Glow Sticks

I brought glow stick bracelets out to give away as prizes and or gifts, and let me just tell you, they were a hit. So much so that our night guard wanted several and we spent hours taking pictures and telling him that they wouldn't recharge in the sun. Bless his traditional Rendille heart, he's used to rechargeable solar flashlights.

Are You Smarter Than A Kenyan Freshman?

Beginning in the second term of school I began teaching Geography for the Form One students. The subject is totally out of my league, but we got through it (by the grace of God), and by the end of the term everyone should have known the answers to these questions... including me!


Rocks and Minerals
1) List 3 physical characteristics of a mineral and describe each characteristic. [6 mks]

2) Describe the process of formation of Sedimentary Rocks in 4 steps. [4 mks]

3) You go to the Pacific island of Hawaii and find Kilauea Volcano erupting! There is magma flowing on the surface of the ground and magma being shot into the atmosphere. What type/group of Igneous Rocks will you find here? [2 mks]

Statistics
4) Label the following groups of data as being either Discrete Statistical Data or Continuous Statistical Data. [4 mks]
a) Rainfall in Korr in January 2010: 101.7 mm
b) Mean number of children in Nairobi families: 2

5) List 3 methods of recording statistical data. [3 mks]

6) Make a Combination Line and Bar Graph using the information collected in Korr in the table below. Be sure to label each axis, have an appropriate scale, and include a title. [7 mks]
Year 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Mean Annual Temperature (ºC) 30 29 31 30 28
Mean Annual Rainfall (mm) 300 350 200 250 500


Maps
7) Using the grid below answer the following questions: [2 mks]
a) What city is located at 7 ºN 20ºE?
b) What are the grid co-ordinates of Cape Town?

8) Draw an example of each of the three types of map scales and label each scale. [3 mks]

9) Explain the difference between a topographical map and an atlas map. [2 mks]


Weather
10) Fill in the blank spots in the following phrases to complete the description of each type of thermometer. Use the words “Maximum Thermometer,” “Minimum Thermometer,” and “Six’s Thermometer.” [3 mks]
a) In a _____________________________ the mercury expands when the temperature rises which pushes the metal index up the glass tube.
b) When the temperature rises, the alcohol in the ___________________________expands which pushes the mercury into the Right/Maximum arm.
c) When the temperature rises, the alcohol in a ____________________________ expands, but it never pushes the metal index up the glass tube. The metal index remains at its lowest point.

11) Explain how the atmosphere is heated by the two types of Radiation: Solar and Terrestrial. [4 mks]

12) Choose one of the following types of rainfall and describe its process: Frontal (Cyclonic), Convectional, or Relief. [2 mks]


Earth and Solar System
13) Define each of the following terms: Solar System, a Star, a Galaxy, the Milky Way, a Planet, an Orbit. [6 mks]

14) Which planet would be warmer; Venus or Saturn? Explain why. [2 mks]

15) Define the term equinox, tell when it occurs, and what the effect on the earth’s surface is. [3 mks]

16) When the local time in New York (74 ºW) is 8:00 AM, what is the local time in Kitale (35 ºE) [2 mks]

Christmas Party!!!!!

It is better to give than to receive.

Rarely do you get to experience this feeling in its purest form, but I've found that even though they can be very vocal about what they wish you had given them (i.e. which colour would have been preferred, which flavour, what type of film...) I love seeing the looks on our kids faces when they get a gift even they can't find fault with. Such were their looks when they received their Christmas gifts this year which included Tirrim Secondary t-shirts and some awesome quilted book bags donated from the States!


Brand new shirts are absolute luxury around here, and we're pretty strict about the kids keeping their books in good condition, so a sturdy bag is always handy. I find such joy in giving them not only things that are useful, but being able to see how excited they get over the few Christmas presents they've ever gotten in their life. When I was a kid, I was getting Jasmine outfits and toy horses from overly generous grandparents (to whom I will be forever grateful), but for some of these students, these are the first real Christmas gifts they've ever gotten.

I'm the one who is blessed to have been able to serve Tirrim students, whether through teaching or a new t-shirt.

Are you smarter than a Kenyan Sophomore?

This is an excerpt from the Form Two's Final Grammar English Exam.

Can you answer the questions?

