REPORT ON THE SCHOOL’S MAJOR ACTIVITIES: TERM 1 2016
A well-known African proverb states that “it takes a whole village to raise a child” meaning that a child’s upbringing is a communal effort or that a child has the best ability to become a healthy adult if the entire community takes an active role in contributing to the rearing of the child. In application to our situation on this proverb we want to uphold that it is the responsibility of parents and the school community to bring up the children in Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School. We all have a role and duty to cooperate in this duty. This is certainly projected in the idea that this school has been set up to soundly give students a strong foundation for proper education in order to prepare them to reach their fullest potential and for success in what they ought to be. We the teaching staff and other school staff can affirm this as we have seen it in the efforts of the parents and all of us year after year since this school was started.
It has indeed been ten years of an enriching journey since its inception up to date. The Institution’s Mission through the years has been to provide education as the tool that will take our people forward to embrace changes to modern life and promote literacy and prosperity that benefits community’s collective purpose. Once again the above mentioned proverb is at home here.
Guided by the above insights, we have realized in Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School, promising academic standards along with co-curricular activities that give us hope for the future for our learners. We provide education as the tool that will take our people forward to embrace changes to modern life and promote literacy and prosperity that benefits community’s collective purpose. This is so because we believe we have provided a platform to our students to showcase their talents and discover a new facet of their personality.
Our students actively support social issues like environmental conservation; we teach them how to plant and take care of trees and other planting on our compound. Unfortunately goats and other plant-eating animals come in and destroy but we hope that the new perimeter stone wall being built by Father Ntaiyia will keep the animals off. We also teach our students how to keep the compound clean and free of garbage. Our students learn peaceful co-existence regardless of where they come from or what tribe they may belong to. Our endeavor is also to encourage leadership qualities in our students. As a result of this we have a responsible students’ leadership body or council of prefects.
Our approach to education that is geared not only to academics is seen and reported alongside positive reports we are getting regarding our increasing list of alumni who have made good names for themselves and Father Ntaiyia School in the high schools they joined after our School. We value any available opportunity that may benefit us in developing our students into accomplished members of the society.
JANUARY 2016: NEW YEAR AND CHANGES
January 4, 2016 was schools official opening day for the New Year. This comes a few days after ushering in a new year and usually comes with a lot of excitement such as the beginning of another academic term. Students had been out for their long November – December holiday marked with a lot of festivities.
Most teachers and subordinates reported to school earlier in order to receive the pupils with their parents and as our tradition, a staff meeting was held to officially launch the kick -off of the term’s activities. This was also a forum where teachers were allocated their teaching responsibilities for students’ academic progress and co-curricular programs.
By the end of the first week, most of the pupils had reported and learning had begun. Our former class 8 candidates (graduates), who had just received their Kenya Certificate of Primary School Education or KCPE (public examination) results, started coming to collect their results that are usually mailed to the School. They expressed their joy and appreciation for the good work done by all involved in ensuring that their stay in school was a success that has promised to take them to their future. They looked forward to securing places in high schools for their further education.
In the first and second weeks of the school year we at Father Ntaiyia School experienced changes in the student and staff body. With regards to the students we witnessed an increase in the enrollment with new students being admitted to various classes (grades) but mainly in third which is our first intake. The school office was busy from morning to late in the evening with parents bringing in the new students and the office making sure that the needed requirements detailed in the invitation letter have been met. By the end of the second week, the student population was 264 and this was 10 students more than we had last year.
We also received new members of staff who replaced those who had taken employment with the Government.
On 19th January 2016, our head teacher, Sr. Pauline informed the school community that she had been transferred by her superior to another school and that we were getting another Sister to head our school. This was highly unexpected but as they say some changes in life are inevitable. We held a meeting that brought together all the school employees to express our thanks and wish her well in her new appointment. In the meeting she asked the community to continue working together as the school prepared to embrace the new changes. Both students and staff felt we were going to miss her presence and leadership but as an African saying has it, “one knows where you are coming from but you do not know where you are going” we walk in hope that the future has some blessings for us.
In the afternoon of 21st accompanied by three religious sisters and four gentlemen our new head teacher Sister Angela paid us a visit and later we learned that those who were in her company were teachers and support staff from the school she had been heading. After their brief time in our school office, they were given a guided tour of the school and thereafter left. Our new head teacher was expected to begin her administrative duties on 28th January.
