NEWSLETTER NO. 78–APRIL 2017

Dear Parents/Guardians, We are happy to announce the end of one of the

busiest terms of the academic year. It has been

punctuated with a lot of extra-curricular activities

to complement students’ holistic development.

Some of the academic, pastoral, club and sports

trips as well as Inter-house/class activities that

blended to enrich the term include:

Field trips/excursions

Year 7 History students visited the Bomas of

Kenya. The visit was aimed at learning the

different Kenyan communities up to the 19th

century, giving students a first-hand experience of

the traditional residential structures, learning how

communities interacted and to also experience

cultural dances from some of the Kenyan

communities.

Year 8 Geography students went on an

educational tour of Mt. Longonot. The purpose of

the trip was to investigate volcanic features in the

Rift Valley and their significance to human

environment.

It was a great achievement for everyone to reach the mountain peak. Students in celebration mood

Year 9 History students went on an educational

tour to the National Assembly. Here they learnt

the procedures of the Kenya National Assembly,

parliamentary debating, the various duties of MPs

and Senators and the process of law making in

Kenya. They were privileged to observe a

parliamentary session where a bill on drugs abuse

among the youth had been tabled.

Year 10 Geography students went on a study trip

to the Sarit Centre. The trip was aimed at

complementing the teaching of settlement and

urbanization with field work experience.

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Year 10, 11 and 12 French students took part in

the annual Francophone Week at Alliance

Francaise. The trip involved watching a play in

French, reciting poems, playing video games and a

verb game. All these are crucial in their mastery of

the French language.

Year 12 Biology students went on a study tour of

Elsamere Conservation and Education Centre,

Naivasha. The purpose of the trip was to

determine the biodiversity using random sampling

techniques, study of adaptive features of plant

species, comparison of methods used to conserve

different species and habitats around the lake and

to compare the plant fibre strength of some

hydrophytes and mesophytes.

Year 12 and 13 Art students visited the Go Down

Art Centre. The trip was meant to give students an

opportunity to interact with local artists. This is

crucial as a requirement for the A-level exam

which derives inspiration from local artists. The

artists had varied work done in several types of

media and gave useful tips on the processes and

techniques they use.

CLUBS

Mechanics

The club visited Kenya Vehicle Manufacturers

where they learnt about vehicle manufacturing

and assembly in Kenya. They got a chance to

interact with mechanical and automotive

engineers as well as quality assurance

technicians. The students were very excited to

learn the stages of car assembly and the new car,

VW Polo, being locally assembled.

Assembly of VW polo car. Student viewing the initial stage.

Wildlife

Members of this club visited the Nairobi National

Museum this term. The exciting trip was used to

expose members to wildlife conservation

strategies and also to observe the remains of

animals that are now extinct.

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Students studying remains of mammals On a different date the students visited Karura

Forest to see exotic and indigenous trees in their

natural habitat and to watch bird species within

the ecosystem. This was meant to raise their

awareness on the need for conservation, help

them appreciate our natural heritage and the need

to conserve it for posterity.

French club

The members visited the French Cultural Centre

where they took part in various activities. Some of

these were sampling the e-library known as the

‘’Culturetheque’’, playing French video games and

a French board game called ‘’Le Jeu deL’Oie’’.In the

board game, Green team represented by Desai

Diya (7.2) emerged winners.

Members of the French Club in the Library at

Alliance Française, French Cultural Centre.

INTER-SCHOOL EVENTS

Modern Foreign Languages department hosted

Rusinga school, St. Christopher’s and Braeburn ,

Imani on the inaugural MFL Day. Students

showcased their talents in French, Spanish,

Kiswahili and Mandarin in the form of songs,

dances, poems, PowerPoint presentations as well

as a quiz. The students got a chance to share and

bond on the memorable day.

Team spirit in action.

Creative and Performing Arts department sent

music students to an annual inter-school music

recital at Oshwal Academy. The event attracted

five schools within Nairobi and comprised

students of all ages. The audience was awed by

Kabbir Quddu’s professional performance that

left many wondering if they will ever attain his

competence. Our school was crowned the largest

and neatest choir of the day. The students were

awarded certificates of participation and got

accolades for a job well done.

