The Library at St Michael’s
Fiona, one of our trustees, started the building of the Library at St Michael’s in 2002. The Library was completed in 2007. We subsequently arranged for over 5,000 books to be shipped out from the UK to stock the Library.
As English is not the pupils’ first language, it is important that the whole school community has access to English reading materials for all levels of reading. All Ugandan national exams are in English.
Since 2020 we have been focusing all our efforts on all additional books for the library being culturally appropriate with strong African themes and content, as well as books in their local languages.
Dedicated Librarian
St Francis School in Pewsey, Wiltshire kindly helps us to fund the salary of Sharon, the school’s Librarian. Sharon is a graduate in Library and Information Science from Makerere University in Kampala. She ensures that the library is kept in good order, as well as supporting the girls with their reading and running reading groups, editing the school magazine and organising many other reading and spelling related activities.
African Storybooks
We have been remote training Sharon on how to access e-books and we are delighted that she can now download African storybooks onto her smartphone and share with the girls back at school. We absolutely love African Storybooks, a South African NGO offering open access to picture storybooks in the languages of Africa (227 languages!!). Do check them out - they are an inspiration to everyone who is involved in supporting culturally appropriate literacy in Africa www.africanstorybook.org
Long term we plan to do more with e-readers and African Storybooks.
Spelling Bee
There is a National Spelling Bee Competition in Uganda - We are really proud that St. Michael’s girls do so well in this annual competition. Since entering for the first time in 2017 we have already had 4 finalists at the National Level and 1 finalist going forward to the East African Final. There is huge excitement at the school and in the village that girls from St. Michael’s are good enough to make it through the rounds of this tough competition. This is really empowering for all the girls, and there is a real buzz around the school for weeks.
Your donations can help us to fund:
The purchase of local books printed in English and Lusoga
The participation of pupils in local debating trips, reading & poetry competitions and National Spelling Bee competitions
The ongoing Phonics workshops for staff at St Michael’s
More e-readers
Benefits of the Library
Improving English Skills
A small amount of reading for each child does wonders for the pupils’ English understanding.
A relaxed environment
This is a place that can be used anytime, and is perfect for the weekends when the children have no lessons.
A dedicated Librarian
The pupils can practice their reading and have regular access to the Library.
Learning outside the classroom
The library is very easily accessible, and provides a great opportunity for extra education.
Board games
These games are able to help with various skills, especially numeracy. Snakes and Ladders is a favourite!