Moshi Campus News – 14 Nov 2020

This week the major focus on campus was the CIS/MSA virtual visit, but as you can see below it was not the only thing going on.  Please see Ben’s Corner for more details on this visit. However they were not the only visitors, we had a few presentations for students in the MYP and DP that sounded very enlightening.

On Wednesday the PTA hosted the annual campus AGM so parents had the opportunity to look back at the past year and ahead to the future.  More information will be coming soon from the PTA.

Starting on Friday we have our yearly Sports Weekend.  While this year the event will not have quite the volume of participants as normal, by limiting it to just the two campuses we have been able to open it up to the under 13 and 11 age groups so they can enjoy the experience. Like normal the Farmers’ Market will be operating on Friday and there is also a CAS concert on Friday evening.

If you are the parent of a DP residential student, please also remember to complete this form so that we can plan for the holiday, the 11th of December is not that far away. Use this link.

Bob Cofer – Head of Campus

Hi everyone my name is Mathias and for my CAS project at school I am organizing a concert next week Friday November 20th from 6: 30 to 7:30 in Rafiki Hall to raise money for the coral reef project at school. This project allows us to build coral nurseries and coral domes to restore the damaged and broken coral on the coast of Tanzania.

This part of the coast has been greatly affected by dynamite fishing and there is a huge amount of coral that are dead and or broken. The aim of the concert is to raise funds to be able to finance the building of the coral nurseries and a raft mechanism to bring out the artificial coral domes to sea, providing a spot for fish and coral to live.

We will have a couple of singers and more entertainment. There will also be snacks available for purchase at the start and during the concert and there will be he sort of voting system to vote for a certain teacher to sing or perform towards the end. You will be able to pay to see a certain teacher sing, towards the end of the night the teacher with the most money on their name will perform.

Over the past week, we have welcomed evaluators from the Council of International Schools (CIS) and Middle States Association (MSA) onto campus…well, kind of! As with many things in 2020, we had to adapt to the current situation and, as a result, the visit was conducted virtually.

CIS amd MSA are both membership communities committed to high quality international education and include hundreds of schools, colleges and universities across the globe. We have long been accredited by both organisations but the process is, rightly, ongoing and continual. This virtual visit was the Preparatory Visit of what is a five year cycle.

To achieve accreditation or reaccreditation, schools must “infuse their programmes and offerings with international and intercultural perspective so that students can move forward with the attitudes and understanding that will provide them with a solid base wherever their studies or work may take them.”

The ideals of these organisations marry perfectly with the Core Values of the UWC Movement and all schools that are part of the community share a common desire to provide students with the knowledge, skills and abilities to pursue their lives as global citizens.

This week, our virtual visitors have spent time in conversations with all stakeholders as well as observing learning across the curriculum from EC to D2…through live streaming!

As a school, we have chosen to be part of the process as we feel it reflects a commitment to an ongoing external quality assurance process to enhance student learning and improve as a learning community. It reminds us all of the importance of always looking for ways to improve as an organisation, a value-added process towards self-improvement.

In the coming weeks, we will receive a report on their findings, including commendations on what we are doing well and recommendations on things we might want to consider focusing on over the coming months. We will use these to frame a ‘Self-Study’ across the next 12-18 months, culminating in a ‘Self-Study Report.’ At the end of this process, we will welcome CIS and MSA back (with representatives from the IB too!) for what is called a ‘Team Evaluation’ visit. The aim of this visit is to provide an objective evaluation of the conclusions in our report. The evaluation team will analyse all aspects of our school considering our Self-study report, our Guiding Statements and their own evaluation standards…let’s hope that, by then, we are able to welcome them all in person.

So, a big collective pat on the back for everyone’s efforts over the last week and in the run up to this week. You certainly deserve a restful weekend!

Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus

Young Aurora is part of the Aurora Humanitarian Initiative and for the past four years it has provided students from UWC schools and, since 2018, the African Leadership Academy with the opportunity to design and implement projects that will make a positive impact by addressing an area of humanitarian concern in their local school community.

Due to the issues of global and local significance affecting both Aurora and UWC in 2020, this year’s competition involved additional challenges and changes. Aurora Humaitarian Initiative were delighted to report on the final three project presentations and announce the winning team: Beehive Divide from UWC East Africa Arusha Campus. The team will be awarded with a grant of $4000 to take the next steps in their project’s development.

This is the second year in a row that UWC East Africa has won this prize with the Smokless Kitchen group from Moshi campus winning last year.

During Life Skills class this week, Diploma students were able to learn about infectious diseases and epidemics/pandemics from an amazing source. Profession Howlett is an international expert in infectious disease with 40 years experience in Moshi. He discovered the first case of HIV in Tanzania, and has lent his expertise to our campuses over the years in addition to the work that he does throughout the world. Our students were very fortunate to learn the history and ongoing challenges of HIV, and contrast it with the recent COVID-19 pandemic that has impacted everyone in a variety of ways. Following his enlightening presentation, students engaged in questioning sessions that extended beyond the class time.

