The Motto for the Chrysalis School is "Spread your wings and Fly". Our focus is empowerment and we do not want to hold students back in any way. Teachers are advised to praise students, rather than criticise and corporal punishment is outlawed. Discipline is usually about losing benefits, not punishment.
In the curriculum, we offer the standard Ugandan Syllabus, including the core subject Political Education, which most senior schools fail to teach. All subjects are taught with the knowledge that students can research the subject using internet as there are computers available with 24 hr internet.
Four additional subjects are covered, one lesson per week - Ethics, Problem-solving, International Citizenship and Activism - which are instrumental in orientating the young people to be capable bringers of development to their villages. We have 9 teaching staff and each teacher focuses around something practical:
For example:
English - we do performance drama
Entrepreneurship - we run school businesses for melon farming, chick-rearing and liquid soap manufacture
Agriculture - our teacher doubles as the trainer for melon planting and nurturing
Biology - Field trips and Biodiversity experiments and training
Our school programme links closely with mostly fun holiday activities and these are designed to help our members learn to be leaders and solve problems that occur. Here is tthe Year 1 and Year 2 programme. See how they interlock:
|
Month |
Senior 1 |
Senior 2 and subsequent (mainly example activities for school) |
|
January |
Signing Registration forms |
Village-based entrepreneurship or development activity. For example, this could be a new fishfarm or tree-planting project. They will also instigate their main planting for the year in January. |
|
February |
Preparing for departure to school |
Term 1 starts |
|
March |
Term 1 starts Youth Conference – HIV/AIDS |
Entrepreneurship or agricultural visit |
|
April |
Visit to Entebbe Zoo – Biology Field Trip End of Term Exams |
End of Term exams |
|
May |
During first holiday, students will be introduced to the idea of running projects for their peers. They will then return home for ten days to implement their first planting. |
During first holiday, the members will peer mentor the Year 1 students, to help them establish their projects. They will then return home to supervise the harvesting of their crop. |
|
June |
Term 2 starts – marking this term will be continuous assessment |
Term 2 – marking this term will be continuous assessment |
|
July |
Visit to Source of the Nile – History Field Trip |
Meet MP for local area |
|
August |
During second holiday, students will return to supervise the harvest. They will also undertake activities for children in their home village and try to establish some peers in the village, who are similarly interested in being a social entrepreneur. |
It is planned that students will set up a Youth Office in Year 2, which will then gradually become established. This Office will conduct many activities for children, but offer drop-in counselling, ICT training, if a computer is available and other activities to suit the specific home area. |
|
September |
Term 3 – Beginning of term exams |
Term 3 – Beginning of term exams |
|
October |
Visit to Fish farm or sustainable forest project – Agriculture field trip |
Visit to Parliament to meet Youth Strategists |
|
November |
Introduction to Permaculture and Confidence-building week End of Term Exams and Reports |
Youth Conference – Positive Living |
|
December |
BREAK |
BREAK |