World Scholars Cup

Our students took part in this event in which 23

schools drawn from Kenya and Uganda

participated. Top schools such as Alliance High

school, Nairobi Academy, Light International, Aga

Khan, Braeburn, Oshwal, Peponi, just to mention

but a few, took part. The event provided a forum

for young scholars to discuss, collaborate and

debate issues that affect humanity. Our students

put up a great show that saw them romp back to

school with a harvest of over 100 medals and 5

trophies for various team and individual

activities. Krish Parekh and Rakeeza Mughal

did outstandingly well and emerged among top

debaters. In the subjects category, Navneeth

Nareddy and Riya Patel emerged tops overall in

History and Literature respectively. Navneeth

Nareddy and Aneesa Gulamhusein were the top

scholars. The top scholars in writing in the Senior

category was scooped by Lisa Oluoch, Jaskirat

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Kaur and Ashlyn Njeri. The gallant team

qualified for the Global Round in Vietnam in June,

2017. In Vietnam, they will get a chance to

compete with over 3000 students drawn from 50

countries. We heartily congratulate our students

for this starling performance.

Students celebrating their achievements

The Social Sciences and Carees Department

organised a successful inter-school Law debate in

our new purpose built A-level block. Among the

participants were Brookhouse, Oshwal Senior and

Nairobi Academy. Our law students; Stephanie

Marimba, Renee Githui, Sanah Kassam and

Sonaili Vasta represented us in the motion: ‘’This

house believes that the minimum age of criminal

responsibility should be increased from 8 years

old’’.Our team got a special mention from the

judges for their in-depth research on the motion.

Our year 7 History students held a symposium in

school this term. The aim of the event was to

display Kenya’s rich indigenous culture and

heritage. The students also got a chance to

demonstrate their understanding of different

concepts they learn in class.

Prefects swearing in ceremony

‘’With great power comes great responsibility’’,

must be the words that kept echoing in the new

prefects’ minds as they walked on the red carpet

to be sworn in as the Senior prefects for the

2017/2018 academic year. This was at a

colourful event in school graced by a section of

the Trustees, Board of Management and

parents

The incoming Head prefect assured the gathering

that his new team was equal to the task and

would strive to make the Academy a better place

than they found it. They requested for support

and cooperation. In his keynote, address the Head

of Secondary, Mr.Humphrey Luseno reminded the

newly sworn in prefects that leaders were

servants and not bosses.

After the swearing in, they proceeded for a two

day training on leadership to Elsamere, Naivasha.

The group ‘Face to Face’ delivered on their

promise of rigorous, relevant and effective

induction on the prefects leadership roles in the

picturesque Naivasha terrain. We congratulate

our new team of leaders as they take up their new

roles and wish them well.

Annual school play

This year’s annual school play was a comedy

entitled ‘’Off the Hook’’ and was staged at Haveli

Hall. We appreciate the entire cast which

comprised of senior students from year 12 and 13

as well as year 10. Their sacrifice is highly

appreciated.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

The pastoral department went for a community

service trip to Lang’ata Sisters’ Home for the

disabled. The activities of the trip were a

memorable an eye opener to the students on the

virtues of love, humility, kindness and

appreciation/contentment.

Community service trips equip students with

attitudes, skills and values that may not be learnt

in an ordinary school setting. They blend the

school with the realities of the immediate

community and prepare them for later

integration. After exposure to needy situations,

students appreciate and reflect more on the

privileges they have and builds an urge to help

out/plough back to the society. We encourage our

students to grab such opportunities both within

and outside of the school.

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SPORTS

Hockey:

The senior girls played 9 matches during this

term. They won 3, drew 2 and lost 4 in the KAIIS

League, Hillcrest 7-a-side tournament. The best

performance came from Wambui Kimani, Rhea

Chakrabarti, Safiyah Shah, Sharan Sehmi, Tanaya

Parmar, Teertha, Preena, Anushka and Karina

Danda

The Senior boys played 14 matches in total. They

won 4, drew 6 and lost 4 in the KAIIS League,

Hillcrest, Peponi & Rosslyn tournaments. The best

performance came from Sukhman Grewal, Rian

Harania, Yash Chandaria, Hamza Khan, Karan

Patel and Drishay Shah.

The Under 14/15 girls played 8 matches in total.

