Moshi Campus News – 7 May 2017

This week we will be taking class photos of our students. Monday, 8th May: EC-P5 and M1-M5 Tuesday, 9th May: P6 and D1 Parents will be sent details of how to purchase prints of their child’s class photo at a later date.

PYP Exhibition Week is the most important week in the calendar of any PYP school. We were all incredibly proud of our P6 children on Wednesday and Thursday when they demonstrated beautifully their primary learning at the PYP Exhibition presentations, i.e. the end of PYP assessment work.
The children had been working on the Exhibition for eight weeks previously, inquiring into an area which they felt a particular passion or connection to. Perhaps you saw their noticeboards all around the school? The students were assisted along their Exhibition journey by a large number of the wider ISM community members. Their research caused them to want to take action to improve our environment and/or for the good of the community. The children then created informative displays explaining their learning journey and presented these, first, to other ISM classes. This was a wonderful chance for the EC-P5 children to experience what the PYP Exhibition is like. The Secondary students enjoyed watching them, in part, because it reminded them of their own Exhibition experiences. The P6 children from ISMAC found it useful as they will be presenting their own Exhibition work next week. We wish the ISMAC students the very best of luck and some of us will travel there to view their presentaitons for ourselves.
The Exhibition process culminated on Thursday evening with the P6s communicating their learning to their own parents. All the parents were there to support their children – including those who had travelled from as far away as Dar es Salaam and Mafia Island. The children showed themselves to be knowledgable experts in their areas of research as they confidently delivered their speeches etc. Many congratulations must therefore go to our talented, hardworking and passionate P6 children.
The excitement then continued in to Friday when the whole primary school gathered to watch their friends and classmates compete in the indoor football finals. The atmosphere in Karibu Hall was electric. Well done to all who have participated in the matches throughout the past few weeks.
Wet Weather: I would like to clarify what happens when it rains during clubs’ time. Indoor clubs will obviously take place as scheduled. Arrangements are always made for the children who are in outdoor clubs. Some sports’ clubs will continue outside in the rain, e.g. touch rugby and football. Some outdoor clubs will move to an undercover area within the school, e.g. Karibu Hall. Some outdoor clubs will find an alternative activity to do inside a classroom. We normally let parents take children home on a rainy day if they so wish. All children remaining at school will continue to be supervised from 2 – 3pm.
Notice: Class Photos: On Monday 8th May the EC – P5 children will have their class photos taken. On Tuesday 9th May the P6 children will have their class photo taken.
Advanced Assembly Notice: PYP Muffins for Mums and Dads: We do hope you will join us at 7.40am on Monday 15th May when all primary parents are invited to a special assembly in Karibu Hall. Muffins will be served to the mums and dads whilst the primary children perform on stage. The children will also take this opportunity to celebrate their caring and loving parents. This is because 1st June is the Global Day of Parents. For more details, please see this link: www.un.org/en/events/parentsday Kate Schermbrucker, Head of Primary

I hope everyone enjoyed the show on Friday, it was great to see such a large turnout and the amazing performances by so many of our students.
Exam season is in full swing right now, the D2 students are one week down and the M5 will have their first exam on Tuesday. While studying is important right now, please do not underestimate the importance of eating well and getting enough sleep.
Currently some of our students are off on another OP adventure to Pare Mountain, while others will be off for Netball and Rugby next weekend. Bob Cofer

The third week of the quarter was busy, with the D2 students writing their final examinations. The weekend was therefore welcome, as a time to rest and also engage in other activities. The boarders had their usual town trips in the afternoon. In the evening they joined the school community in Karibu Hall for a thrilling PA variety/Talent show. This was an evening of song, dance, comedy, just to name a few.
On Saturday morning a few boarders departed for an OP trip to South Pare. Primary boarders had indoor workout, Art and Craft and Basketball tournament in the morning. In the afternoon, the boarders had an exciting time cooking chips mayai outside the Dining Hall, and later a chips mayai eating competition. Others enjoyed Basketball in a tournament in Karibu Hall. There was a movie night for Secondary boarders after dinner in social centre.
Boarders visited their respective places of worship on Sunday morning. Primary boarders then had an exciting baking activity in their dorm, followed by indoor games and sewing. Secondary boarders enjoyed an exciting Football match in the top pitch in the afternoon. Rosemary Bango, Head of Boarding

