Moshi Campus News – 18 Nov 17

Currently the school is moving along on all fronts.  In the PYP many students either have had their camps or will soon.  The P6’s have just presented their summative assessments to parents and students which was great practice for their Exhibition in the Spring.  In the MYP, the M5 students are progressing in the Personal Project and have started their units for the ePortfolio.  In the Diploma, the D2 students are fully engaged in their coursework and are completing their TOK presentations.

Outside of the classroom, our students are engaging in the community in a number of ways.  This weekend some students will be at the Upendo Orphanage as one of many off campus projects.  At the same time, we have another Outdoor Pursuits trip to Little Meru which is the fifth trip this semester with two more still to come.  As you can see from the Sports Weekend and other sports articles students of all ages and interests have been engaging in competitions.  And let’s not forget the arts, students are busy preparing for the Bugsy Malone musical which is premiering in just over 2 weeks.

We believe education is not just classes, it is experiences, if you look at what ISM students are involved in across all levels, I think you would conclude that they are getting the experiences needed for a well-rounded education.

On November 24, 25, 26th, ISM will host the 17th Annual Secondary School Sports Weekend. This will have over 800 students representing 12 different school.  Come and enjoy the festive atmosphere of the weekend.

We look forward to a great event, you can keep posted by clicking on the sports link on the ISM Website.  This has the overall schedule and several schedules for individual sports events.

What does it take to give? In the early hours of Saturday morning it feels like it takes a lot; peeling yourself out of bed; dragging yourself through the morning ritual; climbing into the school bus for a bumpy ride. But without complaint our ISM students are doing exactly this every Saturday morning to dedicate their time and energies to orphaned children at the local Upendo Orphanage.

Run through the dedication and love of the Catholic Sisters, Upendo has a population of 49 orphans with the youngest children in their care being just days old. This academic quarter ISM has re-established an old connection with the orphanage and students from M5 – D2 spend their Saturday mornings, from 10:00 to 12:30, interacting with the children; playing and teaching.

The number of ISM students who have decided to get up early and get involved at the orphanage has doubled since the first week we began our engagement at the centre. Last week we were presented with a very special gift indeed. Immediately on our arrival the children of Upendo Orphanage sang a song of appreciation of our giving, their love of us and the extension of a warm welcome to their orphanage home.

What does it take to give? It takes commitment, selflessness and compassion. The students at ISM are learning that when you give these qualities of yourself, they are replenished in kind.

Comradery among students and extra-curricular CAS activities serve to enhance student’s experience and provide a break from the rigors of daily study and regular assessments challenge (see photo below of D2 History re-enactment debate/assessment).  These weeks many D2s are focused on completing coursework while D1 and D2s both face formative and summative tests.

Diploma students will enjoy a neat different kind of experience in less than a week as ISM hosts a huge Sports weekend with students from schools country-wide.  Parents are encouraged to drop by to get a sense of this fabulous weekend of athletic competition and social time (a welcome break for DP students!).

Please attend the end of term assembly and parent-teacher meeting on Fri Dec 15th as DP parents (and students) always benefit.  We start classes on Tuesday January 9th so please organize your holiday to ensure DP students are back for the start of school.

Rick Fitzpatrick

Both the M1 and M5 English Language Acquisition classes have been examining the impact of humans on natural landscapes. Recently, they have been exploring the harmful effects of plastics on our oceans and marine life. Next weekend, they will putting their knowledge into action by leading an awareness campaign and selling reusable cloth shopping bags at the Farmers Market.

If anyone has extra reusable shopping bags they can donate to this worthy project, please drop them off with Jocelyn or Caroline (Room 18).

We are halfway through this quarter. The week has gone well in Boarding, and the D2 boarders have burnt the midnight oil working on their Internal Assessments and other pieces that are due before the mock exams. Boarders in other classes have also been kept busy the whole week by activities in and out of class.

There is an air of excitement as boarders prepare for the annual Sports weekend. This will run from Friday 24th-26th November. This will bring together on campus about 700 students and coaches from about 12 schools.

Because of the huge number, we shall not allow any day scholars to sign in to stay in the dorms that weekend. The boarding houses will remain out of bounds to all except boarders.

No trips will be planned for boarders that weekend because they will be involved, one way or another, on campus. However, parents who wish to sign out their children may do so.

Meal times will be expanded to accommodate the big numbers, and we shall ensure that all boarders have their meals throughout the weekend.

Rosemary Bango

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS

There has been a lot of action for our teams of late between NTAA action and friendly matches. It has been fun to be a part of the success our teams are having. This weekend our U15 Basketball and U19 teams close out their NTAA seasons at Braeburn. Many of these teams will be in action at the Sports Weekend.

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

I have been proud of the fantastic effort our students have made in the NTAA events over the past couple of weeks. Thanks to Coach Eli and Coach Sabini for training the teams to so well. Congratulations to everyone who took part with such passion and sportsmanship in the:

• 10th Nov Athletics Meet at ISMAC
• 14th Nov Football Tournament at St Constantine’s
• 17th Nov Swim Gala at Kennedy House

Many congratulations to the P1 – P6 children who completed their summative assessment work this week. I enjoyed seeing the P6, P4 and P2/3 class presentations. It is always impressive to hear the children speaking so knowledgeably about their research and thinking. Next week they will begin tuning into their third unit of inquiry.

