Moshi Campus News – 8 Sep 2019

Obviously, the big news of the week was the 24-Hour Run.  Please let me start off by trying to thank all those that helped organize this; the student team of Amanda, Faith, Mohammed and Nikoli led by Sacha; the parent team of Marieke, Tara and Maria; the teachers, with special thanks to Owain, Mwegelo, Isaac and Robin.  I would also like to thank all the gardeners, cleaners, assistants and others who worked behind the scene to get everything set up and then cleaned up. Apologies for any oversight – a huge team of people worked together to make this event possible and we are grateful to each and every one of you. 

The Run was a great time with over 3000 km covered by the participants and currently $6900 raised so far with not all pledges counted.  As the per lap and other pledges are finalized this number is expected to grow.  In fact, if you are still interested in a late donation please contact Mwegelo or donate via Mpesa Lipa #5656408 or online via CAF online.

Raising money may have been the point of the event, but given the smiles, laughs, late night dancing and other spectacles I would say that fun was definitely a major part of the day.  To a select group it seemed like the running/walking was their fun activity as there were a good number that covered a marathon’s distance in the time.  As you can see from the pictures below it was a time to remember.  If you are interested in seeing more photos of the event, please look here and here.

Please note this week we have our first university tour visit of the year and this weekend we have an Outdoor Pursuits trip to the North Pare Mountains.

Bob Cofer – Head of Campus

Next Monday, September 16th, is our Peace Day Assembly leading up to the UN Peace Day on September 21st. Students are asked to wear blue and white clothing on that day.

A separate email update will be coming out this week with details about the UWC Day events on September 21st.  The theme is “Climate of Change” and the students are looking at activities on campus that morning that focus on this area.  All students and parents are welcome to come and get involved that day.

The Day for Tomorrow is an initiative of the International Spinal Cord Association and WHO raising awareness for the difficulties people with disabilities can come across in this time of ever increasing extreme weather circumstances.

To mark this day, an Accessibility Walk is being held all over the world on 6 continents on the same day, Sunday 22-9-19.

The doctors of the KCMC Spinal Cord Unit were approached to represent the entire African continent.

The walk (about 2 km) starts at 07:30 and goes across Moshi town centre from the Shree Hindu Mandal Temple.

The Primary and Secondary UWCEA students who regularly visit KCMC will walk with them. They are preparing banners together with the young KCMC patients they visit.

Motivation and KASI, local NGO’s which lower thresholds for people with a disability (Deo Chami, the 2019 Graduation speaker, works there too) and other representatives of vulnerable groups will also be represented at the walk.

Come help the Sparkling Elephant project this September to raise funds to:

• fix the elephant Tumaini that needs repairing before the opening ceremony,
• to design and build shades and water storages for the bees to gain easy access to water and protection from the hot sun.

The Bake Sale will be on Monday 16th of September

For obvious reasons, much of the focus and attention over these last few weeks has been towards the upper end of the school, most notably our Diploma students and, in particular, our new D1 cohort. Of course, it is timely to remember or, at least, to reiterate that we are all now valued members of the UWCEA community. What’s more, we all have an important role to play in shaping what this will look like going forward.

As I often reference here, I strongly believe any school is a reflection of the wider community. Last Thursday’s Meet the Teacher evening was a lovely opportunity to come together and celebrate as a Primary School community. Thank you to all the parents who were able to join us, particularly the new faces who we are delighted to welcome to UWCEA. Hopefully, the evening was beneficial and laid the foundations for a successful year of collaboration and learning ahead. We trust you enjoyed a glimpse into the shared values and expectations across the Primary School. At the same time, we hope you gained some insight into the holistic learning experiences at UWCEA and how you can support learning.

Successful, honest and open lines of communication between parents and teachers can only have a positive impact on learning for the students in and around the classroom. As Cathy mentioned on the evening, please do not hesitate to contact your child’s class teacher at any time if you require any further clarification or have any questions. Similarly, if people would like to find out more about the PYP, the Enhancements or just more general information about the programme, please do reach out as Cathy is more than happy to run information sessions for interested parties.

One of my (many) favourite Swahili phrases is “Mtu ni watu.” This roughly translates as “a person is people.” This phrase now adorns every presentation I share and serves as a constant reminder to me of the importance of preserving our special sense of community, from EC to D2 and beyond. If we can all remember this sentiment throughout the year, UWCEA will remain a safe and happy community for us all to live and learn in.

Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus

It has been a quiet but productive week in the Diploma classes. The D1 students are now settled in their classes and have been taking assessments. The D2 students are busy working on their IAs as well as their regular work. This weekend many of them ran/walked around the pitch for the 24 Hr Run, to help raise funds for the scholarship fund. A big thank you to all the captains who have been organising their teams.

In a continuation of the focus on CAS next week D1 students will have their first CAS interviews where we make sure they understand the requirements of the programme and what their plans are.  It has been very pleasing to see how many student initiated projects we have ranging from cooking to debate. More details of these in a later newsletter.

Thursday a group of us watched a very talented group of students from MYP and DP audition to perform in the opening ceremony, after some hard deliberation we were able to pick 4 performances, there is a space left for a PYP performance. More details on this under PYP news.

Last week we had information about some of the service projects, here is the information about the other ones.

Kibo Secondary school
This project deals with secondary students that are of the same age as most of the diploma students. It’s an amazing experience because as teenagers there is so much we can relate to each other and also learn from each other. This project mainly aims at working together with Kibo students as a team to help improve a couple of things in their school. We have come up with plans on ways to raise reasonable amounts of money, so as to help us start all these amazing activities we planned with them.

More than a Drop
More than a Drop is a service project that travels to a female’s vocational training school. At the vocational training area, the girls learn hospitality services to help them prosper and get jobs after graduating. The girls at More than a Drop usually don’t complete their primary education or secondary education due to certain issues that they face. The More than a Drop group aims at helping the girls improve their English speaking and writing skills by doing activities with them which can potentially help them when job hunting. While also teaching them English we learn about their different backgrounds and stories that they have to share with the UWCEA More than a Drop service group.

Smokeless Kitchen
The smokeless kitchen project set out to help deal with the major respiratory issues local women are facing across Tanzania as a consequence of open fires and heavy smoke in local kitchens. We set out to tackle this major problem by designing a smokeless stove, and fund raising to purchase the materials required to build these stoves. We built one stove for a local community member, and are waiting to receive feedback and adapt our design based on the feedback we receive.

Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator

This weekend the students were all involved in the 24-hour run from our youngest students in Residential Life to the oldest.

In the next few weeks many secondary students will be heading off on OP trips. Please contact us if your child is involved and you have any questions. As well sporting fixtures will be starting up soon.  Please see the Sports Update for a list of some upcoming fixtures.

Our primary students have had additional visitors this year as the primary teachers have been visiting them in the house and working with them on varied items from schoolwork to fun and games. Primary trips off campus have stared back up as well.  Two weeks ago, they visited an off-site play area and other trips will be happening in the future. Please contact Ms Meshack if you would like more information.

Ian Horne – Head of Residential Life

New MYP Students Orientation
All new students this week did an activity involving key words (command terms) used in their assessments. They were also given a document defining all the command terms they use in their assessment.

M2 IDU Trip
From September 17 to 20 the M2 class will be off to Pangani for an Interdisciplinary Learning trip coordinated by the Mathematics and the Individuals and Societies departments from both Moshi and Arusha and Moshi. In Mathematics, students will cover scale drawing, estimation of cliff heights using special equipment and graphing. In Individuals and Societies, they will study the rich history of Pangani Coast and learn coastal features.

MAP tests
The MAP tests for M1-M3 are scheduled to begin on the week of Monday September 23, 2019.

MAP Tests are computer-based tests where students are tested in English reading and language in addition to Mathematics. M3 students also do Science in addition to the subjects above. 

MAP Growth tests are unique in that they are adaptive. This means the test becomes more difficult when a student answers a question correctly. However, when the answer is incorrect, the test becomes easier. Ultimately, the students take a test specifically targeting their learning level.

M5 Personal Project Supervision
The M5 students now have their PP supervisors. They are encouraged to book appointments and meet their supervisors. Some of the projects involve parental support both materially and financially. The M5 parents are encouraged to hold candid discussions with their children/wards and plan accordingly.

University Fairs and presentations
As part of the support for M5 students in their career and university choices, we greatly encourage them to attend university fairs as they happen in school. Some UK universities will be visiting on Monday September 9. The following week on September 16, some of the Ivy League universities, and later Harvard and MIT will be on campus. Parents are equally encouraged to attend as they plan the future education of their children.

