There is just over one week left of academic year 2009/2010. It has been another highly successful and extremely busy ten months or so in the life of the Rainbow International School community. As usual there has been an attempt to strike a balance between academic progress and extra-curricular involvement. When considering academic progress it is important to look at the aspect of ‘value added’. With the non-selective intake policy of the school, we will always have a wide range of abilities and, therefore, a diverse set of examination results. However, it is important to understand the progress made by each individual throughout a school year. This analysis of academic performance has been lacking in the past but Mr Toscano, the new headmaster of secondary school, is keen to give more meaning to our exam data from now on and not just look at raw scores. The aim of Rainbow has always been to maximise the achievement of every child in the school. In the past we have probably not been measuring how successful we have been in reaching this goal. In primary school there is already a detailed tracking system now in place which ensures that the progress of children is closely monitored and remedial intervention implemented whenever it is clear that a child requires it.

In the area of extra-curricular activities, Rainbow continues to offer all its pupils many opportunities to develop and discover their own skills and talents. We have continued to establish ourselves as a sporting force within the international schools circuit winning the primary inter schools swimming gala at Rainbow in February with something to spare and generally dominating the athletics and cross-country events. We have also seen the emergence of rugby as a major sport within the school. There have been numerous educational trips and house competitions. There have been four wonderful productions ranging from Shakespeare to a variety show. The International Talent Show on 1st May must rank as the biggest production that Rainbow has ever put on and, although significant financial backing came from our sponsors, Orange, the organisation of the event was entirely the work of the Rainbow staff and didn’t they rise to the occasion! The three main organisers were drawn from our performing arts department, Elisabeth Bisasso (Head of Music), Catherine Imalingat (Head of Drama) and Mr Lyn Howard but the event could not have happened without the tireless efforts of the administration and support staff. Indeed many of the big events that take place at Rainbow depend heavily on the dedication of the grounds staff, cleaners, catering staff, security guards and the drivers. They are often unnoticed but, having worked more closely with them over the last year than I did before, I have come to realise just how valuable they are and yet how undervalued they are by many people in the Rainbow Community.

As always at the end of the year, there are a number of people leaving. To all the pupils leaving, we wish you well in your new schools or, in the case of the 19 students who we said goodbye to on Monday in the beautiful Leavers’ Ceremony, in your next step after school. We hope that, like the guest speaker on Monday, Mark Karamira, you will value your time spent at Rainbow and take some life long lessons with you into your future. Amongst the staff leaving, we have a number of very long-serving teachers. I would particularly like to thank Monsieur Mamert Ndayishimiye, Mr Noah Ssengendo and Mr Dan Wakwima for their support in school and on the football field over the past 9 years or more. They have each personified the true Rainbow spirit and I wish them happiness and success and look forward to their return to Rainbow sometime in the future, whether as a visitor or back on our payroll!

I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Anne Thomas as the PSA Chairperson who has had a wonderful first year in her new post introducing some new events such as the car boot sales, the biathlon and the International Food Fair along with the more familiar events of World Cup Fun Day and the children’s Christmas party. The common theme throughout was to raise funds for the chosen projects of school lockers, library resources and musical equipment while, at the same time, involving the whole family in a lot of fun. There is no doubt that the PSA succeeded in their mission and I am sure Anne,


herself, would like to thank all the committee members who dedicated themselves to the cause throughout the year.

Last week the invoices for next term’s fees were issued. Some of you have already expressed disappointment, even dismay, at the 15% rise in fees. I would like to apologise for the delay in informing you of this decision. We actually set the new fees in February as that is when the Board also agrees on the annual budget including the new teachers’ salary scales.  Given that the salaries and the fees are both tied to the dollar, it is clear that the two have to be decided in tandem. Indeed, the argument that the appreciation of the dollar effectively makes the fee rise considerably more than 15% is countered by the fact that a majority of our salaries and many of our resources are also paid for in dollars. For two years when the dollar was declining in value, parents benefited from school fees reducing in shillings term on term while the school had many disgruntled teachers seeing their monthly pay being eroded. Last year, in light of the worldwide economic crisis, we froze all our fees but still gave a pay increment to all teachers, so this fees rise is an average of 7.24% p.a. compounded for each of the last two years. In view of the amount invested in the school’s infrastructure and resources in that time with two newly fitted ICT labs, the construction of a new secondary school science block and the redesigned and resurfaced car park as well as other improvements around the site and in the classrooms, we feel that this rise is not unreasonable. It should also be pointed out that the usual 5% discount applies for all school fees paid on or before Friday, 25th June. The accounts office will close strictly at 1.30 p.m. on that day and will re-open at 9.00 a.m. on Monday, 28th June.

There are still several events taking place between now and the end of term:
Friday, 18th June: The Big Splash swimming gala for early years and year 1 starting at 9a.m..
Monday, 21st June: ‘Step up’ day for kindergarten up to year 5.
Tuesday, 22nd June: Year 2 celebration assembly at 1:45p.m. on the small field. Primary school reports go home.
Wednesday, 23rd June: End of year primary school assembly at 8:15p.m.  COOL Awards assembly on the main field at 2.30 p.m.
Thursday, 24th June: Year 6 V year 7 challenge football match followed, at 10.00 a.m. by The Matthams Cup (Students V Staff football match). End of year assembly on the main field from 11.45 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. secondary school reports will be issued to students just before the final assembly.
Friday, 25th June: 8.00 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Parent Teacher Consultations for parents of all classes up to year 10.

Hopefully you will find time to support your children as appropriate.

Finally, may I remind you that we were planning to offer holiday lessons in the Chinese language and culture for two hours per day from 28th June to 30th July. The response to this innovation has been poor so we may have to abandon the idea. If you or your children are interested, the course takes place from 9.00 to 11.00 each morning at Rainbow and we require the full course payment of 250,000/= by Friday, 18th June. If we do not have the requisite minimum number of people signed up, we will obviously refund all course fees in full.

Thank you once again for your continued support and we look forward to seeing most of you again at the start of the next academic year which commences Thursday, 26th August.   

Yours faithfully,


CLIFF GREEN.
Principal.