They won 3, drew 4 and lost 1 in the KAIIS League,

& Peponi Tournament. The best performance

came from Eesha Harania, Yishika Wadhwa,

Nmrita Mudher, Preena Shah, Anuskha Das and

Teertha.

The Under 15 boys played 10 matches in total.

They won 5 drew 1 and lost 4 in the KAIIS League,

Peponi Tournament and St.Andrew’s Turi

Tournament. The best performance came from

Jaivir Dadhley, Shonay Shah, Teerth Babariya,

Chris comba, Matt Collins, Pratik Gandhi, Dev

Savani, Devyesh Ved & Harsh Patel.

The Under 13 boys and girls played 8 matches

each. The boys won 7 matches and lost 1. The

girls won all their matches. Both teams reached

the finals but ultimately had to be content with

the Runners Up position. The most valuable

player in the boys’ category was Jaivir Dadhley.

Football:

The Under 15 boys took part in the Annual John

Gerrard BGE Football Tournament. They played 7

matches in total of which they won 2, drew 2 and

lost 3. Bhavya Ghagada was the best player of the

tournament.

The Under 15 girls had a good season this term.

They won all their matches in the league stage but

were unlucky to lose in the finals to AKA by 1

goal. The girls also took part in the Rosslyn & RVA

football tournament. On both occasion they were

knocked out in the semis. The best performance

came from Beverly Kinyua, Eesha Harania, Nmrita

Mudher and Anika Gujral .

Basketball:

Premier Academy entered in the KAIIS Basketball

league for the first time. As debutant Premier

boys put up a brave fight against basketball

playing schools like Rosslyn, Strathmore, Rusinga,

St. Andrew’s Turi, Brookhouse and I.S.K.

We played five matches in the league and

participated in the Rosslyn, Peponi and RVA

Tournaments held during the term.

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Best performance came from Ryan Gitonga, Mark

Njoroge, Martin Kiptoo, Ryan Litswa, Kenny

Kazoora, Kelvin Ishimwe and Rohan Sebastian.

ANNUAL SWIMMING GALA:

The Secondary Section Annual Swimming Gala

from Year 7 to Year 13 took place on Thursday 9th

February 2017. The results were as follows;

1st Place- Blue house with 614 points 2nd Place- Green House with 520 points 3rd Place- Red House with 483 points 4th Place- Yellow House with 472 points

BEST SWIMMERS DURING THE GALA

YEAR GROUP

BOYS CATEGORY

HOUSE GIRLS CATEGORY

HOUSE

YEAR 7 DILLAN SHAH

YELLOW

DIYA SHAH

BLUE

YEAR 8 CHRIS

COMBA GREEN ZHEA

KASSAM RED

YEAR 9 SNEHIN

RAGHWANI

GREEN UMEHANI YELLOW

YEAR 10 & 11

JUNAID KHANDWALA

YELLOW

YISHIKA WADHWA

BLUE

YEAR 12 & 13

JOSH BANGERA

BLUE KHUSHI DESAI

GREEN

Volleyball:

The volleyball team is getting set to play the

league next year. The coach Mr. Joseph Asichi is

busy training the boys and girls volleyball teams

this term.

Finally, in the international front the following

students have made Premier Academy and Kenya

proud in tennis and badminton.

Sheil Kotecha- Tennis

Sneha Kotecha- Tennis

Shana Patel- Badminton

We wish them the best of luck.

Humphrey Luseno Head of Secondary

APRIL 2017

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TERM DATES 2016/2017

FIRST TERM 3rd SEPT.2016 - 09th DEC. 2016 (14 WEEKS) SECOND TERM 09th JAN 2017 - 07th APRIL 2017 (13 WEEKS) HALF TERM 10th FEB. 2017 - 13th FEB 2017 (BOTH INCLUSIVE) VACATION 08th APRIL 2017 - 23rd APRIL 2017 (2 WEEKS) THIRD TERM 24th APRIL 2017 - 14th JULY 2017 (12 WEEKS) HALF TERM 1st JUNE 2017 - 4th JUNE 2017 (BOTH INCLUSIVE) VACATION 15th JULY 2017 - 3rd SEPT.2017 (7 WEEKS)

SCHOOL RE-OPENS: 24th APRIL 2017