Thursday, October 16, 2008

Gems Holiday Program

Though the holidays have passed awhile ago and the new semester has begun, there are some wonderful pictures and stories to share regarding the Holiday Program that was prepared by Gems International School for the students. The theme for the 6-week program from 21 July to 29 August was "Explore the World Around Us." The kids enjoyed as much as the teachers and here are some pictures to share:

We visited the Emergency Hospital (it specializes in orthopedic treatment) and the children had a brief introduction to the hospital environment, with the doctors, nurses and patients. The older children had the opportunity to visit the children's ward, where they interacted with the patients and gave them a hand-made gift each.

We also managed to visit the Provincial Museum that had relics from the Angkorian days. Among the exhibits were statues of Upsara dancers, nagas, giants and Buddha, classical music instruments, and tools used in ancient Khmer times.

The children particularly enjoyed the visit to the Phare Ponleu Selpak Organization. This NGO assists local children learning artistic skills such as painting, traditional music and dancing, and especially acrobatics! We had the opportunity of witnessing a few children practicing their circus acts, an animated story about drinking clean water (prepared by the film and animations department), as well as girls practicing their dances.

Here are what some of our teachers had to say about this program:

"When we first started preparing this program, I wouldn't believe I could go to the different offices and inquire about the possibility of a visit. I was so afraid but now, I have experience and I realized that in doing things, we must not be restricted by feeling less of ourselves. I have more confidence now." (Ms. Ouern Lum Orng)


"Our schools never had such activities and therefore, we have become afraid of new things and going to new places for fear that we don’t belong there. These children will not feel fear when they are older because they have been exposed to these places." (Mr. Pheng Sareth)