Letter from the Headmistress – 9th November 2010

Last weekend went very well. The Under 11 Cricket Tournament was a great success, Bonfire Night was enormous fun and the Parent / Staff Cricket matches were enjoyed by all. Whilst all these extras went on the children continued to do Clubs, ride their bikes, play tennis and such like and they generally had a very good time. A group also attended the Tae Kwondo Competition at Hillcrest where we came second. Sunday saw Mr. Stevens head off for the water slides and golf at the Village Market with a bus load of children and they too had a super time. I must take this opportunity to thank all the staff and so many of our parents for their very real commitment and enthusiasm to do everything they can for Pembroke House and its children. The weekend closed with Chapel and I have to say that here the bar was raised. The children’s appearance was outstanding – ties were tied correctly, shoes had been polished, hair was brushed and cheeks were rosy from hot showers – a breathtaking and extraordinarily satisfying sight!

With exams on the horizon Mr. Veitch and I decided that this week’s Chapel service should centre on our children trying their best in ‘all’ that they do – particularly their academic subjects. It is a recurrent theme at most schools and indeed in real life but certainly one that we at Pembroke House take very seriously. The task at hand this Sunday was to say it in such a way that the children might really listen and with one week until exams we really wanted them to try and ‘do’ something to help themselves prepare for the academic challenge ahead .

Sport at Pembroke House manages to engage each and every child. It takes a year or so to do this but by hook or by crook it happens. Somehow I had to try and help the children to realise that ‘trying’ in their classrooms was similar to trying on the sports pitch.

I began by praising the Under 11 Cricket Team for their tremendous performance the day before. Winning always seems easy when it happens but it is not. It takes skill, determination, self belief and commitment to pull off such a victory. There were of course some super individual performances but at the end of the day real team work is the bottom line – you never give up because your team members are relying on you; it may not be ‘your’ day but it will certainly be someone else’s day and it is your duty to give your ‘all’ come what may, for the team. The tougher the competition the harder it is to play well and so enormous steps are made by each individual. Toe by toe and step by step real character is developed in each team member.

Boarding too plays its part and without a doubt the camaraderie that develops amongst the children, day in day out at school helps them to build on that ‘team spirit’ which for so many is elusive.

The final addition to the potion is the tremendous input of the coaches. Imparting skills alone is not enough. Believing in the children and driving them beyond themselves is absolutely vital but not enough. A coach at Pembroke House has to do both – skills and drive are needed. Each child must feel proud to represent their school, they must feel needed and vital to the proceedings, their focus must be on ‘the team’ and what they can do to help. This overcomes individual self doubt and allows performances that may well outstrip what one might expect from daily lessons and coaching.

Some touchline talk on that Saturday centred on feedback from Housemasters at our children’s next schools. Without a doubt all schools are impressed by the real and unique drive and determination shown by our children. Sport is littered with highly talented games players who don’t ‘make it’ and one thing that is so often lacking is the temperament, the real determination and focus to get through and rise above the difficulties. Pembroke House manages to instill this and in this day and age we are excited to be able to turn out children with such a ‘gift’.

To our staff’s eternal credit we are managing to extend this level of commitment to the Choir, our Jazz Band and to the children’ s Art. Slowly but surely we are getting there and it is seen as increasingly ‘cool’ to sing or play the flute or produce beautiful art work or mould a stunning piece of ceramic work. As teachers Academics are quite clearly our top priority and we are proud of our CE exam results. We all work consistently hard to engage and teach the children. We puzzle over how best to get through to children and what makes them tick. Parents do their part and encourage children to ‘ do their best’ and ‘work hard’. We do everything to help them to understand and enjoy our subjects but I know for example that as yet my Year 7s do not find Geography quite as thrilling as a hockey match! Without a doubt there is a greater level of commitment that the children can give us. Our aim this year is to help the children take that extra step. Being clever, making good progress in the classroom, beautiful handwriting and producing work one is proud of must be seen to be ‘ cool ’ – academics have got to really make it to the cutting edge of school life to encourage that final step of engagement from the children. I’m not sure it is going to be easy but as a team at Pembroke House we are determined to get there!

On a more operational note the events for the coming week are outlined below. We look forward to seeing you at school soon and we hope that many of you can join us for our Remembrance Service on Sunday.

Coming Up
Year 8 Field Trip to the Turasha River: Tuesday 9th November
Mary Henderson from Westonbirt School will be with us on: Wednesday 10th November
Under 9 Cricket & Rounders at Greensteds : Thursday 11th November
Kindergarten presentation at kabete Kindergarten: Friday 12th November
Rounders Tournament U 11 & U 13: Saturday 13th November
Up Country v Nairobi Rounders Match: Sunday 14th November, Remembrance Sunday Service 1045 am
Chrstina Chapel Pembroke Hous: Sunday 14th November

Please remember that the following week is our Open day and our Inter house Athletics. On Friday evening there is an Art Exhibition at Gilgil Club followed by supper. We will hold all the Sports Day events on the Saturday and we will send a schedule of activities to you all so that you can ensure that you do not miss your child’s competition. The Saturday night following the Athletics is an exeat so school will close following the races and we will look forward to welcoming everyone back for Chapel on Sunday 21st November.

With warmest wishes,

Debs

Deborah Boyd-Moss
Headmistress
Pembroke House