The last two weeks have been extremely busy in BKIS. We had the opportunity to display the term value of Cooperation to support our annual target of Team Excellence to produce admirable results.
BKIS ICT Day
Last week Thursday was a special day in BKIS calendar. This was the day students were allowed to bring in their own devices to enhance learning through the ICT. The day's activities started after break. All key stages had a briefing. QR Codes with questions for Scavenger Hunt were placed all over the compound. Pupils from Year 1 to Year 10 were put into various groups according to their Key Stage. They enjoyed scanning the codes and answering questions that appeared on their devices. High school also had an internet scavenger hunt. This involved answering general questions by researching the internet. Presentations from each Year group were good and students enjoyed seeing what other students had to showcase. The final event was an inter-house Kahoot competition. The quiz was very interesting and at the end Tilapia emerged the winner. It is encouraging to report that all the gadgets were used responsibly and safely and great learning took place.
BKIS Cross Country
Last Saturday, we held another successful cross country involving three schools with amazing talents in different categories of U9, U12 and U16. A big thank you to BKIS team for showing determination throughout the event.
A special mention of Safiya, Amina, Jamie and Zawadi for winning medals in their categories.
Maaya’s resilience was acknowledged during the event and this led to her being awarded a medal. Well done Maaya.
Art Certificates
The Orchid Art Competition’s certificates finally arrived! As had been mentioned earlier, BKIS emerged the overall winner in 7-10 years category. As a result, the school earned a gift voucher worth ksh.20,000 to be redeemed at Text book Centre. Dhara S. (the overall winner in 7-10 category) also received her gift voucher during the assembly. Once again, congratulations to BKIS team.
WORL SCHOLARS CUP
It is exciting to announce that our team that qualified for the Tournament of 
Champions in the last global round which was held in Barcelona is ready once again to fly the BKIS flag at Yale University. We wish them well even as they plan to battle it out with other scholars. It is already a great achievement to make it to the Tournament of Champions and we are proud of Vanessa, Cindy and Samantha. The 2018 Tournament of Champions is scheduled for November 16-21.
BKIS DIWALI
As has been the tradition, BKIS will be celebrating Diwali tomorrow. Our parents have been very helpful in setting up the event. At BKIS, the students are exposed to major religions of the world through time tabled Religious Education subject in Primary school. This is in line with our great vision of having students who are broad minded individuals; an aspect of Internationalism. Exciting activities are lined up for us. The event will run from 6pm to 8pm.
Welcome back from the mid-term break. The students look well rested and ready for the second half of the term. Over the short break, some great achievements were realized by our boys and girls as listed below:
Tae Kwondo Tournament
On the 13th of October, there was a tournament that took place at the Goan Hall. BKIS was represented by Deven, Dhara, Krit and Malaika. It involved Sparring, Breakings, Speed Kicking and Poomsae. Well done to the team for earning various medals in different categories.
Orchid Art Competition
BKIS participated in the recently concluded Kenya Orchid Society Art Competition. The school emerged 1st position in the 7-10 years category. We congratulate Dhara for being 1st position in 7-10 years category, Arav and Deven for being Highly Commended in the 7-10 years category, Rowland and Pamela also for being Highly Commended in 11-13 years category and 6 years and below respectively.
A big thank you to Mr. Oketch for the guidance and training offered to the students that enabled them produce excellent pieces.
High School Educational Trip
Over the mid-term break, our seniors had a great time learning practical application of Biology and Geography in Njoro, Nakuru County.
Year 4 Assembly Presentation
Year Fours have been learning the Descant Recorder since the beginning of this term alongside their other Musical Activities. In our assembly today, were treated to a well synchronized medley of 3 tunes of Mary had a little Lamb, Hot Cross Buns and Rain go away.
Going forward, we shall endeavour to have more musical presentations in our assemblies. This will also be a great opportunity for students to show case their skills .Ms.Buluma is currently working on a schedule.
