Moshi Campus News – 8 Nov 2014

A big thank you to many of you who came out to ISM on Friday afternoon to support our first “Open Mic” event. It was such a great afternoon of music sharing and Tanzanian sunshine. Congratulations to all our musicians on a job well done and we look forward to having more students participate in future events.
Performances are always an important part of any established music program, especially for growing musicians. They provide an opportunity for students to fully engage in the never-ending process of growth and reflection. The IB specifically states the aims of arts subjects are, in part, to “create and present art”, “develop skills specific to discipline” and “make purposeful connections between investigation and practice”. Yes, performances are a great time to give individuals the spotlight and for parents to see their children shine. However, the more important role is that of an educational one, where students can take time to develop musical and intrapersonal skills, put them into practice, and then take time afterwards to reflect on the experience to understand how the knowledge and skills they gained may or may not have been present in their ‘practice’ of the art. Then, they can create goals which will guide students through the entire cycle again. Becoming a more skilled and knowledgeable musician requires this continual cycle, and a school music program should be a reflection of it.
I know that there has been a great desire to have more performing opportunities for our students, and this support for the music program is very much welcomed. That does not happen everywhere, so it is a great testament to the value that the ISM communities gives music and the arts. In order for this learning cycle to be most effective, performances need to be timely planned, once the students have experienced a series of well-planned learning opportunities and more informal performances in their class or around school during the day.
Your patience in awaiting more formal and out-of-school performances is appreciated, as it takes time to create a solid curriculum that will properly support students through this learning cycle and prepare them for sharing what they have learned.
Susan Kellerman

Students from the French Club will be offered the opportunity to go on a field trip to the French institute in Arusha, the Alliance Française, on Tuesday 11th November. They will be following a workshop on the theme of ‘French cuisine’ organized by two French teachers. A great variety of activities will challenge their French skills. A French meal is going to be prepared for them for the cost of 5,000TSH. This will be a fantastic opportunity for the students to experience some kind of French immersion for a day! Valérie Veillon

The following tests and exams are taking place this quarter on the Moshi Campus: SAT Reasoning & Subject tests
Saturday, 8th November
  IB Diploma: Biology (external candidates)
  Mon-Tue, 10-11th November
  IB Diploma: Swahili B
  Wednesday, 12th November
  TOEFL Paper-Based test
  Saturday, 15th November
  IB Diploma: Chemistry (external candidates)
  Tue-Wed, 18-19th November
SAT Reasoning & Subject tests
Saturday, 6th December
  ACT tests
  Saturday, 13th December

On Saturday, seven dedicated D1 ISM Moshi students travelled to the Kilimanjaro Kids Care Orphanage Center in Himo. This student-initiated service activity is the newest addition to the School’s CAS Program. The students, who proudly call themselves the MAD (Make A Difference) Tutors have designed a program to provide English lessons, individual tutoring, and companionship to children at the center. Veronica Lukanga, an ISM D1 student, reports “It was a great day. At first, I thought it would be just a regular service activity, but by the end of the day, I realized it was much more. It is all about dedication and getting to know the kids. It is about companionship and learning about one another. I am glad to be a part of the CAS and look forward to many other days with the kids. I know I will learn just as much from them as they will learn from me.” The activity was initiated by Revo Tesha, a D1 student who spent a part of his childhood in Himo. He wanted to reach out to the kids because he realized how rewarding it is to give back and to reach out. He states “it gave me the feeling that whatever knowledge we gain, we should share with others. Not everyone has the chance to get an education like ours.” Ms. Chavez – CAS Coordinator

How can we build a strong bridge with limited materials?
This is the question students are currently exploring in M1 Design. Students have been extending their knowledge of the design cycle through bridge design challenges. First, the M1 students conducted inquiry research on the shapes and materials used in bridge construction. They even got to test their knowledge of bridge building by using an online bridge building simulator.
Theories on building strong bridges were put to the test when groups of students constructed their own bridges out of a few sheets of A4 paper. Everyone was surprised how much weight a paper bridge could hold when shaped a certain way.
Students in M1 Design will continue to develop, create, and evaluate bridges from a variety of materials throughout the remainder of the term.

