What a fantastic start to Term 3 we had on Wednesday 24th April when we welcomed Virginia Clay – acclaimed author of Warrior Boy – to BNIS for the day.
There was a hive of activity around the office from 7.45am as children and parents queued to get their signed copy of Warrior Boy and to meet Virginia. She then took the whole school through a visualisation journey in assembly and proved to us that we all have the capability to create a story if we want to.
Throughout the rest of the day Virginia helped the children to explore various aspects of story writing in a variety of innovative and creative ways. Years 1 to 4 explored characterisation using inanimate objects, Years 5 and 6 looked at more interesting ways to develop settings and Years 7 and 8 plotted story outlines. The children in Early Years were also delighted to have the opportunity to have storytime with Virginia where she introduced them to a crocodile who didn’t like water!
Everyone felt a little star-struck during the day and all children and adults learnt from, and thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to meet and work with Virginia. We thank her very much for finding the time to travel up to Nanyuki to share some of her writing secrets with us!
On Thursday 28th March, BNIS invited the children’s mums to the school to have a special breakfast in celebration of UK Mothers’ Day which falls on Sunday 30th March this year. 101 mums joined 194 children for one big breakfast in a beautifully presented hall which had been set up with love and care by the staff first thing that morning.
Mums of children in Early Years were invited through to the ‘EYFS Pamper Parlour’ after breakfast for some care and attention from their little ones. Feet were rubbed and shoulders massaged whilst others got stuck into a few creative activities.Fruit, mandazi and porridge were on offer for everyone. Straight after registration the children ‘waited on’ their mums – offering them fruit platters, pouring the juice and presenting them with a rose in thanks for everything they do. Those, whose mums could not attend, were ‘adopted’ for the event by other mums – thank you to all the adopters for caring so well for our little orphans!!!
The event was a great success and a really enjoyable, social gathering for all. Thank you to all the staff for their efforts and to The Flower Shop for creating the lovely table displays.
The children came to school bubbling with excitement on Thursday 21st March following a STEM focused week filled with talking about irrigation and creating working models in their classes. On Friday 22nd - World Water Day – they worked hard to show off what they’d been learning and creating at the Irrigation Fair.
At the Irrigation Fair systems made by each class were on display alongside some systems that had been made by children at home with their parents. Each stall was rotationally manned by two children from the class who enjoyed describing how their systems worked, if/how they conserve water and the challenges they faced with the model making. Two year groups chose to showcase historical water transport systems – one from the Roman era and one developed by the Egyptians.
Each class had the opportunity to explore the Fair and interview the children manning the stalls. Children gave suggestions on improvements which were recorded on feed-back forms. A huge amount of peer-to-peer learning took place and all children showed pride and ingenuity throughout the whole week of focused work.
Thanks go out to all the children for making it such a fun event. Particular thanks are extended to Mrs Bebbington and Miss Kamau who came up with the idea and brought the whole thing to fruition.
Today the children from Years 3 and 4 presented the Mystery at Magpie Manor for their parents. It was a truly fabulous production which had the audience laughing throughout.
The children took us back in time to the 1920s, to Magpie Manor, the home of Lord and Lady Pica. Unfortunately Lord and Lady Pica had fallen on hard times and could not afford the extensive repairs that were required for the Manor. Mr Fortune - the bank manger - recommended that they sell their last remaining asset - The Pica Pica Solid Silver Pitcher with a Magpie Picture - to fund the repairs.
The family agreed to host a Grand Ball, featuring an auction, to raise as much as possible from The Pica Pica Solid Silver Pitcher with a Magpie Picture. Scribble and Blot (Mr Fortune's bumbling assistants) were tasked with guarding the pitcher. The guest list featured a number of celebrities including Winston Churchill, the Prince of Wales, Einstein and Charlie Chaplin.
During the Grand Ball, guests were astounded to find that The Pica Pica Solid Silver Pitcher with a Magpie Picture had vanished!!! Ex-Inspector Spectre, who had been hired to lead secuirty, took it upon himself to launch an investigation. Another guest - Agatha Christie - also decided to investigate, much to the Ex-Inspector's irritation!
After checking alibis of both housestaff and guests, nothing was any clearer until the gardener Basil Bud appeared with two bags he had found in the moat. One of the bags contained the missing Pica Pica Solid Silver Pitcher with a Magpie Picture to the horror of the assembled housestaff and guests. Agatha Christie was clever enough to notice that the bag was tied with one of the Ex-Inspector's handmade ties he had so proudly displayed to everyone. She also revealed that he was NOT the Ex-Inspector but was actually long-lost cousin Percy Pica who had come to lay claim to the pitcher as his inheritence. This information was greeted with a loud gasp as everyone realised the true enormity of the situation! Percy Pica was then arrested.
When the second sack was checked, a Medieval hoard of jewellery was inside! This was valuable enough to fund the full repairs of the manor as well as getting Lord and Lady Pica out of financial difficulty! Hooray for this find, jobs were safe and the party continued.
The production was a true theatrical masterpiece. Every member of the cast excelled and there was a hall full of proud parents. Thank you and well done goes to everyone involved but especially to Mr Gould and Mrs Jenkins for the blood, sweat and tears they shed to bring the whole thing together!
A huge thank you and well done goes out to our parents and children for the ‘Mountain Climbing Reading’ efforts!!! The challenge was a great success with over 80 children reaching ‘the top of the mountain’. Please pop to the library and take a look at the wonderful, collaborative collage we created during the challenge. Well done everyone!
Look out next term for our ‘Reading Bingo’ challenge.....
Our reading challenges are designed to encourage children to read (or be read to) more at home. The importance and benefits of reading can never be stressed enough. Regular reading FOR CHILDREN OF ALL AGES:
- expands vocabulary
- leads to improved spelling
- develops understanding of the world
- improves concentration
- exercises the brain
- develops imagination
- makes better readers
- positively impacts across the curriculum
- and so so so much more!
For those of you who already had good reading habits instilled at home – keep it up!!!
For those who developed a new routine through the challenge – keep it up!
Here are some interesting statistics which may encourage some of you to do a little more!
Braeburn Nanyuki International School
