Latest News

Boundary Farm visit

Wed 27 Feb 2019

Today we visited Boundary Farm in the glorious sunshine! We were very lucky as it is the beginning of the lambing season at the farm. We were fortunate enough to witness triplet lambs being born! The farmers tickled their noses to make them alert after they were born. They lambs were then cleaned up by their mothers.

Next we saw some lambs that were only 7 hours old. These were already walking and feeding from the ewes (mother sheep) and they were nice and clean!

We visited the chickens too. We fed them chicken feed and they pecked at our toes which tickled! We also saw some young calves who we fed straw to.

The children had a go at painting numbers with spray paint. The farmers use this paint to number the mother sheep and lambs so they know when they were born and how many lambs the ewe had.

We saw lots of machinery on the farm too including a slurry tank and a straw bedder. Perhaps you could find out the use of these vehicles on the farm.

Year 2 Visit to Westfield Junior School to see Year 3 and 4's Homework

Wed 27 Feb 2019

Year 2 pupils got the exciting opportunity to head across to Westfield Junior School to look at some of the homework completed by Year 3 and 4 pupils as part of their topic about America. Pupils were inspired by some of the amazing models and fact files produced by the Juniors. As well as super White House buildings and Empire State models, the pupils enjoyed reading some of the fascinating facts discovered through independent research. Well done WJS! We were very impressed and cannot wait to have a go at something similar when we go into Year 3!

General Information from the trip to Southern India

Sat 23 Feb 2019

It has been a very busy and exciting trip to India and Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas hope that everyone at Westfield Infant School will enjoy finding out about school life in India by looking at the photographs and reading the information.

Here is some general information.

The flight from London Heathrow airport to Chennai takes 9 and a half hours
The time difference is 5 and a half hours with India being ahead. When it is 9.00 a.m. the start of the school day at Westfield Infant School it is 2.30 p.m. in the afternoon in India
The roads are very busy and no one seems to follow any system of lanes. This means that cars and lorries will overtake and undertake but will always sound their horns to warn you
Because everyone sounds their horns all the time it is very noisy and Father Dominic said a lot of people have hearing problems because of this. The horns also made Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas jump until they got use to the noise!
A lot of people use scooters and motorbikes to get about. Father Dominic told us that the law is that you should wear a helmet but not many people do. Sadly a lot of people die on the roads and they might not have done if they had worn a helmet but they don't want to wear them because they find them too hot
Father Dominic explained that you can get fined for not wearing a helmet but it rarely happens because there are so many people on the roads and the Police are busy
You can see a whole family of two adults and two children and even babies on motorbikes around the cities
Autos (tut tuts) as Brumas calls them is a three wheeled vehicle and Brumas finds them great fun. Look at some of the photographs and see if you can count how many children and adults can fit into an auto! It is amazing to see how many children can fit in one auto to get to school
Autos are used like taxis for short journeys, especially round the cities and towns. The cost of a journey from St Mathias School to the sea front which takes about 15 minutes depending on traffic was the equivalent of £1.00
Families share autos and get as many children into an auto as possible to get the children to school. They can then share the cost
When you travel on the road there are always a lot of dogs that are running around. There are also cows that wander across the road and if a cow is in the road all the traffic stops to let it cross
We also saw a lot of stray dogs on the sea front
Rice is a very important part of the food in India. As we travelled around we saw a lot of paddy fields and people weeding them
A lot of the adults and children we met live on a diet of fruit and vegetables but they have a great variety of delicious meals
There is no doubt that re-cycling is a serious consideration in India and the Government are keen to promote a greater awareness. However systems are not yet in place for the general public to recycle which is making progress slow
The children and young people in the schools know all about the new laws about plastics. They are singing songs about recycling but to actually follow what they are learning about is still quite difficult
Shops are starting to give out bags made from newspaper and wrap purchases in newspaper so the awareness is spreading. However we were not able to find anywhere to recycle our plastic water bottles and it was very important that we drank bottled water to avoid getting a tummy upset
Mrs Leeson asked Mrs MacLauchlan to find out what makes children in Southern India happy compared to children in Hinckley. Having met and spoken to so many children and young people the conclusion is that Dancing is the overall activity that makes the children happy. However it is also very clear that the children and young people in Southern India are easily pleased. They do not have a lot of toys and it is difficult to keep things in good condition.The children at St Mathias Junior School were certainly very pleased with the whiteboard and pen we gave them each. In fact we saw one boy climb a cupboard to hide his!

