This year I am involved in a new club that is designed for passionate musicians of the ISK high school. We meet every Wednesday after school for 2 hours and arrange other meetings within the small ensembles that are playing specific pieces. I am involved in about 10 different pieces playing the drums for all of them. Some are covers of songs, like "Fix You" by Coldplay, but most songs are original compositions by members of the club. For the songs I am a part of, I composed the drum music for it. The practices and meetings are to prepare for a concert to be hosted at ISK on April 14th that will raise money for Operation Smile. The club is also partnering up with the Friends of Marich club that I am also involved in. We will be performing a few acts in a concert at Tamambo at the Village Market. It will help to raise money for the club and donate to Bridging the Gap Foundation.
Personally at this club, I have developed my skills as a musician on both instruments trumpet and drums, but mainly the drums because we have only tried a few songs with me on the trumpet. I also am experiencing playing and performing in small groups, instead of individually or in a large band. It is an opportunity to form an intimate relationship through music with my peers, and interact and work together. To brainstorm ideas, and explore the endless possibilities in music. I have had a great time at this club and look forward to coming to every practice session. It is a lot of fun to play music and make new friends doing it. We have had to be creative to come up with new parts to old songs and to create parts for entirely new songs. As we prepare for the up coming concert we put in many hours of practice and have really bonded well as a group. It has helped me with time management skills because I need to make room for school work, sport, and music.
Friends of Marich club
I am a part of the new Friends of Marich club in my senior year. The main goal of this club is to fund raise for a school in the West Pokot region of Northern Kenya, and to raise money to build a bridge with Bridging the Gap foundation in the same area. Our main source of funds in from a golf tournament and raffle hosted at Windsor golf course and country club. The Golf tournament was on the 11th of November, I was involved in organizing and setting up the tournament, by putting up banners and advertisements that our sponsors provided. Many holes of the course were sponsored by large companies like Tribe hotel, Java house, Village Market, and General Motors. There were others as well that sponsored holes worth 35,000ksh or 20,000ksh. There was also a raffle that day including prizes sponsored/donated by the Hilton, Osteria, Tribe, and others. The raffle tickets sold for 200ksh each, I sold 30 raffle tickets. My role in the club is on the fund raising committee. I plan to host and organize a charity concert to raise funds for the Marich cause. The target for the bridge could be as high as $12,000. So we want to raise more money so we can plan to help a local school to that area as well as build a bridge. This concert will take place in late April at Village Market, a local shopping center. I am in charge of organizing the acts at the concert and the times that they will be going on stage. I will also be performing in the concert in the Jazz Band and in small ensembles form Composer's Club. I did not be attend the Marich field trip this school year because I am a senior and went on the senior trip to Watamu. But I went on the Marich trip the last 2 years and know what it is all about. It is very fulfilling to contribute to helping a community, and building this bridge will change and save lives. Also helping the school will change the lives of the students at the school. My main goal in this club is contribute to fund raising enough money to complete the project. Also to help guide and educate the younger members of this group about the project and how amazing Marich is. In this club I have developed organizational and leadership skills as well as teamwork skills in order to plan and organize fund raising projects. In the past years, this trip has been very successful and enjoyable, and I'm sure due to our fund raising efforts the trip this school year will be even more successful.
Jazz Band (2010-2012)
I have been a part of the ISK Jazz Band for 5 years now, I am an experienced trumpet and drums player, but I have mainly played the trumpet throughout my Jazz Band years. I have played in many concerts and many events around Kenya, including a trip to Mombasa performing at a school there. As a senior I am one of the more experienced musicians in the Band. Practices are every Wednesday and Friday mornings an hour long each. So far in senior year we have played one concert which was at the PTO Welcome Back Picnic. So far this year I have been unable to attend all of the practices because of Varsity football on Wednesday mornings, but now that it is finished I will have more time for Jazz Band. Last year we played in over 10 performances including a function at the Moroccan ambassador's house for a silent auction that raises money for various projects around Kenya. We also performed at the Born Free Gala dinner and a Mardi Gras function at the American Embassy. Throughout my Jazz Band career I have developed drastically as a trumpet player and overall musician. There have been many occasions when during performances, I have had to sight read a piece of music because I have never seen it before due to a few missed practices because of football practice. This has allowed me to improve on this skill and be able to apply it in a performance situation, which is a useful skill. Jazz Band has also helped improve my technique on the trumpet and increased playing endurance. It is hard work on the lips and cheeks to play the trumpet, so practising and performing has increased my stamina. My main goal for this year is to play to the best of my ability and help the younger trumpeters learn techniques I have mastered from my seven years of trumpet experience. So far I have mentored some of the younger players to a degree in certain songs, and teaching them easy ways to remember notes. I would like to continue this and continue playing well in performances.
