Moshi Campus News – 9 Feb 2014

We will be holding a presentation in Dar es Salaam to introduce International School Moshi to prospective applicants and their families. If you know any family who may wish to enrol their child in the school in August or who simply wants to know more about ISM, please invite them to attend at the Sea Cliff Hotel on Saturday, 15th February at 10am.
We will also be presenting at the Swahili House in Stone Town, Zanzibar, on Sunday, 16th February at 6pm.
Any families of current or prospective students who may wish to meet with me individually in Dar on Saturday are welcome to do so – please contact me for an appointment.
Parents of current ISM students living in Dar es Salaam are invited to meet Bob Horton (Director) and myself (Keiron White, Head of Moshi Campus) for drinks at the Sea Cliff Hotel on Saturday evening, 15th February at 6pm. We will be happy to discuss any issues that you would like about the school. If you would like to join us, could you please email me on or text me on 0767-534766, so that we have an indication of numbers.

ISM students on both campuses in P4,P5,P6,M1 and M3 will be taking ISA tests on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week. The students will be tested on their English reading and writing as well as Mathematical skills. We look forward to the results which will come out in May and will be distributed to parents. These tests are useful for the school as an indicator of how our students are doing compared to other students in the same age range around the world at other international schools.

On Wednesday, 12th February there will be a meeting for parents of primary children to find out more about the Primary Years Programme. This will be held at 6.30pm in room 16. We look forward to seeing you at this meeting.

The OP trip to the Pare Mountains is on Saturday/Sunday, 15th & 16th February. If your son/daughter is going on this trip, remember the FINAL bag check is on Tuesday February 11th at 1:20pm at the OP Store. Students must bring everything that is on the packing list. If they need to borrow any equipment, they will need to bring a refundable TSh 10,000/- for the deposit.

A group of thirteen students from ISM with two teachers will be leaving on Sunday, 16th February to spend a week in Nairobi attending the East African Model United Nations (EAMUN) at the UNEP centre in Gigiri. During the week they will be engaged in political, economic and environmental debate with hundreds of other students from schools across the region. They will be representing the countries of Lesotho, Saudi Arabia and St Lucia. We wish them all the very best for a successful week.

ISM will once again be entering a team for the Kilimanjaro Marathon and 5km Fun Run on Sunday, 2nd March. We hope that many parents, teachers, students and friends of ISM will be able to take part and wear the special ISM T-Shirt for that day. Full details are attached and are also available to download from www.uwcea.org/marathon. Please register soon at the ISM main office. Please contact if you have any questions.

We were pleased to welcome Maggie Farrell to the campus this quarter. Maggie is a fully qualified teacher currently volunteering in different classes in the primary school to gain a wider experience of international schools. In the 4th quarter, she will be teaching P2/3 when Ms Kacey is on maternity leave.

This Friday will be St Valentine’s Day. To celebrate, our Student Council is organising a special dinner and dance for the evening of Friday, 14th February.

ISM is having a long weekend holiday from Friday, 21st February to Monday, 24th February inclusive. There will be no classes on the Friday or the Monday of this weekend. Boarders are welcome to travel home for the weekend – however we strongly request that students do not leave school before 6pm on Thursday (20th) and that they return by Monday evening (24th). Students should not miss any classes or activities on other days. Parents who wish their children to travel home are kindly asked to inform the Head of Boarding in good time, for purposes of planning, and normal procedure will follow. You can reach the Head of Boarding on . If your child is using school transport to travel to/from KIA, we will charge $30 per student for the trip on Thursday night/Friday morning/Monday only; you will know that the usual charge in mid-term is $60 per student per trip.
For those boarders who are not travelling away from school, we will be organising a special boarders’ trip (details to follow). This trip will be compulsory for primary and Middle Years boarders (although optional for diploma students).

Students intending to apply to universities in the USA will probably need to take ACT tests before they apply. These tests are available both in Moshi and in Dar on a few different dates in the year. We recommend that any current D1 student planning to apply to the USA should take these tests in the 4th quarter. To this end ISM has already conducted a number of ACT practice sessions for our students.
During the Easter holiday from 7th to 11th April, TANSAO will be conducting ACT preparation classes for ISM students who are based in Dar es Salaam. These classes will provide a concentrated practice in preparation for the tests. The fee is US$400 for the five days of classes. Please contact Mr Daryl Rustad directly on to arrange registration and payment as this should be made directly to TANSAO.

Some parents may have received invoices this week for your child’s music instrument lessons for the 2nd semester (January to June). These invoices are based on the estimated number of lessons that will be taken over the whole semester. Any adjustments needed after the end of the semester will be reflected in a credit or debit which can be applied in June.

