Hey everyone :)
Sorry we haven't updated this for a while, but here is a little taster of what's been going on in the Jones household over the last month...
Life at school has been very hectic. We've had one weekend off so far since half term, which was pretty awesome really - we went to Lake Naivasha and Hell's Gate national park. We had a wonderful time with some friends exploring the place where Tomb Raider was filmed - pretending to be Lara Croft etc - and also seeing giraffes, zebra and lots of deer. But since then school's been pretty full-on. After Orchestral weekend, we began report writing and since then we have been preparing kids for nativity and Christmas carol services, along with and normal teaching and planning which have kept us very busy. We're feeling a little run down and ready for the holidays, but feel we're really getting to know the kids more now and have got to grips more with the day to day life at the school.
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| Deer running across the road in Hell's Gate. |
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| Climbing in the Rocks at Hell's Gate. |
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| Kind of speaks for itself! |
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| Rachel being a monkey... |
Rachel has just returned from Guide Camp at a farm in Naivasha. It brought back many memories of Duke of Edinburgh as we put up tents in the rain, cooked in the rain, went for walks in the rain, cooked again in the rain, gave children medicine at 5 in the morning (in the rain) and wore damp clothes for 24 hours. The girls had a good time though and it wasn't all bad as we were entertained by monkeys, zebra, waterbuck, wildebeest and giraffes roaming wild on the campsite. Rachel's finally learnt the names of all 56 guides now and had a great time chatting and giggling with them.
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| Still smiling after a very wet weekend... |
Dan's been put forward as head of Elgon house and head of the club committee, starting in September. Elgon is the name of the house we're in (all are mountains with the others being Kilimanjaro, Kenya and Ruwenzori). He'll have to organise inter-house competitions such as swimming, music, athletics and other stuff. It's encouraging that he's already being put forward for more authoritative positions. Head of club committee means he has to organise the events for staff on Friday nights. It's where staff let their hair down a bit and catch up. So far we've had a Bollywood themed night, pub games, a jazz night and a pub quiz, but if you have any suggestions pass them this way!
So there's 2 weeks left before term finish, and we're gonna keep ploughing on til the end, with lots to look forward to over the Christmas hols. We're going straight to the coast - Mombasa - to visit Jonny Shaw and Sam Boyes from Dan's church in Nottingham. Spending a week down there on the beach and then on safari in Tsavo National Park. Then back to school for a slightly different Christmas from usual with other staff, eating together and then probs playing ultimate frisbee in the sun or something. Dan's family arrive on 26th and then we're off exploring with them.
We're sad not to be returning to England this Christmas but feel it's too soon and too expensive to do so right now. We have, however, booked our flights for next summer so would love to catch up with as many of you as possible in July and August next year. We'll let you know dates nearer the time but really looking forward to a trip home to see you all.
It'd be great to catch up with people over the Christmas hols though too. We have quite a few free days so will try to keep Skype on and see if we can catch people, and it'd be lovely to hear from you via email or facebook too.
Well that's all for now. We'll aim to update again in the week before Christmas but sending lots of love and warm wishes at Christmas time. Hope you have a fab festive season.
With love,
Rach and Dan xxx
