Field trips play a very important part of the Jofi School pupil’s lives. Many of them have never been more than a mile or two from the school before. Each class visits a different place each year throughout their time at Jofi. The field trips are designed to be educational and cover topics related to the age and learning ability of the child.
The pupils from Nursery years 1, 2, and 3 each spent a day at Luigi’s Hotel, they got to play in the pool, sleep on the beds. Learn the different appliances in the rooms. They all had a tour of the kitchen and years 2 and 3 also got to make their own pizza for lunch too!
Grade 1 visited Banjul International Airport and the Horse and Donkey Trust. They first were taken on a tour of the airport and got to see how the passengers are screened before travelling and how the luggage is checked and x-rayed before departure. The next stop was to the Horse and Donkey Trust. The object of the tour is for them to learn that animals need to be looked after as many children in The Gambia are fearful of them, especially dogs. By the end of the tour, they had learned not to run, and even how to approach and pet the animals.
Grade 2 visited Julie’s Farm, which is a micro farm. They learned how they can grow vegetables, how to identify different plants, shown the different farm animals, how they keep bees, how solar power cooking works, and even how to play chess!
Grade 3 visited the National Assembly and the Banjul Museum. This is a very important and interesting place for them to visit, the children all had their questions ready when they visited the National Assembly.
Grade 4 visited the Reptile Farm and Tanji Museum. All the children wanted to see the snakes and to HOLD THEM! Grade 4 were so well behaved on this visit that they were the only school children who were allowed to go and see the baby hyena.
Grade 5 visited the War Cemetery, Batik Factory, and Katchikally crocodile pool, they were shown the art of tie and dye and wax cloth printing. Then we went to the sacred site of Katchikally where the crocodile pool is, they learned how the pool came about and got a very close view of the crocodiles.
Grade 6 went on an overnight excursion (for the first time!) up country to Janjanbureh. The first stop was the Wassu Stone Circles, an historical site that dates back over 1500 years. From excavations, some iron age armour was discovered, leading them to believe that it was an ancient burial site. From there, they went by boat for four hours on the river to Janjanbureh where they saw hippos! Everyone spent the night at Janjanbureh camp. The Camp is very basic, no electricity and very little running water, but everyone enjoyed the experience, and the place is very serene, apart from the monkeys, who are constantly trying to steal the food. The children thought it was great fun and shared half their dinners with them.
The next day, everyone crossed by ferry to the island where slaves had been held. The local historian was very knowledgeable and had a unique way of narrating tales of the slave trade while drumming. His storytelling kept the children completely absorbed and focused on every word. The excursion was an incredible experience for them to travel and to learn about the history of their ancestors.
