A video of veteran journalist Jeff Koinange speaking on the lunch menu at his former school, St. Mary’s School, has surfaced online sparking mixed reactions.
During lunch breaks, he explained, they would line up at the dining area and produce a lunch card before they are let in.
Once in, Jeff explained that there is a buffet spread on a table with variety of meals including rice, fries and mashed.
“The stew would follow; whether it’s meat stew or chicken stew. You’ll go down the buffet line, take as much as you want,” he said.
After the buffet table, students would then pick a desert and then grab a beverage of their choice; milk, colored milk or juice.
“Then you’ll take all these to your table. The juniors would sit in one side while the seniors in another and everybody would remain standing until everyone has their food,” Jeff explained.
The prefects, led by the head boy, would them assemble at the front and lead other students in a brief prayer.
St Mary’s School
St Mary’s School was founded in the Parklands area of Nairobi in 1939 by the Holy Ghost Fathers from Blackrock College in Dublin, Ireland.
The school opened its doors on the 12th of September, 1939 with 4 boarders and 13 day pupils.
The permanent buildings then were the main two-storied house, a low garage-like building at its side which acted as the dormitory and two other small constructions which acted as the kitchen and toilets.
Behind the main buildings were four blocks of wooden buildings which served as classrooms and Fathers’ rooms.
The school was temporary in nature and the grounds were limited; it only had a field for football.
Part of the Parklands Sports Club was used for other seasonal games like hockey, rugby and cricket.
The School started by offering preparatory education in 1941 started offering secondary education.
In January 1946 the school was moved to a temporary structure on an 85-acre site on the land belonging to the St. Austin’s Mission in Muthangari area of Westlands.
The present-day school buildings were completed in 1954, including the two Towers that still stand at the School’s quadrangle.
As the years went by other structures including the swimming pool, school hall, the cafeteria and the music centre were added.
From the onset, St Mary’s has always had a combined primary and secondary school and was a boy’s School.
Girls were admitted into the lower 6th Form (A-Level) around 1978.
They include Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE), CBC (Grade 1- Grade 6), Junior Secondary (Grade 7), Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE), International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) and International Baccalaureate (IB).
