The graduation team spent today with the graduates from Crossroads Academy in Vipingo. This is our very first graduating class. We began with KG1-KG3 back in 2007 and as they grew, so did the school. The school year here begins in January, and is comprised of 3 terms with 3 months on/1 month off. So, this class finished their Standard 8 year in November. After this, they took their national exam, the KCPE. They just recently got their exam scores back, and are getting ready to begin high school in February.
The gates of the high school
Each of our students will be invited to attend Vallary McMillan High School in Majaoni. We met the graduating class in Vipingo and headed to the high school from there for a tour of the facilities, since most of our students have never been there.
Some of our graduates, getting ready to enter Form 1 (freshmen year). They actually are excited, honest, but much like American teenagers, the also want to look cool.
The students broke into groups and were led by upperclassmen from the high school. We got to see the classrooms, science labs, library, and the newly constructed girls' dormitories (the boys will be bussed in rather than live on campus). The high school students were very helpful, showing both the incoming students and the Fox River team where our kids would be studying in just a few weeks. The high school facilities are very impressive and will be an excellent place where these kids we've watched grow from Kindergarten can continue their education.
A few high school students led the incoming Form 1 students on their tour.
The girls' dormitory (still under construction)
The high school has excellent facilities, including their large chapel that serves as a community church on Sundays.
The high school has a small library with many books (with a larger library under construction), a computer lab, two science labs, and a beautiful campus the students can be proud of.
After the tour of the high school concluded, we loaded up our bus and vans and headed to City Mall in Nyali. If you are imagining that Kenya is nothing but mud huts and remote villages, you would be very surprised by this mall! It looks very much like a mall you would find in the US. Many of our kids had not been to a mall like this before, and enjoyed walking through the shops, riding the escalators (they thought this was hilarious) and the glass elevator up to the fourth floor and back down.
We had a unique and incredibly fun experience for lunch. Domino's not only accommodated our entire class and team, but they invited the kids and their group leaders to make their own pizzas. The Domino's staff were absolutely fantastic with the kids. They took their time to show them how to prep the dough, add the sauce, throw on toppings, and bake them in the pizza oven. They encouraged the kids and made sure they had a good time - and so did we!
Working hard making pizza. Well, mostly working hard.
After we ate, the Domino's staff continued to impress us with a little show of their pizza dough throwing skills. You could tell these men and women enjoyed their work and loved having the kids work with them. One of our kids, Austin, said it best: "We have had a wonderful time!"
These guys were crazy talented and very entertaining.
Our time at the mall concluded, we finished the day back at the school in Vipingo. Ben taught a short self-defense class, first to the girls and then to the boys. Meanwhile, we setup a photo booth and took some silly photos with the graduates.
The significance of this graduation cannot be overstated. God has been working in the lives of these kids, most of whom have been at our school from the very beginning in 2007. This milestone not only represents a new stage for these kids, but for our schools as well. It is such a blessing to see these kids - now becoming young adults - move forward into the next stage of their education and their life. Please continue to lift up our mission, our schools, and our kids in prayer - especially this class that is taking their next step into adulthood!