Our Student Council would like to announce that ISM will hold a Spirit Week, starting May 29th. On Spirit Weeks and Spirit Days the primary and secondary ISM students dress up as a fun, community event. Therefore, it’s time to begin thinking about your outfits.

Monday 29th May – Pyjama Day. Wear your PJs to school.

Tuesday 30th May – Black and White Day. Wear only black and white clothes.

Wednesday 31st May – Gender Switch. Boys wear girls’ clothes and girls wear boys’ clothes.

Thursday 1st June – Clone Day. Students will wear identical clothes to at least one other person in the school. You could come as ‘twins’, ‘triplets’ or a whole class dressed in the same outfit.

Friday 2nd June – Tutor Group / Class choice. The children and teacher/tutor will choose a class theme to dress to on that day. There will be a prize for the best dressed class.

 
Just over 100 ISM STUDENTS PERFORMED in the Variety Show on Friday night!!!
We easily filled all the seats with many kids down on those mats and others standing. All who attended to watch, and the boarders in particular, had a special night. There were some serious acts. The quality was high, with some real highlights that we won’t soon forget. If you were able to stay through to the final short plays from the D1 students and others, you saw the buzzing atmosphere we ended on.
Food and snacks sold out in a heartbeat. Best burgers ever, fantastic veggy options and delicious infused water. ISM showed again that we have a certain something… a special group of children and parents that you don’t find just anywhere. Believe me – I’ve been around. Well done everyone, thanks to all who got involved on the night, including supportive parents, responsible children, our teachers and administrators who all helped massively – chipping in and even staying to hump equipment at the end.
Congratulations everyone… these things don’t just happen every day. Owain Evans, Parent-Teacher Association
Many thanks also to both Owain Evans and Mary Pantlin who did so much to revive the ISM Variety Show and make it such a huge success  

Our M5 students begin their MYP on-screen examinations this week; the schedule for exams is as follows:

May 9: Integrated Humanities exam: afternoon session

May 11: Mathematics exam: afternoon session

May 12: English exam: morning session

May 18: Sciences exam: morning session

May 19: Interdisciplinary exam: afternoon session
Students will have a mixed programme of classes and private revision time over the next two weeks interspersed with the exams. M5 students are expected to be in school every day.

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS This coming Saturday May 6th the Rugby and Netball teams were to get back into action after the Easter Holiday, however their games have been postponed due to the extremely poor weather conditions. These games will be re-scheduled and the students will be informed of the new date.
The ISM Sports Department would like to inform students, coaches, parents and the ISM Community of two crucial decisions that were made by the NTAA (Northern Tanzania Athletic Association) at their last Sports Directors Meeting late April. ISM is a founding member in this association, and continues to seek improvement for our students and the league.

The NTAA has established for the 2017-2018 school year, an U13 age category for the following sports Basketball, Football, Netball and Rugby.

The NTAA also decided to expand game schedules for teams at the U15 and U19 age categories for the 2017 – 2018 school year, to reflect a home and away schedule.
These two decisions are paramount to the expansion of our program, because, it includes students at our upper primary and early MYP years. The inclusion of these students is critical to the future growth of the program. Secondly, it is important for our U15, and U19 teams to play competitively on a consistent basis. Without these games, our student-athletes do not have the opportunity to participate, commit, compete, and improve.
The decision to expand U15/U19 game schedules is still under consideration. Schools will have the opportunity at the next NTAA meeting on May 23rd to vote. It is exciting times for our athletes!
As the school year approaches the end please be reminded that Sport Practices will continue until Thursday May 25th, and the following Secondary School Sports will practice on their regular practice day:
Ultimate
Netball
Football
Indoor Football M1-M3
Indoor Football M4-D1
Rugby
All Swimming Clubs

