Arusha Campus News – 9 May 2020

Mad as Hatters! The Rejman family came to school to help with our Virtual Primary Share Time on Friday. Judging by this picture we can see that isolation seems to have got the better of them and they were very pleased to get out for the day!

Some lovely contributions to our newsletter this week from parents, primary and secondary students, counselors and administrators alike. Apart from ongoing studies, work this week has also focussed on final PYP Exhibition preparations as well as Extended Essay research for D1 students. The students that I am working with have fascinating research questions in mind, to do with invasive plant species and water accessbility to name two topics. If you as parents have expertise in either of these areas then please drop me a message to say if you can help!

As the rain keeps pouring down on campus, my discovery of mini-beasts continues. All my columns seem to be accompanied by a faunal photo at the moment (see right). Nothing wrong with that as wildlife reclaims the campus!

Have a super weekend

Phil

 

Hello Everyone! My name is Neil McCulloch and I will be teaching Economics and Business Management at Arusha Campus. I will also be a Residential Parent. I am currently teaching at the British School of Manila. I bring experience of teaching at UWC South East Asia where I taught for 15 years. I previously taught in Kuwait and UK. Perhaps the incentive for returning to East and Southern Africa stems from wonderful experiences teaching in Zambia. This provoked a deep interest in the history of Africa and I have re-visted the region annually ever since. I enjoy the outdoors, both landscape and wildlife and also sports. I am a keen golfer and led touring golf teams from Singapore all around the subcontinent. I enjoy quizzes and crosswords even though my memory of the 1992 European Championship match between France and England is not as good as that of my new Head of Campus.

Another busy week of distance learning has passed with a multitude of opportunities for students to learn from home. Teachers are doing an excellent job keeping in touch and communicating with families to make students stay engaged with their learning and can continue to progress. Thank you for your continued support and feedback! It is great to see the variety of activities and approaches we are taking and to continue to collaborate as staff, remotely, to enhance the distance education we are offering.

We are focusing on ways to encourage students both in the primary and secondary school to be cognizant of the time they spend using devices to do their work and we hope to increase the variety of learning activities that can be achieved without an electronic device- see the device-free day announcement for primary students and expect more “deviceless’ learning activities planned for secondary students during the weeks. Continue to exercise and lead active lives as much as you are able!

There is a lot of excitement about the upcoming PYP exhibition organized remotely with the P6 students next week. Best of luck to all students, their teachers and mentors who have worked hard to showcase these projects online for an audience. The link to sign up for secondary students to watch these exhibitions online was posted in ManageBac messages- thank you for supporting our P6s with their remote PYP exhibition!

With best regards,
Ciprian

D1 History students are currently studying Apartheid in South Africa. This week they focused on the Rivonia Trial (1963-64). Historians refer to this as the “trial that changed South Africa”. In what was perhaps the most profound moment in the trial, Nelson Mandela spoke of his ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. Students were asked to create a piece that represents and expresses the “ideal” for which Mandela and other accused were prepared to die.

The poem below was created by Ida (Denmark)

Through times many people have fought
And many of them were caught
Caught by regimes that wanted control
But you can never put out the wish for equality and freedom felt by a soul

All these people had leaders, who fought with them; Mandela, Ghandi and Luther King
In the desire for nothing more nor nothing less than for freedom and fairness to bring
The history is repeating all over the earth
When we let evilness and selfishness give birth

But they saw the world as they wanted it
and became so outstanding because they didn´t just sit
They rose from their chairs and declared
If needs be, for death I am prepared.

Nenya’s (Denmark) impression is pictured above. Hala’s (Switzerland) and Katanu’s (Kenya) below.

A beautiful piece of art from Zarine, who is working on her Adaptationa Unit in P5

Dear Parents,

Firstly I hope everyone is coping with e-learning. As a primary school we have a number of important and fun events happening in the next few weeks.

1. P6 PYP Virtual Exhibition from Tuesday 12th – Friday 15th May. The links have been shared.

2. PYP 3-Way E-Chats. From Monday 18th – Friday 22nd May. The class teachers will set up a 15 minute conference to discuss your child’s work. This will be with your child, you and the teacher through Zoom.

3. PYP Device Free Day – Wednesday 20th May – NO Devices all day!! A checklist will be shared.

4. PYP Reports will be issued on Thursday 18th June. The last day of Quarter 4.

We were sooo happy to have Miss Rose join our zoom today

P4 was overjoyed to see and learn with Miss Rose this morning. We have become professional ‘zoomers’ and having great class discussions about our unit of inquiry learning about systems and successful collaboration.

Unfortunately due to Covid 19, all of our OP trips in Quarter 4 are cancelled. If you have already signed-up and paid for an OP trip this quarter, please contact our accountant Grace http://accounts_arusha@uwcea.org to ask for reimbursment or to put the money  towards Q4 school fees.

A survey was sent to secondary students to ask for feedback on their first  few weeks of distance learning.

