Arusha Campus News – 28 Aug 2020

The two big guns, P6’s Aidan and Bannen go head to head later this afternoon in the Student Council President Elections. Of course the imnportant thing will be a respect and willingness to work together in their senior roles. This respect is ably recognised in this handshake earlier today.

The evenings on campus are beautiful at the moment. Warm sunshine and everywhere you look, there are students of all ages playing games and enjoying the outdoors. The picture above shows Miss Caroline getting the teachers and students into their paces as part of netball training!

I think everyone will be quite pleased to get to the end of this week! Its the time of year when so many matters are being established and the frustrations connected to these settling in activities can be wearing.

First year Diploma Students are finalising their subject choices with some last minute shuffling around. The Second year’s are frantically sending off their college applications whilst all of us are coming to terms with our new six day timetable. As if that wasnt enough for our Diploma teachers and students, we are now enrolled in an on-line textbook platform which is proving a great hit. And I am pleased because of the environmental message this transition sends to everyone.

In MYP, the M5’s are knuckling down to their Personal Projects  – more about that later in this newsletter. Our new Personal Project Supervisor, Miss Alina and Mr Rezayi are doing a fantastic job, especially in the light of all the new MYP students that have enrolled at the school.

In PYP, the students have possibly returned to ‘School’ the most smoothly of anyone, in spite of Augustine and Martin (right) getting slimed up last week! Laughter and conversation emanate out of every Primary classroom door as you walk along the walkways. Happy, happy people.

A short newsletter this week, as some of the new teachers are going to explore Tarangire National Park for their first foray into the Tanzanian bush – I thought I had better go with them!

Phil

As the name suggests, the Personal Project is focussed on a subject or challenge that the individual student has chosen for themselves. For possibly the first time, students will be working with staff members in the role of supervisor rather than teacher. The parameters of the project are set by the student, with the supervisor there to guide them through the process and towards goals that challenge them. Of course the nature of this challenge will vary from student to student. Some may relish pushing themselves academically, others will enjoy the opportunity to exercise their creativity and hands on skills.

If you are a Secondary Parent please don’t miss this date for your diary! 

Thursday 3rd September 2020 @ 2.40pm

This event will be supported by our fabulous PTA and is an opportunity to meet all the Secondary teachers in a relatively informal session. In addition, the meet the teachers session will be followed by a presentation on what to expect in M5 by the MYP Co-ordinator, Mr Hamid Rezayi.

Dear Parents,

Over the next two weeks we will be hosting a ‘meet the teacher and information session’. These will be held in the playground outside the relevant classroom. You will find out more about the expectations and routines in your child’s class. Please be aware this is not a time to address individual needs but for general information. Please see or email your child’s teacher if you have specific questions. Please see the dates and times below for each class.

Monday 31st August at 8.00am – P1/2 – Miss Alley

Tuesday 1st September at 8.00am – EC – Miss Alina

Tuesday 1st September at 2.00pm – P2/3 – Mr Ali

Friday 4th September at 8.00am – P6  – Miss Carmen

Tuesday 8th September at 8.00am – P4/5 – Miss Amanda

Amanda

As we come to the end of the second week, I am pleased to say that the campus remains pandemic free. I would like to congratulate everyone for their commitment to implementing safe practice around campus. Normally, I would NOT be celebrating the fact that so many parents/students have taken the decision to stay away from school for a day or so whilst a cold or cough has cleared up. Even our teachers have stayed away on occasion in order to PLAY IT SAFE!  Thank you mums and dads, because I know how difficult it is to keep students at home when you have a livng to make!

Our bus drivers and security personnel have been wearing their masks diligently following our parents who have set a tremendous example. Administrators in the front office are being encourged to have masks at the ready whenever it seems appropriate to wear them.

Returning boarders continue to undergo at least 4 days of quarantine upon arrival whilst day students stay at home for a similar time after arriving back in the country.

Outdoor lessons continue and we have looked at ways to minimise activity in rooms which have poor ventilation, such as the IT Room. 

The COVID Committee continues to meet to look at further improvements we can make to our precautionary measures.

Finally, our Director, Anna will be hosting a second COVID Parent meeting at Arusha Campus on Tuesday 1st September from 8am. Everyone welcome!

The forbidding interior of the crater on Lengai, a potential future OP Level 5 trip

My apologies for a delayed notification on our Outdoor Pursuits Trips that will be running quarter 1 and 2 of semester 1 for year 2020-2021. This will help with our sign-up process and generally keep you informed about our program.

We have hiking trips, mountain bike trips, and water based trips. For the hiking trips we have the mountain stream and flat land stream.Trips are further subdivided into levels that student will have to complete before going to the next level.For instance our Camp Craft trip is designed to introduce M1 students to camping and hiking kills.

I have created a sign-up genius and sent a link to students to facilitate the sign-up process. Attached is a copy of the trips and costs associated with every trip.

Again I apologise for the delayed notification and hope this timely email will help in our preparation for another Outdoor Pursuits year.

Isack Igenge.

OP Coordinator

Do you react or respond in stressful situations? This was one of the salient points from the documentary “Angst” that some staff members watched last week as part of a CIS sponsored screening. Our school community continues to work on providing students with tools to recognize and address the way they either react or respond to stressors in their lives. As adults, we are working on ways to teach and model for students healthy strategies to properly respond to stressors. This is an ongoing process, and involves an ability to self-regulate through greater self-awareness that we all continue to develop while providing our children with proper tools to maintain their mental health and well-being. In this week’s Wellness Wednesday we shared some more information related to this topic that we hope you will take a moment to review. In addition, we continue to welcome community input, and are putting out a Last Call for completion of the Mental Health and well-being survey by all UWCEA Community members. It is due 28 August 2020, and we’re truly grateful for the responses received thus far.

Moving to the university side, D2 students (and parents), have you scheduled a meeting with your University Counselor yet? There are so many options to explore, but also decisions that need to be made in order to set an appropriate plan to ensure you are prepared for the application season. Please make sure you set your appointment(s) and come prepared with questions following research that has been done via Maia Learning and a host of other sources that have been made available.

Parents are welcome to participate in upcoming virtual visits, and to encourage their students to share information about these events that can be found in the “University Visits” section of their Maia Learning account. D1 and D2 students currently have access, but soon M5, and then M4 students, will be provided access to their own accounts. Parents who would like to access their child’s account, can email to receive access and an introduction video.

Please review the list above of Upcoming Virtual Visits/Presentations, and stay tuned as this list continues to grow.

Cassandra