FEBRUARY 2016: BUSY MONTH
With the new head teacher in the school we embarked on a vigorous process on the term’s (trimester’s) activities. On top of the list included 2016 KCPE (public examination) Registration for our final class, ball games, and parents’ visiting day. According to the circular from the ministry of education, registration of candidates was to be online as it has been in the past years. This process required the candidates to select their preferred (High Schools) secondary school choices following the Ministry of Education guidelines, verifying the details in their birth certificates and uploading the entries in the directed website. The final report on registration is an online nominal roll which has to be printed and signed by the candidates to confirm the registration data. Towards the end of the month, 31 candidates had their registration details confirmed. The exercise was to officially end not later than 31st March 2016 when registration fees would have been paid to the Ministry for every candidate.
PARENTS’ VISITING DAY: Visiting day comes once a trimester and welcomes most if not all parents/guardians accompanied by some relatives who come to visit students here in the school; little sisters and brothers also come. It has been our tradition to have visiting days on the 2nd Saturday of the second month of every term (trimester). This term’s visiting day was on 20th February. A week before this day, the students sit for mid-term examinations so that the results of each child would be shared with his/her visiting parents. This term’s visiting day recorded the highest number (more than 300) of visitors. Teachers got enough time to discuss the progress of the students with their parents/guardians. On this day the parents bring food to share with their children and some photographers are allowed to come and take pictures of parents with their children for future memories. At the end of the day everyone had an interesting story to tell when they get back home.
MARCH: EVENTFUL MONTH OF FIRST TERM OF THE YEAR
Co-curricular activities have been earmarked for the better part of March in the first semester of the school year in Kenya. Our staff in charge of the sports event has been training the students preparing them by organizing inter-classes competitions to enable the students to reveal their abilities and talents in various games. This helps the trainers in motivating and nurturing sportsmanship and team work in the students.
Once the schedule for the co-curricular activities (ball games) is released by the County Education Office, it paves the way for the schools to present their participants in the competitions. The schedule indicated that the schools were to meet at the inter-school level (clusters); bringing together schools within their respective zones.
Our school was represented by 63 players for football (soccer), volleyball and netball, both boys and girls. The players posted very impressive performance by winning soccer boys, volleyball boys and volleyball girls and a good number was selected to participate in the zonal games competitions. This motivated the students and they displayed strong determination to improve on their skills in various games. Indeed, they proved that our school has potential for games. Towards the end of the month, the ball games were being concluded at the County level where 8 of our students had been selected to represent the sub-county.
Besides official school life activities, Father Ntaiyia has allowed those students whose parents give permission, to be instructed in spiritual matters and this is done under the supervision of the priests of our local Parish in whose area the School is situated. The students who take instruction and are willing with permission of their parents are received in the Church. On 13th March 2016, our 31 students received the Sacrament of Confirmation at our local Parish. This was during a very colorful ceremonial Mass presided over by the Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Ngong. This and other liturgical sessions are available for students whose parents permit and want their children to be nourished.
On academics, learning continued on and as it should be, uninterrupted by the co-curricular activities. As usual teachers covered their trimester work as required. In this school our teachers are always in class as they are supposed to be without fail and for this reason they have time to pay attention to all learners. The end of trimester examinations done by all schools within the sub-county began a few weeks before the official closing date on 8th April 2016.
The beginning of April holidays marked the end of the first trimester and the students went home for three-week holiday. As this happens, the students are already informed about the second term’s activities including athletics and music festivals which are expected to kick off in the middle of next term.
To all our benefactors and friends: This report which covers our three months school life, has been compiled with information from Father Ntaiyia Jubilee School Log book by teachers and the Deputy Head teacher Mr. Johnstone Chepkuony. I have edited and most of it may bear minor clarification on areas that may be known to Kenyans and not to our other readers (Term = Semester = Trimester) (Class =grade)
I will be writing on other development on infrastructure and what is going on this year.
https://mhl.hxi.mybluehost.me/website_e30e867a/. or Google: Friends of Father Ntaiyia School.
Always thanking Friends of Father Ntaiyia.
Fr. Symon