SPELLING

1) Circle the correctly spelled word in the following sets. [3 mks]

a) excerpt / excert / exsert
b) plesant / pleasant / pleasent
c) coruption / corruption / corupption
d) competition / compition / compatition
e) dissapointed / disapointed / disappointed
f) unfortunitly / unfortunately / unfortunatly


2) Underline the misspelled words in the following paragraph and then write the correct spelling above the word you underlined. [6 mks]
In this coming Christmas holyday we should remember to apreciate the reason for the season; Christ’s birth. Some people hold the purspective that Christmas is mearly a time for giving gifts and taking a school break. However, this is really a time of the year to honor God sending His son to earth to eventualy die for our sins.

GRAMMAR

3) Circle the correct Personal Pronoun to fill in each gap. [3 mks]

a) We missed as many opportunities as ( they / them ) did.
b) You wait for Jacob and ( I / me ) here.
c) Give (she / her) a chance.
d) David knows as well as ( me / I ) that food is not permitted in the dormitories.
e) Can you describe the difference between yourself and ( he / him ).
f) It was ( she / her ) that gave me permission.

4) Complete the CLOSE test below by choosing from the list of words below. Write the answers on THIS page.[4.5 mks]
Consumption contaminated many desperate ironic scarce died common poisonous
When food becomes _________________ people are forced to resort to desperate measures. ________________ families resort to eating wild fruits, tubers and vegetables they find in their environment. In Turkana South people eat a hard, highly ___________________ wild fruits called “Elamarch” which they have to boil for over ten hours before it becomes safe for human ________________________. Sadly, but the time it found and cooked, some people may have ________________ from the effects of starvation. An ______________________ twist to the famine situation is when food poisoning occurs. It aggravates and already _____________________ situation because although people have food, they may die from eating it. Food poisoning occurs when people consume _________________ products. The most _______________ poisonous substance found in contaminated food is Aflatoxin BI, which is mainly found in damp maize.

5) Identify the following sentences as being in either Passive Voice or Active Voice. If the sentence is in Passive Voice rewrite it in Active Voice. If the sentence is in Active Voice, rewrite it in Passive Voice. Do this work on your answer sheet. [4 mks]
a) The girl spent a lot of time researching the information.
b) The students were given new neck ties by the principal.
c) A crime has been committed by the notorious gangster.
d) We the people reject this unfair law!

6) Add a question tag to the end of the following statements. [4 mks]
a) I am your best friend ________________________?
b) They didn’t go home ________________________?
c) We should praise the Lord____________________?
d) She can’t run quickly _______________________?

7) Complete the following sentences by inserting complex prepositions. [4 mks]
a) I have gotten a common cold _______________________________________ this rainy weather.
b) Let’s play football ________________________________________ volleyball.
c) The little child walked _____________________________________ the fire.
d) You will find the shop _____________________________________ the main road.

8) Complete the following sentences using the correct degree of adjective, either positive, comparative, or superlative. [4 mks]
a) When is the ________________________ (soon) you can arrive?
b) This sack of maize is _____________________ (heavy) than the one over there.
c) I find English class_______________________________ (interesting) than Physics class.
d) This is the _____________________ (good) cake I have ever tasted!

9) Identify which tense/aspect the following sentences are in. [2 mks]
a) The food had cooked by the time we all arrived at the house. __________________________________________
b) The supplies should arrive tomorrow afternoon. ________________________________________
c) Sukto was studying all night for her exams. _________________________________________
d) Mme. Jamie is teaching in America now. _______________________________________

10) Circle only the NON-COUNT nouns in the following list. [2.5 mks]

Dogs
Sugar
Rain
Students
Stars
Furniture
Courage
Friends
Sand

11) Rewrite each of the following sentences changing ALL the singular nouns into plural nouns. Each sentence must be entirely grammatically correct. Rewrite on your answer sheet. [8 mks]

a) The girl put a handkerchief in her pocket.
b) The boy hid a knife under the mattress.
c) This must be the car that belongs to your sister-in-law.
d) Our sheep was stolen by a thief!

Onion Pancakes

The other night Alicia and I went to spend the night at the nicest hotel in town: Ebenezer Guest House. It's owned by our language teacher and dear auntie, Amina Labarakwe, and let me tell you, she's got this hotel managment thing down! The rooms are actually individual Samburu style huts, made with a frame of sticks and covered with cardboard boxes. The inside of each room/hut is lined with a multitude of brightly colored fabrics and next to each bed there lie complimentary flip-flops.

