The First Day of Summer

When I was a kid, I couldn’t wait for summer to roll around. Summer meant swimming, playing outside, ice cream cones at the ice cream stand… It was my favourite season.

The first day of summer occurred last week, and, with it, new traditions (for me). At my school, and many of the schools in my area, it’s a tradition for the teachers to dress up like the learners. Along with Mr. Thwala, I donned my school’s colours – grey and white – and borrowed a tie from one of my learners. The learners got a big kick out of our appearance.

Mr. Thwala and I dressed as learners.

The learners were allowed to dress casually, which meant that they dressed to impress. Mr. Thwala went so far as to allow the learners in his Grade 7 Maths class to teach the class. One brave learner volunteered. It was cute when her classmates greeted her like she was the real deal.

A Bunch of Learners Dressed to Impress

On this day a year ago, we were living in a different part of the province and they had different traditions regarding the start of summer. One involved water. Michelle and I had to dodge buckets of water while we walked home from Peace Corps training.

Thinking about next year, I told one of the male teachers at my school that we should dress up like female learners by wearing skirts. In a place with strict gender norms, it might take some convincing; but it’s worth a try.

What are your traditions for the first day of summer?

My Grade 5 English Class singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole at Assembly