Please be on time and present for all remaining practices
Sports Banquet Please note all students who participated on one of the ISM Sports Teams received a certificate for their participation, if you were not in attendance and would like to receive your certificate please come and see Mr Hibbard in the PE Office no later than Friday May 12th. We also have medals for MVP and MIP that have not been collected, so if you are one of those students to be selected for those awards, please come and collect your medals.
Attention – D2 Students As your time ends at ISM, I would like to say it has been a pleasure to work with all of you, and see your positive contribution to the school, and to sports. It has been a great year. Please note to receive your “sign out” signature you must return all ISM Sports Equipment and Uniforms, regardless of the make, state, or year provided. These returns are important!
The Co-Ed Basketball Tournament will resume next week on Monday May 8th come out and support the teams. It has been a great tournament so far.
Finally, plans are being put into place for next year and the ISM Sports Department is looking for volunteers within the ISM Community who could lend their expertise in a sport to our students, and be a coach for one of our Secondary School teams. Interested people should contact Scott Hibbard ().
Activities As always the ISM Sports Department wants to advertise three excellent after-school activities, so please find below information regarding swimming, tennis and horseback riding.
Swimming lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced with Coach Sabini. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact Coach Sabini in person.
Tennis Lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced players with Coach Charles. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact him at 0757606766.
Horse riding is also available and those interested need to contact Mr Priva at 0758053280 for more information regarding times, prices and requirements.
As the year progresses please keep up with all the info, news, and sports reports by reading the Moshi Campus News.
Go Leopards Scott Hibbard, (Head of Sport and Physical Education)

An incredible Friday of indoor football action saw the P3/4s and the P5/6 teams going head-to-head in our last game of the tournament. The atmosphere was electric, the whole of primary was on the edge of their seats, and the officiating nearly flawless (I am told). 🙂


The winners were: Captain Kibo and the Superstrikers

It is still possible to register for next Saturday’s TOEFL paper-based test.
ACT test registrations for 10th June have now closed, but standby registration (at an additional fee) is still possible.
Please see Keiron White if you need to register for either test.

Congratulations to our D2 student, Ricky Tailly for being selected to go to France for one month in July! He will follow a cultural and linguistic programme organised by the Centres Internationaux francophones des Lions Clubs de France. This is the third year that ISM has been able to send a student to France through that scholarship. Ricky will be going to France for the first time and he chose to follow the programme in Toulouse in the south-west of France. We wish him “Bonne chance”! Valérie Veillon French B MYP-DP teacher
Alliance Française Partnership Our final event for this school year will be on Monday 23rd May 10:35-14:20. We are looking forward to welcome again 2 teachers from Alliance Française of Arusha to conduct special workshops in French. P5/6, M3 and M4 French students will take part in those different and fun activities.
MYP French M1 This quarter this class is so enthusiastic and busy to learn about french food. They are making fast progress in acquiring the vocabulary and grammar necessary to express their likes and dislikes about food. We’ll be starting to look at french recipes of famous dishes; students will be able to identify ingredients and perhaps try out one recipe. Our aim is to bake ‘crêpes’ at the end of the quarter. This is promising to be fun and entertaining as well as tasty! They will also have to perform a rôle play situation at a restaurant and order their food in French.
M2 The M2 French class has been very busy working on moving their knowledge of French language into action-based learning, participating in the Language Assembly during the IB/ CIS visit. This required a lot of preparation, planning, resilience, and reflection on their part, key ATL skills that are an integral part of the IB MYP. Our current unit is ‘En voyage’, where the class has moved in many directions, recalling past travel adventures and the experiences that accompany them. Both phases are strengthening their ability to communicate with friends and family while overseas, and student-led discussions have enriched the classes with personal anecdotes of travel from around the world.
M3 Students are currently working on a unit focusing on health which allow them to learn vocabulary related to healthy lifestyles including food; revise body parts and being able to describe when something is going wrong; learn vocabulary related to doctor and medicine. They learnt about the importance of daily exercice and had to create their own fitness programme in French. They were then testing their programmes on their classmate giving them instructions in French. Their next project will be a rôle play situation at the doctor in which they will have to say what is wrong and give prescription.
M4 This quarter our unit is focusing on relationships : family and friendship. Through those important topics in a teenagers’ life students can learn all the vocabulary related to personnality description and discuss on the important qualities they value in a friend. They wrote really lovely and fun recipes for a good friendhip and enjoyed that activity. A debate about the possibility of having a boy-girl friendship is coming soon ; a promising discussion! They will also look at family relationship and focus on parent-brother/sister relationships and all the challenges as well as happiness that come with it. They will have to perform rôle plays portraying real life situations about relationships issues (arguments between friends or parents/sister/brother).
M5 This quarter students are studying and discussing issues about their future plans. We have been focusing on vocabulary related to expressing their future intentions in terms of studying or even working (as they are doing their work experience this quarter). They revised jobs in french and discussed about reasons to choose a career in particular, advantages and disadvantages of some jobs. They are learning how to apply for a job and write a proper cover letter as well as how to answer to interview questions. They will be asked to rôle play a job interview.

