CRS News

Principal Isaac Phillips comments:

“Thanks to Mama Ruth for making it possible for the starving and less fortunate children to have a hope, have a nice meal while at school learning. Having food at school has enabled many more children to attend. Their families rest in peace that their children are being fed each day. This helps them concentrate in class and brings a smile to their faces.  My greatest thanks go to all the wonderful donors, sponsors and the members of the FRIENDS OF CRS. You have not just put food on the table, neither have you just provided low cost education, but you have made the hopeless to have hope in the future, the neglected ones to be cared for and the useless to now be counted among the useful.”

The Voice of CRS is a press club that has over the years been very much essential to the pupils of CRS. With the help of the club, pupils and teachers have always been informed on what goes on around them on the campus, the community and the world over. The Voice of CRS  news is broadcast on every Wednesdays. The club is under the watchful eyes of two teachers. These teachers aid the pupils in the editing and the writing out of the news.

With this, CRS has encouraged a great number of pupils to develop interest in journalism, to be out spoken and to develop skills in public reading, information gathering, editing and the presentation of facts. It was by the help of he press club members, that CRS emerged victorious in the interschool debating competition held on the campus of Tongi International School.   For now the voice of CRS has about 17 effective school journalists who are divided into three groups.

• There are those conducting interview with school administrators, teachers and pupils ( their friend )
• Few of them are editing and writing out the news 
• Broadcasting the news to the school during assembly is done by others.

The voice of CRS is determined to help  pupils to get an insight in their field of interest.
This is done by conducting interviews with teachers on some professions and them explaining to the rest of the pupils. The press club is playing a vital roll in the Literary and Debating Society of which it is a part.

Regardless of its success and importance, the press club is encountering series of problems among which are:

• The lack of a tape recorder to conduct effective interview
• The lack of microphones and speakers to enable broadcast its news effectively
• The lack of fund to conduct workshops where pupils could be trained in journalism

The debate was organised by an English school called Tongil International.. It was the first inter school debate to be held here in Conakry. Participating schools were The Conakry Refugee School, Nelson Mandela English Academy, Sabu International and the host school Tongil International. CRS was involved maybe, because it is the oldest English school in Conakry or due to its wide spread popularity.

CRS debated against Sabu International on the topic CO EDUCATION SHOULD BE ABOLISHED IN SECONDARY SCHOOLS. CRS was supporting the motion. Sabu International was defeated by CRS 12 pts to   8pts. The other competition was between Nelson Mandela and the host Tongil International. They debated on the topic SCIENCE HAS DONE MORE HARM THAN GOOD.  Nelson Mandela was defeated. Thus the grand final was between CRS and Tongil International, the host school on their own campus. They debated on the topic THE PLACE OF A WOMAN IS IN THE KITCHEN.  CRS emerged victorious with 21 pts and 19 pts for Tongil.
 
Actually is has not been an annual event. But since it was done peacefully and now schools have become motivated and have created the awareness, it could maybe be held annually. CRS is planning to organise similar program with in the month of April this time with about eight schools for about a day or two.

Usually the English schools here in Conakry played one another in series of friendly football (male and female) and some times volleyball matches.  School organised athletics meet among their students and invite other schools for invitation relay. Last Friday our girls emerged winner among five school in an invitation relay organised by Nelson Mandela English Academy.  CRS organised its sporting activities by inviting other English schools in friendly matches and invitation relays. There is no major sporting tournament among schools.

The schools are mostly English schools. Some times Guinean school but they are the one who are to invite us and it has to be one of the schools that are in the community with CRS. We usually  don’t invite them because they are very difficult to deal with.. 

Yes, all of the English schools here have games and sports. Infact, for us the English schools in Guinea; we consider sports as part of the learning process. We normally take up about two weeks and devote it purposely to sporting activities.

This week is our sport week. Since Monday we have been having series of football (boy and  girls) games. Friday is going to be volleyball among the four colours boys and girls). The school is divided into four colours, RED. BLUE. GREEN and YELLOW. On Saturday will be the athletics meet among the four colours. Last year Green House called Ruth and Mark House was the winner with Yellow House called Alhaji Kamara House coming second.

Teams are not able to buy their own sport wears. They are costly. For now the school has only two sport wears one of which is the red one you brought from England in 2007. What is normally done here is to rent the sport wear from local football clubs. Thai is why you can see different sport wear on the photos.

We managed with in the mega resources to run all the sporting programs with in the year. Sometimes, students make extra contribution to assist mainly to buy water and food during and after games. They is no standing funds or sponsors. All is done from the registration fees.

As soon as we get back on campus on Monday, members of the press club will write articles on the debate, sports and campus activities.  They have been covering all programs interviewing students as well as staff. Writing auricles to you have always been their wish.