ISSEA Football (November 2011)
In the beginning of November, the best 10 players in the Varsity football team were selected to go to Lusaka, Zambia for the (International Schools of South and East Africa) football tournament. There are 7 teams involved in the tournament, they come from international schools from Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, and South Africa. I felt like we had a very strong team for the 6-a-side tournament but it was my first ISSEA tournament and had no idea what to expect of the other teams. I went into the tournament with no idea what to expect but I was very excited to play football internationally. The tournament was 3 days long, but we were away from Nairobi for 5 days. The first day was to travel to Lusaka, and get a tour of the school, and the last day was to travel back to Nairobi.
On the second day, the tournament began, and we had 4 games that day, more than any other team. The games were 2 halves of 15 minutes each. Our first game was against 2-time defending ISSEA champions Uganda, we lost the game by conceding twice in the second half and lost 2-0. As a team we showed great character by winning our remaining 3 games that day 2-0, 1-0, and 3-0, against Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, respectively. The second day we played 2 games, completing the round-robin stage of the tournament. We played Ethiopia first, who were undefeated. We controlled the majority of that game, so it was unlucky of us to concede 2 goals again in the second half without scoring any. We lost 2-0, but we knew we could have beaten them. After that match we had one more to play of the round-robin before the semi-final stage of the tournament. After the game against Ethiopia, we knew we had already made it into the semi-finals despite losing the match. We also discovered that our next game was irrelevant, points wise. Whether we won by 10 goals or lost by 10 goals, we would finish the group stage in 3rd place behind Ethiopia in 1st, and Uganda in 2nd. But we had motivation to bounce back with a win against South Africa. We won the game 3-1, and were through to the semi-finals. On the last day of the tournament we would play two games, the semi-final against Uganda, then either the final or the 3rd place playoff, agaisnt Ethiopia or Zimbabwe. In the semi-final, many refereeing decisions went against us, and Uganda were awarded 2 penalties that were arguably unfairly awarded. Despite this, we showed great character and persistance to win the game by 3 goals to 2. We had achieved already what ISK has never achieved by playing in the final, but we were focussed and hungry for success in the final, and wanted to set the score straight against Ethiopia. We took the field and I was quite nervous, but we played well in the first half and were unlucky to be losing 1-0 at half time against tournament favourites, unbeaten Ethiopia. In the second half we continued to push and were awarded with a goal, a second came shortly after and we had taken the lead. In the dying seconds of the game Ethiopia had an opportunity and had a shot that was cleared off the line by our defender. The ball was cleared and we had won ISSEA! For the first time in the tournament's 11 year history, ISK had won the Championship. It was an amazing feeling, I was overwhelmed with joy, relief, and emotions. I walked into the tournament with no expectations of success and came home a champion. I had learnt a lot throughout the tournament, about persistence, concentration, ambition, and success. I learnt that through persistence, and concentration, you can succeed by achieving your ambitions. Ambitions are important, I learnt this by not having any, well at least until the final. I think that because my ambitions were not to high and broad from the beginning, I was able to achieve success. I took it each game at a time, instead of having a broad goal, that might be seen as unrealistic. I had developed the skills of teamwork, which is necessary to win a tournament. We also needed to have humility because there was a losing team and he had to show respect to them, because they gave us a good game. ISSEA was an amazing experience and winning it was the icing on the cake.