The swim team students who took part in the swimming clinic this weekend with coach Sebastian worked extremely hard over two days to improve their technique. Many of the students improved their times which is a tremendous achievement. All their hard work paid off.

Congratulations to the M5 Students for putting on such a great display of their Personal Projects. Students researched, produced a product and discussed many interesting topics, such as:

• Expressing Wildlife Through Wood
• Promoting ISM to the Outside Community
• Making Paper Beads with Recycled Paper
• Designing a Brochure to Help Others Study Better
• De-Inking Paper
• How Perspective Plays a Major Role in 3D Art
• Helping Teenagers with Teenage Issues
• Creating Outfits for Cultural Dance
• Studying Coffee as a Stimulant in the Body, and also in Society
• Cross-Cultural Comparison of Food Preparation Techniques
• Creating Awareness about Rights to Education in the Developing World
• Creating Awareness of the Importance of Disabled People in Society
• Photography of Faces Throughout the Ageing Process
• Salsa Dancing
• Scrapbooking: A Trip Down Memory Lane
• How To Bring Warmth into the Homes of Orphanage Children

Unfortunately our volunteer leader for this club had to leave the country for a few weeks. However he will be back. Jiu Jitsu will start on Wednesday, 19th February. Meanwhile this week the 8 Jiu Jitsu students are welcome to either join the advanced swimmers or the Board Games club. Please ask your child to tell their class teacher if they wish to do this for next week. Apologies for any inconvenience.

The next school assembly on Monday, 17th February is a mother-tongue language assembly celebrating the various languages that make up our community.

All P3 and P4 students will be taking part in a camping trip and field study on 18th and 19th February.

TATO welcomes all to a talk on the new Elephant Census by Dr E Kohi on Thursday, 13th February at 6pm at the New Arusha Hotel. Free Entry

ISM D2 students received feedback on their recent mock exams and their parents will be informed imminently via email with the results. The May 2014 IB exams are approaching and the opportunity for each student to improve rests on their own dedication to their studies. As usual ISM DP teachers are available to provide guidance. In this critical time in each student’s academic career parental involvement remains key. Too often DP students, particularly those who may be less gifted in a particular subject, are reticent about asking for help. Would you, in your next conversation with your son or daughter, assess their situation on this critical factor?
Similarly, ISM DP teachers value greatly the parent-teacher interaction that occurs at the end of each quarter and we hope you will make the trip to Moshi for the Friday March 28th late-morning incredibly important parent-teacher meeting time that marks the end of the January to March marking period. This also is a reminder to please not remove your child early – school does not finish until Friday March 28th so would it be possible to not book plane reservations before that afternoon? Doing so does negatively impact on your child’s learning!
D2 students held their second graduation weekend events planning meeting. Once again, it is great to observe the leadership in action as this cohort of 48 students moves towards their big day on May 24th.
The ISM DP faculty met this week and addressed an array of topics including:
1) an analysis of D2 students of concern;
2) the IB authorization process of the DP on the ISM Arusha campus (Aug 2014 start), and
3) the recently released IB Standards and Practices document (www.uwcea.org/dip01) which has been recently revised and with the philosophy of the continuum to consider the inquiry cycle and collaboration. ISM and all DP schools now must do much more collaboration between subject teachers to incorporate TOK, CAS, EE and internationalism – what is commonly known as the ‘core’ (www.uwcea.org/dip02) of the IB DP.
ISM is organizing an academic symposium to mark this 20th anniversary of the tragic Rwanda Genocide. The three-part morning event slated for Tuesday April 29th on the Arusha campus of ISM will include an academic panel discussion followed by facilitated small group discussions and lastly an aesthetic/creative arts (music and visual) component. We need your help? If you know anyone who would be an excellent speaker and would contribute to this important event as a speaker, would you advise me?
A reminder to all D1 parents to consult with our university counselor Daryl Rustad () regarding future university plans for your son/daughter. This is an incredibly important step to ensuring there is steady collective action towards the program that best fits your son/daughter.
ISM’s IB DP like all three programs is focused on educating students in a holistic fashion. We aspire to make our teaching relevant and truly and IB Education as outlined in What is an IB Education? (www.uwcea.org/dip03)
Here is another favorable article on the IB DP from the UK – www.uwcea.org/dip04
Today’s world demands ‘out of the box’ thinkers and the critical thinking-focused IB DP education makes progress in this direction. The trend continues in many universities too as noted here – Learning to Think Outside the Box – Creativity Becomes an Academic Discipline www.uwcea.org/dip05
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick Diploma Programme Coordinator

