| Cove Annual Election Set for September General Meeting
The annual COVE Board Election will take place during the General Meeting on September 8th in the Father John Finnegan Center at St. Mary of Vernon in Vernon Hills, Il.
In May, the COVE Nominating Committee sent e-mails to members requesting suggestions and nominations for candidates. After further review and discussions with potential candidates, suggestions and courses of action were presented at the July COVE Board meeting. These included the approval of "term staggering" to ensure that multiple Board positions would not be simultaneously up for re-election during the same year.
Term staggering will apply to the newly elected Board members after the September elections, which include the Chair and Vice Chair positions, along with two additional Board positions. The nomination committee will meet once more with the COVE Board in August to review the proposed slate prior to the election at the September meeting.
COVE Nomination committee members are Dan Moore and Deann Mealey. Should you have any questions, please contact them for additional details.
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Mubiru Joel - Spotlight Student at COVE Primary School
From Richard Mugisha
 Mubiru Joel is a six year old sponsored child who presently attends Primary Grade One at the St. Jerome COVE Center. He lives in Kapeeka village with his mother, a house wife, and his older old brother.
While at home Joel helps his mother with domestic chores, such as sweeping the compound and house. Joel's mother relies on him to fetch water each day at the local bore hole, which is about half a kilometer from home.
Prior to receiving sponsorship from COVE, Joel studied at Kapeeka Junior School. Joel is now able to continue his education, as his placement in Kapeeka Junior School was only temporary. Joel's hard work and constant enthusiasm display his gratitude to COVE Alliance for giving him an opportunity to continue on with his education. As part of Joel's sponsorship, he receives all necessary scholastic materials, such as books, pencils, a school uniform, and a school bag. In addition, his sponsor's contributions have provided him with free medical care at the St. Jerome COVE Health Unit. He also receives his meals through St. Jerome COVE Primary School.
Based on the first term report, Joel already shows a significant improvement in his performance. Regarding hobbies, he shows great interest in music, dance and drama. However, Joel claims that after his studies, he would like to become a doctor.
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COVE Classrooms Full of Eager Minds, Joyful Attitudes
By Carolyn Reinertson
Carol Reinertson recently visited the St. Jerome campus in Uganda as part of the COVE Delegate's annual trip. Being that Carol is a substitute grade school teacher in the USA, COVE asked for her perspective on the students and the state of the classes being held at the St. Jerome COVE Center. The following is a reflection on her visit:
"We welcome you, our visitors!" sang 63 students as we approached COVE's St Jerome school. We indeed felt welcomed that Saturday, May 29th. For over an hour the children entertained us with song and dance, and it was clear they had rehearsed well!
After meeting the headmaster (principal), Joseph Lule, and teachers Helen Nakabembe (P1, or first grade) and Angela Atuhaire (P2 or second grade), we toured the classrooms. Children in P1 sit at tables while children in P2 have desks with lift-up tops. The P2 setup immediately reminded me of my one-room country school in Wisconsin.
Boarding facilities are common in African schools when children have to walk miles to and from school on unsafe roads. All but seven of our students live far away and therefore board at the St. Jerome COVE Center. Except for vacations, they stay at St. Jerome full time. The students are cared for by a matron (Scovia Kobusinye), the teachers, and each other. The matron resides in a small room between the boys and girls dormitories. She says that everyone's behavior is good. The dormitories are airy and lined with blue metal bunk beds. At the foot of the bunk beds is a small trunk that stores clothes and each child's small possessions. Mosquito nets drape each bed.
Everyone was delighted as we presented an enormous supply of shirts, pants and socks for Sunday wear as well as dozens of books, posters, and teaching aides. A major goal of ours on the trip was to help with painting the classrooms, and on June 1 our painting supplies arrived. That morning we began sanding, priming and painting. While we worked in the P2 classroom, Angela taught in the shade of the large mango tree. Occasionally she sent small groups to the door yelling, "Thank you, good job!" Boys and girls brought water and helped clean the paint rollers and brushes.
I observed a number of classes, including some led by Joseph, who teaches religion and music. In rural Uganda students do not have textbooks. Lessons are recited and repeated orally, and then copied from the board into composition books. Many poems and songs are memorized in English. Angela did a unit on insects. She taped a poster to the tree, which the children copied. They drew insects and labeled each animal. You could hear a pin drop-they worked so intently.
I was also impressed to see that in math the students were adding three digits and labeling numbers for place value. One morning, when Helen felt ill and went to the clinic, I substituted for her. I used posters I brought to teach color words with songs, explaining the unusual words as we read line by line. In no time everyone sang "R-E-D, red, R-E-D, red. I can spell red!" (to the tune of "Are you Sleeping Brother John"). All in all my impression of our fledgling school are positive. |
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For more information about COVE Alliance,
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Letter From a Sponsored Child | | |
Our vision is of a world of hopeful, responsible human beings who respect human dignity and are in a position to sustain themselves and their families in the future.
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For more information about COVE Alliance, contact:
(847) 438-4780
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