Newsletters
Read below a sample of our 2023 September Term school newsletters:
Spirit of the Banda – Week 01
I am both honoured and excited to be taking on the role of Head. It’s been great to meet the pupils and so many parents over the past few days – thank you for the warm welcome that I’ve received and I very much look forward to getting to know everyone in the Banda community.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 02
On the back of the Sports Department’s talk to parents, it was very pleasing to see the pupils’ sportsmanship in their matches this week – it ties in nicely with our current value of Honesty and is such an important aspect of what we seek to instill here. Wednesday very much had a French flavour to it, with pupils encouraged to parlez en française. Everyone enjoyed a delicious French-themed lunch!
Spirit of the Banda – Week 03
School has been a little quieter this week with the Year 8s away on their Mount Kenya expedition. Varying weather conditions failed to dampen their enthusiasm, with all pupils embracing the challenges and bonding opportunities along the way. A huge thank you to the staff and parents who accompanied them. In their absence, a group of Year 6 and 7 pupils performed superbly at the Badminton Speech and Drama Trophy, where they finished as runners-up.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 04
It was fantastic to see so many families here for the Colour Run last Saturday; a first real taste for me of The Banda community coming together in full force. A huge thank you to everyone involved in making it a memorable morning. As mentioned last week, the Year 8s had a hugely successful trip to Mount Kenya. It has been both inspiring and gratifying to hear numerous stories of the determination, resilience and teamwork that the pupils showed – each one of them faced challenges along the way, with many of them pushing themselves far beyond the limits that they thought they were capable of. This lies at the heart of what a truly all-round prep school education seeks to offer – providing opportunities and experiences that allow each and every pupil to develop and flourish.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 05
The Banda pupils excelled in an array of competitions this week. The Under 11 boys showed superb team spirit to win the IAPS Football Tournament at Brookhouse last weekend, whilst the Under 13 girls were busy winning the 10/10 Cricket Tournament at Peponi. The Under 11 girls and Under 13 boys also gave a good account of themselves in their respective events. We’ve also had pupils golfing at Pembroke (finishing a creditable third), the first swimming meet of the term, an enjoyable afternoon of athletics here at The Banda, as well as the latest round of inter-school football matches. What has been superb to see in all of the above is the levels of team spirit and camaraderie amongst the pupils. Nowhere was this more evident than at Monday’s athletics when a posse of pupils helped cajole a fellow pupil all the way around the second lap of her race. It’s the taking part that truly counts.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 06
‘Time flies when you’re having fun’ the famous saying goes and, if the speed at which the last six weeks have passed by is anything to go by, then The Banda pupils have certainly been enjoying themselves. Of course, they’ve also learnt and experienced plenty along the way but, fundamentally, happy children are those that make progress and learn effectively.
Looking ahead to the second half of term, the calendar is packed with events across the spectrum of school life – academic, music, drama, sport, trips and community events. There’s certainly plenty for each and every child to look forward to and get involved in; I know that all of them will embrace these opportunities and challenges.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 08
On our first morning back from Half Term, Mrs Sweetnam spoke to the pupils in assembly about our value for the coming seven weeks – how we are all different and need to celebrate the fact. She focused in particular on our ‘sparks’ – what marks out how each one of us is different, not least through our interests and values. Looking at the breakdown of the calendar for the rest of term, I was struck by the huge number of opportunities that pupils across the school will have to discover and develop those sparks, whether it is in the classroom, on the sports pitch, in the creative arts or just in their everyday interactions with others around the school.
Prep school is often where these sparks are first lit and I encourage each and every pupil to try all the opportunities and tackle the challenges put in front of them. It could light the spark that converts to a lifelong passion.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 09
4KD were in fantastic form as they performed an entertaining and informative take on why the Romans should take charge at The Banda. It was brilliant to see these younger members of our community take to the stage with such confidence and presence. We also got the chance to see the incredible artwork from our numerous prize winners in this year’s Orchid Manyatta Competition, much of which is also on display in the Dining Room. We were also then treated to a couple of the pieces that were performed at the Lower School Concert earlier in the week.
These are great occasions for the pupils to perform and for those not on stage to appreciate and enjoy each others’ ‘sparks’ – to celebrate all our talents and differences.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 10
Spirit of the Banda – Week 11
Congratulations to our Year 8 pupils who have calmly negotiated a week of exams; another important step in their journey towards Common Entrance in June.
Our penultimate round of inter-school cricket matches managed to mostly dodge the rains. The highlight was undoubtedly Sara-Mahi’s hat-trick for the girls’ second team; a real once in a blue moon event.
Good luck to all our athletes competing at tomorrow’s Kasarani meeting and congratulations to Maya and Jake on their appointment as Athletics Captains.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 12
There’s just two weeks to go this term but all sorts of events still to pack in. We very much look forward to the Pegasus and Lower School Christmas performances next week, as well as the Upper School Verse Speaking Competition. I also know that many children are busy baking for the upcoming competition and putting together Christmas shoe boxes for the children at KIMMTa in Kibera.
Spirit of the Banda – Week 13
This week has seen three simply brilliant Christmas performances from Years 3 and 4, Years 1 and 2 and Pegasus. To see all the children up on stage, so clearly enjoying performing, has been absolutely fantastic. Immense credit needs to go to all the staff involved for their time and dedication in putting these occasions together.
