Dear Parent/Guardian,

Week Ten has come to the end and it has generally been calm.

Attendance Matters

Students who attend school on time and on a regular basis are more likely to  succeed. Having good attendance also creates a habit that can carry over into work later. Kindly ensure that your child is in school by 7:45am for form period, where pertinent class issues are addressed by the form tutor and to also organise their start of the school day.

Personal Property

Students are asked not to bring personal property of substantial value to school or bring large sums of money to school for any purpose. Students are assigned a    personal locker in school at the beginning of the school year. Students should only use the locker to which they are assigned and should not share lockers.

Uniform Expectation

Students and parents have settled and transitioned well into the routines of the new school uniform. However, it makes my heart sad to see the creeping back of lost property. I feel helpless when I see the new uniform in the lost property    without labels. I once again appeal to parents who never managed to label the uniform to do so urgently.

After School Activities

There are late buses provided to students so that they may take advantage of the activities and extra help opportunities that are available after school. Students who are staying after school for extra help with a teacher or for a school activity may take the bus that leaves at 5:00pm.

Many students who are not involved in any of the above activities often stay after school to “hang out” with friends. Those using school transport and by any chance have no after school activity, will not be allowed to use the late bus. If your child is not picked from the carpark after 3:45pm, please collect them from the designated waiting rooms. Years 10 to 13 wait from the Upper School and Years 7 to 9 wait from the Middle School.

Sports Day

Our sports day is now scheduled for Friday, 16^th November from 8:30 - 12:40pm. We hope that the weather holds so that the event can take place. We welcome you to come encourage our students as they compete. Let’s continue to show our positive support for all students who are involved in co-curricular activities.

Thank You

I sincerely continue to thank all parents for the support you are according to us as a school and our children in the area of home learning. Home learning activities must be completed throughout the week. Encourage the learners to make sure work is done and handed in for marking.

Wishing you a good weekend ahead.

Mr. Joel Ndung’u                                                             Mr. Wallen Nyamota

Deputy Headteacher - Pastoral                                     Headteacher

Dear Parent/Guardian,

We have come to the end of yet another busy week of school, week 9 of this term. I sincerely thank all of you who made time to come to school and meet the teachers during the teacher-parent consultations. Let us now work on motivating our children to improve on areas discussed during the consultations.

Year 10 Amboseli Trip

On Monday, 15^th October 2018, fifty six year ten students accompanied by five teachers set off for their annual trip to Kibo Safari Camp in Amboseli. This is what one of the students had to say;

‘‘The hotel had exceptional accommodation and served really good food. The activities we took part in were very engaging such as the water cup challenge where teams worked together to beat their counterparts. There was also water polo played in teams, as well as a number of mentally challenging games, which all stressed on the need to listen to one another, work with each other, and most of all have fun. We had a three-hour game drive, where we were privileged to see a whole pride of lions, a  herd of buffaloes,    giraffes, zebras, and many more wildlife. We also got a chance to see flamingoes at the Amboseli lake. It was all breathtaking.  The icing on the cake really was the visit to the Maasai village where we danced with the community members, as well as learnt how to light a fire without the use of a matchstick. Joshua I. made us proud by trying it out, with the guidance of the morans. We also got a chance to visit their maasai market right there in the    village. What a joy it was to see all the beautiful things that can be made from skins and beads. We would really wish to thank the teachers who  accompanied us for always listening to us and being there for us. We also wish to thank our parents and the school  administration for making it possible for us to have such an amazing time’’.  Estime G. Year 10N

Year 11 Mombasa Trip

Year 11 Geography, Environmental Management and Travel and Tourism students went for an educational trip to Mombasa during mid-term break and shared this.

‘‘While on the trip we carried out beach study, had a chance to study the corals in Watamu. We also learnt about the ecosystem in Haller Park and carried out pedestrian and traffic count in Mombasa. Our night classes and homework given thereafter helped us to understand what we learnt during the day. Overall, the trip was not only educative, it was also extremely fun and gave us an opportunity to bond!’’. Gurra E. Year 11K

Year 12 & 13 Savage Wilderness Trip

On Monday, 15^th October 2018 the Year 12 and 13 both A-level and B-tech students embarked on a trip to savage wilderness camp ground in Sagana and had this to say.

‘‘It was special and unique in more ways than one, working in randomly selected teams of 12 was very exciting and thrilling. We worked together, inspiring and motivating each other to conquer various activities such as wall climbing, low ropes, archery, stand up paddle board and others. My favorite activity was white water rafting, as the raft moved rapidly down the Tana River’s chaotic path, hurtling us between rocks and spinning us in all directions. It was important that we got to interact and have three days off academic pressure to enjoy ourselves. This trip without a doubt made us stronger and more united. Thank you to our Headteacher, Year Group Coordinator and the teachers who accompanied us’’. Nyasaina O. Year 12A

Wishing you a good weekend ahead.

Regards,

Ms. Rachel Yongo

Upper School Coordinator

Year 5 students had a successful trip to Stedmak Gardens (Animal & Snake Park), Karen Blixen Museum and Oloolua Nature Trail  on Wednesday, 24^th October 2018.

Some of the main topics the children are learning this term include Victorian Britain and Life Cycles of Animals.

