Piano Lessons - First and Second

Last week on Friday and today I had my first two piano lessons. My teacher is Rachel Mwakughu, who also works in the music department at ISK. I plan to have lessons every Friday after school, for around half an hour. This year I really want to improve, and I will be much more dedicated in practicing to allow this to become a reality.

In my first two lessons we have covered the key notes - middle C, etc, and learnt how to play a few simple songs. We've also covered how your hand should be placed, and finger movement. It's a lot more complicated than I thought it would be, as you have to remember where all the keys are as you play and move quickly and confidently across the board.
Rachel is really supportive, she understands that it's really difficult and goes slowly and is encouraging throughout. She's amazing at piano, and is really an inspiration for me to get better!

We will be expanding on this knowledge in lessons to come, and will work on playing more than one note at once, etc. My homework over the next week is to practice various pieces in the books that we have, and to get a feel of the scales as well.

I really want to become better at this instrument, and my goal for this year is to make time to sit down and practice for at least 15 minutes a day.
I can't wait for my next class!

ISK Track Meet

The ISK team enters the stadium - (I am in a red jumper)

We do a warm up run

On Saturday, October 12th, the whole ISK team went to the moi stadium to have a practice meet. We spent from around 8 in the morning to two thirty in the afternoon there, and competed in both field and track events. I was signed up for a 4 by 400 meter relay, and I was pretty excited for it. Going into this however, I must admit that I felt drained and a little annoyed by the fact that, after missing a day of school on Thursday to run 5 k at St Andrews, I was having to give up my Saturday for track as well. I tried to keep my attitude positive though, and I think that I benefitted from this experience in the long run.
The stadium was huge, and it was great to get the feeling of running in such a prestigious and well known place. I loved the laid back and friendly attitude of the team - everyone was very accepting and you could tell that we were all having fun.
A number of events took place - such as hurdles, long jump, relays, sprints, a 3k run, and much more. The coaches were giving advice throughout, and parents took photos from the sides. I didn't have much to do, so I spent the majority of my time cheering on my teammates. I think this was really nice, because it all brought us together so much more and increased our team spirit as a result. I think this support will help us all perform better in our next official meet.

We wait to start the relay - I am net to coach Smyth

  Running my relay was difficult, but it taught me a lot about pace. I started off fairly fast, and was dying at the end. I was made aware of the fact that it is better to go slowly at the beginning and conserve your energy for the final sprint. It is so easy to be influenced by the runners around you, but you have to remember to do what's best for you.

To conclude, this was a productive day - our team coming together a great deal due to the cooperation between athletes. I really hope we do something like this again, as it was both fun and educational.

NHS Induction & Commemoration Ceremony

NHS Inductees!

I wasn't sure whether I needed to blog about my NHS induction or not, so I thought I'd briefly reflect on it in this post.
On October 10th I was inducted into NHS. The ceremony started at 6:00 and ended at around 8:00, and I was extremely relieved that I arrived back in time from track to attend! I was both excited and nervous for the ceremony - I have a tendency to be extremely clumsy and awkward when under pressure and I was scared that I would set my hair or someone else's dress on fire with my candle, etc.

We stand with our candles

The ceremony was really nice. Mrs Henderson, Mr Blanchard, and a number of other people gave short talks and then we were introduced, lit candles, and sworn in. I was inspired by everyone present, and motivated to excel further in academics and service. I can't wait to become a greater part of NHS and to be involved in activities that we carry out.
I'm so happy to have been given this opportunity, and I am determined to make the most out of this honour.
_____________

Today was the commemoration ceremony for Nuriana Merali and the other people affected by the Westgate terrorist attack. It started at 2:00, and we had shortened classes for the beginning of the day, The ceremony consisted of a band performance, speeches, an unveiling, and balloons being released in memory of the member of our community lost.

As a part of NHS I was in charge of ushering and handing out balloons in this ceremony. I helped Natasha Mawjee usher for middle school, which was challenging due to the lack of space and the chaos that followed the elementary, middle and high school all trying to find their way around in the limited space. However, we managed and could soon sit down and watch the ceremony with ease.

The balloons rise into the sky

I was so touched by everything that took place, and words can't describe my confusion and sadness in the face of this attack. I don't understand how someone could have so little regard for human life and its importance, and how somebody so pure and kind could be lost to us. It is shocking to think that I could easily of lost my life in this attack, and it makes me all the more appreciative of every second that I have on this planet. I will make the most of this life, and I will make change in this world. There will always be good to combat evil.

After the first part of the ceremony we went into the MPR and retrieved the balloons. We then went out and handed them out to the 9th graders, who released them into the sky in a beautiful final act. I feel that watching them rise into the sky set everyone into the stage of accepting and letting go of the horrors that we have witnessed over these past few weeks.

I was happy to have helped out in this ceremony, if only a little. These kind of leadership tasks make me enthusiastic that NHS will help me to develop these qualities in myself. I think this was a good start to my time in this club, even if it was such a solemn occasion.

