FOTA (Friends Of The Arts) opening Concert

There was a concert for the opening exhibition of art of the ISK group FOTA in which the Middle School band, High School Band, Drumline and Jazz band played. I am part of both the Drumline and the Jazz band. In the we decided to play a piece called"Zombie Squirrels" for our drumline performance which is very complex, with lots of rhythms and Dynamics, We also did improvisation solos which the audience really enjoyed. But the Jazz band actually got the spotlight as we played a total of 4 songs "Play that funky music", "What's your poblano", "Save the last dance for me" and "Indigo hippo" we put way too much effort on every practice for the performance to be perfect and in the end it was just as we expected. Overall the performances were great and we gave all our energy to every single song and the audience enjoyed the music as well.

ISK Varsity Rugby

I first started playing Rugby when i was just a freshman, now that i am a Junior this sport has become a passion and a sport i love to play. In the past 2 years i had a problem that i was one of the smallest players in the team but at the beginning of my Junior year i managed to build more muscle and gained 10 more kilos with intense strength training in Advanced Physical Education and Working out during holidays and summer. Our goal this year was to get enough people to complete the team but throughout the first semester of the school year we have been trying to recruit more players to play in the team but unfortunatelly some of them were too busy with school work and others just did not want to play because of fear of possible injuries. Our coaches Nixon and Otieno Spent a lot of their time to prepare us before the season even started and it all our effort really payed of in our games against Rosslyn which we beated them by one convertion and in our match against Strathmore in which we sadly lost. Rugby has continued to make us more united as a team and has made me a more experienced player. Im leaving Kenya at the end of my junior year and im moving to Indonesia, I havent heard of any rugby High School teams over there so if i have the chance im going to try assemble a Rugby team to finish my high school life playing this wonderful sport.

ISK Rugby Season 2014

We have started our new rugby. We are a team of almost 15 people composed by highschoolers from 9th grade to 12th grade..We are practicing 4 days a week, Mondays and Fridays in the morning at 6:50 am and Tuesdays and Thursdays in the afternoon at 3:30 pm. We are expecting good results these season specially because we have our first ISSEA rugby tournament ever and we will be the ones hosting it here in kenya, but the problem is that we do not have many new members as it is difficult to convince people to join, so far we have almost 4 new players.

So far we've only had two practices in the season but we all have put a lot of effort in each one of them, the fitness days is all centered in running and learning new team skills to put in use in future matches. This weekend we are going to recieve people from different countries in Africa to participate in a tournament from Saturday to Sunday.

IC: trip Lakipia (Gold)

This year for my IC trip I decided to go to Lakipia (Gold) a very challenging and fun experience. Lakipia is a beautiful place full of nature, wildlife and a fantastic view of the African environment. The things that you can see during the day are incredible, and worth the time that you spend in the trip. Every day you are going to have to walk for long distances but it will be worth it, you will be able to see a great view of mount Kenya and the whole ecosystem, the weather is really hot and the sun is too strong and when you get to the camp it’s a relief as you forget all what you had to walk and just start thinking on the meal and the time you spend with your friends. The best part of the trip was probably get and jump to the river, the first time you touch the water is like if you get inside the waters of the poles, it’s so cold but so refreshing at the same time. Camels were a key part of our trip as long as you were in a camel during the walks you would be fine and you would rest for a little time, just be careful when the camel is going to sit or stand, or you could fell as one of our classmates did. This trip is considered one of the toughest of them all and you may probably ask yourself this questions:

How Fit Do You Have To be?:

           If you are the kind of person who likes to take long walk in order to appreciate the beauty of Africa, believe me, you are going to enjoy this trip. You will have to walk for hours and you will need to have strong legs and a very strong mind, there will be times where you will think of giving up but you will always have to think that the next camp is only 10 minutes away, always be positive and if you want time to pass very fast start talking to a friend, that is the best way to accelerate time. 

What are the best ways to spend time in the trip?:

          As long as your close friends are in the trip you will always have fun talking and chatting about many things, there is no better company than friends and you will have the chance of meeting new people. Another way to spend your time in the trip is by playing cards, always bring a deck of cards for whatever trip you are going to, it’s fun and a good way to have a friendly competition.

