Moshi Campus News – 11 Aug 17

Dear Parents,

The start of school is now right around the corner.  We have been preparing this last week to welcome you back to campus.

When you get to campus on Sunday or Monday you will see that we have been working hard on our yearly campus maintenance and upgrades.  While most of these are finished, some are still in progress. If you have questions about these or anything else campus related, please feel free to ask.

Boarding students will be coming to school on Sunday, 13th August, and all students begin classes or orientation programmes at 7:30am on Monday, 14th August.

Bob Cofer

As you will know, it is school policy to expect payment of school fees for each quarter on a date before the start of the quarter. If we have not yet received your child’s fees for this quarter, you will have been advised by our accounts office. In this situation it is likely that we will not allow your child to attend classes and we will need to arrange to send boarding students home. To avoid this difficult situation, please do ensure that fees are always paid before the due date specified on invoices.

If you have received emails about this and believe them to be in error, please contact me on bobcofer@ed.ismoshi.com this weekend with your payment transfer information so we can clarify the situation.

We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all this Monday morning. Teachers will be in their classrooms from 7.15am, ready to meet you. Lessons will begin at 7.30am. There will be no PE lessons that day, so children should arrive with just their hats, water bottle and a healthy snack. They should wear an ISM t-shirt (available from Reception).

EC will finish at 11.15am and, for this week only, P1 – P6 children should all be collected at 1.05pm. Please note that childcare is not provided after that time. On Friday, the P1-P6 will all go home at 12.35pm instead.

Clubs start in the second week, on Monday 21st August.  A hard copy of the clubs’ schedule will be sent home shortly and parents will be able to sign up their children via a Google Form which I will email to you.

Save the Date: Weds 23rd August: 6.30-7.30pm – Primary Meet the Teacher Evening

Kate Schermbrucker

It is my hope that you have enjoyed your holiday and welcome back for the new academic year.  Parents, please take note of the following:

Form Tutors: The following teachers will be your form tutors:

• M1- Jocelyn Sullivan
• M2 – Mary Pantlin
• M3 – Linda Kileo
• M4 – Paul Malimi
• M5 – Zoe McIvor and Anil Jootna

Planners for Homework

• All M1 and M2 students get hardcopy planners
• All M3-M5 students will use laptops and receive assignments on Managebac

David Ochieng

Update:

• ISM welcomes the DP class of 2019 to campus and an engaging and ‘success’-themed 2-day (Monday & Tuesday) orientation program that will enable them to acclimatize themselves to the rigorous academics but fun school culture.
• D2s prepare for the imminent submission of their first draft of their EE.
• Managebac will be in use and will be a key way for parents to observe progress.
• ISM’s DP May 2017 results included an 86% pass rate and showed particularly strong above world average DP results in Visual Art, History, Biology and French B.
• The DP Teacher’s orientation week planning week meeting focused on Assessment and Personalized Learning.  Discussion surrounding what is entailed in a 21st century IB DP education arose also. 

Upcoming: 

• *Regular parental-DP student communication is recommended throughout the DP study time since it helps the adolescent feel and benefit from the parental support. 
• *Please plan now to attend the end of quarter Parent-Teacher meetings on October 6th.

Weblinks: On the IB DP May 2017 global results – https://www.relocatemagazine.com/news/education-students-around-the-world-celebrate-record-ib-exam-results

Rick Fitzpatrick

Boarders return to school for the quarter on Sunday 13th August. We look forward to another successful quarter in boarding. Thank you to those parents who have already sent us travel details for those using flights.

If you have booked a ticket and have not sent us the details, please do so in good time to help us  plan for pick up from the airport. This can be sent to the Head of Boarding, on rosemarybango@ed.ismoshi.com.

We do not charge for transport from Kilimanjaro airport on the opening day.

The Diploma boys’ dorm Kisiwa is not fully complete. The students will therefore stay in their old dorm until some-time later this quarter.

We are happy to introduce Ms Jamie Strattan, who joins the boarding team as MYP Girls (Kiongozi) dorm parent.

We extend a special welcome to all new boarders.

Rosemary Bango

The EC space for this upcoming term has been partly inspired by an Early Years program in Reggio, Italy. We’re working to utilise an increasing range of natural materials to help create a neutral, structured and open environment where our children can use the classroom and wider area as a ‘blank canvas’. By combining carefully selected materials with modern research-based teaching models we will encourage choice, personal interests and creative instincts. The children will be supported in building independence, skills and confidence.

We will be working on fun, age appropriate and personally selected interests whilst treading those early steps toward becoming:

• Open Minded, Principled, Reflective,  Risk Takers, Thinkers,  Caring, Communicators, Inquirers, Knowledgeable, Well-balanced

Young children are hard-wired to learn through play and experimentation. Together we will watch, listen and provide invitations to explore and learn further.

See you next week,

Mr. Evans

ISM is different from the way I left it when I graduated here in 1996. It has grown tremendously with new structures as well as new faces. I was very surprised when Mr. Sabini, the swimming instructor and Ms Grace Yohane, our assistant primary boarding parent, remembered me.

After my journey studying at the University of Southampton, teaching at Dar-es-salaam International  Academy (DIA), Braeburn International School Arusha (BISA) and Haven of Peace Academy (HOPAC), it feels good to step back into ISM life, even though it is stepping in with a very different role!

It is going to be exciting delving into the Transdisciplinary Theme, Who we are, with P1/2. Our central idea is: people make choices to meet their needs and wants. I am very sure that I want to be here. I am excited to find out the children’s ideas as we begin to explore this theme this week.