Turi Cross Country Meet

 On October 10th I competed in the cross country meet at Turi. We went up on the 9th and camped overnight, and we had to run 5 kilometres. I was very nervous for this meet, as I'd never competed in track before and was inexperienced in terms of how to keep pace and put myself in the right mindset (etc). Furthermore, I hadn't been training for very long and in practices I had not done five k without breaks before. It was all rather daunting. However, I was also excited - I couldn't wait to see where I would place and was looking forward to getting a feel of cross country. I was really happy because my two good friends Hannah and Sabrina were also competing in the run, and we provided each other with moral support and made the whole experience so much more fun and enjoyable.

After school on the Wednesday I grabbed my bags and headed up to the bus. We all hauled ourselves in, dropping our various suitcases on the back row. The rid was a good 4-5 hours, consisting of a great deal of traffic and a cascade of music from my ipod. Finally we arrived at Turi, and I was amazed at how large the campus was and how green and luscious everything appeared. It was all so beautiful, and I couldn't imagine having a better place to run. There was everything from tall silver trees to rolling meadows filled with sheep!

Me in my track uniform

The bus parked in one of the fields (by the bathrooms and showers), and we all got out and put up our tents. I shared a tent with Sabrina, and Hannah parked herself right beside us. After this was finished and we had all unpacked we changed into warm clothes and headed down for dinner and a movie. We watched Breaking Bad in the church! I feel like this brought all of the teams a little closer to each other, allowing us to see each other as friends and equals - not just competition. This helped me a lot because beforehand I was feeling extremely intimidated by all of the tall lithe runners and the looming failure before me.

I slept reasonably well, spraying deep heat and massaging my aching calf muscles before I went to bed. I had been having some trouble in practices with my legs cramping up when I ran, making it virtually impossible to run (let alone walk), and I was terrified of this happening in the 5k. In the morning we ate breakfast and packed up our tents and the coach showed us the course, and we did a warm up run around it. I really liked the course and it was shorter than I had anticipated, which relieved me a little. However, during the jog my fears became a reality. I already started to cramp up! I couldn't believe it, and I was at a loss of what to do. If I couldn't make the warm up how was I going to do the entire 5 k run to the best of my ability? When we got back to the tents I stretched and stretched, and tried to relax my muscles with deep freeze.

It was almost time to race, and the under 15 girls started to line up to go - there were 60 people in each division. We all gathered up into our teams and cheered them on from the starting line. It was a sight to behold. We were all in our different jerseys, filled with team spirit and pride in our separate schools, and yet, at the same time, we were united by the feat we were about to undertake.
Before the race began the coach had reminded us that ISK had a slightly negative reputation in track and field due to bad attitudes in the past, and he urged us to be supportive of runners from different schools. I was ashamed and I promised myself to put superficial feelings of rivalry and fear aside and keep in mind that they probably all felt just as nervous and wound up as I did.

The under 15 boys left next and Sabrina, Hannah, the other 60 over 15 girls and I lined up at the starting line. I was at the back of the crowd, which worried me slightly, but the coach assured me that everyone would disperse very quickly. The whistle was blown and it began.
Everyone sprinted. Very fast. I did so for the first 5 seconds (Mr Z's recommendation), and then slowed to a jog with a friend called Georgia (a great runner and a really nice girl). We kept a steady pace together and overtook a lot of runners walking. As I ran I gave words of encouragement to those struggling - ISK or not - and my legs didn't cramp up! I think this was because I managed to take my mind off of the actual running and onto other things. I also took in the scenery and environment as we ran.
It was harder than I could of imagined though. My legs were burning, I was wheezing, and sweat dripped down my forehead. As my body begged me to slow to a walk I kept thinking about what Mr Z had told us - your physical body gives up long before you do mentally, don't let it win. I envisioned myself crossing the finish line, envisioned myself taking a long draught of water, and envisioned the pride I would be filled with. I pushed on.
We had to do two loops, and the last consisted of a HUGE hill. It was extremely steep and we had done it in our warm up, reminded countless times not to walk on it. Georgia and I ran all the way up, but unfortunately we walked a little bit afterwards. However, we soon broke back into a jog and continued on our way. I pulled ahead of Georgia near the end, but she overtook me in the final sprint (she was trained in sprinting in the past and is far better at it than I).
As I crossed the finish line I was red in the face and showered with blissfully cold water. I received my placing and was very proud with it - I came 13th out of the 60 girls! I thought that considering that I hadn't had much training or experience in competition this was quite an achievement! Georgia came 12th, and the other ISK girls and boys did amazingly well too! It was a very successful day.

My certificate!

After lunch we all gathered round for the awards ceremony. ISK ended up getting 3 of the five trophies, and winning overall first place for the first time ever!! I helped win the trophy for the over 15 girls, which I was really happy about, and I received a certificate for this achievement. A few members of our team also managed to get medals (Sabrina, Makena and Sebastian).
We drove back directly after this and I made it back in time for a lovely NHS induction!

I was very very pleased with my progress in this meet, I was amazed at the mental and physical strength that I discovered in myself and the power of teamwork and sportsmanship. It made it all the more clear to me that with a positive attitude and belief in yourself you can truly go far. I was so impressed by the positive attitude displayed by everyone on the team, and their willingness to put differences aside and support those who were our "rivals" in the competition. I think it is in times like these that we discover our innate strengths and form lifelong bonds with our teammates. I can't wait to continue to improve in track and achieve better times in my future meets!

[photos hopefully coming soon!]