St Mathias Secondary School in Pondicherry

Fri 22 Feb 2019 Mrs MacLauchlan

Following a busy day with Sister Rose at St Mathias Primary School the next day we visited the Secondary School where Sister Rose has her office and teaches.

At the side of the school just behind Sister Rose’s office there is a nursery room for 20 children. That is where we started our day! The children in the Nursery are 3 years old and they were very keen to play with us. We had given Sister Rose some chocolates to give out as a treat at a suitable time. However Sister Rose decided the nursery children should have their treat that morning! As soon as the children saw the chocolate they got very excited and as it was very hot they soon got very messy.

The nursery children spend a lot of time outside and the outside area is shaded by a huge mango tree. Whilst we were there the teacher was sweeping the leaves and dust up trying to keep everywhere neat and tidy. The children helped when they were reminded by putting all the litter in the bin.

Brumas had a lot of fun playing with the children. They do not have a lot of toys and sometimes being only 3 years old they found it hard to share! Mrs MacLauchlan played throwing and catching with the balls.

The staff were also proud to sing the rhyme One, two buckle my shoe and some of the children were joining in and were very excited when we joined in. We then introduced them to Ring- a Ring of Roses. It took rather a long time to get the children into a circle as they did not understand us and we did not understand the children. In the end we had a lovely circle and had a lot of fun. The children wanted to sing it lots of times and were soon joining in with 1,2,3!

During the Secondary School break time we went to meet the girls and caused chaos by showing them the Instant Camera. They all then wanted a photograph taking and Lucy got totally surrounded by the girls, many of them were taller than her! We gave the photographs to Sister Rose and told the girls that if they work hard Sister Rose will give the photographs to them.

The Secondary School has two parts. The High School currently has 110 pupils aged 10 – 12 years old and the Higher Secondary has 130 pupils 13- 17 year olds. Sister Rose explained that she has introduced a new uniform. Instead of a sash that is difficult to keep neat the girls now wear what Sister Rose called a jacket. It has not got sleeves so we would call it a waistcoat. It does look very smart and the girls like it. The Government provides all the students with two new uniforms each academic year. The High School uniform is blue with orange ribbons in their hair. The Higher Secondary uniform is green with green ribbons.

During the visit we were able to spend time in each classroom and again took an Instant Photograph of each class which we gave to their teacher. They are all working very hard because it is exam time. Sister Rose explained that the number of exams has increased and the number of papers the girls have to take has also increased . The subjects are split into two groups:

Group 1:

Maths, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Tamil and English

Group 2:

Commerce, Economics, Accountancy, Computer Application, Tamil, English

Each exam is 2 and half hours and the Pass Mark out of 100 is 35. If the girls do not achieve the Pass Mark they have to keep retaking the exam. Sister Rose makes sure they get extra help and the students at her school do very well and many of them achieve very high marks.

In all the classes the girls understood and spoke very good English. They were keen to ask questions and to find out more about Westfield Infant School . The day is split into lessons of 45 minutes and the classes varied in size from 14 to over 30. They all sat at desks and again thanks to funds raised by the Nevett Fund the school has much better facilities than it did before the Nevett Fund started to support improvements. As well as the classrooms we saw the Library, the Science Room and the Computer Room.

All the older students we spoke to had aspirations to do well at school. They told us they want to be; Doctors, Teachers, Accountants, Engineers and work in Computing. As well as a big University in Pondicherry there is also an Engineering College and an Art College. Once the students get to that age they can get a scholarship which is why Sister Rose impresses on the girls how important it is to study hard and get the highest marks they can.

117 of the girls at St Mathias School live at a hostel called St Saviour. A smaller number of girls live at one of three orphanages run by a lady who has family living in France who support the voluntary work she is doing and 17 live at Rock House. If the girls did not live in these places they would not be able to attend St Mathias School and they are all very keen to do well as they see education as a great opportunity to help their families.

