January 2008 Newsletter

Dear Partners,

On behalf of the entire Gatoto school community we take this opportunity to convey our greetings and to wish you all a Happy New Year. We also wish to sincerely thank you for your continued support. We invite you to read our January 2008 Newsletter

SCHOOL OPENING

• The school was scheduled to open on 7th January 2008 for the beginning of the first term. However, this was not to be due to political instability in the country following the disputed presidential elections last December. Some members of staff reported but there were no pupils. The opening was therefore rescheduled to 14th January 2008.The school opened on 14th January 2008 with a low turn up of pupils. By the end of the month the school was yet to register normal attendance from pupils with the rate yet to hit 85%.

GUESTS

We are happy to report the visit by Ms. Judy Ndegwa and her colleagues from Tetra Pak on the 21st of January. Their visit and the delivery of milk and Weetabix for the first term underlined the continued commitment of both Tetra Pak and Weetabix to support the children here. Another guest during the month was Mr. J.M Asigogo of International Teachers’ Training Centre who came on a routine inspection visit of the teachers attending training at the said ITTC.

MEETINGS

a) Management

• On 12th January 2008, the management team met the Suas CEO Mr. Colman Farrell to discuss issues facing the school and plans for the year. We wish to thank Mr. Farrell and Suas for advice in this regard. We are also grateful to Ms. Vanessa Liston for taking time to review our Development Plan and offering invaluable input.
  Management held a series of meetings to review the plan especially in light of the socio-political mood in the country and its possible impact on the development of the school.
  
  

b) Staff

• A meeting was held on the first week of opening where teachers discussed among other things awareness creation in school on discouragement of tribalism among staff members and pupils. The briefing of pupils from class four to eight has already started.
  In other staff meetings held during the month, staff members showed their concern with the insecurity in the country and transport problems to and from school. They, therefore, requested for assistance from the school with regard to the transport problem. It was agreed that the school would try to help where possible.
  

EVENTS

• On 14th January 2008, the school admitted 45 Nursery pupils who had earlier registered with the school late 2007
• On 21st January 2008, the school held interviews for new admissions for classes one to seven. Of the new admissions, 28 were from families displaced from their former homes during the month.
  

INFRASTRUCTURE

The construction of the new classrooms is going on.

ACADEMIC

• Harambee Sponsorship is going to assist two pupils who sat and passed their K.C.P.E exams last year to go through their secondary education. The selection of the two is based on a number of criteria including family background, academic ability and pupil discipline.
• Learning was disrupted a few times during the month due to panic gripping some families and on one occasion parents picked their children from school during school hours fearing for their security. However, calm has returned to most parts of the city and the situation is getting back to normal.
  

NEXT MONTH – FEBRUARY

• The school will register 85 pupils for K.C.P.E Exams this year. A school based exam will be administered to give the children Registration Numbers for the final Exam.
• February is normally a busy co-curricular activities month. We are hopeful that normalcy will completely return to the city, so that we embark on training in ball games, gymnastics, drama and music in preparation for the start of competitions during the month.
  

Once again we wish to thank you for your continued engagement with the school.

December 2007 NEWSLETTER

Dear Partners, Happy New year from the school. On behalf of the school we wish to sincerely thank you for your continued support. We invite you to read our December Newsletter. December was a generally quiet time for the school.

GUESTS

MEETINGS

• Construction Meeting
  This was held on 10th December 2007 in school. It involved construction contractor, engineers, some PTA members and school management team. The aim of the meeting was to discuss the progress of the construction of the on going permanent classrooms.

  

  

  

  

EVENTS

• On 12th December 2007, 35 parents living with HIV/AIDS were provided with some food ( wheat, flour, rice, cooking fat and sugar) for their Christmas.
  
• The construction of the first phase of the permanent classrooms is still on. The progress is as in the attached photos.

