After-School Clinic

The after-school clinic was established shortly after the Monastery offered scholarships for children of the rural community. Once these children started attending school, it quickly became apparent they were significantly behind their classmates, thanks largely to 1) a lack of support back home, and 2) a lack of foundational education. The Brothers responded to this by 1) offering after-school tutoring, and 2) creating Holy Cross School for the younger children of the area.

This clinic used to be mandatory for all 40+ scholarship students, but it has since been scaled back. The Brothers are hopeful this clinic can be phased out entirely -that these “training wheels” of support will have served its purpose and no longer be needed. We are genuinely happy that fewer people are attending.


Here is a glimpse into clinic life last week:

Two girls came needing to research their favorite animal. We took the time to teach them how to look up information on a computer.

Recently, these two girls have only required basic technology-related help, such as printing pictures or copying worksheets. Going back to our ‘training wheels coming off’ theme, we have been quite happy to see them being proficient enough at the rest of their homework.

The next day: An older student, who is quite driven yet struggles with English, came in with an assignment from “Life Orientation” class that required applying for a hypothetical job. I wound up staying until 5pm guiding him on drafting a curriculum vitae (in South Africa, the term “CV” describes both what you might consider a CV and a resume).

Making a Rough Draft

Draft on left, example CV on right, and all-star CV being crafted onscreen.

Both these days were great examples of learning the actual material while simultaneously learning practical skills. Each of these students had to navigate basic computer programs to finish their assignment -a skill not easily practiced for those living in this rural area. For the boy specifically, he had to think critically about his work experience and skills, and how to succinctly summarize it.

Come Tuesday-Thursday afternoons, as we send the Holy Cross students home and wait for the older students to show up, we might see several students one day -the most I’ve had is 5- or we might have nobody (which doesn’t bother us at all :)). The clinic is on the ‘sunset’ of its time of service, but it is nevertheless encouraging to see it still serve a purpose, albeit in a much smaller role than before.

I hope you enjoyed this insight!

Have a blessed day.
-Cameron

Big Changes -and a day in Grade 1

Hello everyone,

Big news from the past few weeks:

Principal/priest/monk Br. Rob (a man of many hats) has been named Director of Formation for the entire monastic order. This means he will be moving back to West Park, NY come May. Everyone is excited about this development, albeit with a degree of sadness about seeing him leave South Africa. Rob first stepped foot in Grahamstown in 2004 and has provided counseling, stability, and stress-relieving comedy ever since.

Holy Cross School will be searching for a new principal, mostly likely someone who is native to South Africa and well-versed in education. The new principal is yet another way Holy Cross continues to evolve.

Br. Rob and I have already had numerous talks about the impending ‘new look’ of the school -new principal, continual growth of school staff, etc- and it is something to be excited about. I look forward to seeing it develop.

Let’s not get too ahead of ourselves, though :) Here is what happened this week:

Ash Wednesday
Principal/priest/monk extraordinaire Brother Rob (again, man of many hats) and monk/religion teacher/Xhosa-speaker extraordinaire Brother Josias (also lots of hats) organized a short midday service for students and staff.

Students were quite solemn and respectful.

Earlier that day, students from St. Andrew’s Preparatory School visited Holy Cross as part of their student-led outreach committee. Their presence was an instant hit :)

On to the next chapter of this post: A Day in Grade 1.

Our beginning classtime has been spent reviewing shapes, colors, and counting. Like most classes, this is a chance for me to practice my xhosa skills along with the students.

 

This class transitions to snacktime and playtime, where teachers take turns supervising outdoors.

After playtime is English class. Truth be told, our students were fairly advanced for their age before the year even began :)
I typically start this class by reviewing the day and month, and then proceed to a lesson.

“What day is it?” -Using our bulletin as an aid.

Identifying clothing

Taking an idea from Stephen Smith, I’ve also implemented ‘story time’ where students repeat each line after I say it. Both myself and the students have enjoyed it.