Sister Rose explained that they are always short of places for the girls to live. If the girls live at the Hostel, St Saviours or Rock House they have a very strict routine;

4.00 – 5.00 a.m. – the girls get up, wash, get ready for the day and do jobs like washing their clothes and cleaning

5.00 -6.00 a.m. – the girls study

6.00 – 6.50 a.m. – Prayers

6.50 – 7.30 a.m. - the girls clean and tidy their belongings and room

7.30 a.m. - Breakfast

8.00 a.m. – the girls get ready and leave for school

They have breakfast and supper at the hostel or orphanage and a meal in the middle of the day at school.

When they get back from school they are expected to do jobs and to study. They have a short time each evening to choose what they want to do and many of them enjoy dancing.

Sister Rose also explained that the girls go to school on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and also Saturday. During exam preparation they also go to school on Sunday! The girls we spoke to showed great resilience, independence and self control. In fact Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas decided that the girls displayed all the character words. Sister Rose told us that the help and support from the Nevett Fund has improved the educational opportunities for the students. She said that this is thanks to Andrew Childs who first visited these schools 12 years ago and in conjunction with Phil Nevett inspired schools and members of the community in Leicestershire to finance and support the improvements. She asked us to thank you all and to say how grateful she and all her staff are that so many people have supported the Nevett Fund and improved the life chances of so many children and young people.

St Mathias Junior School in Pondicherry

Thu 21 Feb 2019

Father Dominic kindly provided transport to Pondicherry from his schools. It took just under 2 hours and Brumas was getting very excited as we got closer to Pondicherry. It is 5 years since Brumas and Mrs MacLauchlan were last in Pondicherry and they noticed a few changes. A lot of the buildings have been improved or are being improved and it seems to have become a very popular tourist attraction.

There is an ideal place to walk along the beach (which is mainly rocks). Swimming is not allowed but many people go for a healthy walk day or night. Father Dominic explained that in India there is a big problem with a lot of people being diagnosed with diabetes so the Government are encouraging everyone to eat healthily and to exercise. We certainly saw a lot of people walking and running along the sea front at all times of the day and night!

Sister Rose now lives in The Rock House which is very close to the sea. When we last visited it had only just been opened but now Sister Rose and another Sister live there with 17 girls who attend her secondary school and 1 former pupil who attends Pondicherry University and is studying art. She does not have a family living close by so she has decided to stay at The Rock House. Because Sister Rose lives a distance from both schools she now has an Auto to get her around and she sent her Auto to pick us up. Brumas was very excited to be going in an Auto again!

When we arrived at the St Mathias Junior School all the children were sitting in the Courtyard waiting to greet us. It is called a Junior School but the children are from 3 years old to 10 years old and they had all been told they could wear their best clothes instead of school uniform. It was a very colourful sight.

We were given fresh flowers, a scarf and a flower garland. The most exciting thing to see were the smiling faces of the children. After a formal greeting from one of the teachers, Sanjana we watched a dance performance from each class.

All the children were smiling and a lot of the girls had beautiful dresses on and were obviously enjoying wearing them. The youngest children (the 3 year olds) sang and danced to Baby Shark which the Westfield Children also know very well.

It was then time for the children to have a drink of milk. This arrived on an urn by bicycle and the children all had a cup or a plate from home that they drank their milk from. This is different to the children at Westfield Infant School who have a carton and a straw. Mr Short would be delighted if we did not have the plastic packets containing the straws as they blow all over the playground!

Sister Rose explained that the Government in India provide milk every morning and a hot school dinner every day for all the school children. The children certainly enjoyed a drink of milk and we appreciated a cool refreshing lemon drink.

St Mathias Junior School is in central Pondicherry so they do not have a lot of land. The courtyard we were greeted in was very different to 5 years ago in that it now has a lovely all weather surface. Sister Rose was keen to remind Mrs MacLauchlan that Westfield Infant School along with other schools in Hinckley had raised the money for this wonderful new surface. The children can now play outside whatever the weather. When we were last there Brumas, like the children was coughing all the time he was on the playground because it was so dusty. When it rained there were huge puddles so the children could not go outside at all. It was wonderful to see this improvement and to see the children enjoying the use of it.

Like the other schools St Mathias has some very big trees in the courtyard that provide shade. They have a Neen Tree that we now know all about, a Gulmahar Tree and the children were also keen to show us a Christmas Tree that Sister Rose explained gets decorated at Christmas which is why the children like it so much.

