Kep Gardens Blog
- STAFF TRAININGA reminder to Kep Gardens’ students that the new school year begins on Monday, 9th January. Your teachers look forward to seeing your happy faces once again. While you were on holiday, the staff were busy attending training sessions. The Playgroup teachers attended the last Kindergarten training week in Kampot while at Kep Gardens we held a Jolly Phonics training… Read more: STAFF TRAINING
- CERTIFICATESI am posting a random selection of students receiving a certificate from Kep Gardens. Unfortunately, we did not have time at our concert to present all students with a certificate. But I know parents love to see photos of their children, so here are a few.
- THANK YOU VERY MUCHThis year, many families have donated to Kep Gardens in a variety of ways. From masks and alcohol to help with Covid, drinks and food, stationery that teachers use every day, reams of paper which we use a lot of and money donations. All these donations help save money which we can use in other ways to benefit the students.… Read more: THANK YOU VERY MUCH
- SCHOOL CONCERTWow!! What a night!! A lot of excitement in the air. Loving parents coming to watch their children become stars. Children dressed up in their finest for the big night of the year. Yes, the Kep Gardens school concert for 2022. Thank you Martin Fisher for taking the photos. The lights on the stage make it very hard to take… Read more: SCHOOL CONCERT
- OLDER FOOTBALL TEAMAt Kep Gardens we are very proud of our older football team. They are part of a roundrobin football competition held at Dom Bosco. Why are we proud? They have no coach, no direction, they organize practices themselves, get to the competition themselves and although they are not winning, they are not doing too badly. It shows how much they… Read more: OLDER FOOTBALL TEAM
- SAVE THE OCEANForty-five of our morning students headed off to Seh Sor Market this morning to participate in Marine Conservation Cambodia’s Beach Clean, part of their Save the Ocean Programme. We cleaned up around the market and other volunteers cleaned up the banks of the river or estuary running alongside the market. Everyone worked hard and together with other volunteers collected 2… Read more: SAVE THE OCEAN
- Puthisastra UniversityEarlier this week, students from the University of Puthisastra in Phnom Penh, visited Kep Gardens to talk about oral hygiene. Thank you for spending time with our students and for the gifts they received. Thank you to the businesses in Phnom Penh who donated the goods for the gift packs that were given to the students. We enjoy hosting visitors… Read more: Puthisastra University
- Staff TrainingOur Playgroup and Kindergarten staff have been attending training courses throughout the year.
- DonationLast week a couple visited Kep Gardens to give us a donation from their sister and husband, Lakena and Kevin Fleck who live in the United States. Thank you very much for your kind donation and support of Kep Gardens. Thank you to Chariya and her husband who live in Kep for choosing Kep Gardens to receive the donation.
- VolunteersJust said goodbye to our first volunteers for 3 years. Suzanne and Florence from New Zealand have been travelling around Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia for the last 3 months, volunteering in various organizations. Thank you very much for your input with the students and your interaction with the staff was appreciated. It was great once again for our Reading and… Read more: Volunteers
- Sports DayAnd the winner is ….. THE GREEN TEAM ….. The school population is divided into 4 teams – yellow, red, green and blue. The last Sports Day we had was in 2019 before Covid, so the school community was excited to continue the tradition that Gaby, a Project Trust volunteer, had started. Kep Gardens held 3 Sports Days to ensure… Read more: Sports Day
- Art ClassesClasses 6 and 8 had a fun time last night making musical instruments and jewellery during their art class with Bettina Gebhardt. Imagination is a wonderful thing and we don’t always have a chance in day-to-day life to indulge our fantasies. What better way than an art class!