Dr Marieke Dekker (MD PhD) very kindly organised Dr Dorcas Mwangi (MD) (affectionately known as Riggz) and Alex Wright (MPH) to come and give the students in Kijana a talk entitled “Life Advice for Teenage Girls”. This talk went down a treat and one of the students from Kijana said, “They told me things that I did not know that I did not know.” It was such a success that the girls have asked if it is possible for this to happen once a quarter. It was a no-holds-barred session where they could ask what they liked and, if they were too embarrassed to ask, there was pen and paper available for the question to be answered anonymously.
A very big thank to all three involved for giving up their time to do this – it was very much appreciated by the Kijana girls, myself and ISM. Val Wesselink (Boarding parent – Kijana House)

A reminder that this year’s annual Christmas Craft Fair at ISM is scheduled for Saturday, 29th November 2014 between 9am and 2pm. We warmly welcome individuals and groups who would like to sell their crafts and products. Tables can be purchased for TSh 25,000/-. All money raised will go towards ISM’s many community service projects. Karibuni!

The number of clothes and other belongings has piled up in the Lost Property box at Reception in the main office in school. Please check with the receptionist to see if these items belong to your child. Items not identified or collected by November 17th will be donated to one of our community service projects.

Meetings are held on the last day of each quarter between teachers of secondary students and their parents and we would encourage you to attend these if possible. Of course some parents are unable to attend these meetings because of other commitments; in such circumstances we are able to arrange a separate set of meetings between parents and teachers on another date. If you would like to do this, please let us know well in advance to give us time to set up appointments. You should allow a whole morning for such meetings as appointments will need to be fitted in around times when teachers are not teaching classes. We can normally schedule such appointments from 7:30am until 3pm on Mondays to Thursdays or until 12:30pm on Fridays.
The next regular parent-teacher meetings for the parents of secondary students will be on Wednesday 17th December from 10:35 to 12 noon.

Monday 24 November – Primary sharing assembly Please join us for our Units of Inquiry sharing assembly in Karibu Hall, when each class will talk about their current unit. 7.45 -8.15 am
Monday 1 December – Primary Sports event at Kennedy House School Teams from our campus will be joining this event to participate in the Rounders competition. They will be learning the skills in PE class and then selected to participate in the ISM Leopards teams.
Primary Clubs Clubs are running smoothly and the students are enjoying themselves doing a range of activities. Thank you to Ms Kacey, Coach Noah and Coach Nick for giving up their time each week.

The second IB DP bi-annual exam session – the November exams – have commenced at ISM. Nine students will take these exams that are then assessed ( www.ibo.org/diploma/slided.cfm) by examiners around the world.
Parents of D1 and D2 parents should make plans to be in Moshi if possible for the end of the second quarter parent-teacher meeting on Wednesday December 17th. Earlier that day ISM’s wonderfully fun tradition of the D1 raft race will occur in the pool and we will have an end of quarter whole school assembly that day too. Also, do not forget to ensure that all DP students return on Tuesday January 13th so they are present for the start of school again on Wednesday January 14th. (Here is the link to the annual ISM calendar – www.uwcea.org/calendar)
You may be interested to know that the IB has an informative webpage specifically designed for parents of IB students at www.ibo.org/informationfor/parents/.
Engaging lessons, experienced teachers, analytical writing, challenging academic rigor, critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge (www.uwcea.org/dip49) – these five aspects of DP student school life were in evidence again this week around the campus. ISM DP students receive a world-class education and in a location that is so beautiful. This week’s clear blue-sky, Moshi’s array of flowers in full bloom, pleasantly warm late-Spring temperature and regularly visible snow-capped Kibo peak of Mt Kili reminded us of this reality.
Looking to the future D1s will start work on their Extended Essay (www.uwcea.org/dip50) in March 2015 and they are starting these months to seriously ponder potential subjects and topics. D2 Mock Exams will take place on six school days – January 19th until 26th – and these are a critical prep for the May IB DP official exams.
The importance of sleep to success in academics for teens effectively articulated in this article – www.uwcea.org/dip51.
Despite CAS co-curricular activities and the availability of the ISM pool, one could argue that ISM DP students do not organize enough for physical activity each day – seven days a week. This article entitled – “Get Up. Get Out. Don’t Sit” highlights how essential it is to keep active – www.uwcea.org/dip52
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your son/daughter studying in our DP program. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick – DP Coordinator

Unit of Inquiry This week we are continuing to think about the second line of inquiry; Habitats and Organizations that support animal life The focus will be on safari parks
We will try to answer the following questions;

• What are safari parks for?
• What jobs do people do in safari parks?
• What are the advantages of safari parks?
• What are the disadvantages of safari parks?
• What are the differences between zoos and safari parks?