This leads to Xhosa Class.
Every day or so, we ‘introduce’ a new letter and make sure students learn correct spelling and pronunciation. To practice, students will write and say “lala”, “sasa”, and other basic letter combinations.

I’ve found myself thinking of “salsa” during this time. Ah, Mexican food…

Time permitting, we end with a story, and then leave. 

I’m a backup driver for one of our afternoon bus routes -and by ‘bus’, I mean ‘whatever vehicle is available’.
On Friday, with Principal/priest/monk/driver extraordinaire Brother Rob (another hat) busy in town, I was called up for duty.

 
I kidd you not, these children were ecstatic when I set up the 3rd row of seats. They also requested a CD which turned out to be Mozart. Imagine a car of children, happily buckled up, listening to classical music, and you have my Friday afternoon. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Congratulations! You have finished a day of grade 1. It changes each day -Religious Studies on Tuesdays, Art on Wednesdays, etc- and there’s quite a bit of flexibility in our teaching (such as extending a classtime when students seem engaged). The rest of my workday consists of the after-school clinic Tuesdays through Thursdays. Come Friday 2pm, I’m off for a weekend of R & R :)

I hope you enjoyed this insight!
Blessings,
-Cameron

Discernment Weekend

One year ago, I had the pleasure of attending the YASC Discernment weekend.

There are lots of memories from that brief weekend, including friendships, insights, and excitement about the future. Few weekends have molded the next step of my life as heavily as that one did.

If you are a young adult discernee hoping to learn about a placement, I invite you to email me any and all questions: cameroninafrica@gmail.com. I hope your discernment weekend was/is as blessed as ours was.

Have a blessed day!
In Christ,
-Cameron

Be Alone. Be Still. Be Thoughtful. -Life at a Monastery

“The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” -1 Kings 19:1-12

“When things get hard, the inclination is to do more. Work more hours. Demand more from others. In the short term, it feels great. Your brain rewards you for “doing more.” But when you look back, you’ll find you accomplished less. Instead, focus on addition by subtraction. Spend more time thinking, and less time doing. Be still. Be alone. Be thoughtful.”
                -Brent Beshore, 13 Little Things You're Doing to Sabotage Your Success


Life at the monastery is quite de-stimulating. In the words of a recent guest, “this is the perfect place to come and become human again” (I love that description). Words do not fully convey the experience, although this *might* give you some insight:

Prayers
If you hear church bells, it’s time for one of the prayer services. All guests are more than welcome, none are required.

Monastery Chapel

I’m particularly fond of noonday prayer, which entails 20 minutes of complete silence. It is a refreshing way to ‘give in to God’ and let yourself simply Be.

Quick highlight of the services:
6am -Vigils. An opening prayer followed by reading the appointed psalms and other passages.
8am -Lauds/Eucharist. Chanting of psalms, followed by communion.
12 -Noonday Prayer
5:30pm -Evening Prayer. Chanting of psalms and listening to the appointed readings.
7:15pm -Compline. Mostly sung, using the same familiar words found in compline across the globe. 

Come Sunday, the services are replaced by 6am sung vigils, 9am Eucharist, and 4:30pm Evening Prayer.

Come Monday, there are no prayer services at all. This is a day of rest for the community.


Scenery
I’ve said it before: The monastery is beautiful. Walking around affords you the following views:

Walking to the new labyrinth

Top of the property

Main entrance

Back porch of a guest house

Simply being here encourages you to be at peace.

I recommend you visit and experience firsthand what pictures only hint at. Until then, I hope you have enjoyed glimpsing into this peace-inducing lifestyle :)

“Our first task in approaching another people, another culture, another religion, is to take off our shoes. The place we are approaching is holy. Or else we find ourselves treading on men’s dreams. More, we may forget that God was here before our arrival.” -Clark Pinnock, Set Forth Your Case