ACADEMIC

• The KCPE results were out on 21st December 2007. This represent the school's best Examinations showing in terms of the number of children qualifying to go to government secondary schools. We congratulate the children and wish them all the best in their academic pursuits. The performance was as follows:
  
  KCPE results by gender
  
  

  Score	No of Boys	No. of Girls
  500-300	11	5
  299-250	17	15
  249-100	21	17

KCPE mean score by gender

No. of Pupils	Boys Mean	Girls Mean	Overall Mean
49	254.80	-	-
37	-	247.30	-
86			252

Performance per subject by gender

Subject	Gender	Mean Score	Overall Mean
Mathematics	Boys	46.08	45.25
	Girls	44.11
Science	Boys	50.80	48.5
	Girls	45.46
English	Boys	52.06	52.88
	Girls	53.97
KiSwahili	Boys	55.86	54.14
	Girls	52.84
Social Studies	Boys	47.89	50.81
	Girls	53.02

Subject Mean Comparison

Subject	2006	2007
Mathematics	43.59	45.23
Science	39.94	48.5
English	55.42	52.06
KiSwahili	53.29	54.14
Social Studies	45.29	50.81

Gatoto Mean Scores 1999-2007

Year	Mean Score (0-500)
1999	232
2000	236
2001	225
2002	257
2003	245
2004	270
2005	231
2006	237
2007	252

 

OCTOBER 2007 NEWSLETTER

Dear Partners and Friends.

We welcome you to learn about the developments in the school in the month of October 2007.

EVENTS

• The construction of new classrooms is going on. The first payment to the contractor was made. As with the library constructed in 2004 and due to the nature of the soil in the school, the float concept is being employed in constructing the classrooms.
  
• A review of the school plan was completed and the Plan for next year started.
  
• Two teachers, Peter Omimi and Ruth Muhonja who have been undergoing 2-year training in Special Education at the Kenya Institute of Special Education graduated upon successful completion of the course.
  
• The Kenya Television Network did a documentary on the school this month. Its main highlights included issues around government support for schools such as Gatoto and the performance of the school in both academic and co-curricular activities.
  

• MEETINGS
• On 5th September 2007, there was a Parents’ meeting to discuss school development and particularly the construction of new classrooms.
  
• On 21 September 2007 class three and four had a routine parents’ meeting to discuss the progress of children in those classes. A similar meeting was held on 29 September 2007 for class eight parents.
  
  
• SEPTEMBER 2007 NEWSLETTER
• 
  Dear Partners and friends.
• This is our first newsletter of the term. The term began on 3rd September and will run up to the last week of November.
• 
  EVENTS
• Demolition of six classrooms to pave way for the construction of the new permanent classrooms. The project is being undertaken with the generous support of the O’Brien Foundation. It is expected to be completed by the third week of January 2008.
  
• Reconstruction of the six demolished classrooms on another site.
  
• The school purchased of Text & Exercise books worth Ksh. 925,000 received from the Ministry of Education. We sincerely thank the Ministry for the donation.
  
• Between 26-28 September 2007,14 parents received training on making simple soaps, shampoo, ‘Mabuyu’(sweets from the seeds of baobab trees). The parents are beneficiaries of a program sponsored by Father Patrick Dunne and which will see them run small businesses. The school’s social worker will make regular follow ups to guide the parents and ensure they succeed.
  
• MEETINGS
• On 5th September 2007, there was a Parents’ Meeting. This was to inform the parents about the relocation of existing classrooms to pave way for the construction of new classrooms.
  
• On 21st September 2007, there was a parents’ meeting for class three and four while on 29th September 2007 class 8 parents had their meeting. Both meetings discussed the academic development of the children.
• VISITORS
  

• 
  EVENTS FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
• The construction of new classrooms is going on. The first payment to the contractor will be made during the month.
  
• The school management is developing a plan for the next year. This process is expected to be complete by early next month.
  
• An exhibition for Non Formal schools is coming up during the month. We are honoured to have been invited and look forward to participating in the event.
  
