TYS NEWSLETTER 2022
The Trinity Yard School (TYS) educates and empowers the children of Cape Three Points by providing tuition-free secondary education and career training. Our core mission is to develop the potential of young Ghanaians by expanding their educational opportunities. This is achieved with four program offerings: The Bridge Program, Career Development, After School and Community Literacy.
All TYS programs are now fully operational as of January 2022, and we are excited to share our progress and newest initiatives. The school now serves more than 160 students from three villages and employs 14 local Ghanaians. This past year, we have witnessed the long-term impact of our mission with established alumni returning to serve the students and greater community.
The Bridge Program
Our day school is a two-year program providing a tuition-free secondary education with a focus on the core subjects of English, Reading, Math, Science and traditional Arts.
Career Development
Our career development program helps our students build their futures through individualized career counseling, senior high school and vocational funding, and apprenticeship placements.
After School Program
The after school program serves local students in 5th and 6th grade, offering workshops in performing Arts, Music, and Science, with a focus on English, Reading, and Writing. Due to an increase in demand for the program, we are doubling our capacity and will include 3rd and 4th graders. In 2022 we expect to serve and feed 150 students per week.
Community Literacy
Our library is home to thousands of books and is accessible to the entire community. We provide several early reading programs to encourage the students to gain an appreciation for reading in a supportive atmosphere.
Bridge Program Students 2022
Meet our newest Bridge Program class, which includes 24 students from the three coastal villages of Akwiddea, Ketakor, and Cape Three Points. Over the past year, TYS has offered daily classes in ESL, Global Studies, Science, Math, and Kente weaving. Teachers from Austria, the United States, Brazil, and Ghana have delivered academic material in three levels for each subject, including our Green Day, focusing on practical sustainable farming techniques. It shows great determination and sacrifice to pursue an education in the conditions presented to many of the youth who attend TYS. Rain or shine, our students arrive to learn, and we are proud to report they have set a school record for the best attendance of any class thus far.M
TYS Snap-shot
It’s nearly impossible to describe the diversity and impact of the daily offerings of TYS in one newsletter. To offer a visual snapshot of what goes on, imagine: waking up to birds, greeting a global community of teachers and local staff, making bread, feeding chickens, ducks, tilapia, and rabbits, watering our vast gardens, walking up to the school passing the diverse orchards, finding our students arriving on bikes, teachers offering lessons, cooks preparing for lunch, looms being woven, sewing students measuring and sewing, the cultural group singing and learning new dances, bees swarming their hives, students out in the fields, after-school students eating, reading, writing, and laughing, surf club members paddling out in the waves, soccer balls passed in practice. What has been established at TYS is a vibrant part of the community, supporting families and inspiring the youth to seek knowledge.
Surfing Club
We are honored to reintroduce surfing to a culture that founded the very practice on wooden planks. Meet the brave TYS surf team, led by our very own alumni, Desmond, who first surfed his first wave on our beach six years ago. Training takes place three days a week, and when the conditions are rough, members learn about ding repair, water safety, and beach clean-ups. Students love the surfing program; in just 6 months of training, they are paddling into deeper-water point breaks that provide the better-shaped waves in the area.
Cultural Group
The cultural group has mastered fourteen dances and can perform four with student-led percussion. Our group of twelve students performs for local and regional rites of passage, funerals, and celebrations. During the past few months, our very own seamstress students, in their second year of training, have designed and created two beautiful costume sets for our performing group. Kingsford, a TYS alumnus and full time tailor is training our seamstress students. We believe involving TYS alumni at TYS builds confidence and strength in the community.
Soccer Program
Trinity Yard has worked hard improving the program with another TYS alumnus, Jupiter. Thanks to new training equipment we have expanded the technical training of the program. Our coaches, who lead the u-13, u-15, and u-17 teams, are motivated to improve upon our previous league result of 3rd place, which is impressive considering the regional competition. Before the start of the official league in March, training sessions take place four times weekly, with bimonthly preseason matches.
Sustainability
The farming initiative has expanded in three ways this past year: production, efficiency, and diversity. Our yield has almost doubled since last year, and the increased production of fruit and vegetables offers a reliable source of food for our kitchen. Serving more than 500 plates a week to sustain our students and staff, it is crucial from a sustainability standpoint that we produce a greater portion of our own food. Part of our success in yield was a direct result of a newly erected 1,000 liter poly tank to gravity irrigate and fertilize our vegetable beds with nutrient-rich water from the tilapia ponds. The recent purchase, along with new rabbits and 200 chickens, will bring our farm closer to providing for our consumption.
Get Involved
We invite you to Volunteer! Trinity Yard provides volunteers with the unique experience of living in the rural coastal villages of western Ghana, while serving the youth of Cape Three Points. Teaching at TYS is an opportunity to play a vital role in the development of our community and the lives of children.
Support Trinity Yard
Thank you for your unwavering support of these bright Ghanaian students and contributing in keeping this vision alive. A donation of any size will directly change the lives of the youth we serve and help us continue our work with the Cape Three Points community. The Trinity Yard School is an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization.
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