- First AidWhen the group of nurses from Phnom Penh spent a day last week at Kep Gardens reminding the younger students about hand washing and dental health, some of the nurses also spent time with older students showing and practising first aid. The students who attended were very interested. Thank you for introducing the students to something new for them. There… Read more: First Aid
- Book DonationHuge thanks to Phon Sreyleap, Phay Lina, Eam Mao, Lun Sroem, Long Vanika, Tep Tola, Phay Phanya and Sok Tann for their very generous donation to our library to buy Khmer story books that the children love. Rest assured, you couldn’t have donated to a more popular item for the school. Thank you so much. We greatly appreciate your support… Read more: Book Donation
- Personal HygieneA big thank you to Phon Sreyleap, Phay Lina, Eam Mao (nurses) and Phay Phanya who spent a day at Kep Gardens. They reminded the students of how important it is to keep their hands clean and how to clean them to make sure they reach all the areas where germs may be hiding. They also showed them the correct… Read more: Personal Hygiene
- Dengue Fever InformationSokomal Kep Clinic, held a parent workshop and spoke to Classes 5-9 on how to keep themselves and family safe from catching Dengue Fever. Cambodia recorded nearly 8,000 dengue fever cases in the first nine months of this year, a threefold jump compared to the same period last year. The disease mostly infected children who were under age five up… Read more: Dengue Fever Information
- Primary Aged Football TeamOur primary school aged students played a football match against Dom Bosco. Well done to both teams. The game ended up a draw 2-2. The goals for Kep Gardens were scored by Nhan Sophon and Phorn Phaneth and our goal keeper was Hok Seyha. Thank you very much to the coaches Kristoff Collignon and David Omnes from Kep Villa Guesthouse.… Read more: Primary Aged Football Team
- Registration for 2023Although we have a long waiting list, we are now taking names again for next year. Please note, names already on the waiting list will have first option. School is open 8.00-10.00 am and 2.00-8.15pm. Reach more people with this post You could reach up to 2,588 people daily by boosting your post for $14. See insights and ads Boost… Read more: Registration for 2023
- Road Rules – Driver TrainingThe Ministry of Public Works and Transport spent a night with our older students and many parents who also attended, revising the road rules in an attempt to reduce road accidents during the Pchum Ben celebrations. Many left happy with a new helmet after a question and answer session. Drive safely everyone, enjoy Pchum Ben.
- English CompetitionKep Gardens is very proud of our 7 contestants in the English Competition this year. All 7 were placed in the top 9 students. Congratulations, a job well done by you all. We are very happy and proud of your achievements. Reach more people with this post You could reach up to 2,532 people daily by boosting your post for… Read more: English Competition
- English CompetitionSunday saw the final meeting of the students who competed in the first English Competition organized by Keat Sarak and Uy Vuthy. Mr Kheng Yeon, the Governor of Kep City, announced the results of the competition. Congratulations to all the students who participated and to the students who were named in the top 9. By continuing to improve your English… Read more: English Competition
- Recycled Plastics CompetitionThe students’ competition for Term 3 was recycled plastic art. Playgroup and Kindergarten participated but they made their’s as a class project whereas all other classes were individual efforts. Thank you to Savvy and Brian from Kep Coffee for judging the primary school entries and to Bettina and Stephan for judging the high/secondary school entries. We understand it was very… Read more: Recycled Plastics Competition
- DonationYesterday was the last day of Term 3. Thank you very much to Khiem Bonthoen the father of Playgroup student, Khoem Chivorn who donated cans of fruit juice, bottled water and biscuits for his classmates to share.
- Wildlife Alliance Part 4The final section of the Wildlife Alliance Kouprey Express visit was the very popular study tour to Phnom Tamao. Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Centre is a government-owned facility set over 6,000 acres of regenerating forest. Wildlife Alliance animal hubandry specialists and verterinarians care for over 1,400 animals across more than 100 species. All of our high/secondary students headed off at… Read more: Wildlife Alliance Part 4
- Wildlife Alliance Part 3The third section of the visit by Wildlife Alliance Kouprey Express last week was the two parent workshops that were held. By holding parent workshops in the morning and the afternoon we cater to more parents by providing alternative time options to fit in with work commitments.
- Wildlife Alliance Part 2Yesterday when posting about Kouprey Express, the mobile education unit of Wildlife Alliance, we focused on the younger students. Today we will share photos of the older students and their workshops, remembering that these are the groups who also participated in the study tour of Phnom Tamao, many photos of which will be shared later.
- Wildlife Alliance Part 1Last week was a busy week at Kep Gardens. Wildlife Alliance, through their mobile educational unit, Kouprey Express, spent 3 days with us involving different groups of students, parents and a study tour. We will split this visit to show lots of photos for each section. We start with the younger students. The presenter had an excellent rapport with the… Read more: Wildlife Alliance Part 1
- Donations to CommunityThanks to Jenga House in Kampot and Bettina, Stephan, Michael Ritscher from Germany and Daniel Lakmay from Phnom Penh, we were able to offer men’s, women’s and children’s clothes plus a girl and boy’s bicycle to many needy families in the Kampong Tralach area in Kep.
- Kindergarten ActivitiesThe Kindergarten children made their own garden last week recycling plastic water bottles. Maybe your children at home could copy this idea and start their own garden. You don’t need spare land but can make an outside sitting area very pretty.
- English CompetitionSunday was the last of the three sections of the English competition, a short essay. The final result will be announced at Jardin Des Language Ayravady on Sunday, 18th September. One unexpected, but important aspect of this competition, was that most of the leaders and staff of the associations in Kep finally got to meet each other and learn what… Read more: English Competition
- Library ResearchNice to see the students using the library for research. Classes 5 and 6 spent time in the library yesterday to see who could find the most words that had the “oa” sound in them. Class 6 found 68. Wow!