Information for Parents Are you remembering to ask your child what he or she learned at school each day? As a parent, I sometimes forget to ask my children about school. When I do remember, they sometimes say “nothing”. If you ever get the same response, you are probably as frustrated as I am. I have found though, that when I dig a little deeper, they always have something to tell me. Sometimes I have to say, “What did you do in Maths or Literacy or the IT Lab?” That’s when I get some better answers. Please try it with your child too. When you ask about school, you show your child that you think school is important. That’s a message I hope we all agree is a good one.
Literacy Focus for the Week I am very happy with the growth of the children in writing. We continue to write every day, and I am seeing some good results. This week, the P1 students will work on letter sounds and the P2 students will work on words with long vowel sounds.
Maths Focus for the Week In Maths we will focus on tens and units. We will learn how to construct larger numbers, and we will add and subtract tens.
Unit of Inquiry We will reach the end of our unit on homes this week. This week we will study a variety of homes and what makes them special.
What to Bring to School: Children need a hat for playtime and a healthful snack every day.
Timetable Monday: Library (we will choose new books) Wednesday: PE (wear PE shoes and a house T shirt) Thursday:Swimming (please send swimwear)

In English this week the children have been planning and writing their own stories. During Maths lessons Mr Owen has been teaching the children about 3D shapes and they designed their own shape patterns, describing their chosen shapes as they worked. On Monday the children put together a group sequence of movements and balances on a beam, demonstrating excellent understanding and teamwork, whilst on Thursday they continued to work hard in the pool. We have watched short videos of traditional dances from around the world, comparing movements as well as costumes and instruments used to produce the music. We used our IT lessons to do some research on musical instruments from our ethnic group, and the children created their own super mixed-media traditional costume. Over the week we have had mystery readers in the P3 classroom, reading a story from a different part of the world each day.
Language Focus for the Week: We will be writing our own postcards next week, using our knowledge of writing effective descriptions of place.
Maths Focus for The Week: Problem solving that will involve addition and subtraction strategies.
Unit of Inquiry: Review and reflect, as it’s the final week of this unit. The children will be putting their work together and creating their own displays. Please do come inside the classroom at the end of the week and have a look.
Please Remember that: Monday: PE and homework folders sent home. Thursday: Swimming and library day. Friday: All homework folders to be handed in. Spelling test day.

Information for Parents Our focus this week has been on how we use energy. Students conducted energy assessments of our classroom and school campus and created data displays to show their findings. We analyzed the data and formed opinions on how we are doing with our energy usage. I am seeing and hearing many different actions from the students that show that they are really taking our unit to heart!
Language focus for the week We are focusing on fluency next week by reading and practising a reader’s theater performance about renewable energy sources. Students are continuing to read chapter books for class. Please help your child to remember to read their assigned book as part of their homework. We get together with our groups every Thursday to discuss what we have read.
Maths focus for the week We will wrap up our energy unit next week by working on our problem solving skills. We will review what we have learned about using key words in word problems. We will study various types of energy-related graphs and use them to analyze data.
Unit of Inquiry Some of the students have completed their public service announcements and will be editing them next week. Most of the week will be spent recording and editing our videos. We will end the week with a unit reflection.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Tuesday: PE (Wear PE shoes and house shirt) Thursday: Swimming (bring swimming kit) Library (bring books)

Current Unit (Transdisciplinary Theme): How the world works (Central Idea): Life on Earth is dependent on how the solar system works. This week the students carried out two important science experiments. The first experiment, which involved colliding balls, helped them to understand Newton’s 3rd Law, i.e. that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The second experiment involved swinging a string with objects of different mass tied to the end. From this they learned about centripetal force, i.e. the force that pulls a thing towards the centre of rotation. This fitted well with our key concepts for the unit, i.e. form and causation. For example, by learning about centripetal force they started to understand what causes the Earth to orbit the sun, i.e. due to sun’s gravitational pull. These inquiries answered many of the students’ questions, but also caused them to have more, which is just the way we like it.
This week we were joined by a new classmate from the Netherlands. Our Dutch boys and the other students all helped to make her feel welcome and settled. We also celebrated two birthdays in the class so there was lots of singing, smiles and cake!
Looking at the week ahead: Unit of Inquiry: Completing our summative assessment task
Maths focus: Introducing algebra
English focus: Recognising the difference between fact and opinion
Monday: Homework will be set for the week | Library session Tuesday: Extra sport lesson Wednesday: Swimming session (please bring swimming costume, towel, flip flops and goggles) Friday: Homework due in | sport lesson
What to bring everyday: Please bring a bottle of water to keep on the desk. A healthy snack for break times. A hat for break times, lunchtimes and sport lessons.  

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