Anna Marsden, who will be taking over as the Director of ISM in August, will be visiting the school shortly to familiarise herself with our environment and begin her preparations for the new school year. She would like to meet with parents in Moshi on Thursday, May 18th from 08:30 – 10am. If you can be free at that time, please do come into school and meet with her.

Our new hall came into use last week to host the diploma examinations, and will also be used for M5 and TOEFL exams this week. Once the exam sessions are over, the finishing touches will be put to the new building before our opening ceremony! This new exam hall provides for a fabulous environment as it is well lit, properly ventilated, spacious, incredibly quiet and comfortable – elements conducive to exam success …we hope!

Update:

Eleven of the May 2017 thirty-two IB DP exam sessions have been completed.

Nearly a dozen D1s under the leadership of actress/producer Evelyn Manyatta presented a hilarious, entertaining and cleverly prepared 6-minute comedy during Friday’s ‘Variety Show.’

From the Diploma Progression policy: ‘At the end of the D1 year, all full diploma students will be expected to have a minimum of 24 points (obtained by adding the end-of-year examination grades from their six subjects excluding ToK and EE). Any student achieving fewer than 24 points (or fewer than 12 HL points) at this stage will be required to take re-sit examinations before the start of the D2 school year in subjects and at times and on dates set by the Diploma Programme Coordinator. If, after the resit examinations, the total points score is still less than 24 points (or HL points are below 12), the student will be required to reduce their programme of study or repeat the D1 year of study. It should be noted that the above points represent the absolute minimum points acceptable and are well below the desirable level of achievement of a full diploma student.’

ISM Music Teacher Mary Pantlin conducted a half-hour rehearsal this week to enable D2s to practice their uniquely prepared rendition of their graduation song which all will enjoy during the graduation ceremony. Here’s a sneak-peak: www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTCfQ6Bb8QE

DP faculty are finalizing the 2017-2018 academic calendar for the class of 2018 and which should enable a more evenly spread out schedule for their demanding coursework assignments that comprise generally around a quarter of each DP subject’s total grade.
Upcoming: For D1s:

End-of-D1-exams commence this week for the seven D1s taking Pamoja online classes while the bulk of the exams will occur on six school days – Mon May 22 through to Tues May 30.
For D2s:

D2 parents are reminded to join us on Friday May 19th in the morning as from 9am for the team-based and enjoyable collective decorating of Karibu Hall for Saturday’s graduation. Find time to join us for this wonderful D2 parent community event where DP faculty will also join in.
This year’s May 20th graduation speaker – the first Tanzanian to summit Mount Everest – Wilfred Moshi – has a neat blog post of his climb – https://wilfredmoshi.wordpress.com.