- Health ChecksSince 2013 our students have received annual health checks at Sonya Kill Memorial Hospital which is managed by Hope Foundation. Covid interrupted these checks but we started again this year. The hospital is situated in a neighbouring province, Kampot. The health checks are provided free-of-charge by the hospital but we have to transport the students roughly 25 kms. They can… Read more: Health Checks
- Chalk artReception 2 has been learning English words about all sorts of insects and animals. On Friday they had fun drawing their favourite insects, with a few other animals thrown in, with chalk up in the shed.
- What do you do on a hot day?Stinking hot day today. What better way to keep cool than sitting quietly under a tree stringing pieces of papaya on a stick and then getting to eat your hard work!! Way to go Playgroup. Meanwhile, the Kindergarten class kept cool by quietly picking up gravel with chopsticks. A fun way to practice motor skills. No cheating now and using… Read more: What do you do on a hot day?
- CraftOur Playgroup has been busy pasting coloured paper onto cardboard to make flowers. Rorn Sovanarach liked the colour red for his flower. Kindergarten also made flowers.
- CookingRecently the Reception classes cooked with their teacher, Sokyin. Each class made something different. Reception 3 cooked a favourite of many people, fried noodles. Making me hungry just looking at it!! Reception 1 cooked dried bananas and Reception 2 made a fruit and vegetable juice using a blender. Very, very healthy. I had a taste and it was yummy! I… Read more: Cooking
- Art ClassesThe Kindergarten and Reception classes enjoyed their art classes with volunteer, Bettina Gebhardt, when it was their turn.
- Genocide EducationRecently, the genocide carried out in Cambodia during 1975-1979 was highlighted in four ways at Kep Gardens: 1) parent workshops 2) Grades 10,11 and 12 workshop 3) primary aged children speaking with a survivor 4) Classes 1, 2, 3 and 4 visiting Kampong Tralach Pagoda. Why is it necessary to remember such horrific and uncivilised behaviour? According to the Documentation… Read more: Genocide Education
- Khmer DancingOur Khmer dancing teams were invited to perform at the Kep Children’s 10th Year celebrations. What a great job they did and how very proud we are of them. Thank you to Tha, their teacher, for getting them to the point of being able to perform so well. They looked beautiful on the night thanks to Ly Bunary, the owner… Read more: Khmer Dancing
- Maths Study TripRecently, maths students in Grades 10, and 11 from Hun Sen Chamkar Dong High School spent all day at Kep Gardens on a maths field trip. This was organized by their teacher, Seng Chamnap, who did a great job organizing maths activities throughout the day. We enjoyed spending time with them all. Before they left they gave the school many… Read more: Maths Study Trip
- Art ClassesWe are very lucky at Kep Gardens to have Bettina Gebhardt visit Kep Gardens at least once a week, to give all students the chance to express themselves through art and craft activities. Bettina also donates the resources she uses. Thank you very much Bettina for your support of Kep Gardens and for helping the students to discover hidden talents.
- Khmer CultureLast week Keat spoke with Reception 2 about the clothes the people in the villages worn when she was younger. Some brought examples from home and gave a fashion show.
- English CompetitionThis morning 7 students from Kep Gardens headed off to MCS to compete in part 1 of an English competition organized by Keat Sarak and Uy Vuthy. This first section was Conversation so Martin Fisher, an Englishman, along with Vuthy were the examiners. Twenty-three children were chosen by the various NGOs and Associations to compete. Win or lose it is… Read more: English Competition
- We have finally found a football coachWe have finally found a football coach!!! Thank you very much to Kristoff Collignon and David Omnes from Kep Villa Hill Guesthouse who have kindly agreed to coach our younger students’ football team on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. I saw many happy faces when I watched from the sidelines recently.
- Art competitionIn second term we held an art competition where the students that wanted to, drew a picture. We then invited impartial, outside judges to choose a first, second and third in each class. This year we invited Bettina and Stephan to judge the competition. Thank you very much for accepting our invitation. The students presented some amazing pictures, many are… Read more: Art competition
- Donations for the CommunityBettina and Stephan Gebhardt, with help from their friends, regularly collect various items such as clothing, water filters, bags and bedding, some second hand, many brand new, and pass them onto Kep Gardens to distribute them to poorer families in the community. This weekend saw the third of such activities. Many familes went away happy with the goods they had… Read more: Donations for the Community
- Donations from the CommunityA big thank you to Thy Channy and Nem Chenda for donating 2 beautiful desks to Kep Gardens. At the moment we are using them in the classroom in the shed but will be moving them shortly to a better situation which such nice furniture deserves. Thank you, we appreciate your support of Kep Gardens. A big thank you to… Read more: Donations from the Community