The children in FS1 and FS2 at the Infant School have been getting deeply involved in the time of the dinosaurs and becoming mini paleontologists!

Last week this learning culminated in FS2s assembly about dinosaurs where they gave some incredible facts about the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Diplodocus, Pterodactyl and Stegosaurus. They also did the Dinosaur Stomp, much to the delight of their audience of parents!

Here are some for FS2s highlights and favourite facts!

"My favourite dinosaur is the Pterodactyl. The Pterodactyl has a long beak to eat fish. It is not a dinosaur - it's winged lizard!"

"Dinosaurs have sharp claws. T-Rex has short arms and sharp teeth. He has big legs to walk for a long time looking for food. His tail swoops away the bugs."

"Dinosaurs are extint - they don't exist anymore. It's left only bones."

"The Stegosaurus has spikes on his tail to protect him from other dinosaurs."

"Diplodocus has a long neck to eat leaves and plants."

We have a class of paleontologists in the making! Be sure to tune in next week to find out what FS1 have been up to.

Atharv Shinde is 10 years old and a member of Year 5. He has has done what many would consider impossible for a child his age - he is a published author!

Titled ‘The Behemoths, End of Warbringer’, the book centres on Randy, a 14 year old boy who becomes a superhero.  When asked what made him want to write the novel, Atharv said that writing has always been his hobby as he can explore his imagination through it. In ‘The Behemoths’, he does this by exploring a new city. The story is set in San Francisco and, although Atharv has never been there, he does a great job of imagining new places and describing them.

‘Drenched, I continued to skate down the road - I could see the red door of our house partially open.’

Another point of inspiration for the book came from Atharv contemplating having super powers himself, saying  “Especially when I’m feeling lazy, I wish I had Telekinesis!”. Atharv said that part of his motivation to complete the novel came from wanting to be the youngest author in India. He proved his dedication when he came to his parents with five chapters of the book already written. From then on his parents were fully on board, supporting him through the six months it took to write the book and the next three months of publishing and self editing.

All this may make one think that Atharv is a fully grown adult placed in a child's body. But be reassured that he is much like any another child, full of wonder.

When asked what advice he would offer to others his age, Arthav says, “Pen down your thoughts”, a statement which will serve him well as he plans to write his sequel, based on Randy's future son. We can't wait to read it.

- Interview by Charis Pulei

The children from Year 1/2 in Njiro and Kisongo have been studying Houses and Homes and Materials over this term and, as part of their learning, travelled to Moivaro Village to visit Laura Tarimo and the young people from the KIMAMAVIMO (Moivaro Youth Group for Self-development and Care for the Environment) Project.

The homes within the project are all made completely from natural materials and, with everything from compost toilets to an organic farm, they have created an almost fully self-sustaining environment.

On arrival, the children met Laura, her family and volunteers from KIMAMAVIMO. Laura talked about how the houses were made and the materials they were made from, then the children were given the chance to go and explore.

Adventuring through the lush organic farm, the children learned how to identify different fruit trees and vegetable plants, as well as learning about composting.

One of the children's highlights was learning about the composting toilet which uses no water at all!

The children then had the opportunity to build their own mini-clay houses using stones, clay and sticks. They worked in teams to build up their structures, making them strong and safe. They loved getting their hands all muddy and working as a team. Their end results were impressive and many commented that they would love to live in a house like Laura's!

Thank you so much to Laura and the team for welcoming us and looking after us so well!

Our U9 hockey team took on other international schools in the NTAA hockey tournament last Tuesday and brought home the trophy!

In a hotly contested tournament, our young hockey players fought hard showing determination and focus throughout. Their team spirit, sportsmanship and behaviour was impeccable and all their efforts paid off as they won game after game to secure the trophy.

A special congratulation goes to Yuvraj who was awarded player of the tournament as well!

The team consisting of 14 students left the school around 1.30 pm on Friday for the practice journey. The first leg took them from the Arusha airport area all the way round to the A to Z factory and back to school. They walked in three groups. In the evening, the crew underwent training sessions beginning with first aid, followed by camp craft/tents management, map reading/navigation and finally route planning. They also covered observation and reporting skills as well as team building before preparing their own dinner.

Saturday trekking was long and demanding requiring map reading and navigation skills. It was out in the field where bonding and team building skills were put to the test. Students recognised in one another skills and abilities they had not known before as they encouraged one another and pushed themselves to complete the training. Niamh Baker and Brendalisa Karoki proved to be able team leaders who did not disappoint their teams having been elected durinhg the early part of planning. Congratulations to every member of the team for being positive throughout the session despite the challenges they experienced. Well done!!