St Andrew's Senior School
Weekly Newsletter - 24th April 2024
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SPEECH DAY INVITATION - 4TH MAY 2024 |
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I hope that you will forgive the fact that this communication concentrates on one aspect of school life; games kit.
We have listened to feedback about the school sports kit over the past 18 months and have moved to work with Tessen Sports (formally Samurai) to ensure concerns have been addressed.
With this in mind, we have a formal agreement with Tessen to supply our sports kit for the foreseeable future. An online shop has been set up with key order dates to ensure the kit is delivered in time for the start of the academic year and terms. (https://tessen-sports.myshopify.com/collections/st-andrews-turi ) Please note that this is the way you will need to purchase games kit from now on.
However, I am also aware that there are many students who have just bought new kits, either to join the school, or because of need. Therefore, the new kit will only be compulsory for new students, but we will cease to offer the old kit when students grow out, or replacements are needed.
Whilst an online shop can simplify a process, it can also lead to frustrations with incorrect sizes, especially when no returns are permitted. To that end, I encourage you to carefully read the sizing guide on the website (and reproduced below) when ordering kit. SIZE GUIDE – Tessen Sports (tessen-sports.myshopify.com)
For those of you with children starting Senior School in September, or keen to upgrade the current kit, we will have samples available to check sizes over VISO 5.
The key date for you to be aware of is 9 June 2024. All orders must be placed by 9 June for delivery in the Christmas term.
Orders made by that date will be delivered to St Andrew’s by 23 August, in order for them to be named, ready for the start of the school year.
There will then be other windows made public, for orders for each subsequent term.
There are several compulsory items and some optional. They are clearly signposted on the website.
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I hope you approve of the improved design and quality of the product. We have involved students throughout the process and shared some samples with parents at VISO 3.
I recognise the increase in the price per item, but the flexibility (reversible shirts), quality and durability of the product make economic sense in the long term.
Please remember the deadline for orders for the start of the next academic year – 9 June. Happy shopping!
With my prayers and best wishes,
Mr Ben Pennington
Headmaster
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Celebrations and business time
This Term provides us with the paradoxical mandate to celebrate students and their achievements whilst also encouraging them to hit full speed during their exam season. With the end of the academic year only weeks away for some of our exam candidates, it has been a pleasure to celebrate student efforts and achievements in their final Whole School assembly and to decide on prizewinners at the upcoming Speech Day. However, this is also the business end of the year and so the commitment and effort demonstrated by students (even in this fortnight before exams become more frequent) will ultimately go a long way to deciding the GCSE, AS and A Level grades that they will earn.
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As ever, we will join you in supporting your child as best we can, as they seek to achieve qualifications that will open up various doors to them. In that vein, any parents wishing to find out more or enter their child for the DELF qualification (assessed on June 14th – 15th as per previous communications) should note the deadline of May 1st; to arrange this or for further information please contact Wendy.Anyanjira@turimail.co.ke (Acting Head of French).
Mr Jonathan Williams
Deputy Head Academic
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We all engage in forms of self-harm at various points in our lives, whether it's through overeating or undereating, pushing ourselves excessively, or other behaviors. As adults, we often develop mechanisms to manage these tendencies, reflecting on our levels of control and recognising when adjustments are necessary. However, for many teenagers, this process isn't as straightforward.
The need for control over their lives is paramount for teenagers, yet the means to achieve it are often limited. In recent years, especially exacerbated by the challenges of the pandemic, we've observed an increase in students resorting to self-harm, such as controlled eating or physical cutting. Consequently, there's a pressing need for both staff and parents to address these concerns and provide support to young people during these turbulent times.
Although comments like "this is attention-seeking" or "you need to stop right now" are sometimes made, they're not always constructive and can exacerbate the child's distress.
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Next Tuesday, I'll be hosting an online session for parents to delve into these matters and offer support to those who are troubled by what they've observed but feel uncertain about how to respond.
Join me next Tuesday as we explore strategies and gain insights to navigate these challenging times as parents.
Mr Mark Buckler
Deputy Head, Pastoral
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For many people, the plentiful rain and mud is a discouragement to exercise, but it has not dampened the enthusiasm of the rugby players. Every morning and most afternoons, a large number of team hopefuls, both boys and girls, work on their fitness and develop skills with the ultimate prize being to represent St Andrew’s in rugby.
To supplement this, our weekend pre-season training camp gave Turi students and selected visiting teams a chance to train under professional coaches. This weekend we have our first fixture and hope the intense preparation will produce results.
Adventure continues to blossom in St Andrew’s and, by way of preparation for the next academic year, specialised training will be given to staff so that students can safely progress to the next level. In order to to develop leadership skills in students, after exams interested Year 11 students will also be given one week of training to lead younger students in First Aid, Mountain Biking, Bushcraft, Shelter, Navigation, Watersports, Climbing and team dynamics. This can lead to external qualifications and will look great in a university application.
Preparation for VISO 5 on 4th-5th May continue in school and we hope to see as many parents as possible for the major events of Speech Day, Graduation, Joint Service, Confirmation and Baptism.
Mr Nicholas Martyn
Director, Co-curricular
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Please click on the link below to access the events coming up over the next couple of weeks |
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The week started off with a Devotion from Judges 6:14-15 “And the LORD looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.” Being an encouragement to us not to despise ourselves because God can use us for His purpose.
On Wednesday at Soul Chapel, Rev. Hackman shared on The Foundation of Prayer from Matthew 6:5-13 with the key teaching points being on:
- Introduction to prayer: What is prayer, and why is it essential?
- Examining the Lord's Prayer as a model for our prayers.
- The attitudes and heart posture we should have in prayer.
In the evening at Bible Study, we started a new series about habits – Everyday – as we looked at topic We can connect with God every day. Our main goal was to encourage students to see that they can connect with and grow in their relationship with God, as part of their everyday lives. Some of the questions that we discussed were:
- What do you think it means to know God?
- Why do you think it’s easy to see getting to know God as more of a requirement than a relationship at times?
- How has Jesus made a relationship with God possible for us?
- What does it look like practically to connect with God?
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Year 9 girls at Bible Study |
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On Friday at the Outdoor Chapel, we had a wonderful moment as we shared in the Holy Communion as is our norm, to dedicate the term into the hands and guidance of God. |
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Holy Communion at the Outdoor Chapel
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Later in the evening at Faith Factor, we celebrated God’s goodness in singing, dance and word as Rev. Okiring shared on God won’t disappoint you from Numbers 23:19 reminding us that God has already commanded blessings over our lives and nothing and no one can change that. She further emphasized that nothing can override, overturn, or overthrow the will, command and decree of God over our lives.
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On Saturday, the Chaplaincy started the Baptism and Confirmation classes which saw over 30 students joining. The topics that were looked at were:
- Introduction: What is Baptism and Confirmation
- Holy Communion
- The Cross and Salvation
- The Trinity: Three Persons, One God
- The Creed
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Baptism and Confirmation class |
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The week was wrapped up by Mr. Muthui in Sunday Chapel as he looked at the theme of the term – In His Steps – from 1 Peter 2:21. Mr. Muthui challenged us with the question: Are we following in the steps of Jesus? He further charged us that as Christians we should live by the standard of Jesus.
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Worship session at Sunday Chapel
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Mr. Muthui speaking at Sunday Chapel |
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May every blessing of the Lord be with us all!
Selah!
Rev. Patricia Okiring
Senior School Chaplain
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