On Sat May 20, the doors for Karibu Hall open at 2:00pm and the ceremony starts at 2:30pm.

D2 parents are asked to finalize on the google doc in the coming days their listing of the names of each family member attending the Fri May 19th 630pm Grad Dinner at AMEG in Moshi. This event is strictly for family and teachers, and we are unable to invite peer friends of the graduates.

D2 parents will also want to stay for the lovely graduation tea (refreshments, light bites, and graduation cake) in the ISM Director’s Garden following the graduation from about 430-630pm.

ISM has arranged a photographer who will sit in the front row and take a photo of all graduates. These photos will be shared by ISM with families thereafter. If your family arranges a person to video the event, that person MUST remain at the side of the hall and not position herself in the center aisle – as happened one recent year (much to the frustration of many!)
Weblinks On sleep requirements – How many hours of sleep do you actually need? www.popsci.com/how-many-hours-sleep-do-you-actually-need
On too much social media – A New, More Rigorous Study Confirms: The More You Use Facebook, the Worse You Feel – https://hbr.org/2017/04/a-new-more-rigorous-study-confirms-the-more-you-use-facebook-the-worse-you-feel
Rick Fitzpatrick, (Diploma Coordinator):

Thanks so much to our story tellers Ms Pearl and Ms Mary who read to the class last week. Please let me know if you would like to share a story with the children. We watched a Royal ballet performance of ‘Peter and the wolf’ and had an interesting discussion after I asked the children, ‘Was that a story?’ Many of them did not think so until we thought more carefully about what a story actually is. We discussed characters, setting, the problem and the solution in Peter and the wolf and were all agreed at the end that ballet tells a story. Our stage has been the focus of children acting out the story of ‘Goldilocks and the three bears.’ Next week the story focus will be ‘Little red riding hood’ and we will encourage the children to think of how they can tell this traditional story. Our hot seating went well last week as children took the role of one of the billy goats gruff or the troll and answered questions in that role.
Numeracy Measurement; EC1 will compare sizes and EC2 will measure using suitable objects in the classroom such as cubes and counters. The measuring will be in the form of a story problem that they have to solve. Language such as bigger, smaller, longer and shorter will be used.
Work on addition will continue this week and again the children will have story problems to solve.
Number work will continue at the children’s own level as they work on their goals.
Literacy EC1 will focus on the letter sounds h, m and t
EC2 will focus on the long vowel sound e made by Mr E, the Easy Magic man.
Many of the children’s own stories are being written down as they play with small world objects such as the castle and princes, princesses and witches. We will make an outdoor fairy kingdom this week for the children to use as a focus for their story telling.

Dear Parents,
This week the children have shown great enthusiasm in our final unit: Water is essential for life on earth. The children are making wonderful connections and sharing their knowledge openly. They children have begun to write about their chosen genre (fiction, nonfiction, poetry etc.) and will continue this next week.
Congratulations to all that took part in the indoor football final.
Monday 8th May 8:15 EC – P6 class photographs
The Week Ahead in class Unit of Inquiry This week in class we will be inquiring into the second line of inquiry. The children will be learning a song that will help them understand the water cycle process. They will also be making the cycle itself using different art materials. The children will play an interactive computer game that shows the stages of the water cycle and why each stage takes place.
The children will be carrying out science activities to show the and explain the why this cycle occurs. Sharing the planet Central idea: Water is essential for life on earth.