In music lessons the children have been enjoying practicing for the Bugsy Malone production. The songs are sounding very good. Thank you to all the parents who have pre-ordered t-shirts. We would like all the primary singers to wear one.

Reminder: The deadline for ordering Bugsy Malone t-shirts is Tuesday; so there is still time left.

Reminder: Please take care when driving in the carpark on elsewhere on campus. Drive slowly and watch out for young children. Accompany any young children across the car park.

Kate Schermbrucker

We were amazed by ‘glow in the dark’ life in our oceans whilst watching the BBC ‘Blue Planet II’ documentary. We went on to find out more about these enchanting creatures using art work to represent them- working on the focus and fine motor skills that will help us write as we get older.

We used dance to represent these magnificent creatures and began to understand how they used this ability to ‘light up’. We were surprised at pictures of plastic spoons in the ocean and imagined how we would feel if our paddling pool was full of discarded plastic. We realised that much of the plastics in the picture were things we ourselves used at parties, BBQ’s and restaurants…

• Atuganile: That picture makes me very sad.
• Henry: When I go to the party, I ‘don’t want’ (plastic spoons).
• Christian: But what will we eat with?
• Grace: We can just eat with our hands.
• Savannah: You could take your own stuff.

Bioluminescent creatures have inspired us to make our own sustainable ‘party kit’.

Please send the following reusable equipment next week:

Knife, fork, spoon. Small bowl, Small cup. Washable napkin. Re-useable straw.

Owain Evans

We completed our summative assessments this week. The animal report cards look amazing and the children are excited to share them with their peers. It is good to see their enthusiasm and how they take ownership of their work. These cards will be on display next week. You are welcome to see them in the morning as you drop your children.

Our seeds are blooming. The bean seeds have shot up quickly. The children are excited to see their work in progress. We will continue to study them in the weeks to come.

Next week, we will begin another exciting unit.

Transdisciplinary Theme: How we express ourselves
Central Idea: Creativity can be nurtured through inspiration, imagination and application.

In math, we will also be looking at subtraction and how it is related to addition.

Phase 2: short vowel sound u
Phase 3: long vowel sound u

Show & Tell: Cody and Stephanie

Mboka Mwasongwe

Dear P2/3 Parents,

A BIG thank you for the support you have shown our P2/3 children over the past couple of weeks. The children have been so proud of the work they have produced.

This week the children have been busy completing their How To`s and testing them on each other. The children have learned a lot about editing, making sure that each step gives their student clear information.

We will begin our third unit where we will look into the following central idea:

Family history provides an insight into cultural and personal identity.

Next week in reading we are continuing to look at different characters in our books. They have been identifying their inner and outer traits. This will lead into character book clubs, where the children will read books their characters are in.

In Math, we will introduce telling time and continue to review word problems strategies.

Monday: Homework.
Tuesday: Library and PE
Thursday: Swimming
Friday: Homework due in.

Have wonderful weekend.
Clare Hibbard

It has been an exciting week. We have had lots of sporting events, including our own Math Olympics. The children tried out some of the sports which originated in Ancient Greece and had to add their results together with their teammates. It was a good chance for us to practice adding with decimals and multiplying numbers.

Another highlight of the week was our fabulous Greek celebration of Legacy. We all had a great time and well done to the parents who took part in the event. The students will debut their stopmotion myth to a wider audience, via Twitter this weekend, so stay tuned! 

We ended the unit by talking about Archimedes. This was the perfect introduction to one of the lines of inquiry for our upcoming unit, i.e. looking at how we harness forces to overcome challenges.

Julie Bowen

This week the children have been working on their information books, considering the features of non fiction texts. They have had lots of fun designing and playing board games to demonstrate their understanding of natural resources and how they are used at Simba Farm. Ms. Signe introduced a weaving activity that we will continue with next week. In maths we have been looking at area and perimeter.

Next week will see the beginning of our new Unit of Inquiry, “Media empowers people to create, extend and challenge our perception of the world.” We will be focusing on digital media, the role of bias and being a good digital citizen.

Ms. Signe will lead some tuning in activities about digital media and the children will start learning the new vocabulary associated with this unit. They will write some poetry to accompany their weaving.

The children will share some of their recent learning in Primary Gathering next Friday, 24th November at 7:30 in Rafiki Hall. We look forward to seeing you there.

Signe Christensen P5 Student Teacher

Deborah Mills

The P6s had a great week. They presented their Summative Assessments to their parents and to the P5s and some of them said it gave them a feel of what the PYP Exhibition would be like. Their confidence, creativity and knowledge on their chosen topics, was impressive. One thing was for sure, they are looking forward to their Exhibition.

The students also enjoyed learning about circumference and the new words associated with this concept. They enjoyed finding the diameter of different circular objects and developed critical thinking skills as they worked collaboratively within their groups.

Our next unit is on migration.
Central Idea: Human migration is a response to challenges, risks and opportunities.

Lines of Inquiry:
History of migration (FORM)
Migration story. (PERSPECTIVE)
How migration has created diversity. (CONNECTION)
Why diversity enriches societies. (PERSPECTIVE)

Cathy Wambua