Factor, to
raise money for Sri Lanka. In total, over £800 was collected, which was a
tremendous effort for all concerned.
December 26th - 3 years to the day since the tsunami, which started our
involvement with Sri Lanka.
Assemblies scheduled at Astley and at Whytrig Middle and Seaton Sluice
Middle Schools to update pupils and staff about the project work.
Display of pupil project work produced in Sri Lanka to go on display in the
community library at Astley.
Mr Knight is writing to the dock authorities in Colombo and to the Sri
Lankan Ministry of Education to see if a deal can be reached regarding the
amount of money having to be paid as import duty on the charity resources we
are sending to the schools.
Nov 26th latest shipment of materials scheduled to leave Astley. Many thanks
to Marine Park First School in Whitley Bay for their kind donation of
exercise books and to Northumberland Library Service, for their continued
support in providing children’s books withdrawn from stock.
The member of staff scheduled to visit Medagama School on the British
Council sponsored link visit was taken ill following the necessary
inoculations.
After discussion it was agreed Mr Knight should go to Medagama to fulfil the
commitment. The week was extremely successful. For a copy of the report
submitted to the British Council please
click here.
Another large shipment of educational materials, including some old
computers, left Astley in mid September.
It still remains a frustration that after all our efforts to get these
resources to Colombo, our link charity have to then pay what is in effect
import duty to get the boxes out of the port. We have tried different
labelling this time. Lets hope it works.
When Mr Knight was in Sri Lanka at Easter he was told about how expensive it
is for school to access the internet and was asked to consider putting a
letter in the Sri Lankan newspapers. This he did and the letter was
published in September
(click here for a link)
Preparations continue for a member of staff to visit Sri Lanka at October
half term. The draft projects are being printed out and multiple copies will
be taken to the village school at Medagama.
(It should be noted that amongst the latest shipment of books were a large
number of mathematics texts books donated by Ryton Comprehensive School.
Many thanks to them in supporting our work).
Following MR Knights Sri Lanka presentation at New Hartley First School he
was presented with a cheque for £204.67p, raised by parents and pupils,
which will go to support the work in the Sri Lankan village schools.
Ongoing progress to install an Internet link between Astley and our link
schools. This has proved to be very time consuming due to technical
difficulties in Sri Lanka. However, it is hoped that this can occur in near
future.
On July 1st Mr Knight did a sponsored abseil in Newcastle to raise funds for
the Sri Lanka appeal. To date, over £200 has been raised.
The application for charitable status for our Sri Lanka work is about to be
sent off for approval. Part of the delay was because the partner schools
want to be involved so we propose to change the name to Seaton Valley Sri
Lanka Schools Project.
On July 9th the latest consignment of educational materials bound for Sri
Lanka was collected from school by Ferguson’s Transport of Blyth.
During the enterprise days at the end of term, a group of pupils will work
with Mr Knight to develop some of the joint curriculum project resources,
which we plan to share with Sri Lankan schools.
Confirmation received from the British Council that they will fund a visit
by a member of Astley staff to Sri Lanka in the autumn to work in the
village school in Medagama.
Mr Knight visiting all Seaton Valley Partnership Schools to present an
assembly about Astley’s work in Sri Lanka. As a result of these assemblies
plus other meetings, the partnership schools have all agreed to adopt Sri
Lanka as a joint project from September.
In addition to the recently added GSP agreement the Curriculum Partnership
Plan between the same Sri Lankan schools is also available.
(Click here for a copy)
The Global School Partnership Agreement between Astley Community High School
and four Sri Lankan schools is available to download. It outlines the shared
commitment between both schools in providing an international dimension
within their curriculum offerings.
(Click here for a copy)
Seaton Valley Partnership Headteachers meet. Mr Knight updates them on the
project and he is invited to come into each of their schools to explain to
staff and pupils about the Sri Lanka project.
Astley hosts a ‘Star Wars’ fundraising event. Half of the profits, about
£600, will go towards our Sri Lanka work.
Letters of thanks sent to all the individuals and groups involved in the
Easter visit. Photographs of the new science equipment sent to The Rothley
Trust.