David Ochieng – MYP Coordinator

In D1 Life Skills class this week we talked about the reality that the “Honeymoon is over.” It doesn’t necessarily mean that we are no longer enjoying this experience, but that it is natural for the euphoria of the newness to fade a bit as we’re all adjusting to the realities of life at UWC East Africa. For some students, this has been a smooth transition, but for others, it can be a bit more difficult. If your child is in the residence, and you have concerns about them, feel free to reach out to their Residence Parent, mentor, or the counselor to share your concerns so that we can provide you with information that may reassure you, and/or them. In addition, feel free to take a look at any of these articles for some insights into dealing with the challenges your child may be facing at this point of the year:

• 4 Ways to Help Your Child Handle Homesickness
• Suggestions to Give Your Child to Deal With Roommate Issues
• Article about adjusting to life at college (or a UWC)

On the university side of my role, I participated in a webinar for International Admissions this week, and learned that there is a bit of a decline in university visits by representatives for a variety of reasons. Given how many visits we have coming this month, I am beyond thrilled at the opportunity to provide some valuable interactions for our students. Just a reminder, here is the list of who will be on campus this month:

• 9 September: UK Universities Fair 2:30pm in Rafiki Hall
• 16 September: Columbia, Cornell, and Princeton, and Stanford Universities (United States)
• 27 September: Harvard and M.I.T. (United States)
• 30 September: International Universities (more details forthcoming)

Parents, if you are in the area, you are more than welcome to come to any of these events as well. The more you know about the process, the better prepared you are to support your child. I will try to share information in the newsletter for parents who aren’t able to attend, but would like to know more about what was covered during these very helpful events.

On the Socio-emotional side of this role, it is important for you to know that there is another counselor serving students’ mental health needs. Mr. Emmanuel Kileo has returned this year to provide services to students, and families. He is usually here in the afternoons (Monday-Thursday), and his office is located next to the library. In addition, you can feel free to reach out to him via email at emmanuelkileo@uwcea.org or mobile 0766178836/0621774502.

Have a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to continuing to support the mental well being of ALL of our students!

Cassandra Ford – University & Socio-emotional Counselor

Last weekend, M1 students and staff of the Moshi and Arusha campuses joined together to explore Materuni and Mweka villages on the OP Camp-craft trip, where they enjoyed fantastic hikes and views of the surrounding environment and Mt. Kili in the background.

On this trip, students got to know each other and learned basic OP skills such as how to pack backpacks and what to bring on OP trips. They also learned how to set up a tent, cooking outdoor meals and how to wash the dishes after the meal. Students loved playing together and listening to stories from their new friends around the campfire. After a challenging hike, students are looking forward to their next OP adventure.

This year we are expanding the OP programme by adding water-based activities. The first OP Water trip will take place at the coast in Tanga at Fish Eagle Point campsite. Students will be involved in various water-based activities including sailing, sea-kayaking, snorkeling, open water swimming as well as land activities such as a mangrove walk.

The OP Water program will be developed in three stages: the 1st stage will build students’ confidence in open waters through participation in water-based activities; the second stage will focus on developing specific and more technical skills (i.e. scuba-diving and PADI courses). The 3rd stage will be linked to marine conservation whereby students will use their skills towards a service learning project (protecting coral reef, plant/transplant mangroves…)

It feels very much like the calm before the storm at the moment, students out training without the tournaments to compete in.  That will all change very soon and we will have buses running back and forth to Arusha for NTSAA tournaments. 

We have inter-house Athletics day coming up in 2 and a ½ weeks which will be a celebration and display of the improvements all students have been making in their PE Athletics units and after school clubs.  Secondary will take place on the 24th of September and Primary will take place on the 25th September.

Next quarter we are looking to change the Primary club system and allow students to choose 4 clubs instead of 3, on the condition that one of those clubs is a service based club.  As part of an IB and UWC school we are expected to take part in and promote service as one of our core values.  As privileged members of the global community it is not just an expectation but also a necessity. This being said we are looking to increase the range and style of service we are able to offer for the clubs and will need some community members to model service by giving their time to run a club which will help promote service to students.  Please contact robinmarsh@uwcea.org if you have ideas and/or would like to run a service club for the PYP.

