A 22 year + partnership with Shipley
Highlighted during Super Saturday
Click on the title for an interesting 11.5 minute video about our sister school.
Brain Tree´s theme this year comes from the local language of Luganda. (Here is Teacher Jameel teaching us how to say it.)
Bulungi Bwansi literally means “for the good of the world or public” when directly translated to English. Bulungi Bwansi is both a belief and practice deeply rooted in Uganda’s culture, particularly Baganda tribe. It promotes the spirit of voluntary service above self, without any expectation of being rewarded.
Bulungi bwansi - better our world through community responsibility.
‘Bulungi’ can mean - good, great, fine, okay
‘bwansi’ can refer to the world, a country, or a community e.t.c.
‘better our world through community responsibility’ - for people’s, animals, environment welfare, etc.
Map of the World
United States
Uganda
A Closer Look
Who are students at Brain Tree?
Children from pre-K to 7th grade with
different backgrounds
-approx. 250+ students this year
-some without parents
-some whose families can pay tuition
-some who live in poverty and can´t
-whose 1st language (80+%) is not English
(There are 57 languages in Uganda.)
Here are pre-K and older students
Sports Day
Computer Classrooms
Main Hall under construction
Main Hall now
Celebrating!
Clean Water and a beautiful campus
Creating a Library
Library and mini-cultural museum
2021-22
-PK-1st grades have not attended school since March 2020 due to COVID and political unrest
-all other students have attended remotely for most of the same timeframe
-Many students do not have the connectivity or devices necessary to learn.
-Less than 2% of people in the country are vaccinated.
-There is a curfew every evening.
-All schools in Uganda are closed, on lockdown.
-Needs at the school are very basic: food, utilities, and salaries and professional development for teachers to manage Mental Health concerns of their students.
How does Shipley support Brain Tree?
2022-23
-Now the school has 250+ students at the school.
-Inflation has reached 100%, so costs are very high and incoming tuition has decreased as a result.
-Teacher salaries are frozen until the school brings in enough money to pay them.
-The school and its students grow enough food through agriculture to provide all of its corn, some vegetables and beans.
-Eli Liebowitz ran a Python program for students. They loved it.
-Srijan Velamuri is running a Chess Club on Tuesday mornings, with a lot of participation and excited students.
-Our LS´ horticultural program is working in partnership with BT´s thriving agricultural program.
Updated school information
Our partnership
Our partnership efforts in 2022: Our Python, Chess and Horticultural clubs and first grade reading exchange
Help us raise these funds around the time of Super Saturday.
And help us celebrate the school!
They’d like to teach us their gratitude clap. What a beautiful reminder to give thanks for the small, but important things in our lives.
The words are “asante sana wow”!
meaning *thank you very much*
Stand Up, Empty your Hands, and Let’s do it!
THANK YOU!
For listening and for the care in supporting our partnership with Brain Tree.
For more information, they have created a fabulous, updated video for us. Check it out here. (13.39 minutes)
A beautiful representation of the school with Head of School Martha Baka and many of their faculty and staff.
Trivia game - check the slides for the answers!
Points | Geography- Language | The School´s people | The School´s offerings |
100 | In which continent is Brain Tree Primary School? | Do they have high schoolers at the school? | Does the school have a chess club? |
200 | In what part of Africa is BT located? | How many students attend the school? | Name a recently updated part of the school. |
300 | How many languages are there in Uganda? | Students participate in growing what food on campus? | How do students access technology at the school? |