Where we find water

Water cycle

What people do with water

How water shapes human and animal activity
Reading: This week the children will be completing their 3-fold character traits profile. We will be looking into why authors choose certain characters for their books. The children will be also practice reading out loud in front of an audience.
Writing: The children will be continuing with their free writing. The children have chosen either a genre they have enjoyed or one that they would like to improve on. They are also working on planning and editing their work carefully as part of the writing process. We have spoken about and will continue to talk about be accountable for their own work. We have also spoken about acknowledging other work and ideas. This will be something we will continue to have class discussions about.
Math: This week the children will be focusing on volume. The children will also be exposed to Math through literacy. They will be listening to stories and then solving math problems that occur within those stories. This is an excellent way to make connections and use a variety of math strategies.
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework Tuesday: PE / Library Wednesday: P3 French Thursday: P3 French Friday: PE – Homework to be returned Please ensure that your child has indoor shoes / share clothes including socks and suitable outdoor shoes. Thanks!
Useful website: www.educationsoutheastwater.com.au/game/natural-water-cycle.html
All the best Clare Hibbard P2/3

This week went by too fast. With the exhibition, the talent show and the big match adding to the week’s excitement- we had much to do. Koji gave a special presentation introducing us to the Japanese idea of Children’s day which is celebrated in the first week of May. He taught the students how to make an origami and we observed firsthand just how many shapes (especially triangles) and right angles were used in this design.
In math throughout this week and next we continue to explore different types of angles and the students will aim to begin to use a protractor correctly. This week, by combining art with math we found out what a parabola is and began to use them in art. We examined how we could manipulate a simple straight line to create an optical illusion. The children also realized how important/useful a ruler can be in design.
In Literacy we talked more about peer editing and we have begun to publish our creation myth stories. We understand that stories were our ancestor’s way of passing down information and explaining what science (in that day) could not explain. The children have chosen a tech tool of their choice to publish their work.
In Unit of Inquiry, our transdisciplinary theme is How we Express our Ourselves. Our central idea introduces the idea that the process of design can help people express their creativity. Our lines of inquiry are:

Expressing creativity through design (Perspective)

The purpose of design (Function)

Looking for creativity in everyday features (Reflection)

I hope you enjoyed the May 1st holiday with your children.
Many thanks to Mama Nina who came into class on Friday morning to share cakes and teach the children to do some origami in order to celebrate Children’s Day (a Japanese national holiday.) The P5 students had a lovely time.
In Maths we have focused on interpreting data and drawing graphs. In Language Arts the children have continued working on their non fiction books. We are also practicing a piece of performance poetry ready to perform for you on May 12th in our primary gathering. We have started our new Unit of Inquiry, “Humans change physically, socially and emotionally throughout their life cycle.” We tuned into the unit by reading some picture books that focused on how your body and the things that you do change throughout your life. The children drew pictures of how they thought they would look and what they thought they might be doing in their lives in twenty years time. Perhaps the drawings should be filed away somewhere safe and brought out again in the year 2037 to see if those hopes and dreams came true!
On Wednesday morning we spent a long time at the wonderful P6 PYP Exhibition so that the P5 children could visit all of the presentations. This was not only an enjoyable and informative experience but also gave the P5 children some idea of what they will be doing in their own exhibition twelve months from now.
Next week we will sort photos and fact cards as part of our inquiry into human changes. In Maths we will focus on division work. In Language we will work on information writing and also inference skills when reading.
Please note class photographs will be taken on Monday.


The week ahead: Monday – Homework packet goes home, Library and class photos Tuesday – Music, French and P.E. Wednesday – Swahili Thursday – French Friday – P5 Primary Gathering, Music, Swahili and P.E. Homework packet to be returned to school.
Deborah Mills, (P5 Teacher)

It was all about the P6 students this Wednesday and Thursday 3rd and 4th of May, as they showcased their learning during the PYP Exhibition. It was also very exciting to meet the P6 parents of both day and boarding students. I appreciate the support of all P6 families during these 8 weeks of our Exhibition journey.
All the groups worked tirelessly and their hard work paid off. Congratulations to all who have worked with these students in one-way or the other over the years.
In the coming week our normal timetable resumes. The students will be completing the Exhibition reflections and assessments as well as begin their final Unit of Inquiry. Central Idea: Humans change physically, socially and emotionally throughout their life cycle. Lines of Inquiry:

Interconnected nature of our body systems CONNECTION

Human physical changes -puberty CAUSATION

Connections between physical, social and emotional development CHANGE

Rites of passage
 

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