Sports Fixtures

Community Activities

Saturday Soccer
Saturday soccer will resume next week for PYP students after a week off due to the 24hr run.  Please join us then.

Robin Marsh
Athletics and Activities Coordinator

Four weeks are over and our swimmers are slowly getting fitter and faster. The pool has warmed up and there is no excuse anymore for the Varsity swimmers (M1-D2) to miss the early morning training sessions so, set those alarms and help motivate each other to get to the pool!! No pain, no gain!!

Here is the training schedule for both teams:

Varsity team (M1-D2 swimmers):

• Monday:             16:30 – 18:00
• Tuesday:            05:50 – 06:45
• Wednesday:        16:30 – 18:00
• Thursday:           05:50 – 06:45
• Friday:                05:50 – 06:45
• Saturday:            08:00 – 10:00

Primary team (P1-P6 swimmers):

• Monday:             13:35 – 13:55
• Tuesday:            13:35 – 13:55
• Wednesday:        14:00 – 15:00
• Thursday:           13:35 – 13:55
• Saturday:            10:30 – 12:00

Please remember to pay the life-guard/coaching fees for Sabini . The Varsity Swimmers fees are $120/year and the Primary Swimmers fees are $40/year. If there are more than 2 siblings swimming in the Varsity team, the remaining siblings only pay the primary fee of $40/child. This full amount is due by Friday the 20th of September 2019. Payments should be made into the life-guard fees account at the UWCEA Finance Office. When paying the fees, please make sure the full name of your child is mentioned on the receipt, as well as in which team your child(ren) is/are participating. Ask for a digital receipt by e-mail and forward this to: christine@oasis-yp.com. Children will not be allowed to join the swimming program after the 20th of September 2019 until these fees have been paid and the e-mail with the receipt has been forwarded.

This year we will print new swim T-shirts and swim caps with the UWCEA logo on it. We will inform you when we are going to order so you can purchase them for your child(ren). For now, plain silicon swim caps are available for training purposes (thick caps – TZS 20,000, thin caps – TZS 10,000) – please contact Debbie if you would like to buy one – 0757558744. All children with long hair should wear a swim cap! Swim goggles, fins and paddles are also helpful.

If you would like to be a part of the Swimming WhatsApp group, please let the swim committee know your WhatsApp number and we can add you to the group. Via the Swimming WhatsApp group, you can be updated via messages and we can send out pictures and news during swimming competitions. Contact Debbie to be added to the group: 0757 558744.

Thank you very much for your support of our program. Swimming is a wonderful, healthy activity for children and teens to be involved in and we hope to perform well again with our swimmers in the upcoming meets! It would be great if we can be the NTSA champs again 😉 (no pressure).

If you have any questions, please contact Christine Brandsma (christine@oasis-yp.com), Debbie Bachmann (debbiewilk@gmx.de) or, the swim team general email for more info: ismoshiswimming@gmail.com.

UWCEA Swim Committee

Yet again, our week in PYP has been full of authentic learning.

Thank Mr. Owain, EC and P5 for an informative assembly. I am sure the students have been reminded about using our playground more effectively.

The 24hr run saw many Primary kids having fun in the various events! Thank you to all who participated and an especial thank you to those who supported our primary students in the event.

Please be reminded of the following:

MAP Testing

During the week beginning Monday, 16th September children in P4, P5 and P6 will take part in MAP (Measure of Academic Progress) assessments. These are online, adaptive assessments designed to let teachers know how the children are progressing with Math, Language and Reading.  The MAP assessments give a snapshot of where a child is in his/her learning right now and help teachers plan the next steps. No preparation at home is necessary – just a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast.

Auditions for the Opening Ceremony

As part of the opening ceremony on October 25th, we are hoping to have student performances. We are looking for performances that will be of a high standard and appropriate for the occasion.  We will be holding auditions for PYP during the day on Thursday 19th of September. One performance will be selected. This can be a group or an individual performance.

Performances which will not be selected will be given a chance to perform in front of our community on a different date. The students who audition will need to talk about how the performance relates to their culture and what they will do to improve before the opening ceremony.

Please discuss with your child what they might like to do and ask them to let their teacher know if they will be auditioning.