On the second day, the tournament began, and we had 4 games that day, more than any other team. The games were 2 halves of 15 minutes each. Our first game was against 2-time defending ISSEA champions Uganda, we lost the game by conceding twice in the second half and lost 2-0. As a team we showed great character by winning our remaining 3 games that day 2-0, 1-0, and 3-0, against Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Zambia, respectively. The second day we played 2 games, completing the round-robin stage of the tournament. We played Ethiopia first, who were undefeated. We controlled the majority of that game, so it was unlucky of us to concede 2 goals again in the second half without scoring any. We lost 2-0, but we knew we could have beaten them. After that match we had one more to play of the round-robin before the semi-final stage of the tournament. After the game against Ethiopia, we knew we had already made it into the semi-finals despite losing the match. We also discovered that our next game was irrelevant, points wise. Whether we won by 10 goals or lost by 10 goals, we would finish the group stage in 3rd place behind Ethiopia in 1st, and Uganda in 2nd. But we had motivation to bounce back with a win against South Africa. We won the game 3-1, and were through to the semi-finals. On the last day of the tournament we would play two games, the semi-final against Uganda, then either the final or the 3rd place playoff, agaisnt Ethiopia or Zimbabwe. In the semi-final, many refereeing decisions went against us, and Uganda were awarded 2 penalties that were arguably unfairly awarded. Despite this, we showed great character and persistance to win the game by 3 goals to 2. We had achieved already what ISK has never achieved by playing in the final, but we were focussed and hungry for success in the final, and wanted to set the score straight against Ethiopia. We took the field and I was quite nervous, but we played well in the first half and were unlucky to be losing 1-0 at half time against tournament favourites, unbeaten Ethiopia. In the second half we continued to push and were awarded with a goal, a second came shortly after and we had taken the lead. In the dying seconds of the game Ethiopia had an opportunity and had a shot that was cleared off the line by our defender. The ball was cleared and we had won ISSEA! For the first time in the tournament's 11 year history, ISK had won the Championship. It was an amazing feeling, I was overwhelmed with joy, relief, and emotions. I walked into the tournament with no expectations of success and came home a champion. I had learnt a lot throughout the tournament, about persistence, concentration, ambition, and success. I learnt that through persistence, and concentration, you can succeed by achieving your ambitions. Ambitions are important, I learnt this by not having any, well at least until the final. I think that because my ambitions were not to high and broad from the beginning, I was able to achieve success. I took it each game at a time, instead of having a broad goal, that might be seen as unrealistic. I had developed the skills of teamwork, which is necessary to win a tournament. We also needed to have humility because there was a losing team and he had to show respect to them, because they gave us a good game. ISSEA was an amazing experience and winning it was the icing on the cake.
Goals to Go
Goals to Go is a charity football tournament organized by the students of the GIN (Global Issues Network) organization and is held at ISK. The tournament raises money for a local school, Lady Lusha and this year, a total of around ksh.135,000 was raised. There were 2 referees at the tournament, I was one of them. Each referee had to officiate 12 consecutive games each 15 minutes long. I refereed for 12 games, then I had to replace a player in one of the teams, due to an injury. I played in the final 3 games of the tournament. The tournament went from 9:00am - 17:00pm, so I was either a referee or a player for 8 hours.
This was the first time I had ever been a referee for any kind of football match. It was a good experience because I now have an idea of the pressure referees are under during a football match. Even though this was a student charity football tournament, it gave me some perspective on the difficulty of being a referee because of the fast reactions and correct decisions. To be a good referee you need to have good judgement, fairness, an authoritative presence, and a decent level of fitness to keep up with the game. It is tough to be a referee, and I began to develop those skills. I especially felt more powerful because of the authority the whistle gave me. It was quite fun being a referee in a low pressure situation like a charity tournament, but I would not like to referee a competitive match because of the added pressure of making an incorrect or unfair decision. But making decisions is an important life skill and whilst refereeing, decisions have to be made quickly and correctly, or else it would effect the outcome of the game. The most important thing I will take away from this experience is the perspective I gained on the pressure on the referee during a football match and how difficult a job it is. As a football player it allows me to understand the situation that the referee is in better.