BKIS ICT DAY
On Thursday, 1st of November, we will celebrate the second BKIS I.C.T. Day! This year’s theme is “Secure Technology”. For this special event, all students will be allowed to bring their electronic devices (phone, Ipad, laptop, etc.) to school. A temporary internet connection will be provided in every class. Apart from this, the day will be packed with great learning activities for all groups from Year 1 up to Year 10! Kindly note that;
- The student is responsible for maintaining a 100% working device at all times. The student shall use reasonable care to ensure that the device is not damaged. Refer to the planners for the ICT Usage Agreement. Examples of damage include, but are not limited to:
- Damage or loss resulting from an unattended Device while at or away from school.
- Damage when others use the device
- Using device in an unsafe environment and/or in an unsafe manner.
School Accountant and Administrator
BKIS has a new Accountant and Administrator by the name of Ms. Hope Eve. She takes over from Ms. 
Beatrice who has moved to our sister school in Mombasa (Braeburn Mombasa). It is my hope that Hope will easily settle into the BKIS family through our usual great support.
The first half of the term has come to a successful end with great achievements in both academics and extra-curricular activities. All these have been made possible by the excellent teamwork supported by the term value of Cooperation.
Sports Day
The 2018/19 BKIS Sports Day was held yesterday at the Moi Stadium in Kisumu. The half a day event was an experience enjoyed by students, parents and teachers. This being an athletics term, it was the perfect venue to expose the students to the actual distances covered in track events with clear lane demarcations. The major excitement was the real experience of Astro Turf Field.
Warm Up Sessions
Before the track events, Perch and Tilapia houses participated in various group events which clearly brought out our annual target of Team Excellence. These included Sack race, Limbo, Wheelbarrow race, Balloon toss, Tyre flip race among others.
Our Early Years children were also not left behind in experiencing the real big field. They had fun participating in activities such as water balloon race, cup race, sprints among others.
The track events were the climax of the day.
A big thank you to all our parents who graced the occasion and those who actually participated in the sprints! It was a great opportunity to see our dads and mums on the track.
World Post Day
For the first time in BKIS history, we were represented in this great event that is celebrated every year on the 9th of October. This year it was held in Nairobi at the Serena hotel. The special invitation was done to 
BKIS courtesy of Dhara Shah Participation in the Universal Postal Union –International letter writing competition where she was 3rd Overall (and the youngest).
Congratulations to Dhara!
The topic for the 48th edition of the International Letter Writing Competition for young people aged 15 years and below is “Write a letter about your hero” and should be submitted on or before 31st March 2019 by post to :
The Postmaster General
Postal Corporation of Kenya
P.O. BOX 34567, GPO, 00100 Nairobi.
Att: Manager/Corporate Communications & Public Affairs
Educational Trip
Over the Midterm break, our seniors will be out for an educational trip to Nakuru. They depart tomorrow at 12 Noon and to be back on Tuesday by 4.00 pm. During their trip they will visit animal farms where selective breeding (a topic in Biology) of dairy cattle, sheep and goats is done. They will also visit the Science labs & Yoghurt manufacturing plant and Organic farms. In Geography, a practical study of the river will be done on River Njoro and Urbanization in Nakuru town.
The second last week to half term has come to a successful end courtesy of the great team work accompanied by the term value of Cooperation from each and every member of BKIS. As a climax of the week, we had a great opportunity to appreciate and celebrate our teachers as we joined the rest of the world in marking the World’s Teacher’s Day. Representatives of the students (Vanessa, Aiden, Precious and Karanja) read out inspiring poems to the teachers just to express their appreciation of the work the teachers do.
It was also encouraging to hear from our parents how the teachers played a very important role in their lives during their school days. Thank you Rachael and Chris for inspiring our students during the assembly; which indeed confirmed to them how important it is to appreciate their teachers. The love and strong belief the teachers have in their students always make a huge difference in their lives.
World Post Day Celebration
It is always encouraging to be part of important celebrations around the world. For the first time in BKIS history, we have been invited to take part in World Post Day Celebration in Kenya to be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi courtesy of Dhara Shah as per the invite below:
“This is to inform you that Miss Dhara Shah emerged 3rd in the just concluded 2018 International Letter Writing competitions for young people aged 15years and below. It in this regard, that Postal Corporation of Kenya cordially invites the Principal of Braeburn Kisumu Intercontinental School, accompanied by Dhara's English Class teacher to grace the World Post Day celebrations, scheduled for Tuesday 9th October 2018, at the Intercontinental Hotel Nairobi from 10.00am.”
