A Week in The Podo Theatre

The Podo Theatre has been fully booked this week, packed with singing, dancing, laughter and gymnastics.

It all started on Monday’s assembly where we were treated to a live game of chess using children as pieces. Mr Joseph, who has been running the peripatetic Chess club at BNIS for about 2 years now, demonstrated that a game of chess is possible to win in only 4 moves.

Chess is a great game for improving memory, as well as creative problem solving skills. Norman is BNIS’s most recent chess success, as he came second out of 41 players in his age category at the Chess Tournament at Braeside Lavington on the 18th May - well done, Norman!

We wish our two other chess players, Kasper and Isiah, ‘good luck’ this weekend at the tournament at St. Chrstophers, where they will compete against different schools in the Nanyuki area.

Year 5 spent a lot of time in The Podo Theatre this week as they rehearsed for their assembly, which was showcased to the school and parents on Friday. We learned all about colonialism in Kenya through an informative play (and a bit of a sing-along and boogie too!).

The short play was structured around a Kenyan grandmother who was answering her grandson's questions about British rule in Kenya. She highlighted that although the British were not the first to set foot in what we now call Kenya, they significantly influenced the shape of Kenya today - for better and for worse.

Year 3 & 4 have been also busy in the theatre this week, rehearsing for their upcoming performance of Rock Bottom. Be sure not to miss this on Friday 21st June. Rock Bottom is set in both modern day, but also transports the audience back to The Stone Age - a History topic children learned all about in November.

A highlight of the week for many was the BATUK Pantomime. The first ever Pantomime to be performed in the Podo Theatre did not disappoint. The audience participation was high, particularly with our younger children, as even those who had not experienced a pantomime before quickly joined in with some of the classics; ‘oh no your not’ and ‘look behind you!’.

We were incredibly proud of the three BNIS students who worked so hard to perform and memorise their lines for this, as well as the two stand-in students who managed to join in at the last moment to help spook the audience and characters. A HUGE thank you goes to the BATUK team for bringing the show to BNIS - both students and staff are very grateful!