What will you learn in this trip?:

          In lakipia (gold) you will have the chance of learning many survival skills including escaping from ropes, retrieving water, and camouflaging. This was one of the most fun events of the trip as well, we were tied up from trees in groups of four, we had to work as a team in order to escape, the funniest part about this is that you will get confused and probably get even more tied up than before. Retrieving the water was also a challenging event, we were separated into two teams and we were supposed to cross a river with a bucket of water in our mouths and if we let water fall we would lose, the team with the most water would win. Camouflaging yourself was interesting, we used old bags made ropes and we covered ourselves with mud and we had to hide from other teams and the point of the exercise was to find all the members of the opposite team and have the chance of spraying them with water.

What animal will I see in the trip?:

          Unlike many trips, in lakipia (gold) you’ll be able to be inside the habitat of the animals and fortunately you had the chance of seeing them right in front of you. In the first camp as soon as we arrived, we watched a whole pack of zebras roaming around in the savannah such a beautiful view and such wonderful creatures. In the fourth day you’ll have the chance of having a car ride to explore the savannah and see more animals, we had the chance of seeing many elephants, antelopes and if we were lucky enough to see a pack of lions.

What should I take to this trip?:

•  To be Protected from the sun always remember to take your sunglasses, sun block and a hat, the sun in lakipia is really strong and will burn you pretty bad if you don’t use any of those, many of us had sunburns and we didn’t get rid of them for a whole week after we came from the trip.

•   Always bring something to have fun, I recommend bringing a deck of cards so time will pass really fast.

•        Bring spare clothes, they will get dirty and you will want to change. A few t-shirts, pants socks, and two pairs of walking shoes.

•        In the night you will not see anything for that not to happen you’ll need a flashlight.

•        Sleeping bag and warm clothes, in the night it will be freezing and you’ll probably get a cold if you are not careful.

•        Bring an Ipod or something to listen to music; the bus ride is almost five hours long so you’ll want to get distracted. You can also listen to music during the walks.

•        ALWAYS have water with you! You’ll need it for the whole day and you will not want to get dehydrated in the middle of the heat and the walks.

Will I have fun at this trip?:

Totally, if you are an athletic person and enjoy walking and experience the view of the ecosystem you will love this trip. Remember to always protect yourself from the sun and drink LOTS of water!

International Day/ Drumline and jazz band Performance. 14/2/2014

Last Friday it was international day at ISK, an event in which all the students have to come to school with the costumes and colors of their countries. I am from Uruguay, so I came to school with the colors blue and white and with my country's flag. That day the drumline also performed in the International parade, we were at least 10 members of the drumline playing and we actually did a good job although we did some mistakes.

After the parade, the taste of nations began in which students, teachers and parents had the chance to taste the very diverse national foods from each country. During the taste of nations, the jazz band performed two songs "Play that Funky Music" and "Whats Your Poblano?" two songs that were incredible to play.

Drumline performing at the international parade

ISK Operation Smile Concert. 15/2/2014

The Operation Smile concert is an annual event at ISK, an event in which the Composers club and the Operation Smile club work together to raise funds for children with cleft lips and try to change their lives by paying the surgeries with the money we raise in the event. I am part of the composers club, and for the event we had a playlist of 17 songs, most of them done by us originally. I am a drummer so i decided to do a cover for two great songs, "Cinema" by Skrillex (ft. Benny Benassi) and "Bullseye" by KDrew. Unfortunatelly i had a problem listening to the music while i was playing the drums so i didnt do such a good job but for my second song i decided to do a drum solo which payed off very well, and i had a chance to sing "We will rock you" by Queen in the middle of the act.

I also contributed with the songs of the other members of the club by playing the Drum set and the Conga, One of the best performances of that night was probably the cover of "Royals" by Lorde and "Memorial" originally composed by one of our members Rose Rudasingwa.

The event ended up being a complete success and worth every minute of practice, we raised enough money for 5 surgeries which was one of the main goals of the Operation Smile club, and for me it will be one of the best memories.