Jazz Band

This year, after playing the piano for several years, I decided that I wanted the opportunity to be able to perform and to actually display the skills that I have accumulated. I believe that Jazz Band gives me some of the best opportunities to be able to do this, because not only can I perform, but I can also interact with other students who share my passion for music. The Jazz band at school meets twice a week, and we practice various pieces. Since there are three piano players in the band, I only get to perform 1/3 of the songs, but I still have the opportunity to practice as many of them as I would like. Of course, a lot of practice needs to be put in outside of the meeting dates, and I therefore practice the pieces by myself everyday.

Jazz Band's first performance was at the ISK PTO Picnic. At this venue, I played the songs, "Funkytown" and "Burritos to Go". This was the first time that I had ever performed in front of an audience, and I was therefore extremely nervous and excited at the same time. I had a lot of fun playing, and I got really good feedback after the performance. While playing, I noticed some things that I wanted to improve for the next performance, and I therefore spent the majority of my practice time fixing those issues.

The second performance was at the UN Track Gala. At this venue, I played the same two songs. This performance was much better for me, mostly because I was not as nervous as the first time and because I had had much more time to practice and perfect my playing. Since I was not as nervous, I also enjoyed the performance more, and I noticed that the audience was enjoying it as well.

Performing at the UN Gala

I have been practicing several new pieces with the band, and we will be performing at various venues in the upcoming months!

Habitat for Humanity: Building trip #1

The first building trip that I went on with Habitat for Humanity this school year was at Eldama Ravine on the 29th of September. We will no longer be going to Mai Mahiu as all of the houses there have been built. We left from Nairobi at 5am, and arrived at the site 4 hours later. Although we were exhausted, we were all determined to work as hard as we could so that we could finish the foundation of the house, which was our task. My main task was to shovel out the dirt from the foundation after the ground had been hoed. Working directly under the sun for hours on end was definitely exhausting, and after a couple of hours of work, I noticed that my hands were covered in blisters. Everyone was in the same situation as me however, and so we all motivated each other to keep on working. At around 3pm, it was time for us to head back to ISK. We were all so happy with the work that we had done and we were more than ready to head home! This build was different from the other ones that I have been on as it was in a completely new location that seemed to be much less populated. As a result, we did not get the opportunity to interact with the local people as much as usual, but we did end up doing more work. The next trip that I will be going on will be in the second semester.

The Habitat for Humanity team!

Tennis: Gold Team

In August of this school year, I became a member of the school's Gold Team for tennis. This team meets for practice four times a week. I have chosen to focus on my doubles tennis playing skills as opposed to singles tennis. This is because I enjoy playing with a partner as it tests my communication skills. Max Alverson, another 12th grade student, and I became doubles partners, and we work towards strengthening our skills as partners during every practice session.

I was also elected Team Captain this year, which I was very excited about as I have never held a leadership position in a sports team. As the Captain of the team, I am responsible for making sure any information from the Coach reaches all of the players. I also encourage all the players to support each other during practices and during the actual matches, and I try to keep team spirit high even when we are losing a match. Being Captain was and continues to be very interesting for me as it does not always require the same skills as other leadership positions, such as Club President. Despite this, I believe that it is a great opportunity for me to hone skills that I will require for the rest of my life so as to be able to work efficiently with other people.

On the 18th of September, the school's Gold Team had its first match against Rosslyn Academy. We were all very excited about this match as it was our first opportunity in the school year to display our tennis skills and see how much we had improved since practice started. We were also very nervous, as this was an away match, and we were therefore not as comfortable as we would had been had we played at ISK. It was clear to me that the players were nervous from the very start, as none of them were cheering for their fellow players. As Team Captain, I had to try and increase spirits. Although this was difficult at first, I found that as time passed, the players cheered more and more and became more comfortable. I played a doubles match with Max. Both of us were also extremely nervous, and as a result, we made a lot of unforced errors. We ended up losing the match 3-6, but this was a very good experience since it encouraged both of us to work harder in practice and to fix unforced errors. I also continue to work on my service game in practice and my forehand strokes.

On the 20th of September, the Gold Team played a match against the ISK Blue team! This was a very fun match as we were playing against our friends who are on the more advanced team. Max and I were doubles partners again. This game was a much more difficult one for us as compared to the one against Rosslyn Academy. Despite this, both of us still found it much more engaging and interesting because we were pushed to our limits. We also lost 3-6, but we felt much more confident about our playing as compared to the previous match.

On the 25th of September, we played a match against West Nairobi School. Max and I won our doubles match 6-1, but we did not enjoy playing this match at all! Our opponents were at a much lower level of tennis as compared to us, and we were therefore not challenged. It was very difficult to get the players interested in this match as none of them felt that they were being challenged. However, I did manage to get them to cheer, and this encouraged everyone.

The next match that I will be playing is on the 2nd of November against Hillcrest.

A Great Start to the Operation Smile Student Club

In the past half a year, several students have become involved with the newly formed Operation Smile club at ISK. The aim of this club is to raise awareness and hold fundraisers to support Operation Smile. This international organization currently works in more than 60 countries to provide surgeries to children with cleft lips and cleft palates. Each surgery costs around $240, or KSH 20,000, and takes as little as 45 minutes.

The Operation Smile Club at ISK held its first major fundraiser on the 14^th of April. This was a concert that featured the Composers’ Club, and was a huge success. $1,800 was raised that night, which went towards paying for the surgeries of 7 children. Due to the success of this event, two ISK students were invited to participate in a Saturday Clinic at the Kenyatta Hospital in May. Aashmali Patel and I decided to participate, and we got the chance to meet several Operation Smile doctor volunteers, as well as the three children who received their surgeries that day.