Mr Knight and his wife travel to Sri Lanka and visit all four of our link
schools: Each school was presented with a photo album showing Astley. A
learning agreement was signed by the Principal of each school and Mr Knight.
Mahamaya College, Kandy The resources already forwarded by Astley were
viewed in the library. Mr Knight donated £75 towards the purchase of a video
camera to allow pupils in both schools to have online conferencing.
Nannapurawa School A full tour of the school was undertaken and a
presentation took place in the refurbished English Medium area, stocked with
resources sent from Astley. The presentation took place of a laptop computer
donated by the Youth Association of Astley, to enable internet contact
between both groups of pupils. Mr Knight left a donation towards the cost of
internet installation. A large number of pupils are already writing to
Astley students.
Medagama School Mr Knight officially opened the refurbished English library
(after ceremonially planting a tree!). Full tour of the school and viewed
new science lab, equipped with resources paid for by The Rothley Trust after
a successful bid by Astley. Formal presentation in Hall and large number of
requests for additional pen friends. Money was donated to pay for practice
exam papers.
Panama School (Mr Knight was unable to reach Panama in September 2006 due to
the dangerous military situation.) Mr and Mrs Knight managed to reach Panama
School, together with representatives of the Success Sri Lanka charity,
after a very long journey on bad roads, with frequent stops at roadblocks
manned by heavily armed soldiers.
The area around Panama is extremely remote; the people are poor and are
still recovering from the 2004 tsunami. Ongoing terrorist activity in the
area means they have poor communications and very few visitors.
There was a full tour of the school and it was clear that resources are very
limited, but Astley has had a significant impact in improving conditions. Mr
and Mrs Knight saw the new water system and set of classroom dividers paid
for by Astley. Other resources provided by our donations, such as a computer
and sets of books, were also seen.
The school buildings look very shabby as there is no money for improvement.
Money was donated to buy paint for pupils to improve their classrooms. After
leaving the school there was an opportunity to visit the surrounding area to
see the effects of the tsunami and the extent of rebuilding which has
occurred.
Regular contact with the charity group Success Sri Lanka about arrangements
for Mr Knight’s visit and the proposed joint projects. Plans underway at
Astley for a joint fund-raising event with Seaton Sluice Scouts on April
21st. Star Wars event with David Prowse (Darth Vader) at Astley. Half the
proceeds to support our Sri Lanka work. Mr Knight in process of applying for
charitable status for the Sri Lanka project. This would mean that the school
could bid for additional money to support our work.
Photographs received showing the distribution of resources sent to the
schools at Christmas. First letters received from Sri Lanka. Following email
contact with a member of staff in Medagama School, another 30 letters
arrived for pen pal links. These were all signed up by Astley pupils within
a few days.
Initial letter-writing scheme between some Astley pupils and pupils in
Nannapurawa School. Mr Knight has drawn up draft learning contracts with
each of the four link schools (click here for copy) and a list of possible
joint projects (click here for copy). The plan will be, if possible, to
agree the projects when Mr Knight returns to Sri Lanka to visit the schools
during the Easter holiday.
The consignment of materials is shipped out, arriving in Colombo soon after
Christmas. Money raised at end of term events at Astley – pantomime and X
Factor – donated to ongoing project work in Sri Lanka.
Assembly of large quantity of educational resources for our various link
schools – books, writing equipment, posters etc.
As a result of Mr Knights visit it is easier to target specific resources to
particular schools.
Our librarian, Dr Richardson has selected a large quantity of redundant
books which will go to different schools according to suitability of content
and standard of English.
A large quantity of surplus football kit was donated by Whitley Bay Football
Academy, thanks to one of our parent governors, Miss Yvonne Baxter. This kit
is going to the Medagama village school.
Mr Knight led year group assemblies to show details of his visit plus show
staff and pupils the inscribed plaque and plate presented to Astley by
pupils of Panama school. (These are now on display in reception area at
Astley).
Mr Knight had to send a formal summary report of his visit to the British
Council
(click here for a
copy). Subsequently, at the request of the Success Sri Lanka charity, he
produced a ‘minority report’ highlighting the inadequate funding available
to rural schools in Sri Lanka.