• We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you for continuing to support the school.
  Betty Nyagoha
• 
  
• AUGUST 2007 NEWSLETTER
• Dear partners and friends. We wish to invite you to read our monthly newsletter for the month of August 2007.
• 
  VISITORS

• VOLUNTEERS
• The 2007 volunteers completed their placement on 24th August 2007. Details of their engagement are being finalized and will be in the term report next week.
• 
  CO-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
• a. MUSIC
• Between 31st July and 10th August 2007, the school choir represented Nairobi Province in the Kenya Music Festival at the National level in Nakuru. The school emerged second overall in the republic and also won an award in the Negroes Spiritual category for having the highest mark among all competitors from primary schools, secondary schools and universities. This was the greatest achievement for the school since it first entered the competitions 11 years ago. We congratulate both the children and the teachers who guided them to this fete. The annual Festival which is the biggest cultural extravaganza in East Africa saw over 70,000 children from different schools across Kenya come together to showcase their creativity. Gatoto received rare praise from the Permanent Secretary for Education Prof. Karega Mutahi for its achievement despite the location of the school in a disadvantaged area.
  
  
  The outcome was as below:
  

• Position	Number of Classes
  1	6
  2	1
  3	1
  4	2
  5	1
  6	1

• 12 Classes were entered at the National level.
  Due to the above excellent performance, the School won 8 trophies and qualified to perform at the finalists’ concert on 10th August 2007.
  
  
  Below, the choir poses for a photograph with the trophies.
• b. FOOTBALL
• The Volunteers (Paul Bradfield and Kelvin Clancy) organized a number of clinics for the boys’ and girls’ football teams exposing them to the grass pitches of local stadia. During the clinics, the children caught the eyes of local leaders and got an invitation to participate in a fundraising match organized by Women Elite for Hon. Raila Odinga, a leading member of the Orange Democratic Movement and the partyy’s presidential candidate for this year’s General Elections. The fund raising match was held on 25th August 2007 at Nyayo National stadium.
  
  
• The football teams (boys and girls) were awarded a trophy each.
• 
  TERM TWO 2007 ATTENDANCE RATES

• EXAMINATIONS
• The children in all the classes sat their end of term exams in August. We will include a summary of their performance in the term report next week. Also to be included in the report will be highlights of the summer camps and volunteer activities generally.
• 
  Thank you very much to all our supporters to help us achieve this success.
• JULY 2007 NEWSLETTER
  School just closed for the August break and will resume on 3rd September. Please find below our newsletter for the month of July. We will keep you updated on the goings on in greater detail in our term report to be send out in the second week of September.
• EVENTS
• Examinations
  All children except those in Standard 8 sat the end of term examinations from 24th July to 26th July 2007 while those in class 8 sat for the Nairobi Province K.C.P.E Mock Examinations. A summary of the children’s performance will be included in our end of Term 2 Report due by the third week of September.
  
  
• Redevelopment of Buildings
  We are pleased to report that the school received an official exemption from paying land rates to the Nairobi City Council. We wish to thank the Council for the exemption. As a result of this, the school filed drawings for the proposed Phase 1 buildings to be financed by The Denis O’Brien Foundation. Bids for the construction have been received from 4 contractors.
  
  
• Extra-Curricular Activities
  Once again, the school took first position in the Nairobi Level Kenya Music Festivals after qualifying to represent the province in 9 events. We congratulate the children, staff and other partners who enabled the school achieve this fete. We also wish to thank this year’s Suas volunteers for organising a fundraising event for the choir at the Yaya Centre. The event raised Ksh. 40,000 for the children’s transport. A detailed report on the Music team will be in the August update.
  
  
• Volunteer Programme
  - The volunteer programme is going on well. Already, children between class 1 and 6 have participated in mini Olympics showcasing different talents ranging from arts and sports to creative writing.
  - We wish to thank the Suas volunteers to Maweni and Kongowea Primary Schools for finding time to visit the school at the end of the Global Perspectives Week on 27th July 2007.
  