After a short break we started to visit the classrooms. Mrs MacLauchlan's bag was very heavy as we had whiteboards and pens for every child so we counted them out and took the right number to each classroom. We also left spare boards and pens for the children who were away ill. Once again the instant camera was a great hit! As we went to each class Lucy took a photograph on it and we were able to leave it with the teacher. After 5 minutes the children could see a photograph of the whole class with Brumas. They were very excited!

At 12.45 p.m. it was time for dinner. This was delivered from a main kitchen in Pondicherry where the meals are cooked for all children in Pondicherry who go to all the different schools. When we were travelling around Pondicherry Sister Rose pointed out one of the very biggest secondary schools where 7,000 pupils attend!

The meals are dishes like Rice and Vegetable Samba, potatoes with skins on, Tomato Rice and various vegetables. The children had their own plates or dish and washed it after they had eaten their meal. the youngest children sat together with the staff and some of them needed some help. You will notice that the children did not have knives and forks to eat their dinner with. They all used their hands and just scooped the food up with their fingers.

The older children could sit where they like in the Courtyard and again Sister Rose reminded us that before they had the new surface the children had to eat their meal in the classes as it was too dusty and dirty to sit outside. Everyone who contributed to support the new surface should feel very proud of the difference it has made to all the children and future pupils at the school!

After they had eaten the children had time to play and some of them danced and ran around but most of them sat and chatted or got a book out. Brumas sat in the shade with the older children as it was very hot.

Sister Rose told us she had arranged for the cook at Rock House to prepare a special meal for her visitors and the staff ate with us. Sister Rose kindly found a knife and fork for Mrs MacLauchlan to use! There was so much food! One of the dishes was a really tasty vegetable Samba. Mrs Leeson had asked us to get a new recipe for the Family Learning Cooking sessions so we asked the teachers and they kindly wrote the recipe out and how to prepare it. They wrote it all in English in Mrs MacLauchlan's notebook. Guess what children the recipe includes MANGO! Hopefully Mrs Dickins will be able to make it taste just like the one prepared by the cook at Rock House.

After the lunch hour was over it was time to visit the rest of the classes. St Mathias Junior School has 7 classes and this includes the new classroom that Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas were very excited to see. There is also an office for the Headteacher where we saw Kira and Cole the persona dolls we took to the school in December 2013 and a staffroom.

There are 3 floors to the school and we continued to go into each class and give out a whiteboard and a pen to the children who were very excited and keen to show us the writing and pictures they can do. At last we got to the third floor and it was time to see the new classroom. It was so special to be able to see it and the builders have done a really great job. The floor is tiled and the windows look very smart. There are two doors so there is a lovely breeze and outside there is a covered patio area. It really is a the best classroom in the school. You will notice that they are currently using plastic chairs and tables but they are managing well on those and the children in that class are very proud of their classroom.

Mrs MacLauchlan hopes that all those who supported the fund raising to build the classroom can see from the photographs just how lovely it is. Special thanks of course to everyone at Westfield Infant School as we used our Christmas Play donations for at least two years, Westfield Junior School, Burbage Infant School and Ashfield School. At the time we were supporting this project the currency was fluctuating and at one point we thought we had reached the target but then needed more money! However we persevered and the end result was certainly worth the effort! Special thanks to Phil Nevett who supported the project and organised for The Nevett Fund to sort out all the transactions.

Having visited all the classrooms and given out the boards and pens the rest of the school day was spent with the 10 year old pupils. They were keen to practice their English and the time went very quickly looking at the Information Folder we have left with them and teaching them the song 'If you're happy and you know it clap your hands'

Mrs MacLauchlan explained how happy she was to be back at the school and how happy it had made her to see all the improvements in the school since the last visit. She then asked the children what makes them happy and this is what they said;

'Dancing with my friends'

'Reading my books'

'Drawing pictures'

'Music'

'Singing'

'Playing the keyboard'

'Playing cricket'

'Playing computer games'

'Cleaning for my family'

'Playing my football game' this game had to be translated and we think it is called plo carvcom

'Playing with my friends'

'Making my family proud'

'Honesty makes me happy'

The most popular thing in this class for making the children happy was again dancing. They are certainly all very good at dancing and they also impressed us with their skills in English.

