What a phenomenal Football Festival we had on Friday afternoon! It was the Annual U7 BNIS hosted event.
A total of four schools participated, each entering two teams: Braeside A & B, Mt. Kenya Academy A & B, Braeburn Imani A & B and the hosts Braeburn Nanyuki A & B.
Our B team performed extremely well but unfortunately did not make it through to the quarter finals on goal difference. Despite a not so strong start, our A team played remarkably well and fought their way all the way through to the finals!
The final was a nail biting game that was taken to penalties. All bystanders, including parents, teachers and headteachers were on edge as shot after shot was taken. A fantastic save put us ahead but we were sadly not out of the woods as the next shot went wide! Our final penalty taker took to the spot under extreme pressure - her shot was win or lose for us, and...SHE SCORED!!!!! Braeburn Nanyuki had won the tournament to the huge delight of everyone.
The excitement throughout the day was unparalled, the children displayed great talent and resilience and above all everyone present had LOTS of fun! Bravo to everyone involved especially the coaches - Mr Mulongo, Mrs MacKay and Mrs Mills- and thank you to Mr Masafu and Mr Franco for all their hard work to organise the event!
On Friday 1st March a team of girls from Years 5 and 6 alongside a team of boys headed off to Nairobi to take part in a Hockey tournament.
The girls got off to a good start and played very well throughout the tournament. The team didn’t concede any goals and also did not lose any matches! This was the first competitive game of hockey the girls have played all term and they managed to hold off teams that have been playing matches throughout the season – well done team! The highlight of the tournament was when Anika scored a superb goal from the top of the D against Premier Academy. The team unfortunately missed the semi-final by 1 point but still made us proud. Good work girls!!
The boys unfortunately lost their first game against Braeburn Gitanga by a solitary goal that was scored during injury time. Their second game ended in a draw against the hosts - Nairobi Academy. They won their third game against Brookhouse but played to a goalless draw against Gems and St Christopher’s School. The team ended in 3rd position in our pool. WE were particularly delighted that two of the boys received double nominations for best players in the tournament. Well done the boys!!!!
On Thursday 28th March ten children from Year 3 and 4 travelled to St Christopher’s School in Karen to take part in this year’s U9 hockey tournament. Despite a late start, the team made an excellent entry in to the competition with a 1- 0 victory over Premier Academy! One of our players was also awarded ‘man of the match’ - what a great start! The group continued to work hard in each of their following games and were tough competition for the other schools they faced. We weren’t fortunate enough to reach the semi-finals but the children had an amazing time and, most importantly, enjoyed themselves. Well done to all the children who took part.
On Wednesday 27th February the children in Year 3 and 4, who did not attend the music festival in Nairobi, embarked on a cross-curricular team cooking challenge. The day was filled with a variety of activities that children undertook in their teams including: designing a cake; costing and buying ingredients; baking and decorating the cakes; naming their products; advertising their cakes; and finally selling their cakes!
The stalls were visited by peers as well as a number of members of staff who couldn’t resist the temptation of trying a cake, or in some cases all the cakes, on sale! It was a fantastic day, thank you so much to Mrs Jenkins for organising such a fun and very educational experience!
On Wednesday 27th February, seventeen children from Years 3 and 4 were involved in the annual Braeburn Music Festival. This festival exposes children to choral music and performing in front of an audience. The children practised three songs for the event – 'Robin Sings Reggae', 'Magpie Rag' and 'Down in the Jungle'. Their favourite was definitely 'Robin Sings Reggae' and the audience clearly loved it too!
The children behaved impeccably and were fantastic ambassadors for the school. Our children also really enjoyed watching the other performances, particularly Nairobi Academy’s dance performance, and they have requested that they get to include some element of dance next year!
Thank you to the organisers – Braeburn Gitanga Road – for a fantastic event that was thoroughly enjoyed by every child, parent and teacher present! Miss Mwamachi was very proud of the group's performance and attitude but, she was most impressed with the sense of team spirit shown throughout the morning.
Braeburn Nanyuki International School