  
• Others
  - The school received 35 computers from the Irish agency Camara. The computers have been installed in the library. 3 Camara officials led by Mr. Gary McDarby visited the school on 2nd July 2007 for the installation and staff training on the use and maintenance of computers. On behalf of the entire Gatoto School Community, we wish to thank Camara for the donation and look forward to a fruitful partnership with them.
  - On 24th July 2007, all the children received anti worms’ dose from Feed The Children – Kenya. We sincerely thank FTC for the same.
• 
  GUESTS
• A number of people found time to visit the school during the month. They include:
  1. Gary McDarby, Mara Reid and Colin Torney from Camara on 2nd July 2007.
  2. Moris Olande of Thomas Barnadoes Home.
  3. Emily Mbelenga and Wangari Mathenge of Feed The Children – Kenya.
  4. Ahsan Manji, Managing Director of Weetabix and Ben Ondego, Njoroge Kiarie and Judy Ndegwa of Tetra Pak Ltd.
  5. Philip Regan an Anna of Suas.
  
  Thank you to all visitors
• JUNE 2007 NEWSLETTER
  This was an exciting month with many co-curricular successes to report as well as events, many visitors to whom we are very grateful and the arrival of the team of SUAS volunteers
• EVENTS
• Medical Camp
  - Between 8th and 15th June 2007, there was a Medical camp in school
  -Gatoto staff members had an opportunity of being examined
  
• School Milk Launch - TETRA PAK
  On 15th June 2007, the school Milk Programme was launched. This was done in Gatoto Primary school.The Programme is supported by TETRA PAK
• MEETINGS
• Betty and Joseph met the school Management team on 27th June 2007
  for school Management update.
• 
  VISITORS
• On the 6th June 07 KRISTIN REED from SAN FRANCISCO visited the school
  
• 7th June 07 -A team from Feed my People UK and World Vision Relief office paid a visit to Gatoto
  
• 14th June07- The 2007 SUAS Volunteer team leaders (Ashley and John) reported to Gatoto Primary school
  
• 15th June 07-MR.KARABA S.K, the Director of basic Education represented Hon. Minister for Education Prof. GEORGE SAITOTI during the launching of the school Milk
  
• Hon. Dr. DAVID MWENJE, Assistant Minister Cooperative Development and Marketing who is also the Embakasi Member of Parliament was also present during the Launching of the school Milk
  
• 20th June 07- The other 10 members of the SUAS Volunteer group reported to school.They are assisting in teaching for a period of 10 weeks up to the end of August.
• CO-CURRICULAR
• Music
  On 4th and 5th June 2007, the school choir represented the school in Music Festivals at Divisional level. 13 classes were entered where 12 of them managed first position and 1 second position.
  
  On 18th to 22nd June 2007, the Choir moved to Provincial level presenting 12 classes. 7 classes managed position 1, 4 position 2 and 1 position 4.
  
  The Choir will represent the school at National level as from 31st July to 10th August in Nakuru. The out come will be communicated later.
  
  
  
  
• Athletics
  Kelvin Thairu of class 8 represented the Province at National level
  in triple Jump between 5th to 10th June 2007. This was held in Mombasa. He emerged 9th overall nationally.
  
  
• ACADEMIC
• Pupils sat for their mid-Term exams during the 7th week of term.
• TRAINING
• In-house training for the 4 Mathematics and 4 Science teachers is on.
  Three sessions have been done so far and 7 await to be covered before the end of second term. The group is being taken through the Methodology part of teaching Mathematics and Science.
• 
• Jacinta,Lucy, Benson and Mr. Solomon Njunaria( Facilitor) during Maths/science workshop.
• 
  Rosemary,Ruth,Allan and Edith during Maths/Science workshop.
  
• MILK STORE
• The Milk store is complete and in use.
  
• We sincerely appreciate your visit and contribution to the Gatoto primary school this month of June. THANK YOU SO MUCH
• MAY 2007 NEWSLETTER
• The school opened on 7th may 2007 for the second term of the year.
  
• EVENTS
• Meetings
  Betty and Joseph of Gatoto met Orla Cawley and Jennifer Brass to look on Board By-Laws.
  
• Betty and Joseph of Gatoto met Mike Lord of Symbion and Mazingara and later agreed to start a phased construction. The agreement for the meeting was passed to Denis O’Brian foundation who has since agreed to proceed with the construction in phases. Phase 1 include: Nursery, 9 classrooms and a toilet block.
  