This was the first time I had ever been a referee for any kind of football match. It was a good experience because I now have an idea of the pressure referees are under during a football match. Even though this was a student charity football tournament, it gave me some perspective on the difficulty of being a referee because of the fast reactions and correct decisions. To be a good referee you need to have good judgement, fairness, an authoritative presence, and a decent level of fitness to keep up with the game. It is tough to be a referee, and I began to develop those skills. I especially felt more powerful because of the authority the whistle gave me. It was quite fun being a referee in a low pressure situation like a charity tournament, but I would not like to referee a competitive match because of the added pressure of making an incorrect or unfair decision. But making decisions is an important life skill and whilst refereeing, decisions have to be made quickly and correctly, or else it would effect the outcome of the game. The most important thing I will take away from this experience is the perspective I gained on the pressure on the referee during a football match and how difficult a job it is. As a football player it allows me to understand the situation that the referee is in better.
Learning to Snowboard (March 2011)
A school trip to Switzerland is organized every year for those who wish to learn how to ski or snowboard. The trip is hosted at Les Elfes in Verbier, Switzerland. I chose to learn how to snowboard, it was my first time snowboarding and the first time I had been in snow for 8 years. The trip was 1 week long and we snowboarded about 6 hours a day for 6 days, it was great fun. On the first 2 days, we learnt basic skills and just got used to being on the board and on the snow. We remained on the small practice slopes to learn the fundamental techniques of snowboarding. The rest of the days we moved up to the mountain and went down bigger slopes everyday. We learned more advanced techniques to better control the snowboard by our instructor Kevin. He was a very good teacher by having fun with us, which was easy because we were a tight-nit small group, so socially it was fun, as well as actively. On the later days we tried the black slopes, which are the steepest slopes, we managed to ride them well. By the end of the course I had progressed from a level 0, to a level 3. When we were not on the slopes we were doing other activities like ice-skating or swimming. If we were not doing those activities we were out in the town of Verbier shopping or enjoying the food.
My goals for the trip were to have fun, and learn the basics of snowboarding so I can build on my skills. I feel like my instructor made this easy for me, because by the end of the course I became a confident, capable and competent snowboarder. Throughout the course, it was necessary to interact with my peers in my group, we helped each other to learn and develop as snowboarders because we were learning together at the same rate. It was also important to interact with the younger students on the ski trip, I was one of the oldest ISK students on the trip, so the younger students looked up to me as an example for good behaviour etc. They also helped me develop leadership skills with the responsibilities of being an older student.
Overall, the trip was great fun and I was highly involved actively, at the beginning I fell a lot, and injured my shoulder that I had to have an x-ray, I missed the last hour of boarding, which was time for 1 final run. It did not matter too much because I had an amazing experience and got to have an early shower.
My goals for the trip were to have fun, and learn the basics of snowboarding so I can build on my skills. I feel like my instructor made this easy for me, because by the end of the course I became a confident, capable and competent snowboarder. Throughout the course, it was necessary to interact with my peers in my group, we helped each other to learn and develop as snowboarders because we were learning together at the same rate. It was also important to interact with the younger students on the ski trip, I was one of the oldest ISK students on the trip, so the younger students looked up to me as an example for good behaviour etc. They also helped me develop leadership skills with the responsibilities of being an older student.
Overall, the trip was great fun and I was highly involved actively, at the beginning I fell a lot, and injured my shoulder that I had to have an x-ray, I missed the last hour of boarding, which was time for 1 final run. It did not matter too much because I had an amazing experience and got to have an early shower.
Sailing Trip to Tanzania (October 2010)
My friends and I went on a sailing trip on my friend Matthew's yacht with his parents. We sailed from Mombasa to Pemba Island in Tanzania and back. There were four of us crew members on board the Safarini: Matthew, Arno, Alberto, and I. The yacht is a 10 man yacht, so it required a lot of work to sail for 5 days. This was my first time learning to sail on a yacht, I had been on a yacht before, but I was young and just a passenger on board. But on this trip, I was actively involved in many areas of operating the boat. I learnt many things on the trip: how to tie the knots correctly with a security hold, how to position the mainsail, how to raise the ginoa sail, how to plot a course on a map, how to follow the co-ordinates, how to steer the boat and stay on course, read all of the gauges and recognize wind speed and direction. I had other responsibilities on boards as well, including lowering and reeling in the anchor, cleaning the boat, and mooring the boat.
