Moshi Campus News – 29 Sep 2017

Last Saturday students in Moshi were off on a swimming trip to Mwanza; an OP trip at Pare Mountain; hosting 7 Rounders teams here; painting the school, and having a fun fair.  And that was just Saturday, Friday included university visits and the Farmers’ Market. 

Life at ISM is seldom slow and we all need a break once in a while so on Friday after the Assembly and the secondary conferences I wish you a relaxing holiday.

If you are worried that there is nothing when you return, please see the notices about International Day, Halloween and the calendar for updates on future OP and Sports events.

Please remember we start back on Monday October 23rd at 7:35 and boarders should be back on Sunday October 22nd.

Save the Date and Plan your Outfit

After the holiday on Friday October 27th, ISM will be celebrating United Nations Day and the school’s 48th birthday. Like normal, there will be an assembly that morning at 7:35 am with the parade of flags to start.  We would like all students to come to school on that day in their national dress or national colors.  

Primary

On Thursday October 5th the primary students will have a 15 minute goal setting conference by appointment.  Primary students will not have classes on that day.

Secondary

We invite parents to the end of Quarter teacher conference next Friday October 6 beginning at 10:35am on Friday in Karibu Hall. Teachers have sent out emails regarding specific students whose performance they feel they need to discuss with parents. We encourage parents to attend the conference. This is  one of the ways to engage with teachers on how a student can be supported at school.

Last Saturday we had the service painting and fun fair on campus. The newly painted walls look great and the students had a great time painting them.  The afternoon’s music and games provided a festive feel around campus. From the request for similar future events, it would seem fun was had by all.  Thank you to the organizers.

Based on the success of the last Farmers’ Market, we will be continuing these throughout the year.  The list of dates for the future markets are:

Nov 3rd; Dec 1; Jan 26th; Feb 23rd; March 16th; April 20th; May 25th.

Last week-end,17 students from ISM and various teachers attended the level 1B trip to Pare Mountains. From the feedback they faced the adversity with great positive attitude. No doubt that they are ready to step in for level 2 or level 3. In this magnificent and peaceful region, not only they could observe this part of Tanzania from a great point of view, they have enjoyed the nice smells and sounds of the forest, which gives a break from the noisy and dusty city. They even discovered the presence of a medicinal and good smelling plant just by the peak of the summit: the eucalyptus. Good luck in the next levels to all of them!

We are coming to the end of the quarter, and wish to remind parents that school will close on Friday, 6th October. Boarders can leave the same day, and are expected back to school on Sunday, 22nd October for quarter 2. We appreciate those parents who have already sent us end of quarter travel plans. Kindly let us know if your child will need school transport to the airport on these dates. Information about travel can be sent to the child’s boarding parent and to the Head of Boarding on rosemarybango@ed.ismoshi.com.
We offer free transport to and from KIA on the scheduled closing and opening dates.

We planned various activities for boarders this weekend, including the environmental clean-up exercise that takes place the last Saturday of every month. This month, the MYP girls’ dorm was involved in this clean-up exercise along Lema road.

We continue to prepare the new Diploma boys dorm (Kisiwa) for occupation. Students should move into this dorm next quarter.

Rosemary Bango

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS

As we close in on the October Holiday it has been a very busy first quarter. Lots of sporting action, and many things to be excited about when it comes to Leopards’ Sports.

Our Varsity swimmers returned from Mwanza with many personal bests, and there could be several ISM swimmers representing the school and Tanzania in the National Competitions throughout the year. 

Swimmers are also in action this weekend with the Primary Swim Gala on Friday and the Secondary Swim Gala on Saturday, both at the Arusha Campus.

The U19 Football teams return to NTAA action vs Jaffrey on September 27th. The boys lost a tough game 1-2, while the girls ran out 3-0 winners. The next NTAA games are against SCIS on October 25th. 

On Thursday October 5th, the Secondary School Inter House Sports Day will take place. Please click here for the schedule and important information.

As the season and year progress 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

Over the last few weeks there have been a number of assessments in Diploma leading up to the school break.  Parents are invited to see the results in ManageBac. If you have questions on your child’s progress, please feel free to contact myself or the teachers.  Also remember ISM Counselor Emmanuel Kileo is available in the afternoons to listen/encourage students.

Our Diploma students have been reflecting on their online profiles and completed a revealing ‘Digital Footprint survey’ in Life Skills. The CAS Coordinator Mr. Anthony Hemmens presented this last week to D1 students on the importance of reflection within CAS, particularly on Service Learning.

Weblinks:
On parental involvement – https://bit.ly/2eDmCro
On adolescent cognition – https://bit.ly/2fUUxsX
On grandma and globalization – https://cnb.cx/2xBuzSV

Rick Fitzpatrick

M4 Curriculum Trip
The M4 students returned back to Campus safely after a successful Curriculum trip involving Science and Mathematics on Friday at noon.

M5 Students
Community Service at Kidachini Primary School
The M5 students went on a Community Service trip to Kidachini on Friday September 29. We greatly thank the parents who allowed their children to participate in this even which entailed painting the tuition block. The students worked collaboratively and had a fullfilling experience which earned praise from the community.

Personal Project
This week M5 students presented their Personal Project criterion D reflections to teachers. A large majority of them already have feedback. We urge parents to continue supporting them where appropriate on their projects. They will present Draft 1 reports to their supervisors when they come back after October Break on Tuesday October 24, 2017.

Verification of Personal Details
We wish to thank M5 parents who have so verified the personal details of their children. We need updated records and therefore ask all parents who have not responded to do so before Monday October 2nd.

