Time for good news: The government has decided to reopen the schools, under certain conditions. And Nyenga has got a new resident on four legs.

Let us introduce you to the latest arrival: the calf Rolf Safari. He eats well, grows fast and thrives with the children around him. They think a small calf is an event. Several of them have daily been involved in the care of the cows and pigs for the past year without schooling. Now the school is reopening, gradually.

The presidential election is over, the opposition candidate has been released from house arrest. The government recently decided to open primary schools. They have been closed since March last year, with the exception of the 7th grade which started again in October. Last year’s 6th grade can start now. The rest of the school can be reopened after Easter when the 7th grade finishes the exam. Corona infection must be prevented by e.g., to keep their distance and that everyone, all the way down to the 6-year-olds, must wear a face mask. The authorities say they will send inspectors to ensure that the so-called SOP procedures are followed. The kindergarten is not allowed to open, on the grounds that the little ones are not able to follow infection control rules.

Group size in relation to space available will be a challenge for us. We have long wanted to have more outdoor school. The goal is to be able to use our agricultural area as a learning arena in various subjects and at the same time give the children skills in agriculture that they will benefit from later in life. This is a golden opportunity! And who knows, maybe Rolf Safari will suddenly become a teaching assistant.

The authorities assume that the students have had self-study in the last year, e.g. using available digital teaching materials. Very few of our students have access to electricity at home, at least not data. This applies to a large proportion of the student body in the country. We must probably assume that a school year has been lost and continue where we left off in March last year. But now we can finally plan for start-up and get started again! And as a private school, we have the opportunity to make certain decisions of our own within the public framework we work.

Let’s get started!