However, the real reason anyone, or at least Alicia or I, go to the Ebenezer Guest House is for the food. Stews, chapatiis, these little breaded and deep fried potato things, homemade salsa, all topped off with Amina's own special chai recipe. I look forward to such meals the whole day. Like any good cook, Amina likes to experiement, which is how she got into learning how to make us "American pancakes." Usually these are phenomenal, but the other morning Amina got a little carried away. When we walked in for our breakfast at 8 am, Amina proudly announced that she had made us "onion pancakes!"

I'm not usually a picky eater, but my stomach can't handle such things in the early morning hours. So I took Amina's special chai instead.

Kirungu Retreat

Last weekend, all of us stationed up in the North got together for the annual Prayer Weekend, this time in Kirungu (the same rain-foresty town that TSS took its retreat at earlier in the year.) Alicia and I were SUPER excited to go back there and and enjoy some cool breezes and stunning scenery, and quite honestly, we were in desperate need of a break from school and the students. You know, you love your home and your people, but sometimes its difficult to like them. Taking a break is a great solution, so we did.

On Thursday afternoon, Alicia and I threw a mattress in the back of the Propst's truck, and set off down the long bumpy road to Kirungu. It's about a 3 hour drive all the way out to the Ndoto Hills, through the little road-side town of Illaut, down into the thick sand of dozens of dry river beds, and into the delightful greenery of the South Horr area. I put my bet on arriving at the Maple's house around 5:57pm, but Alicia won with her money on 6:07 pm. Upon arrival, we were shown into our room for the weekend in the home of an interior decorating missionary and her husband (an awesome combination to be sure.) Beautiful sandstone floors, sisal thatched roof, outlines of Kenya and Africa carved into the mud walls. Fancy stuff, I know.

The next few days were just as relaxing and delightful as my hotel room. We spent several hours each day praying for the different ministries in Northern Kenya, another several hours a day eating (two chai times with too many desserts to chose from), and then more time just playing. We went on a walk out to the airstrip one evening, took a hike down the lugga where I found a porcupine quill (who knew those things lived here?!), and Auntie Alicia and I spent some precious hours reading to the kids. Oh, and also, Auntie Alicia played "Sticky Monster" with our new favourite little 3 year old, Levi, the son of our coordinator. Levi is also the one who had the best quote of the weekend, walking up to a clearly diseased and emaciated dog and asking him incredulously in his best Scottish accent, "Why are you starving?!"

On Sunday we returned to our second favourite church in Kenya: AIC Kirungu where the Mommas have brought a drum for singing and the Abbaas are all about dancing during worship. After the service, we had yet another meal and then hefted ourselves and our mattress into Nick and Lynne's truck, picked up some fruit in town, and headed back to the Kisut Desert significantly refreshed and ready to like home again.

(Alicia checking out scenery from our truck bed vantage point.)

Notes

Going through the students' holiday assignments, I found this little note posted on the top of Stephen Lekapana's paper: "Done on 20/08/2010 at 3:15 pm beside a bamboo tree."

I wish all work could be so blissfully done.

Cultural Day

(The TSS girls with me after their performance.)

Cultural Day is like Tirrim Secondary's version of Senior Year Prom. Everyone wears their best clothes, puts on their fanciest beads, and dances the day away. However, the way we do it in Korr, prom dresses are kangas, tuxs are wraps with elaborate fringe, and dancing is a conga line/square dance hybrid.

(Traditional Rendille Dance)

So Cultural Day is a celebration of the students' ethnic backgrounds - taking a break from the modern educational system and returning to the dress, songs, and dances they grew up with. The students practiced their dances and songs for weeks, making a distinct effort to include the ethinic dances of Samburu, Rendille, and even Turkana tribes. (Let the record show that the Turkana dance has a move that looks a Dance Dance Revolution skiing move.)

Wednesday was spent watching the nursery kids put on a faux wedding ceremony, the Tirrim Primary students sing, and then TSS perform their traditional dances. It was AWESOME! I wish I could post the videos online, but pictures will have to suffice for now.

(The after-party: The jumping warrior dance on the football field.)