Unit of Inquiry Our sunflowers are growing well and the children recorded the progress in their diaries. We have still got to plant more seeds this week as we’re waiting for eggshells from the school kitchen to plant our cress seeds in. We will continue to think about how humans change as they grow and record the life cycle by sequencing pictures of the different stages of human life.
Literacy The EC Flower shop and Garden Centre is now open for business as you can see from the photographs attached to this newsletter. The children made all the flowers and signs for the shop and are enjoying the role play of buying and selling flowers, ringing up the shop with their orders, filling in order forms and working in the EC garden. I am still looking for magazines containing pictures of flowers and plants if you have any. Next week we will make greetings cards at the writing table that can be sold in the shop. We discussed why we send people flowers, for example for their birthday or when they are ill and the children have an understanding of a real reason for communicating on paper. EC2 children will revise ch and sh blends and be introduced to th. They will also write CVC words trying to hear all 3 sounds in the word. EC1 children will revise sounds they have been introduced to over the school year. Younger EC1 children will continue to develop their fine motor skills through a range of activities.
Numeracy Please see the note that came home last week about letting me know your child’s weight at birth so we can compare with their weight now. I would also like to compare heights as well so please let me know their length at birth if you have that information handy. We will continue with weighing activities this week and through shopping the older children will be asked to work out the cost of buying 2 or 3 items in the flower shop. The younger children will practise counting out the correct number of coins.
On Wednesday 12th February there will be a meeting for you to find out more about the Primary Years Programme. This will be held at 6.30pm in room 16. I look forward to seeing you at this meeting.

PYP Information Evening Parents and carers are invited to attend an information evening about our Primary Years Programme (PYP) on Wednesday, 12th February. It will be held in Room 16 and begin at 6.30pm. It will last about an hour.
Unit of Inquiry: Everything has a Place Theme – How we organise ourselves Central Idea – People live and work together in communities. Lines of Inquiry: 1. Organisation of communities 2. Roles and responsibilities 3. Similarities and differences between communities We have discussed what a community is. We have talked about ISM as a community. We discussed the school being part of the Moshi community. We will continue to compare Moshi to a village community.
Language focus for the week Write a recount of the weekend. Children will be encouraged to use the language of time. (First, Next, Then, After that, The next day…) Sentence and word level work will also focus on descriptive language. Retell a story. Recognise key events and patterned language. (Handa’s Surprise) Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and continue Ladder Letters (litujy) Phonics – Group 1: Continue words beginning with s blends, sc , sk, sl ,sp ,sw, st, sn, sm Group 2: e-e as in these and u-e as in tune (revise ee, ea, y(funny), oo and ew )
Maths focus for the week Mental skills will focus on counting on and back from any number. Quick recall of addition facts of 8, 10 and 20. All children will learn about addition and subtraction. The children will use +, – and = to record calculations. They will use counting on and back as strategies to add and subtract. Some children will work with numbers higher in the number system. Also add 9 by adding 10 and subtracting 1.
Art We will create patterned pictures.
What to bring to school: Every day: A hat for playtime, a healthy snack, water bottle and reading folder. Timetable: Monday

New reading books and homework packets including spelling lists will be issued.

PE (wear your house T shirt and shorts for gymnastics) Tuesday

Swimming (swimming costume, towel, flip flops/crocs, swim aids such as floaters if necessary. Goggles and sun cream are optional.) Thursday

Library (Bring library books in your special library bag to return and then choose new ones)

New class reading books will be issued. Friday

Spelling Test

Thanks to those who were able to make it to the Sharing Assembly last Monday. I hope to see many of you on Wednesday night at the PYP Parent Evening. Don’t forget to let me know if you’re available to be a Mystery Reader sometime soon!
Unit of Inquiry – We will focus on the wheel and axle, pulley, and lever in the week ahead. Students have been enjoying the hands-on activities of this unit.
Maths – We will review the use of the Hundreds Chart as a means of conceptualizing adding and subtracting by single and double digits. We will wrap up with measurement though the students have liked the opportunities to put their skills to work while measuring objects and distances around the school.
Language – We will kick off a study of non-fiction by considering the text features in information books, magazines, and websites. Reading groups will focus on gathering facts from texts. We will continue with procedural writing in response to our Unit experiments. The Spelling chunk of the week is -ain. We will also be doing a review of all Long A phonics.
Monday: Library, please bring your books and bag. Homework sent home. Wednesday: PE, remember to wear your sneakers and a hat and bring your water bottle. Thursday: Swimming, bring your suit and a towel. Reading books swapped out, bring your Reading Log as well. Friday: Spelling test and return completed homework.

