Kuanzia Juni hadi Julai, shule yetu huwa na ratiba tofauti kwa sababu ya likizo ya katikati ya mwaka.

Because shule belongs to the N-class noun group in Swahili, and the possessive for our with that class is yetu. So:

• shule yetu = our school
• nyumba yetu = our house

You would use wetu with nouns in the wa- plural class, such as wanafunzi wetu = our students.

Because kuwa na is the common way to express to have in Swahili. So:

• huwa = usually is / usually happens
• huwa na = usually has

That is why shule yetu huwa na ratiba tofauti means our school usually has a different schedule.

In Swahili, descriptive words usually come after the noun they describe. So:

• ratiba tofauti = a different schedule
• literally: schedule different

Also, tofauti often stays in the same form instead of changing to match the noun.

It is built step by step like this:

• likizo = holiday / school break
• katikati = middle
• mwaka = year

So likizo ya katikati ya mwaka literally means holiday of the middle of the year, which is a natural Swahili way to say mid-year holiday.

They are doing two different jobs in linked noun phrases:

• kwa sababu ya likizo = because of the holiday
• likizo ya katikati ya mwaka = holiday of the middle of the year

So the first ya belongs to the expression kwa sababu ya, and the second ya links likizo to katikati ya mwaka. This kind of noun + ya + noun phrase structure is very common in Swahili.