The EC children, with the help of P3 and P5 students and indeed all of our Primary children spent time on Friday morning helping us to think about our playground agreements and why they are so important. Our gathering took place outside this week in our playground. I am sure you agree that our campus is a stunning place at the moment.

Thank you to so many of our youngest children and parents that took the time to come along to this years 24hr Run. The children ran, danced, and met the older students throughout the day (and night!). We’d like to thank Maria Chauhan in particular for buying us all an ice cream on Saturday morning- just what the doctor ordered!

Next week we’ll continue with our unit, doing more for ourselves. Some children have already begun to pursue the personal learning they devised, including a visit to our new art teacher who helped us to think about colour mixing.

Owain Evans

We were given an exciting chance of being little scientists this week. Dr. Mac prepared sterile dishes for us which we used to ‘capture’ the germs from our clean and dirty hands. We also had a chance to take samples from door handles, books, chairs, pencils as well as play areas. Fascination was seen on all faces as we all walked down to the science labs to see the germs that had grown from our very own hands.

Proud demonstrations were made by various students in class. We had a chance to see teeth brushing in action and reflect on the best way to get our teeth clean. Savannah taught the class the steps of the doctor’s handshake and led each one through them. Please let us know if our learning is filtering through to home routines. The door handle we made for our bathrooms should help us remember.

Learning numbers using base ten blocks has been quite thought-provoking. The P2s will continue comparing number above 100. P1s will be using base ten blocks to build their numbers.

Thank you Ms. Pearl for giving us your time to teach us how to tie our shoe laces. This is a skill worth perfecting as it will carry through to many areas of our lives.

Mboka Mwasongwe

This week in P3 we have been working on using capital letters when using proper nouns in our writing. Students have also been introduced to the first couple steps of the writing process and are learning to edit each other’s work. Most students have completed their Storyboards that go with their text, and hopefully within the next week we shall be able to upload both the Storyboards, as well as the final draft for the stories that have been written over the past two weeks.

In math, we have continued to work on place value, as well as further explore greater than and lesser than numbers. Students have also worked on skip counting in 2s, 5s and 10s, along with rounding numbers to nearest ten.

Just a reminder that P3 students are still not swimming. The swimming program will begin for P3 in October. I will share information regarding this as we get closer to October.

Thank you to everyone who ran in the 24 hour run. It was a great event for everyone!

Elisha Jaffer

The P4 students have had a great week making connections between additions and subtractions. They have engaged in a variety of critical thinking activities as well as further developed their sense of numbers through number tasks. They enjoyed completing their beadwork and continuing their project on acknowledging our UWCEA heroes.

Next week in language we will be looking at the correct form of verb tenses in a text. Student will also continue reading the biographies of heroes and responding to them, learning to scan text and identify main ideas.  P4’s will be looking at the impact heroes have had on society, both positive and negative.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

The P5 were “biggies” this week to support the EC Primary Gathering. Some helped create skits with the young students, while others took notes on the mistakes illustrated during playground play. Next week, they will use these notes to create a playground agreements poster for everyone to see on the playground. The class is moving along in their unit, and have created groups to research and present Civil, Women, Child, and Animal Rights. Personal summative choices will also be given this next week. We hope to be able to present the first week in October.

A big thank you to all who fundraised and participated in the 24-hour run. I had fun jogging, walking, running, and dancing with students around the track. I hope you all had fun too! Please remind children to pack their swimsuits for our Thursday swimming session. We still had quite a few missing last week.

Sarah Brummel

This week we carried out some maths investigations into numbers written in different scripts, prime numbers and composite numbers (see photo.) The purpose was to enable the children to observe and communicate but also to let them “enjoy the struggle” of the problem solving process. When something comes too easily it is not always valued but there is a definite satisfaction when the solution to a problem that was initially mystifying suddenly becomes clear. As a language focus we have considered the definitions of compound nouns, collective nouns and abstract nouns. The children’s research into the explorers of their choice is now well underway and will continue next week. Everyone started their research with a book this week and will move onto online resources next week. As the children have discussed, book has an editor so is likely to have been fact checked. The internet is more up to date and extensive in its coverage but could include false information. Hopefully, by combining the two sources of information, the children will end up with a true and balanced appraisal of their explorer and will be ready to share their findings with an audience in two week’s time. Congratulations P6 on a very impressive turnout for the 24 hour run.

Deborah Mills