Thank you to all parents who attended our PYP sharing assembly last Monday. Thank you too, to those parents who have sent plastic bottles to school for our biome in a bottle experiment.
On Tuesday and Wednesday mornings this week, P4 students will be involved in ISA Tests in maths, reading and writing. Having sat some practice/trial tests the week before last, they are now familiar with the format and what is required of them. P3 students will be joining Miss Kacey’s P2/3 class during this time.
This is what our learning in class will look like this week: UOI Unit 4 – Where We Are in Place and Time – Biomes Central Idea – There are a wide variety of environments on our planet made up of living and non-living elements. Lines of inquiry – Types of biomes         Location of different biomes         Interactions of living and non-living things         Human responsibility to share resources with other living things         Preservation of natural environments The students will be working in small groups or as individuals and researching a biome of their choice. They will be using, books, the internet, articles, web sites etc… to do this.
Maths – Miss Jann’s Group -Money – using money in real life situations which will involve addition, subtraction, multiplication and addition, as well as thinking and reasoning skills. The relationship between coins and bills in various currencies and linking this to place value, fractions and decimals. Miss Debbie’s Group – Money. The relationship of coins and bills in various currencies. Using money in real life situations.
Language – Factual writing and writing reports. Reading comprehension exercises. Spelling – group 1- -tion words e.g. action, mention group 2 the third of the three sounds of -ed where it sounds like a “t” e.g. jumped, wished group 3 Consonant blends -sk, -ik, -ct e.g. ask, insect, milk Grammar – using apostrophes to denote ownership and in contractions. E.g. elephant’s trunk (the trunk of the elephant) , isn’t (is not) and its and it’s.
Reminders Our ice cream sundae times table challenge is well underway, with the students having attempted to earn a paper serviette, a cherry, a banana, a scoop of ice cream and a wafer biscuit so far. This week they will be trying to earn a bowl, as they practise mastering the 3 times table. Please encourage and assist your child to learn their table for the week, so that they can make the most delicious sundae possible at the end of this term.
Class Camp – Thank you to those parents who have returned camp consent forms and/or money. I would like the forms and payment back by Tuesday if possible so that I can confirm numbers, any special dietary requirements etc…
Every day: School T-shirts or polo shirts, zip bags (reading book, reading log, spelling book all need to come to school each day), a healthy snack for break time. Monday: Homework handed out – spelling, reading, Maths, language Wednesday: P.E. Please wear house/school T-shirt and shorts or tights (no jeans, skirts or dresses). No need for trainers, as we will be barefoot in the hall for gymnastics. Please see that long hair is tied up. PYP parents’ evening – 6.30 pm – 7.30 pm in Room 16. Thursday: Times tables test – 3x. Library. Please remember library bags and any books that are due back for return/renewal. Friday: Hand in homework Spelling test Swimming – please remember costumes, towels and sunscreen and goggles if your child uses them. Looking forward to a great week together. Miss Jann

Last week we studied further the rainfall in West Kilimanjaro using real data to find mean, mode, median and range and plot 5 year rainfall figures on line graphs. Through investigation into human activity affecting weather, we began an experiment yesterday to draw water from leaves in a solar still. The storms this weekend have done their best to sabotage these but on checking this morning I found they just about survived albeit a little water laden.
On Tuesday and Wednesday the children will undertake the ISA tests in Mathematics and Literacy.
On Wednesday evening there will be a PYP parent information evening hosted by all the primary staff with the aim of better informing parents about how we implement the core subjects and the ethos of the IB through Unit inquiries. Refreshments will be available. We very much hope you can attend.
UOI – ‘Wild Weather’ Central Idea: Weather changes as a result of environmental factors and human influences The children will complete the experiment and measure the water gleaned from their leaves in the still before writing it up. Through this experiment I hope to put the greenhouse effect into context for the children as well as the notion that evapo-transpiration, particularly in rainforests and mountainous areas, plays a major part in instigating precipitation. Deforestation can disturb that feature of the water cycle. They will continue to research other aspects of human activity which affect the weather and then examine the current and potential outcomes of those activities.
Reading and Writing The children will practise writing up experiments using different sub headings and scientific terminology as they draw conclusions from their experiments. They will type up narrative stories on the weather and practice note taking from websites in their inquiry into human activity affecting weather.
Maths We will begin to look at position and direction, angles and triangles.
P.E. – is on Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday will once again be swimming.
Library – will be on Monday morning. Please remind your child to return any finished books.

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