One of the three patients was an infant called Osman Abdille. The surgeons on the team described Osman’s case as one of the worst they had ever seen, as he had a bilateral cleft lip and palate. This gave him difficulties in breathing and feeding. What really stood out to Aashmali and me was that, despite the fact that he was suffering, Osman could not stop laughing. He didn’t seem at all frightened by all the strangers that were surrounding him, and he had an instant connection with all of us the second that he was brought into the OR. After the surgery was over, more than three hours later, Osman looked completely different!

I had the chance to participate in the week-long International Student Leadership Conference organized by Operation Smile in Washington D.C this summer. Over 500 students from 23 countries attended this conference, whose purpose was to allow us to create a network with each other, share ideas, learn how to share Operation Smile’s mission, and become inspired to help change the lives of others. We had the amazing opportunity to listen to some inspirational speakers, including the founders of Operation Smile, William and Kathleen Magee, a U.S Olympian, Buddy Lee, the founder of the Blink Now Foundation, Maggie Doyne, and many more. Most importantly, we obtained some ideas of how to run a student club effectively, and I look forward to sharing these with my fellow Operation Smile club members, with the hopes of making this club one that will truly make a mark in our community.

At the beginning of October, a two-week Operation Smile mission will take place in Kisumu, in which several children will receive their life-changing surgeries. I, along with two other students from the US and Kenya, were invited to take part in this mission as student volunteers, and I am sure that it will be an unforgettable experience! I am confident and hopeful that the hard-working and dedicated Operation Smile club members will have multiple opportunities to make a difference in the lives of others during this academic year.

We encourage you to join the Operation Smile club this year, and help us make an impact on the lives of many!

Osman before his surgery

Participants of the International Student Leadership Conference 2012 at Georgetown University

Habitat for Humanity: Third Building Trip

On the 21st of April, I went on my third and last Habitat for Humanity building trip of the year. This trip did not require as much manual labour as the previous two for me, because I worked in the new library. The National Honor Society in ISK had donated funds to the Habitat for Humanity club, which was used to pay for bookshelves, benches, and a whiteboard for the library. As an NHS member, I helped to organize and put up books in the library for the majority of the trip. These books were donated by various ISK students and teachers, and Habitat managed to gather more than 300 books. Although cataloging all of the books and organizing them was tedious work, I really enjoyed seeing the reaction of the children when they saw all of the new books. They were all extremely excited to see all of the new books that we had brought them, and they all wanted to immediately begin reading.

After cataloging the books for a couple of hours, I went to see the newly built playground. The funds raised by the Habitat for Humanity club were put towards buying swings, monkey bars and a slide, and these were put up during this building trip. The reaction we got when we put up the playground was amazing. All of the children began to play together, and you could tell how happy they were to have these things.

I really enjoyed this trip because it was completely different from any other Habitat build that I had ever been on. It was the first time that we did not work on building a house, and instead built a playground and worked in the library, and therefore, it was an extremely different experience for me. On this trip, you could really see the effect that our work had on the children of Maai Mahiu. We could tell that they were truly enjoying themselves on the playground and in the library, and we had a lot of fun playing with them as well. Unfortunately, we might not be returning to Maai Mahiu next year, as the building of the houses will be finished by the end of this summer. Hopefully, we will be able to find a new area to help with, and meet new people. I am really excited about seeing what is in store for the Habitat for Humanity club next school year!

Operations Smile: The Smile Concert '12

On the 14th of April, the Operation Smile club at ISK held a concert featuring the Composers' Club. In this concert, members of the Composers' Club performed, while Operation Smile members sold food and drinks. All of the profits went towards the Operation Smile Mission in Kenya. Tons of planning went into this concert, and a lot of time was spent in preparation for it. I, along with the other members of the club, had to organize all of the logistics, such as the venue, date, time, ticket prices, posters, food, drinks, tables, program etc. It was also our responsibility to keep the Composers' Club members aware of our ideas, and take all of their ideas into account. I was extremely stressed for the half month leading up to the concert, because as the president of the club, I had to make sure that everything was going according to schedule and everyone was doing their part to help organize this event. I wanted the event to turn out really well and for a lot of people to come to it, because I was eager for the club to raise as much money as it could so as to pay for the surgeries of several children. I therefore tried my hardest to make it an enjoyable night.

On the night of the event, we had a turnout that was much greater than what we were expecting. We sold more than 200 tickets! Everything went according to plan: the Composers' Club put on a great show and the Operation Smile members sold a lot of food and many drinks. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, and Ms. Flaminia DeAgostini, the Development Coordinator of the Operation Smile Mission in Kenya, who we had invited to the event, told us that she was extremely happy with the work we had put into organizing the event. From this event, we managed to make 148,000 ksh, which went towards paying for the surgeries of 7 children, with a bit of money left overs. We were ecstatic about this amount, as it surpassed our goal by a huge amount. The members of the club are eager to raise even more money in the upcoming months, and we are constantly coming up with new fundraising ideas.

Piano

I am now about 3/4 done with the piano book that I have been using. I have been able to master over 20 pieces, and my teacher and I are very happy with the progress that I have made. I feel that I am a much more technical piano player now, as I have learned new scales and techniques that I did not know before. I also enjoy the piano more and more the better I become at playing it, and it makes me sad that in about one and a half years, I might not have the opportunity to play, as I will be in university!

I find it difficult to squeeze in practice time these past few months, as the IB work load becomes heavier. I have managed to practice at least 2 hours per week, though, and although this is not an ideal amount of time, it is the best I can currently do! As long as I continue to improve, I am happy with the amount of time that I have to play.

I hope to be able to perform next year, as this will give me exposure, and hopefully help me to overcome my fear of performing in front of an audience. I believe that it would be an enjoyable experience, and so I really hope that I will manage to do it!