(click here for copy).
Following year group assemblies to update and inform staff and pupils of the
Sri Lanka work, Mr Knight travelled to Sri Lanka. September 17th – 26th.
During his time in the country Mr Knight emailed daily updates back to
Astley which appeared on the daily bulletin for all pupils.
(Click here for copies).
Non uniform day at Astley raised another £440 for building improvements at
Panama school.
It was confirmed that Mr Knight had been offered a place on the
International Headteacher Placement programme of the British Council, to
visit Sri Lanka in the autumn term. The intention was to visit Astley’s link
school in the village of Panama in the south east of the island.
Monies collected from last non-uniform day donations - total over £1600
- forwarded to Rev Dhamananda. The likely use of the money is to convert
what are now large open plan teaching areas into classroom areas for the
pupils.
Following advice from our contact organisation in the country - Success Sri
Lanka - we have now forwarded the shipment of writing equipment and
children's books. These should arrive in Colombo in early July.
Contact has been made with two American post graduate students working in
Sri Lanka and involved in work in the village of Panama. It is hoped they
will be able to provide more on the spot details of the school plus forward
images back to us in Astley. They are also hoping to put us in contact with
other support agencies working in the area to help regeneration.
Acting on advice from contacts in Sri Lanka we have
delayed forwarding classroom materials until the political situation in the
country become more stable.
We continue to be in regular contact with the charity group in Sri Lanka who
are co-ordinating our support to the school in Panama.
Following a series of year group assemblies at Astley, each tutor group
collected pens, pencils, rulers etc for Panama school.
E-mails from Sri Lanka acknowledging receipt of library books but suggesting
if we send another consignment, to ensure reading age is younger. Most of
the children will have very limited English ability so children's picture
books would be preferred.
E-Mail received. Water supply scheme now handed over to the school. Plaque
referring to Astley has been installed. Photographs on the way.
E-Mail received. Construction of water supply scheme virtually complete.
Difficulties with well construction due to height of flood water following
heavy rain. Stagnant water lying everywhere. Photographs to be sent to
Astley.
2. Panama is 8 hours by road from the capital Columbo, there is no train
service.
E-Mail received. Panama want to put up a plaque to acknowledge Astley
contribution to water scheme. Agreed wording...
E-Mail received. The library books had arrived at the school. Pupils
delighted.
E-Mail received. Groundwork completed for water scheme. Clean water needed
for drinking, washing etc. Drought persistent from August until December.
E-Mail received. Work now to commence on water scheme.
E-Mail received. Construction work on water scheme delayed due to heavy
tropical rain. many roads have become impassable as there are few bridges
across the rivers.
Rev Dhammanda visits Astley and meets School Council along with a colleague
Mr Rajapakse. Following a tour of the school he presents the school with a
handcrafted plate as a sign of friendship. (This is on display in the
reception area).
Estimates received for well building project.
Ongoing draught affecting farm animals and wildlife such as elephants.
E-Mail received. Details of Rev Dhammananda visit to Astley clarified.
Estimate for well and water supply...£2000... prices gone up due to all the
rebuilding and cost of labour! Also hoping to provide screens to separate
off classrooms.
E-Mail received. No rain for about 4 months as monsoon failed. Real problems
with drinking water. First donation of £1500 received from Astley. Focus of
money to provide clean water supply for the pupils in the school.
Video sent to school giving further background. For more information on the
video, click here.
Information received that Rev Dhammananda was coming to England and would
like to travel up to Astley to meet with pupils.
First letter from Mr Kahawatte in Sri Lanka. He enclosed some photos
from the school itself. There are about 1100 children in photographs the
school. Facilities are very basic. Parents are mainly farmers but their
fields were submerged with salt water and this has had a really bad effect.
Many are now involved in construction work following the tsunami. They earn
about £15 per week.
Letter received from our contact Sri Lankan doctor. He gave us the name of
the school and the contact person. The project is overseen by a Buddhist
priest. Rev Dhammananda.
