November 3 marked the last day of the final term of 2012 for Forms 1-3. They returned to school on Saturday, January 5, refreshed from holiday rest and relaxation with family and friends. Today, these now-Forms 2-4s begin the first classes of 2013 Term 1, and learn about a few new changes at Daraja, the aim of which is to “impressively improve their scores between terms,” explained Charles, Dean of Curriculum. Here is a look at the biggest changes taking place:

  • Parents’ Day – A result of a recent push by Kenya’s Minister of Education to increase parents’ involvements in their children’s education. The Parents’ Day at Daraja will be on January 19th, for the parents of Form 4s. “It’s a meeting to discuss the class – the academics, the changes for the class, and to challenge the parents to be preparing students for their life after Daraja. The parents need to hear that their students need to work hard,” explains Victoria, Deputy Principal.
  • Larger classrooms – Walls have been broken down between smaller classrooms to increase room size. There are now fewer classrooms – only six rooms – but now an entire Form can be taught in one room. “In the past we had two groups per Form; we feel that a group of 26 is more workable for a teacher – it’s giving more diversity in class. If a class is working in groups, you can have more groups than if there are only 13 students in a class,” explains Victoria.
  • Study hall – This will be more regulated. Before, girls were free to study where they chose; now, each Form will gather together in designated rooms each night from 7 to 9:30 p.m. and staff will make sure they’re sticking to task.
  • Class Teachers – Each Form will now have only one class teacher, as opposed to two. They are in charge of administrative duties for their class, like taking attendance, issuing textbooks, holding bi-monthly class meetings, etc. Form 2’s teacher is Crispus; Form 3’s is Mercy; and Form 4’s is James.
  • Family trees – Daraja has always had “families” of girls – groups of four, with one girl from each Form – but now there is a new addition: a teacher. Every student will be assigned to one teacher to whom they can turn for guidance. The teachers’ roles as mentors include monitoring their welfare and handling any grievances.
  • Office hours – Now, any students who receive a C- or lower will be required to attend two office hours a week with the teacher of that subject – on Wednesday from 4 to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 9 to 11 a.m.
  • Teachers and Matron on duty – There will be two teachers on duty each week, from Saturday to Friday. While there have been teachers on duty in the past, their role will now be heavily aided by the full-time Matron on Duty, Consolata (former Daraja cook). Stay tuned for a more in-depth look at Consolata’s new role.