• Bernie and World Vision- Soweto ADP delivered 132 pupils’ lockers and a further 168 are awaited. The delivered lockers cater for 2 classes 8 streams and 1 class 7 stream.
• A visit from NGO Board conducting a national survey on NGOs registration
  in Kenya.
  
• VISITORS
• On 16th May 2007 a team of former students of St. Marys School, Nairobi
  visited the school to create awareness on the breast cancer.
  
• 9 Visitors from Institute of Technology in and CHILDAID
  NA HARAMBEE Members from Ireland coordinated by Brian Mac Coradic visited the school. They donated some sports uniforms to the school as in the picture below.
  
• A section of the Athletic team at Provincial level
  
• Anne Mc Kiernan visited to familiarise with the school and learn
  about development.
  
• Officials from World Vision Kenya visited to check on school development on progress of grant given to Gatoto.
  
• Becky Brass and Christine both from United States paid a visit to the school.
  
• CO-CURRICULAR
  a) Athletics
• The school purchased equipments for athletics which include: Javelin, shot-put for girls and boys,2 stop watches ,2 discus for boys and girls, 1 crossbar for high jump.
  
• On 25th May 2007 the school participated in Athletics at Divisional level. 84 pupils represented the school, 22 qualified to Provincial level.
  
  
  
  
  Michael Mutuku of Gatoto (in blue)-10,000m
  
• On 30th May 2007 10 boys and 12 girls represented the school at Provincial level. 1 boy (Kelvin Thairu) qualified to National level. He will be representing the Province in triple jump.
  
  
  A section of the Athletics team at provicial level.jp
• b) Music
• The school purchased a complete set of a piano ( a piano, its stand and an adaptor) in preparation for 2007 music festival that will take place on 4th and 5th June 2007 at Divisional level. Detailed report on performance will appear in the June newsletter.
  
• c) Scouting
• On 27th May 2007, 5 scouts from the school were taken for a trip at National Park by the CHILDAID NA HARAMBEE members.
  
• 
  TRAINING
• Plans for in-house training of 4 mathematics teachers and 4 science teachers are through and the training starts on 2nd June 2007. More updates in the June newsletter.
• 
  COMPUTER ROOM
• Modifications in the wiring system in the library have started in preparation for the computer room as the current electricity supply may not be sufficient to cater for more computers yet to be delivered to the school by the Irish Agency Camara. More updates in the June newsletter.
• 
  FUNDRAISING
• Thank you very much to Give Meaning for their donation of Ksh.324, 815.7
• 
  We sincerely appreciate the visits and contribution to the school this month.
  
• APRIL 2007 NEWSLETTER
• The school was closed on 3rd April 2007 for Easter vacation. However, class 7 and 8 remained in school for 2 more weeks for revision and remedial studies. Their classes continued until 20th April 2007.
  
• A draft School Development Plan has been completed. It was sent out to our patrons and partners locally and abroad for reviews before a final document is done.
• 
  EVENTS
• We held a meeting with Mr. Mike Lord of Symbion Architects regarding the proposed redevelopment of the school buildings at his office. Others in attendance were Mr. Wisdom Mwalukwaro of Mazingara Systems accompanied by his team of consultants and Mr. Bryan Patten of Suas. It was agreed that the Mazingara team be retained as consultants while Mr. Lord would provide technical advice on behalf of The O'Brien Foundation on the project. It was also agreed that the master plan be reviewed with a view to identifying construction phases. Mr. Lord held a meeting with Ms. Maria Mulcahy of The Foundation regarding the same. Another meeting with the consultants will be held soon.
  
• World Vision - Soweto ADP donated to us about 200 tree seedlings which we planted at the start of the rain season in April. We thank them sincerely for their kind donation.
• EXAMINATIONS
• This year’s class 8 pupils sat for Pre-Mock Examinations in late March. Analysis of the results will be included in our term report to be completed in the third week of May. All the other classes completed the first term exams.
  