At 4.00 p.m. most of the children were collected by their parents. They were either walking home or getting onto motorbikes, there were also a few autos that arrived to pick children up. The children who live in an orphanage were collected by one of the Sisters. Again the Instant Camera was a big hit but this time with the adults!

The Rock House auto took us to Sister Rose who was back at her office at the Secondary School. After another lovely lemon drink we went shopping with Sister Rose. It was very busy and crowded but she knows just the shops to go to and before she knew it Mrs MacLauchlan had purchased a new outfit to wear!

After a walk along the sea front and a quick shower Mrs MacLauchlan and Sister Rose met for a meal. It was useful to have a good chat about the trips Sister Rose had made to visit Westfield Infant School and all the things we have learnt as Headteachers from each other over the last 6 years.

Visiting the hostel and meeting our sponsor students

Wed 20 Feb 2019 Mrs MacLauchlan

One of the most exciting plans about the trip to India for Brumas and Mrs MacLauchlan was the thought of actually meeting the Westfield Infant School Sponsor Students at Loyola Primary School. These pupils come from very poor families and they live in a hostel. This means that every day when school has finished they walk back to the hostel and they live at the hostel whereas the other children at the Primary School go home at the end of the school day to their families who live in villages near to the school.

Some of the children who live at the hostel are orphans so they do not have a family at all. The Sisters and the staff look after these children not just during term time but also during school holidays. They make sure that they have a really great time, especially at Christmas. The hostel is not far from the Primary School and the children walk to school. However it was very hot and Father Dominic decided that we would go in his vehicle so it did not take us long to get there.

The children were busy doing jobs when we got there as they have to keep everywhere very tidy. The floor has to be swept lots of times every day because it is so dry and dusty. They have a lot of trees around the building and the leaves fall off and they also have to be swept up.

All of the girls sleep in one room and the boys in another. They have a shelf to keep all their belongings on. Can you imagine keeping all your toys, books, clothes, school things and everything you need to keep clean on one shelf? The children are all very independent from a very young age and they also have to be very resilient. Brumas noticed that he has got more clothes than the children but he also noticed that even though the children have very few possessions they always have a big smile and were very cheerful.

The first thing we did was sit and talk to all the children who live at the Hostel. We wanted to make sure that we got to know them all as Father Dominic had explained that it is difficult for the children who do not have a sponsor to understand why some of their friends are getting letters and cards and they do not. Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas thought that in future children we must remember to write to all the children and to send them all one big Christmas Card.

We went through one of the folders that we had taken to show the children all about Westfield Infant School. They loved looking at the photographs all around school and they thought you looked very funny in the Christmas Plays! They were also very excited to see the photograph of Jet in his Westfield coat. They have got a dog at the hostel but he is brown and he seems to sleep in the sun all day.

We sang the song ‘If you’re happy and you know it’ and after we had sang it a few times the children were all joining in especially when we got to the words ‘We are’! We then asked them what made them happy and he are some of their replies;

‘playing with friends’

‘learning at school’

‘drawing’

‘reading and writing’

‘singing’

‘growing things in the garden’

‘the Christmas tree’

‘speaking in assembly’

Once again it was very helpful to have Father Vincent there because he translated for Mrs MacLauchlan and the children.

Can you remember the name of the Sponsor Student for your Year Group children?

Sathish is the student sponsored by the Reception Classes

Santhosh is the student sponsored by the Year 1 Classes

Aishwarya is the student sponsored by the Year 2 Classes

Saraskumar is Mrs MacLauchlan’s very own sponsor student

They were all pleased with the folders and they have promised to share them with their friends and their teacher said she will help them to learn more about Westfield Infant School.

The children were then very excited to show us round the hostel. They have a play area and they do some very adventurous things on the play area! Brumas also spotted that there was rather a lot of litter at the back of the play area so he picked up some litter to help. However the teacher explained that in India there is a big campaign to recycle but it is still very difficult to recycle as there are not yet any recycling bins and they do not have dustbin collections like we do.

The buildings around the hostel are like the school surrounded by trees which at this time of year provide shade. They also have a large garden area where they grow ground nuts, tomatoes and a lot of different vegetables which helps to feed everyone at the hostel. They get fruit from the fruit trees and a group of girls were very keen to show us a Christmas Tree they planted which is growing very well.

