GrapeVine - Jan2010

Students woke up early on(Jan15, 2010) to view the solar eclipse. Greensteds School in Na-kuru had to suspend its Friday morning assembly in order to prepare stu-dents for viewing the spectacular moment at 8:30am. Alot of emphasis was also put on safety methods that included use of pro-tective gear such as welding glass. Viewing the eclipse with your naked eye may look normal at the moment of viewing but it has been known to cause major eye problems in the fu-ture. READ ON… PLUS MORE PICTURES INSIDE

E c l i p s e : s t u d e n t s l e a r n s a f e v i e w i n g

A B O U T G R A P E V I N E In this document we aim to commu-nicate with you all about what is hap-pening within the school. This in-cludes events that have happened in the recent past, anything that’s coming up in the near future and any results or awards. It’s infor-mation that will hopefully give you an insight into why we are so proud of our school. Email :[email protected]

G R E E N S T E D S I N T E R N A T I O N A L S C H O O L , N A K U R U

GrapeVine, Jan 19, 2010 Hillary, Issue 20

Grape Vine BE THE FIRST TO KNOW, WHEN IT HAPPENS

WHERE WERE YOU ON JANUARY 15th AT 8:30AM?

Nobody was left out. Every single stage of the eclipse had to be viewed and it had to be done safely. In this photo Year 9 students are seriously at work. READ STORY...Pg4

YEAR 11 MOCKS Congratulations to Year 11 students for hard work in

the exams.

MORE DETAILS Greenstedsschool.com

HISTORY IN MAKING


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COMMUNITY SERVICE

On 21st November, 24 children from Arap Moi Children’s Home came to Greensteds for a ‘Fun Day’. The idea was to give the children a memorable day out, and to provide stimulating experiences in a new environment. The success of the day stemmed from the fact that we ensured that each child was paired up with a Greensteds ‘buddy’ who stayed with and cared for the child for the whole day. The staff involved were really impressed with the dedication of our students and their whole-hearted approach towards caring for their child for the day. The children rotated around four activities: art, fun-sports, horse-riding and reading/board games.

All of these activities were enjoyed by the chil-dren. Our catering department really treated the chil-dren, with snacks on their arrival and before their departure, and a delicious lunch. The impact of the day is seen each time we have visited the home on subsequent visits – the chil-dren ask us about their buddy and about when they will next be able to come to Greensteds to play for the day. Thank you to Mrs McBride, Mrs Glover, Mr Bu-tama and Mrs Starling for their support on the day, and to all the students who were involved. Particular thanks to Mem, Bianca and Greg for their organization, planning and effort on the day.

T h e d a y w e h o s t e d A r a p M o i b u d d i e s f o r ‘ f u n d a y ’

The year 11s finished their timetabled IGCSE Mock Examinations on Saturday 9th January. The Headmaster then invited them round for sodas and bitings as a sign of appreciation for the way they approached and participated in the exer-cise, which was exemplary. The teachers are now finalizing their marking ready for PT consulta-tions (24th January) on them and the subsequent

entries that need to be made in advance of the 21st February. When looking at the re-sults it should be bourn in mind that ALL students can improve upon their mock result in May June with revision guided by their teachers. They will now be learning exam technique coupled to improved skills and depth of knowledge by past paper work as well as a revision work shop. Continual mentoring by the form tutors and the Head

of Year, Mrs glover, as well as individual Departments will contribute to the wealth of support they will continue to receive at Greensteds between now and the exter-nal examination period. The results have been a wake up call for some, for others it has been a vindica-tion of the hard work they have put in. Some students will need to lighten their load as di-rected by myself, the Head-master and the subject teacher. The whole process of ana-

lysing each student’s results enables us to produce advice on what is best both in the subjects to sit, but also where their strengths and weaknesses lie in individual ones. The mocks are not a one off assessment, they are con-sidered in relation to the student’s past academic performance. The data they provide is enormously beneficial to all concerned. COMPILED By: Mr M. Foster.

YEAR 11 MOCKS

P r e p a r a t i o n s f o r i G C S E ’ s c o n t i n u e a s Y r 1 1 ’ s s e a t m o c k s


Greensteds School rhino charge guard post

“Be assured that your donation will go to a very good cause”

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES

On June 1st 2010 Green-steds students will have the privilege of running a Control Post at the Rhino Charge for the first time. This is a unique automo-tive charity challenge that has taken place at a se-cret location in the Ken-yan bush for 21 years. It raises funds to construct and maintain a 400km fence around Nairobi’s water tower, the Aber-dares Forest. Last year an amazing US$1000000 was raised.

Our participation is part of Greensteds Community Service program and counts towards the Presi-dent’s Award Certifica-tion. It also provides the stu-dents with exceptional opportunities for leader-ship, adventure and envi-ronmental conservation. Greensteds Control is funded and organized entirely by the efforts of Greensteds students from year 9 and 10. We hope the student’s youthful enthusiasm will be popular with the com-petitors and admired by the organizers who may

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previously have thought they had seen it all in over two decades but were beginning to wonder who would take over when they retired. To date we have raised sh25 000 out of our target of sh200 000 and have re-ceived promises of support from some businesses. We are still hopeful of receiving support from Kenya Commercial Bank, Gil-iani’s Supermarket, Patel’s Hardware, a fuel station, a communications com-pany and the Born Free Foundation. If any parent feels able to support us financially or with food, transport or camping equipment we will be most grateful and you can be assured that your donation will go to a very good cause. Alternatively, why not join us at the event? Communication can be through [email protected] ,the school office or your son / daughter.

Competitors battle on…

Maybe to reach at these refreshments...

70 year old Jas Sehmi feeling young. The fence in the right place.


GrapeVine is published monthly by the Headmaster’s Office. Email your stories to: [email protected]

PHOTOS

Grape Vine BE THE FIRST TO KNOW, WHEN IT HAPPENS

On Friday 15.1.10 the school was well placed to view a solar eclipse. This occurs when the Moon, passes between the Earth and the Sun. It casts a giant shadow onto the Earth and we see the light from the Sun reduced. In this case the eclipse was an annular one where a ring of light is still seen around the moon. The whole school observed the eclipse from the campsite, instead of attending assembly and some of first lesson. Several ways of safely viewing the eclipse were set up and all the students had ac-cess to green welding glass filters to view its progress. It provided quite a spectacle despite the clouds threatening to hide it. Most students seemed to be quite surprised by how cool it became when the Sun was obscured and were glad to warm up again in class. We trust that everyone enjoyed the experience, learned some science and will re-member the eclipse as something out of the ordinary. Compiled J. Morgan

Inspirational Quotes... “The secret of many a man’s success in the world resides in his insight into the moods of men and his tact in dealing with them.” - JG Holland “Success in life, in any-thing, depends upon the number of persons that one can make himself agreeable to.” - Thomas Caryle “The less people speak of their great-ness, the more we think of it.” - Lord Ba-con “Never lose a chance of saying a kind word.” - William Thackeray COMPILED BY: Mrs C Werugia

SOLAR ECLIPSE

E c l i p s e : s t u d e n t s l e a r n s a f e v i e w i n g

Different images of how the solar eclipse was viewed from the Greensteds school campsite.

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GrapeVine - Jan2010