The Residential Campus

On Thursday 3 April 2008, The Aga Khan Academy, Mombasa's Senior School assembly was dedicated to the fast approaching building work which will signal the transition from the Academy being a wholly day school to that of it being able to accept boarding students from around Kenya and the neighboring countries.

Head of Academy, Peter J McMurray made clear that this was an important development in the life of the school and explained that being able to identify and attract young talent from all over the country was a critical part of His Highnesses vision for the network of the Academies. He then introduced the Dean of Students, Karin Clough, to the assembly making clear that planning work for this change in the life of the school had been aggressively happening "behind the scenes" for well over three years.

Karin then spoke of the life of the residences and introduced those teachers who have been identified as future dormitory parents, who shared stories with the students about their decision to join the dorm parent team. Many spoke of their own personal experiences at boarding schools as the best years of the life. They recalled the close relationships between teachers and students, and the joy of learning and living together with their peers. The team includes Lucy Mandawiro, Pam Mokua, Sabine Chegge, Nancy Oruko, Judith Misigo, Benard Dudi, Jacob Okelo, Naheed Bardai, Aziz Batada, Kipkemoi Serem, Joel Godiah, Jane Kinyoda, Bulemi Mulama, Benson Wafula and Francis Kariuki.

Truly experiencing the real life of top boarding schools in the world has been one of the ways teachers are being trained for their dorm parent role. In May 2007, four teachers visited Schule Schloss Salem in Germany for a week of intensive training in dorm parenting. On Friday, April 4, 2008 five Academy teachers leave for a visit to Lawrenceville School in Princeton, New Jersey, USA during the April break. Look for a full report of their trip here in the coming weeks.