Responses are now being reviewed and we will make the necessary adjustments  in order to keep improving our distance learning environment. Parents will also receive a survey at a later stage once we have acted upon students feedback. In the meantime, parents are welcome to provide  feedback through coffee morning sessions and directly to the Head of secondary and programme coordinators.

Meanwhile the creativity of our students continues to push new boundaries. This week, Caedmon, Cody and Magnus have been working with Alexis (Dunia Designs) on printing components for face masks to be used by medical staff in Arusha Medical Centres. The four innovators have been using the school’s 3-D printer to make much needed masks! More about this exciting initiative in next week’s newsletter.

In people’s homes, I am getting sent amazing pictures of culinary creations. Pictured right is Harsh baking some delights – with a rather hopeful pet lurking in the background. Wishful thinking!

In M1, Mr Ratsakatika’s class have been reading A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream. As art of their studies they ran a competition for the best poster depicting aspects of the story. Pictured above is the English Poster Winner – Eun Kim for a very passive poster

Reading a book reduces stress, and puts you in a better mood. When you read, it transports you and your worried mind to another place, so you won't feel so overwhelmed. For M1 and M3 Life Skills lessons this quarter, students are taking part in a 10 week challenge to read and report on as many books as possible. After every book they read, they are then required to attempt reporting tasks. These tasks afford them the opportunity to reflect, analyse and report on their understanding of the book.

M1 Winners
Wk 1 – Siri
Wk 2 – Eun
Wk 3 – Brenda
Wk 4 – No winner

M3 Winners
Wk 1 – No winner 
Wk 2 – Mahen
Wk 3 – Hunter
Wk 4 – Mahen

Here are the boys in M2 and M3 keeping healthy with their daily gymnastic routines. Clockwise from top left, thanks to Oswa, Troy, Alvar, Liam and Jeremias!

As we wrap up another week of learning and growing in new ways, I am appreciative of everyone who took some time on Wednesday to read, and practice strategies found in the Wellness Wednesday Newsletter.

We will continue to find ways to meet the mental health and well-being needs of our community during this pandemic and beyond.

Friday’s newsletter will continue to be a place to focus on the post-secondary planning component of my role. I would like to send a shout out to Director of Global Enrollment and Student Success Lukman Arsalan for the excellent Trinity College Presentation. I know that some students (and parents) who wanted to attend were unable to at that time. If you are interested in receiving the presentation information, please email me and I will share what Mr. Arsalan graciously shared with me about his institution.

This week has been full of fascinating and engaging presentations that many students have participated in. In this time of great uncertainty, there has been a tremendous amount of outreach by Admissions staff from higher education institutions around the world. This has led to more opportunities to engage with representatives and specialists in ways that have not been possible before. We have been the beneficiaries of an abundance of information to assist with post-secondary planning. Below is the current list of presentations/virtual fairs that students in M5 and D1 can access in the College Visits section of their Maia Learning account college planning account. Please review the list below, and consider attending a few of these events to learn more about some of the opportunities that exist around the world.

Finally, this week I was able to participate in three days of webinars related to the college/university planning process during a virtual fair listed on the chart above. One webinar that I think parents might find beneficial was titled How to Support Your Teen Through the College Search. Here is the link to view this presentation from 5 May 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMcxNmF8Zb0

Have a wonderful weekend/week ahead, and feel free to schedule a virtual appointment with me via my calendar link https://www.calendly.com/cassandraforduwcea

if you would like to discuss any of this information in more detail.

Take care and persevere,

Cassandra Ford

In the last 18 months, we have been learning more about the work of Africa Amini Alama (Africa, I believe in you) which is a charity that  improves lives for Maasai particularly in the arid area near Ngare Nanyuki. 

In August, our Diploma students walked from Mt Meru (Arusha Students) and Mt Kilimanjaro (Moshi Students) and met at Pamoja Secondary School where they engaged in tree planting, classroom building and classroom resource development with the Maasai students. This came about from conversations with Cornelia (Mama Chiara) who is the co-founder of the organisation. Cornelia and her mum, Christine have now gone on to construct a dispensary, several schools, a workshop for carpenters, bricklayers and mechanics.

We anticipate increased involvement of our students in these projects and we are already looking ahead to the Pamoja Walk in 2020!

Each of the projects is led by Maasai with the aim of sustaining themselves in the long term. With a team of over 200 employees, around 100 patients are treated daily and around 1000 children are cared for.

In order to finance the different projects of Africa Amini Alama, the charitable tourism organization Africa Amini Life was founded. All income that is generated through overnight stays, activities and excursions are directly invested in the orphanage, schools and hospital.

In talking to Cornelia this week, she came up wth the idea of making Maasai Lodge and Hillside Retreat available for Tanzanian Residents at a discounted price as a relaxing place to continue the distance learning.

Special for TZ Residents for Maasai Lodge

-internet coverage available in special study and work area
-social distancing between families arranged
-free facemasks for your stay
– extra curricular activities organized

Special Price on fullboard basis: adult 65$, children under 12 half price

Please visit the website of this exciting success story on our doorstep

https://africaaminilife.com/en/original-maasai-lodge/

or contact +255 759 970245 if you are interested in supporting Amini Life!