• TRAINING
• 2 Teachers, Mr. Peter Omimi and Ms. Ruth Muhonja have joined the P1 Teacher Training. The two join Ms. Rosemary Mueni who joined the same course earlier, Ms. Rose Karanja who is doing Early Childhood Development and The Social Worker, Mrs. Rhoda Mutua doing Guidance and counselling. Others are Mr. George Kegode doing a certificate course in Web Design and Graphics at Compuera College and Mr. Gideon Ndambuki studying for college entrance exams.
• 
  FOOD PROGRAMME
• A store is being built for milk storage. It is expected to be completed in late May.
  
• The grain store currently in use was fumigated in the last week of April to control pests. A weighing scale was also bought to provide greater accountability around the feeding programme.
• MARCH 2007 NEWSLETTER
• During the month of March the school participated in different activities. They included divisional ball competitions where 47 pupils from the school represented Mukuru cluster. For the third year running, the school won in Netball and volleyball for both boys and girls. 5 children from the school were selected to join the Nairobi teams for Netball, volleyball and handball. We sincerely thank the children Mst. Daniel Ochudi, Mst. John Odongo, Mst. Stephen Aswan, Mst. Francis Musyoka and Miss Nancy Mumbi and the teachers who prepared them for their sterling performance and wish them the best at the next level of competitions.
  
  
• The school also sent a team to the divisional drama meets but they did not fare as well. 72 pupils presented a play, a poem and a dance.
  
  
• We were privileged to host a number of guests. Mr. Bryan Patten of Suas was in school for 3 weeks to help in preparing a 3-year Business Plan. We wish to thank him most sincerely. Staff and the parents committee are finalising work on the plan and it will be out in the second week of May. Other guests to visit the school were Alice Riva of Twins International, an Italian agency, several guests from World Vision, U.S.A, Mr. Ned Augenblick from the USA among others. Twins International have expressed interest in supporting the school to develop the proposed secondary school. We also met Ms. Susan Walsh of Suas regarding the upcoming Suas Teacher assistant programme. 12 volunteers have already been selected to participate in this year’s programme. We wish to congratulate them on their selection and thank them for choosing to serve in the school. We look forward to working with them during the summer and hope they wil have a fulfilling time in Gatoto.
  
  
• The school’s partnership with Give Meaning has raised over USD 4,000. We will shortly be presenting a budget to Give Meaning for the areas we propose to spend the money on. We wish to thank Give Meaning, Ms. Jen Brass and all those who contributed towards the fund.
  
  
• The children sat for their end of term exams in the last week os March. Class 8 children sat for the Nairobi pre-mock exams that was done by all the primary schools of Nairobi. Analyses of the same will be included in our April update and our Term 1 exams.
  
• FEBUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER
• Guests
• Mr. Denis O'Brien, Staff of the O'Brien Foundation and friends visted Gatoto on Febrary 7th.
  Mr. Denis O’Brien, staff of his foundation and other friends visited the school on February 7th 2007. We held discussions on putting up permanent structures in the school. A lawyer, Mr. Etole of Chellotte and Etole Advocates, was engaged to start talks with the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance with a view to getting the school’s land Title Deed registered under Gatoto Integrated Development Programme. The title is currently held in Trust by the PS. The process of transferring the trusteeship to GIDP is expected to take 6 months.
  We hope to reach a settlement with Mazingara Architects soon so that Symbion Architects start work on the proposed rebuilding of the school.
  
• Barclay's Bank Staff
  Staff of Maersk and Barclays Bank, Enterprise Road Branch, were in school on 6th February. They will get back to us on possibilities of helping the school do a project to be agreed on then.
  
• Willow Wheelers
  28 members of Willow Wheelers, an Irish club that raises funds for projects by cycling in Dublin, visited the school on 23rd February. They gave a donation of balls, assorted stationery and clothing. They promised to raise funds to help the school.
  
• World Vision, KURET, officials from Ethiopia and Uganda conducted an assessment of KURET’s work in the school on 21st February.
  
  
• EVENTS
• The Ball Games Season began on 20th February. The Zonal Level competitions brought together 6 schools at Our Lady of Nazareth school. The games featured soccer, volleyball, Netball and handball. We were represented by 82 pupils. 42 of them were selected to proceed to the next level of competitions. We congratulate those selected on there achievement.
  