The trip therefore gave the children an opportunity to enhance their understanding of these topics. Stedmak Gardens had different types of animals and birds.

At Karen Blixen Museum, children learnt the museum’s brief history as follows;

Built in 1912, Karen Blixen Museum was home to Danish Author, Poet and Artist - Karen Blixen.

Made famous by the Oscar Award winning film ‘Out of Africa’, based on Karen’s autobiography by the same title, the then farmhouse was established as a museum in 1986 by the National Museums of Kenya. Karen lived on the farm from 1917 to1931. The museum continues to captivate visitors inspired by Karen’s life story.

Year 5 Team

5^th to 7^th October 2018 was such an exciting time for the Sungura scouts (Year 2-6) as they attended the training camp at school. 

The camp was extra special for the new members of the troop as it was their first and had a lot of basics to learn.  The term one camp is also very important because it is a time to lay our ground rules and set new targets for the academic year.

All the scouts had an opportunity to take part in patrol activities, parades, learn scouting games and songs, interact with their peers and adult leaders in a different setting. Scouts Campfire ceremony in the last night of camp is a must because scouts get to learn the meaning of the camp fire, make presentations, dance around the fire and roast marsh-mellows.

Our final fun activity was the always anticipated treasure hunt. It had ten clues and the year 6 boys and girls ‘sixes’ found the treasure. Bravo!

Special thanks to parents for their continued support

Akela Luvai

Sample some of the children’s experiences below;

I liked it when Akela taught us how to make open fire and the balancing games. I loved the breakfast as it was very delicious. Adriana P.

What I liked about the camp is the activities like making fire, treasure hunt and sports. I learnt the scout promise and law. Baraka G.

My best part of the camp was when we roasted mash mellows in the fire. I also made new friends. Alexis M.

Scout camp was fun and cool. I learnt the promise and the law. I enjoyed roasting mash mellows and the activities like rolling the ball. Kanina K.

The camp was fun. I learnt how to make a fire and it was my first scout camp.

Maya N.

My experience in scouting was amazing. I liked the akelas’ way of teaching. The activities were quite good and I hope they don’t change. My favourite activity was when we were working for a badge (Nyota 2)..

Wanjiku M.

I enjoyed the scout camp as a new scout. I got to have more time with my friends. I enjoyed the activities like making fire. I learnt the scout promise, law and prayer.

Moses K.

Dear Parents/Guardians,

We have come to the end of the first half of the term. I sincerely take this  opportunity to thank you so much for your continued support and to our children.

Progress Reports

We will send you the progress report for your child(ren) in the course of next week. Kindly discuss with them on what worked well this half term and what they will need to do in the coming half of the term in order to improve.

Parents, Teachers Consultation Meetings

These meetings will take place immediately we come back from our half term break. Kindly plan to attend the meetings as we discuss the progress of your child with the subject teachers.

Sports Day

This Year’s Annual Sports Day will be held on Friday, 26^th October 2018.   Parents are invited and encouraged to attend to support and cheer our     children. We expect all parents to attend this year’s event.

Uniform Labelling and lost property section

I wish to reiterate the importance of labelling of the school uniform. This will help us reduce the number of items in the lost property section. The uniform must be labelled with two names for easy identification. I hope we will work together to eliminate the lost property in our school. We have in our custody the biggest consignment of lost items from last year. These items mostly, sweaters, fleece jackets and blazers will be donated to charity as they have remained unclaimed.

A Changing World – Children and Mental Health

This week on 10^th October we closed school to celebrate a national holiday. The world instead was marking a World Mental Health Day. This is a topic we shy off from discussing but I wish to share some information we all need know as we raise awareness among ourselves and  students. Adolescence and the early years of adulthood are a time of life when many changes occur in our children. These can also be times of stress and apprehension with so much peer pressure. In some cases, if not recognized and managed, these feelings can lead to mental illness. The use of technology has brought in many benefits but it has also brought in many additional challenges among our children. Young people living in such situations are vulnerable to mental distress and illness.

What you need to know, signs?

Depression is an illness characterised by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that your child normally enjoys, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities expected of them. In addition, there is a loss of     energy; a change in appetite and eating  habits; sleeping more or less; anxiety; reduced concentration; indecisiveness; restlessness; feelings of worthlessness; guilt or hopelessness; and thoughts of self-harm or suicide.

Age 14

Most of the mental health cases start at this age or sometimes early. Unfortunately, most of these cases are   never detected and remain untreated, depression being a leading cause which often lead to children to start  exhibiting behaviour such as listed above. Drugs and alcohol among adolescents leads to risky behaviour such as unsafe sex and dangerous driving.

What next?

With this recognition, there is need to help young people to build mental resilience from early ages in order to cope with the challenges of the changing world.  Prevention begins with  being aware of and understanding the early warning signs and symptoms of mental illness. Parents and teachers can help build life skills of our adolescents to help them cope with everyday challenges at home and school. Psychosocial support can be  provided in our school through the school counsellor. We all have adolescents under our care and therefore have a responsibility to help them build mental resilience in order to prevent mental distress and illness. This was the focus for this year’s World Mental Health Day. We all have a duty to support our children.

Have a restful half term break and looking forward to see the children back in school on Monday, 22^nd October 2018.

Regards,

Mr. Wallen Nyamota

HEADTEACHER