After looking round the hostel and grounds a group of pupils treated us to an informal dance performance. They looked very happy and the teacher explained that dancing is something they spend a lot of time doing together in the evening. The teacher uses her phone to provide the music they dance to.

Visit to Loyola Primary School

Tue 19 Feb 2019

The Primary School was a 10 minute drive away from the Secondary School and on the way we saw a lot of the villages the children live in with their families.

There are just over 100 children at the Primary School. The children start the school at 4 and they stay at the school until they are 11. Again there are trees surrounding the school that provide shade. The children also wanted to show us a parrot that was nesting in one of the trees next to where the children play. It was very high up so you will have to look carefully at the photographs to see if you can spot it!

The youngest children were very excited to see Brumas and he looked at their work. The children learn the letter names Aa Bb Cc and even the youngest children can recite the alphabet using letter names but they do not know any of the sounds. They sang the alphabet using letter names and Mrs MacLauchlan sang it to them using sounds. The teacher of the 4 year old children (like our Reception classes) was very interested to know how to make phonic sounds to sound out the words.

The youngest children are in classrooms on the ground floor and the older children go upstairs to their classrooms.

The youngest children who are like our R, Year 1 and Year 2 pupils have classrooms but if you look at the photographs you will see a big difference to Classes 1, 2 and 3 at Westfield Infant School. They do not have any furniture!

When we went upstairs we saw the older children and one of the classrooms had a plaque explaining that it had been provided by fund raising from the Nevett Fund.

At the end of the school day the children all meet for an assembly and they sing the Indian National Anthem. The flag was then lowered by one of the children and most of them then walked home. A few of the younger children were collected by their parents on bikes and motorbikes but most of them walked carrying very big bags! Brumas noticed that some of the bags were almost as big as the children! One of the teachers walked back to the Hostel with the children who live there.

After the children had all gone home the Headteacher showed us where she lives which is in a house in the school grounds! Mrs MacLauchlan thinks this is a very good idea. The Headteacher lives there with 3 other Sisters and they had prepared a some very tasty food. There was some Indian Jelly made out of wheat called Halwa, a very sweet fudge called Mohanthal that Father Dominic loved and a special lemon drink that is good for your digestion. They also had a big bowl of Plaintain which are small bananas and grow in the grounds of the school.

The Sisters were very keen to show us their garden where they grow a lot of vegetables and flowers. They all love roses and wanted us to smell the scent of their favourite roses.

We left a big bag of treats for the children to have and some special pens with the details of Westfield Infant School on. Father Dominic was pleased that our bags are getting lighter now.

Visiting Loyola HR Secondary School

Mon 18 Feb 2019 Mrs MacLauchlan

It was great to see Father Dominic again and he kindly took us to Loyola HR Secondary School. It took about 2 hours from Chennai with a stop on the way for a drink of coconut milk which was very refreshing.

When we got to the school we were greeted by lots of students smiling and waving. They all looked very happy and a lot of them were studying outside under the trees to keep cool.

The School has over 1,000 students from 11 - 18 years old and is run by the Headmaster and seven Jesuits who all live at the school. There are also a number of teachers and a student from Germany. Every year they have a student and this year the successful applicant was Simara who will be at the school until June. So far she has enjoyed the weather as it has been like summer in Germany. However it is now getting warmer by the day and apparently it continues to warm up until June when it reaches the hottest time of the year.

Father Dominic was very pleased to show us round the grounds as he taught at the school for 2 years between 2005 and 2007. He was particularly pleased to show us the palm trees he planted which have now grown and formed a lovely display along the drive leading up to the school. He also worked on a project to install outside lighting which is very important as it gets dark by 6.00 p.m. even in the summer.

During the tour of the school Brumas noticed that most of the trees were labelled and the students were able to tell us about each tree. We thought that was a very good idea and we will be sharing this with Mrs Leeson and Mrs Guest.

The students were keen to tell us about the Neem Tree which is common in the area of Tamil Nadal. If there is illness in the family the leaves from the Neem Tree are often put outside the house because it is thought that the leaves will help people to get better. The students also explained how important the Peepul Tree is. It is often planted outside Temples and everyone shows great respect for this tree.

