Educational Capacity Building in Fiji

Dear Supporters, 

The GVI Fiji team have been at both Navunisea District School (NDS) and Dawasamu District School (DDS) since the start of the new school year, working with all of the children to assess their reading levels. 

Prior to school starting, the volunteers were trained on how to administer the reading record assessments consistently through a combination of demonstrations, paired role-plays and observations.  Staff and volunteers with previous experience of reading record testing at NDS last year, paired up with new volunteers so that the testing process was carried out as fairly and consistently as possible.  

Testing the Students

During the test, one volunteer was responsible for reading and asking comprehension questions, while the other took notes. Using these notes the volunteers were able to assess which level the children could read independently, thus assigning them a reading level. Children often read several books until the appropriate level was found, sometimes this process was carried out over two days so that the child was not out of class for longer than 30 minutes at any time.

We were able to identify non-readers and mechanical readers. A non-reader is a child that doesn't yet know the English sounds and can't blend letters to make words. A mechanical reader is a child who is unable to comprehend what they have read. 

For these children, a different test has been formed, which assesses their knowledge of letters and sounds, blending these sounds to read words as well as basic comprehension of these words. The test was administered in the same way as the reading record testing.

We are now able to say that all children at both NDS and DDS have been tested for the first time since January 2016.

What does it mean? 

Going forward, we are working towards creating a rotation of different reading tests that can be read with children at both schools at the start of each term, in January, April and August. This will enable us to monitor the progress of each child in the school, putting in place targeted interventions if necessary for particular students. This data will also be frequently shared with class teachers at both schools, making them more aware of the work GVI do in Dawasamu and the impact it has.

This information is incredibly valuable for class teachers as well as future volunteers, as it shows which phonic phase the children have learnt up to and where they need more practice.At the end of the academic year we will be able to see if there is a positive correlation between the children attending reading groups and their progress in reading record tests, and reflect and adapt our education programme accordingly.

Thank you for your support of this project!

With Gratitude, 
GVI Fiji

Dear Supporters, 

It has been a little over a year since Fiji, and Silana village where we are based, was destroyed by Cyclone Winston. It has been a year filled with a lot of uncertainty but also a lot of hope, hard work and perseverance. The school year was disrupted and many of the classrooms were badly damaged and the majority of educational resources were lost. 

We are pleased to report that things have returned to a good routine and that we are once again completely focused on building on our educational projects for 2017. 

Building Relationships

Over the past couple of weeks, we have been proud to host social evenings with the teachers from Navunisea District School and Dawasamu District School (NDS and DDS) at Babale Base. It was a joint effort as staff, volunteers and community members worked together to chop, prepare and cook tasty, Fijian food for everyone to share! After the meal GVI staff presented information to the teachers about the education programme that we offer at both schools. This is to encourage an environment of reflective discussion about teaching practices between the teachers, GVI staff and volunteers.The evening culminated in a kava session ... of course!

Reading Record Tests

At the beginning of the year at DDS, volunteers have been busy working with individual students, facilitating Reading Record testing. The information from these sessions allows GVI to group each student into a literacy group at their appropriate reading level, enabling effective lessons that are catered to student ability. This information is shared with teachers at DDS so that all students benefit from a more effective and tailored education.

Supporting Students 

We've been working 1:1 with students from NDS for the past few weeks using ideas and activities planned by a volunteer with previous experience of working with children with additional needs. In daily sessions, we have been focusing on improving fine and gross motor skills, recognising and forming letters as well as counting in English and Fijian. GVI always tries to support students and teachers in any way we can, which sometimes means asking volunteers with specific expertise to take on projects in addition to their literacy and PEMAC teaching. We will keep you posted on the progress of these lessons! (picture of volunteer Lydia and student during a 1:1 session)

Book Drive Fundraiser

We are busy with a book drive! We are supporting NDS and DDS with their goal to replenish their libraries with children's books, the majority of which were lost during the cyclone. You can find more information on our website, link below!

Thank you for your continued support! We can't wait to see what 2017 will bring!

With Gratitude, 
GVI Fiji

Links:

• Find out more about the Book Appeal!