Mboka Mwasongwe

Welcome to all P2/3 Parents and students,

I hope you all had a wonderful and enjoyable holiday and are ready to start the new school year. I am very excited and looking forward to teaching your child this school year. For those of you who don’t know me I am Ms. Clare and I am originally from the UK. I have taught in a variety of countries and I am very happy to be starting my second year here in Moshi.

This week the children will be establishing routines within the class. They will be working together on class essential agreements. We will be working towards building a positive working environment.

We will also begin our first unit: People can make choices that affect their well-being. Our first line of inquiry will be: The connection between positive relationships and wellbeing.

Clare Hibbard

I hope you all had a great break. I returned to my native Canada for the summer just in time to celebrate its 150th Birthday. I have returned  to school eager for the challenge of working with this new group of P4. Miss Zitha, our fabulous TA,  has been working hard for weeks preparing the classroom. She is a vital addition to the classroom and a fantastic help!

Our first Unit of Inquiry is ‘who we are’. The central idea is we all have rights and responsibilities. To start we will be looking at our first line of inquiry which examines the roles and responsibilities of children.

Please remember to pack a hat, water bottle and proper running shoes for use on Monday and Wednesday, our PE days. As the weather improves we will be replacing the Monday PE with swimming.

I look forward to meeting all of you in person on parent evening.

Julie Bowen

Ms. Lydia and I are looking forward to meeting the P5 children and hearing about the adventures they had over the break. We will spend the first week setting up classroom routines and learning about each other. We will also draw up some essential agreements to enable our class community to run smoothly over the coming months. I will send out a paper copy of our schedule when all of the details have been finalised. The children do not have P.E. on the first day back at school but should still wear appropriate footwear for running because we may go outside and play some games.

Deborah Mills

Welcome back! It is great to be back and I hope you all had a wonderful break.

I am Cathy Wambua from Kenya and this is my third year at ISM. I am pleased to be taking the P6 class and look forward to a great year ahead.  In the coming week we will mostly be settling in and engaging in various activities that will promote knowing each other and team building. We will unpack our unit during the week and end the week with some fun activities with Ms Debbie and the P5s.

We have a student teacher; Timothy Logemann who will be working with us during quarter 1. We also have Ms Catherine and Mr Thaddeus as the Teacher Assistants.

We will not have specialist lessons on Monday, so your child does not have to carry any extra clothing or equipment on the first day.

I wish you all a pleasant weekend and look forward to meeting the children on Monday.

Cathy Wambua

This year will be another year with a full swimming program. We have a new certified coach from Vancouver, his name is Ryan Szostak, he is very experienced with coaching children and swimming on a top level. The team will attend several meets throughout Tanzania, and the Varsity Team will be going to the Tanzanian Nationals where they can qualify for CANA 3.

The Swimming Club is open to new swimmers, depending on their ability they can join the different swimming programs. If you have any questions, please contact Ryan Szostak at the ISM PE Office.

As the Swimming Club is parent sponsored and not a school run activity, parents contribute to cover all the costs of the new swim coach. If you have any questions, please contact Christine: christine@oasis-yp.com.

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS

Welcome back, the ISM Sports Department hopes you have had a restful summer. We are ready for a great school and sporting year. The sports program here is full of variety and has something for everyone, on Thursday August 17th there will be an Informational Fair for all Secondary Students. More details will follow during the first couple of days of school. Please find below links to all the important information.

Please click here to view the PRACTICE TIMETABLE

Please click here to view the NTAA Schedule of Events.

As the season and 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

Primary students are asked to wear an ISM T-shirt when attending school. A good selection of T-shirts are available from Reception at school at a cost of TSh 10,000/- per shirt. We are still awaiting a new stock of T-shirts to increase the number of and colours available in different sizes.

All students in both primary and secondary are asked to buy a house T-Shirt according to the house they are in (Kibo – blue, Mawenzi – green, Meru – yellow). New students will be told their houses on Monday. House T-shirts are also available from Reception at 10,000/- each.

Day students may eat lunch in the school dining hall by first buying a lunch ticket in Reception and handing this in when they go for a meal. Lunch tickets cost TSh 6,500/- each and can be purchased one at a time or in larger quantities.

Day students can also purchase morning snacks tickets to eat the morning snack in the dining hall during morning break. These tickets cost TSh 13,000/- for a week’s snacks and are also available from Reception.

Boarders do not pay extra for school meals as these are included within the boarding fee.

All students in M3 – M5, D1 or D2 are required to come to school with a laptop. The minimum requirements for this laptop are given in the Secondary Students’ Handbook. They will use this laptop in many classes as well as for private study, so please help us to ensure that every student in M3 or above does have a laptop. Students will be asked to sign our Technology Use Agreement and will be given free access to the school’s wi-fi network with internet connection.

Students in M1-M2 are also welcome to bring a laptop to school, although these are not required

You can also access the school calendar which is available at https://calendar.google.com/calendar/embed?src=intsmoshi%40gmail.com&ctz=Africa/Dar_es_Salaam.

Alternatively you can add the calendar to your Google Calendar account by searching for the ISM Public Calendar owned by intsmoshi@gmail.com [Please do not use this address for correspondence].

All regular secondary CAS [Creativity, Activity, Service] and Sports activities will start from Monday, 21st August. The first week of school will be used to publish information about our activities and for students to select their choices. There will be a CAS Fair for secondary students on Thursday, 17th August and also pick-up sports activities on that day starting at 3pm.  Please note the last newsletter had the wrong date.

All students are required to participate in one sport and one creative activity per semester with M4-M5 students also participating in one service activity per year.  The Diploma students must complete one activity in each of the three areas per semester.  Students will sign up for activities via a Google form to be completed by Friday the 18th.