Getting ready for GISS 2013!

On the weekend of September 22 and 23, Cora and I (plus another teacher and 23 additional students) spent the weekend with 3 facilitators from the Jump! Foundation. We engaged in two very full, fun and intense days of leadership training, and the kids came away equipped with many skills to lead small and large groups of peers. The 24 students who participated in the training have been chosen to lead the Global Issues Service Summit that ISK will host in February, 2013. I have been passionate about GIN for so long and it is so exciting to be involved with planning a summit. These kids are fantastic leaders, and I was so proud of Cora's role as a leader all weekend.

Only in Kenya...

Anyone who has driven on the Mombasa highway knows how terrifying driving can really be. As we were driving back from Amboseli on Sunday, we realized a truck ahead of us was missing its cab, and that the driver was strapped into his seat, wearing a helmet, and driving along as if everything was normal. As we passed him, I had to snap a photo. You definitely wouldn't see this in Ontario! Also of note on the drive: a giraffe crossed the highway between rapidly moving vehicles, and 18-wheelers did some serious off-roading to avoid an accident that had jammed part of the highway. Thankfully we made it back in one piece!

Delivering chalkboards to 2 Masai schools in Amboseli...

Our first Freedom Through Learning project of the year was to deliver 3 large chalkboards and 20 small ones (for individual use), as well as lots of chalks and erasers, to the Ilkengarre and Inchurra Masai community schools in Amboseli National Park. We went down for the weekend with our friends Stacey and Scott, and spent the better part of Saturday installing the chalkboards with our Masai friends. It was a day filled with a lot of fun and laughter, topped off with some fantastic elephant sightings (right beside our car). Lovely weekend!

Back to school...

Here it is, Labour Day weekend, and we've finished four weeks of classes at ISK already! The time is flying. In this first month back to school, we have spent a lot of time preparing lessons and grading papers, getting to know new students and watching Cora start her junior year as a full IB student. Brian went off to Brussels for four days to attend a leadership conference (as well as haunt some Belgian beer halls), and I went with the grade 9 class for two days of teambuilding and outdoor adventure at Sagana (photos featured in this post), about 2 hours north of Nairobi. It's been a busy month, but a wonderful one, and we were just contemplating today that the school year is 1/10 over already! We are planning to cherish each week of 2012/13.