At last we made it’ were the words of my colleague Steve Gasigwa.
We were all very excited to graduate, but there was a feeling of sadness as we were saying goodbye to a place where we created so many wonderful memories together. As we marched through the school, I reminisced on all the memories that I have made through my years in Braeburn. We stepped on to the red carpet and were warmly welcomed by our parents, friends and members of the graduates’ family. The ceremony began with a welcome from our Sixth Form Head, Mr Naulikha. Musical performances by Tadiwa, Paul, Nelson, Kamba, Jane, Mansi, Paula and Brian were emotional and portrayed how much talent there is in the Sixth Form.
Mr Dunn, our Head Teacher’s speech was based on the need for good decision making informed by seeking advice and collaborative team work with anecdotes on two stories of the Head Teacher and Apollo 13 in 1970.
We were privileged to have the Chief Executive Officer of Equity Bank Kenya Limited, Mr Polycarp Igathe as our chief guest. He gave the graduands lots of valuable advice about life in the real world.
The evening was full of smiles, laughs and a few tears. The graduates were awarded for various achievements, such as holding leadership positions within the school, subjects studied and Creativity, Action and Service. The evening was a reflection of all the hard work and dedication that the class of 2019 has put in, especially during the last two years of Secondary School.
To the class of 2019: I wish you all the best in your future endeavours. I have been lucky enough to be able to interact with every one of you and you have all contributed to my experience here in Braeburn in a positive way.
Maya Fernandez- Deputy Head Senator
20 teams converged on St. Christopher’s Preparatory School last weekend to compete in the annual U11 Ngini Rugby Tournament. Our U11s returned to defend the trophy they had won convincingly last year.
They quickly got into their stride and won all their group matched to top the table. In the semi-finals they beat Pembroke House 49-7 and then faced Brookhouse Karen in the final, taking the game and winning the tournament, 28-0.
It was a strong performance from all the team, with everyone making valuable contributions. A Most Valuable Player needed to be selected for the tournament and Kit Garner was the worthy recipient.
The annual Braeside U10 Netball tournament, was held on Friday 7thJune. The 2019 version had all the ingredients of being very competitive with a total of 10 school represented. Braeburn was in the same pool with Premier Academy, Peponi House, Brookhouse Karen, and St Christopher’s.
In the preliminary stages, the girls started off on a good note, with a comfortable 14-0 win against Premier Academy, followed by a 7-0 win against St Christopher’s. There first real challenge came when they played Peponi House, where after a gruelling 15 minutes, they emerged victorious, after an outstanding move that saw Lara and Cara working beautifully to wow the umpires and the audience to score a last minute winning goal. The last group stage match against Brookhouse, was just as entertaining, with a win securing the girls a first place qualification to the semi-finals.
The stage was now set for the semi-finals, where the girls faced off against Braeburn Garden Estate, which was a formidable side. They emerged victorious, after proving too strong for their opponents, with a score line of 10-3. The finals would see the girls go to battle with the hosts Braeside, in what was to be a nail biting duel.
In the first half, the girls had a commanding lead of 4-1, and in one of the most interesting come backs of the tournament, the hosting school scored 3 quick goals to draw level at the end of regular time. A 5 minutes extra time could not break the deadlock, and further complicated issues with the score line getting to 6 all, this time with our girls coming back from 2 goals down. After a series of near misses from both sides, and tension building in the game, Cara, the goal shooter, composed herself and took a wonderful 5 feet shot from a penalty to earn Braeburn the win for the first time in 10 years. Carla was voted the most valuable player of the tournament but it was a superb team performance that secured the win.
Congratulations to the U10 Netball team, who are all in Year 5.
Over the weekend some of our horse riding clubbers joined 9 other teams of riders for a gymkhana at Hillcrest. In a range of activities they put themselves to the test as rider and horse moved in harmony. The majority of our riders only get to ride an hour a week during the after school horse riding club so we were very proud of their achievement in coming in 6thoverall in the event. Great performances riders!
What an amazing, electrifying trip this was! Even though it was chilly and dump from the previous day’s heavy rains, this didn’t dampen the spirits of the excited, Year 3 children who couldn’t wait to witness and experience the cultural dances of the different Kenyan tribes. No words were needed to explain the jubilation in the children as their joyful faces and inability to stay sat on their chairs, but rather jump on stage to join in dances explained it all. Watching Trey turn into a high, jumping Maasai Moran; Minori into a Maasai lady, and the rest of the children, accompanied by some teachers into enthusiastic, fast dancing Luhyas on stage was exhilarating.
In addition, the exploration of the Bomas (traditional African villages) was extremely educative and an eye opener to many children who had so many questions to ask. The boys were over the moon when they realized that in those days, most Kenyan boys had their “own hut,” which to them was the best thing ever, and they couldn’t help but claim territory in every boys’ hut we came across. Allround it was an inspirational trip for our Year 3 and a wonderful way to come to the close of the year.
Braeburn School