On the yacht I also learnt to fish, throughout the trip, we caught 3 tuna, 1 big one, 2 relatively small ones. We de-boned them, gutted them, and ate them as sushi the same day. The trip was hard work, but a great experience. I had many responsibilities on board, and I learnt that maintaining a yacht is a lot of hard work. Taking responsibility for the important tasks on the boat helped me understand and take responsibility for things off the boat, this proved to be very important as I was just starting the IB program at this time.
On the yacht I also learnt to fish, throughout the trip, we caught 3 tuna, 1 big one, 2 relatively small ones. We de-boned them, gutted them, and ate them as sushi the same day. The trip was hard work, but a great experience. I had many responsibilities on board, and I learnt that maintaining a yacht is a lot of hard work. Taking responsibility for the important tasks on the boat helped me understand and take responsibility for things off the boat, this proved to be very important as I was just starting the IB program at this time.
Varsity Football 2010-2011
Varsity Football is the top football team in ISK. I have been in the team for 2 seasons now which are from mid August to mid November. During a season practices are on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday afternoons, and Wednesday mornings, each lasting 80 minutes. We play around 10 games during the season, this season we finished 2nd in our group and were undefeated which meant we qualified for the semi finals. Last season we made it to the semi finals as well, but lost to RVA 2-1. This year I was surprised to even reach the semi finals, let alone be undefeated. We lost our experienced defenders at the end of last season because they graduated, so this year our entire defence was made up of new-comers to varsity. As a senior and a returning player to the team, I had significant responsibility in the team. I had to set a good example to the newcomers of the team. I think the current unexpected success of the team is largely due the the high standard the returning varsity players and I set during the first few weeks of training. The coach (Sags) happened to agree with this, he mentioned it to the team after our last game this season. This season we did better than last year, and made to to the final, an achievement that hasn't been accomplished by ISK varsity football that our own athletics director Derrick Quinet or coach Sags can remember. I was very proud after beating Turi in the semi final by 2 goals to 0, it meant that the next day we would travel to RVA to play Rosslyn. It ended up being an unfortunate end to a fantastic season, it was 1-1 by the end of normal time, but they scored a lucky goal to win 2-1 near the end of extra time. I am still very proud to be a part of such a brilliant team that was committed, dedicated, and improved from the first practice until the final. Another driving force that allowed us to be so successful was our will power. On 3 or more occasions we came from a goal behind to go on and win the match. This demonstrates the great character and will to succeed that we have in our team.
As a player in the team, I personally grew on many levels. For Coach Sags, punctuality is very important, so is dedication and focus. During every practice session and especially during matches full concentration is required so we stay on task and carry out the game plan properly. He makes us do deep breathing exercises to help with concentration, and I have been able to apply this on and off the pitch. Communication and cohesion within the team has also been a key component to our success. We have been so successful because of our good team chemistry which has only been possible because of the good relations built among the team mates. We are good friends on and off the pitch, and this teamwork can be applied to school and other project situations. My role in the team is a starting player and a leading figure as one of the returning senior players on the team. I set an example to younger players. I do this through performance, or actions on the pitch rather than verbally.
As a player in the team, I personally grew on many levels. For Coach Sags, punctuality is very important, so is dedication and focus. During every practice session and especially during matches full concentration is required so we stay on task and carry out the game plan properly. He makes us do deep breathing exercises to help with concentration, and I have been able to apply this on and off the pitch. Communication and cohesion within the team has also been a key component to our success. We have been so successful because of our good team chemistry which has only been possible because of the good relations built among the team mates. We are good friends on and off the pitch, and this teamwork can be applied to school and other project situations. My role in the team is a starting player and a leading figure as one of the returning senior players on the team. I set an example to younger players. I do this through performance, or actions on the pitch rather than verbally.
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