Director's Corner

*Last year’s socially-distanced school picture. The pandemic has required flexibility and creativity to keep learning moving forward despite challenging circumstances*

Our 2021-22 school year began on Aug. 25th with a continuation of in-person learning at VVA. We are grateful to be in one of the countries of the world that has had consistent and courageous leadership to safeguard people from the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of this, VVA was one of the few schools in the world that was able to have in-person classes for most of the 20-21 school year. What a blessing! Rwanda continues to be a leader in Africa in vaccinations nearing 4 million first-doses administered representing almost one-third of the population.

We just reached the end of our first instructional quarter and were blessed to welcome VVA parents for teacher/parent conferences. We are grateful for the growing sense of parnership with our parents as we work together to support our students! In other exciting news, construction has begun on a new chapel designed by VVA alumni Asher Miller (’21). Asher is using innovative construction techniques that incorporate recycling and the use materials often discarded in other projects. The chapel is designed for small groups to use for devotionals, Bible classes, prayer, and meditation. If any parents or visitors would like to visit the construction site, please let us know and we will be glad to give you a tour!

Finally, I am excited to announce the theme for the year developed by our Student Service Council. The them is “I AM” and focuses both on who God is and who we are because of Him. This theme is shaping our devotionals, assemblies, and even some of our house challenges this year, and helping us all come to a deeper understanding of the nature of God and our identity in Jesus.

Blessings in Christ,

Dr. Matt

The COVID-19 pandemic has created an unparalleled time of challenge for global education. The first case of Coronavirus was registered in Rwanda on March 13. Within a week, the Rwandan government made the prudent decision to close all churches and schools, a precursor to a broad lockdown that is credited with limiting the spread of the virus to under 300 cases with no fatalities so far. With that announcement that schools would be closing, our teaching and admin staff immediately began planning for how we could best continue to support our students’ learning from home. While many schools around the world have opted for on-line classes, we felt this solution would not be an equitable fit for our school community.

Ms. Andrea at her home teaching table

Sending graded work back to students using WhatsApp

What has emerged is an approached based on the delivery of hard-copy materials that have, depending on the guidelines of the government, been delivered or picked up by families every two weeks, followed by support via WhatsApp videos and pictures, phone calls and home visits as the lockdown has eased. I am amazed at the hard work and persistence of our teaching staff and the way that our parents have stepped up to help their students at home. While nothing can replace the face to face interaction of the classroom, I am very happy with the progress that our students have been able to make during this challenging time. It is an honor to be leading such an amazing community of learning, and we are eagerly anticipating the time when our school can gather again with the start of the 2020-21 school year in September!

Director’s Corner: 2021-22 School Year Off to a Great Start!

Director’s Corner-Overcoming Disrupted Learning

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