The Chief Guest for the occasion will be the cabinet Secretary Ministry of Information and Technology. On behalf of the BKIS community, we congratulate Dhara for this great achievement even as she plans to travel to Nairobi next week.
ABRSM Theory Exams
BKIS has always had students register for practical ABRSM music exams. This year, we have two 
students who have extended their learning to take part in the Theory Exams to be done on 10th October in Nairobi. According to ABRSM objective on this, these exams aim to give students a thorough understanding of the building blocks of music, starting with the basics of rhythm and notes, and going on to cover harmony and counterpoint, composition, and a broad knowledge of western music, including composers and their works, structure, style and period. We wish Maaya and Dhara every success in their forth coming Exams.
Sports Achievements
- BSL: Well done to the Braeburn Sports Festival team for excellent participation. Hamraj and Benjamine’s team emerged overall winners.
Chess Tournament
It is the first time to run a chess club in BKIS. Already the club is very popular and full of active participants. Last week Saturday there was a tournament and one of our members (Dhara) participated in the U10 category. Out of four rounds, she won two, drew one and lost one! An impressive result after having played chess for only one month!
BKIS SPORTS DAY
The annual BKIS Sports Day is finally here with us! As calendared in our Term Planner, it is happening next week Friday the 12th of October from 9.00 am. This year, we shall hold at the Moi Stadium Kisumu!
The students are excited and looking forward to the great sporty day; it will be a perfect way to end the first half of the term. A lot of exciting activities are being arranged to cater for Students, parents and Teachers. All are welcome. It is important to note that the students are looking forward to compete both their teachers and parents in selected events. A more detailed programme of the day shall be sent out next week.
New BKIS Member
We say a big welcome to Malachi into the BKIS family. He has joined Year 3 class and is already having fun.
It is always encouraging to see the commitment of students to the activities on offer at school. This week, our scouts showed great improvement in their drills and coordination as they led the whole school to the flag raising ceremony. Through recreation, Scouting achieves its purpose of helping young people develop physically, intellectually, and socially. Scouting is all about building confidence and self-esteem, learning important life skills and leadership skills, team building, outdoor adventures, education, and fun! And that is why at BKIS we consider it an important movement which helps in realising the vision of Braeburn Schools; Confident individuals, Responsible citizens and learners enjoying success.
Going forward, we encourage all the Scouts to always be in their full uniform every Friday even as we realise the annual target of Team Excellence.
Braeburn Sports Festival
BKIS sent a team of eight students to be part of this great event involving representatives from all the Braeburn schools. The festival is aimed at pupils in Years 9 – 13. It is used to promote some core values as captured in Olympic Games by the founder of the Modern Olympic Movement (Baron Pierre de Coubertin) and I quote, “The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not to win but to take part, just as the most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well.”
Health and Safety
The Kisumu weather has changed and it is very hot during the day. To help us protect the students, we are requesting for them to have the following:
- Water bottle which can be refilled in school
- Sun hats to protect them for the heat.
- Apply sunscreen
The Braeburn Sunhats are available in school at Ksh.600.
Term Value: Co-operation
The aspect of cooperation as a value has been exercised in BKIS in many ways by understanding that it is:
- Team work
- Getting along with people even if you dislike them
- Encouraging others to participate
- Thinking before acting
- When everyone has to be an active member of the team and do what they agree to do.
As a team we continue to remind our students to always practice this value by:
- Being good listeners
- Distributing work evenly among team members
- Encouraging each member to contribute their ideas
- Treating each other with respect
- Being open and receptive to new suggestions
- Compromising to resolve difference
It is our hope that through these, we shall attain our annual target of Team Excellence.
NEW BKIS Members
This week, we officially welcome Abbi (Yr 1) and Resian (Crèche) into the BKIS family.
Braeburn Kisumu International School