David Ochieng

The P1 – P6 children have started tuning-in to their second unit of inquiry. If you wish to know more details of the unit please look at the unit posters on the large board outside Room 16. The EC children have been making good progress with their summative assessment work which parents will enjoy seeing at the goal setting conferences on Thursday.

Notice: The final day for Quarter 1 clubs will be on Wednesday. You will receive an email shortly asking you for your child’s Quarter 2 club choices.

Notice: Swimming lessons will begin for the P1 – P6 children after the October holiday. The class teacher will let you know on which day of the week to send your child’s swimming clothes.

Reminder: There won’t be lessons on Thursday. Instead you will be invited for a 15 minute goal setting conference with the class teacher. Your child should come to that meeting. Exact time slots will be sent home on Wednesday. Please arrange childcare for the time when you are not at the conference.

Reminder: Please send an email requesting time off in advance if you know your child is going to miss any school days before or after the holiday. It is an expectation that children remain in class until 10.15am on Friday 29th October. You can contact me on: kateschermbrucker@ed.ismoshi.com

Kate Schermbrucker

Last Saturday, seven U11 teams from the NTAA came to play rounders on our pitches. The matches were all hard fought, and also good natured, with the students showing good sportsmanship. All the teams improved their throwing, catching, batting, bowling and teamwork skills throughout the day. The ISM Moshi team played hard for the whole day and were delighted with their third place position. They congratulated tournament winners St Connie’s who took home the trophy.

Our end of unit assessments are now in full swing, and the children have been showing some wonderful learning. We look forward to sharing some of this with you at next week’s goal setting conferences. EC2 has a new student from Monday, and we are all looking forward to meeting Annie.

I wanted to take a brief chance this week to let you all know about the amazing progress I have been seeing during our PE lessons with Coach Elli. The children love their new teacher and are now all participating fully and with gusto. Coach Elli really has raised the bar… and the kids are coming on in leaps and bounds.

Thanks to you all for your support over this first quarter. Swimming will begin after the break.

Have a great weekend,

Owain Evans

It was wonderful to welcome Brage to our class this week and we look forward to welcoming Theo next week.

‘How does a falcon fly?’ ‘Why do Cheetahs and Lions run so fast?’ These are some of the questions the children were asking as they began to think about other living things.
‘I thought it was only seahorse mummies and not daddies who carried eggs till they hatched!’
This unit is prompting loads of questions and the excitement is building as we began to make our inquiries.

In maths, the children have been busy learning how to make patterns, incorporating shapes and colour. We will continue to build upon our knowledge of 2-D shapes this coming week.

Please note our swimming lesson times as we prepare to start swimming lessons in the coming quarter.
Tuesday: P.E.
Wednesday: Swimming

Phase 2 sound: e
Phase 3 sound: ee
Show & Tell: Gus & Stephanie

Mboka Mwasongwe

This week the P2/3 class figured out ways in which they feel comfortable expressing themselves. Each idea was unique and creative. We looked at three pieces of art from unknown artists and each day we studied them and made suggestion about the artists feeling, the colours and shapes used etc.

The children have begun to write their own non-fiction books based on their own expertise and passions.

In Math, we continued to develop our number sense: friends to 10, facts to 20, double and halves of numbers. The children inquired into the properties of 2 and 3 dimensional shapes in everyday life.
Next week will be a short week. The children will continue the above and focus on identifying features of non-fiction book whilst reading.
Please continue to practice reading every night and number bonds to 10 and 20. 

PE: Tuesday
Library: Tuesday
Goal setting: Thursday (NO CLASSES)
Friday: School finishes at 10:15, Whole School Assembly

Have a great weekend,
Clare Hibbard

I have introduced the new unit and the students are excited to be focusing on the central idea of past civilizations and how it can be seen through their legacy in today’s world. In English, alongside our non-fiction research, we will be looking at the stories and myths of ancient civilizations and inquiring into the importance of storytelling even today. In Maths will be looking at how different number systems developed and why our present day system is base ten. We have also started to look at shape and pattern in everyday life. In English we will be looking at the roots of words and the origins of some commonly used words.

I hope to see all of you at the three-way conferences on Thursday. 

Julie Bowen

Our new Unit of Inquiry into the use of natural resources is already well underway. On Thursday Tara Mtuy presented to P5 and P6 about her experiences living with the Masai in Sinya (see photo.) The children learned that the menfolk have to temporarily migrate with their livestock in search of food and water and that there is conflict between humans and elephants over access to boreholes. Many thanks to Tara for a fascinating presentation. On Monday 2nd October the P5 students will walk to the River Karanga (behind ISM) to see how the river is used by the local community. The children should wear a sunhat and appropriate footwear for walking over rough terrain and bring a water bottle. In class we will continue working with maps, using co-ordinates to plot points on a grid, looking at distances, scale and direction. I look forward to seeing you on Thursday for the goal setting conferences. Please note that the PYP students will finish at 10:15 on Friday.

Deborah Mills

The P6s enjoyed the walk to Karanga River and learned so much about how natural resources support the livelihood of the people around that area. We saw how fishing is done as well as river sand collection and rock breaking for building purposes.

We appreciate Mama Aiden (Tara) for the presentation she gave in the P5 class. We learned a great deal from her experiences while she worked with the Maasai in Sinya.

The coming week is the final week this quarter. I will not be sending homework. If your child still has their library book, kindly remind them to send it to school. All lessons continue as usual so your child is reminded to dress appropriately for P.E.

Cathy Wambua