• 72 pupils represented the school in Divisional Drama Festivals. More than 20 schools participated in the festivals featuring plays, poems and dances. The school did not fare well in this year’s event as its best position was 3rd in the poems.
  
  
• EXAMINATIONS
• This year’s class 8 pupils have finished examinations that will be used to enter them for K.C.P.E Examinations. The registration process will be completed in the second week of March. The school will enter 86 candidates for the examinations. All the other classes completed the first exam of the term. Analyses are going on.
  
• TRAINING
• 4 Teachers have completed the first part of First Aid training. The week long training was held at the St. John’s Ambulance training centre. The teachers are Ms .Rosemary Mueni, Mr. Lucas Rosana, Ms. Ruth Muhonja and Ms. Jacinta Waithera.
  
• The Social Worker, Mrs. Rhoda Mutua, has enrolled for a diploma course in Guidance and counselling.
  
• Mr. George Kegode, the librarian, enrolled for a certificate course in Web Design and Graphics at Compuera college.
  
• FUNDS
• We wish to thank the following for the funds we received from them during the month:
  Bernie Kearney and her friends for raising 19,970 Euros from the calendars they made last December. The money was transferred to the school account and will among other things be spent on staff training, desks and other furniture.
  
• The Good Cause and Gatoto Fund in Ireland for donation of 12,733 Euros and 13,730 Euros respectively. The amounts are to be spent on Post Primary sponsorship.
  
• Details of the expenditures will be given in our Term One Report before the third week of May this year.
  
• JANUARY 2007 NEWSLETTER
• GUESTS
• 
  Thank you to Mr. Gregory Sang, a teacher at St. Mary’s School Nairobi who visited with final year students of the school. They donated sanitary towels, cloths and paints.
• EVENTS
• The school had its Annual General Meeting on January 19th. More than 300 parents attended. A new school committee was elected comprsing 3 women and 5 men. The elections were supervised by Ms. Valerie Okoiti of the Department of Education.
  
• Mr. David Briskell of Cornell University, U.S.A visited the school to conduct a research on slum housing on behalf of the Department of Architecture of the college.
  
• A topographical survey in preparation for the proposed development of permanent structures completed in January.
• NEWS– OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 2006
• 
  GUESTS
• Barclays Bank Staff
  Staff of Barclays Bank, Enterprise Road Branch, visited the school and donated cloths and foodstuffs to the children in October during their Community Outreach Day. They also supported the repainting of the library to the tune of Ksh. 50,000. We wish to thank them sincerely and hope we will continue working with them closely.
  
• Entertainment Afternoon
  Children had an entertainment treat sponsored by Stitching Dubbelleuk of Netherlands and Sarakasi Trust, a Kenyan performing arts troupe on 26th October. During the event, Dubbelleuk provided funds for lunch for all the children.
  
• Mr. Eric Wainaina, a leading Kenyan musician and producer was in the school with K.B.C crew (The local state broadcaster) to record a documentary to be presented on the Tazama programme.
• 
  VISITS AND EVENTS
• Mr .Denis O’Brien and other friends from Ireland visited the school in October. During his visit, we discussed funding construction of new classrooms and the start of the proposed secondary school. Others visiting with Mr. O’Brien included Vienenne Tupp, Sean FitzPatrick, Bernard McNamara, John Colley, Liam Burke, Doherty and Desmond. We thank them for taking time to visit the school and for their words of encouragement and support.
  
• Ms. Marianne Hourihane and Emer Carey also visited the school in October. They donated a laptop, assorted stationery and a games kit for the girls’ football team.
  85 children sat the K.C.P.E examinations in mid November. 34 of these qualified to join Provincial secondary schools. We thank them for their hard work and encourage them to aim for the best at the next level of their education.
  
• Other visitors to the school were Mr. Brian Patten of Suas with whom we discussed new developments taking place in the school and preparation of a Business Plan for the school, Ms. Emer Butler, Mr. Brian McCormaic, Ms. Deidre Colgan, Mr. Keith Barry of GOAL and officials from the Department of Education. We had a meeting with Ms. Maria Mulcahy in late December concerning the rebuilding of the classrooms.