Trees are very important because they provide shade around the school campus and some of them also provide fruit for everyone to eat. The staff are very proud of the fruit garden and guess what children? They had Mango Trees which as you know is Mrs MacLauchlan's favourite fruit! We also saw bananas and plantain growing which is like a savoury banana. The other interesting fruit was a Sapodilla Fruit which is also known as a Mud Apple. It is very sweet and is a bit like eating toffee!

The students were keen to tell us that over time they have planter 4,000 saplings around a local lake to try and improve the environment for local families and the teachers encourage the students tot talk to their families about nature and caring for the environment. They also have a system of composting like we do at Westfield Infant School so all the fruit and vegetable skins and peel is collected by the students and put in a big bin that turns into compost for the garden area.

As well as seeing the classrooms we also saw the Hostels where some of the students sleep. There is a Hostel for the boys and there are currently over 100 boys who live there. On the other side of the campus is a hostel for the girls. This is where Simara is staying. She showed us some photographs from 10 years ago and there were up to 200 girls living at the hostel. There are currently only 37 girls so they have got plenty of room!

All the students have jobs to do everyday. They have to do their own washing, cleaning and they also work long hours studying. Those students who live in the hostels were still studying at 7.00 p.m .

Father Dominic explained that the students learn English from when they are at Primary School but they do a lot of writing and reading and he finds that they do not always understand or speak English very well. Father Dominic asked Mrs MacLauchlan to test out the students understanding of English. Can you imagine what a difficult start it was when they had to say 'Hello Mrs MacLauchlan'

We then met a representative group of students including K Santhosh who was very pleased to receive a parcel from Margaret his sponsor in Hinckley. The students were interested in the book all about Westfield Infant School and with the help of Father Vincent we managed to understand each other!

Mrs Leeson had asked us to find out what makes the students happy and here are some of their answers;

'Trees and Plants make me happy'

'Learning English makes me happy'

'Happy to be with my friends'

'Happy in the garden'

'Happy to learn at school'

'Happy when I make my friend happy'

'Happy when I have a lot of friends'

They were very polite students and they told Father Vincent that they were happy to see visitors which was very nice to hear!

For a small number of the students who live in the hostel it is their home because they are orphans. That means they do not have a family that they can go and stay with during the school holiday. Brumas was very pleased to know that those students are looked after very well . Simara explained that she had stayed at the school over Christmas and they all had a lot of fun together.

Meeting up with former pupil and his family

Sun 17 Feb 2019 Mrs MacLauchlan

Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas had an unexpected surprise when they were able to arrange to meet up with a former pupil from Westfield Infant School and his family. As you can see from the photographs Mrs MacLauchlan was able to test one of the folders out that are ready to tell the sponsor students all about Westfield Infant School!

Brumas also gave the family one of the Westfield Infant School Calendars and a pen! His luggage is now a little lighter.

Mrs Leeson has asked us to find out what makes children happy in India and the answer this time was 'Playing Tennis'. Mrs MacLauchlan was very impressed to know that he is so dedicated he has a tennis lesson at 6.30 a.m. before a day at school!

Mrs MacLauchlan has now got a letter to look after for the rest of the trip and she has promised to read it out in assembly after half term.

Brumas and Mrs MacLauchlan have arrived in Chennai, India!

Sun 17 Feb 2019 Mrs MacLauchlan

Brumas and Mrs MacLauchlan travelled to Heathrow Airport on Saturday and spent the rest of the day on a plane travelling to India. The flight was delayed by 45 minutes because some of the luggage had not arrived to be loaded onto the plane. Brumas was worried that it was his luggage that was missing! As you can see from the photos - Brumas does not travel lightly!

The plane left London at 3.00 p.m. (UK time) and arrived at Chennai airport at 6.00 a.m. (Chennai time). Brumas has got to remember that Chennai time is 5 and half hours ahead of U.K. time.This means that Mrs MacLauchlan and Brumas have missed a nights sleep which is why they look so tired on the photograph at Chennai airport.

Even though it was very early in the morning the airport and the roads were very busy and the mosquitoes were also ready to welcome us!

Sunday is a day for resting and we are looking forward to seeing Father Dominic on Monday and going to meet our sponsor students.