NewsField notes
Three schools, one morning, and the questions we did not expect
The team was on the road before six to run puberty sessions in three schools before the end of the day. Here is what we covered, what was in the question box, and the one thing we got wrong.
The first outreach of a term is always the busiest one. Three schools had been waiting since the holidays, and every one of them wanted the session before exams rather than after.
We ran separate sessions for the girls and the boys at all three. The girls covered what a period is, what is normal and what is not, and which symptoms mean seeing a clinician rather than waiting it out. The boys covered the same biology, which surprises people who assume otherwise, and why the teasing matters. Every session ended with the question box.
The thing we got wrong was the timing. Arriving mid-morning meant lessons stopped while we set up, which is not fair on the teachers. From next term the van leaves earlier and the hall is ready before the school day opens. As for the box, most of the slips were about pain, and enough of them described the same thing that we have asked the district clinic to send somebody with us next time.