On Friday night a group of students and others gathered to remember Faith, a student from last year’s D2 class who was tragically killed in a car crash a year ago. It was a very moving ceremony. Thanks to those students who organised it and who spoke.

Some D2 students have been making tough decisions this week about their entries for the diploma exams which are being finalised. It takes maturity to decide what is the best option for you. The submissions for IAs and Extended Essays has continued along with starting the second round of TOK presentations.

As we reach the end of the semester, students will have many assessments. Parents, please note that for most students the style of IB assessments is very different to what students are used to and while they are adjusting it may be reflected in their grades.

Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator

A group of students working with the campus’s kitchen staff have embarked on a service project with the KCMC spinal cord ward. The group will be providing 20 hot nyama choma meals a week for the next three years delivered to the unit for patients whose families need the additional support.

MYP had an exciting week of OP trips comings and goings as well as having people visit classrooms for our CIS visit.  One of the greatest things about UWCEA is the opportunities to enjoy this beautiful country through our OP experiences.

As we get closer to the end of term the students will begin to feel the pressure of school and it is our job to encourage them to continue to work hard but also to get appropriate amounts of rest, to make healthy food choices  and get some physical activity. A walk in nature does a lot to help clear the mind and refocus a student to the task at hand.  Talk with your child and ask how things are going at school and offer to help them if they need it.  Just the chat and the offer can make a big difference.

I would like to take a moment to also remind you to discuss password security with your children.  Sharing of passwords is very dangerous and can lead to some unfortunate situations.  Students must create a unique password and keep it private.  They must also log off all devices when and if they step away from use.  These types of security procedures can help to eliminate any unwanted usage from others. We will be practicing these things in the IT lab with the younger MYP students, but it is worth reminding everyone about the seriousness of these things.

A few fun dates to remember! On Wednesday December 2nd, during our celebration of the arts being prepared by the arts department, the M1,2 and 3 will be presenting mini versions of Shakespeare plays.  These will be the summative assessment for their drama classes where they will be demonstrating their ability to remember lines and stage blocking instructions.  It will not be a full, complete, performance but a lot of fun to be a part of as well as to view and encourage.  Also, on Friday December 4th we will be having an MYP end of term pool party and BBQ. The event will be for all MYP students, boarding and day students, day students will need to purchase a food ticket for the BBQ.  We will play music, dance, swim and eat.  It will be a fun day, so tune in for more information next week.

Jeanne Aman – MYP Coordinator

Remembrance and Healing
With a challenging week of technology hopefully far behind us, there was lots of time to reflect and think about what is important in life. This has also been a time of remembering those we grief and some of the difficult days we have had to overcome. In order to build resilience it is important to be able to have a healthy way of dealing with grief, but also developing special ways to celebrate as we remember the past.

A creative strategy for thriving through grief is to understand T.E.A.R.S. This anagram by Dr. Christine Hibbert was introduced in an article titled Healthy Ways to Navigate Grief. When you are going through a time of loss, it is important that you allow time for your T.E.A.R.S., which include: Talking; Exercise; Artistic expression; Recording emotions and experiences, and Sobbing when the actual tears come. It is also important to find ways to honor the lives of those who are no longer with us, or the challenging season we have come through. We encourage everyone to find the strategies that work best for them, and/or work within the community to create special ways to commemorate and celebrate what you have come through. If it is too difficult to do this, we always welcome you to reach out for help from the counseling team if it becomes too difficult to access strategies at any time.

There is another side to life, and that is continuing to be optimistic about what the future holds. This inevitably leads to exploring university options, and there are quite a few to consider in the upcoming months. This past week we had an excellent presentation about applying to the UK. The representatives from two UK universities delved into the many options available in the UK, completing a UCAS application, and tips for writing a Personal Statement. If you missed this presentation, please reach out to Ms. Ford (Counselor_moshi@uwcea.org) for a recording and the slides.

Next week the focus will be on universities in Canada, with three days of presentations just for our community from a range of institutions across the country. On Monday we will be visited by Memorial University of Newfoundland, on Tuesday we have five institutions from different provinces presenting on their institutions and the different processes for applying to Canadian universities. Then on Wednesday, we will be visited by the University of Alberta. Please take a look at what is coming our way, and register today.

In addition, on Wednesday, 18 November, there will be a fair sponsored by EducationUSA in sub saharan Africa that will allow students (and parents) to connect with a range of institutions throughout the US. The registration deadline for this free event is 14 November, and can be accessed via this link.

List of upcoming College/University Virtual Visits.

Wishing you a weekend of wellness, and a wonderful week ahead.

Asante sana na wekiendi njema,

UWCEA School Counseling Team

Last weekend, a brave group of MYP students left campus to take on level 2 of the mountain climbing OP sequence. Our group of 14 students joined with six Arusha campus students to form a strong and supportive group of adventurers. Although the trip to Usambara was long and bumpy, the students were creative and made the most of the time as we transversed the beautiful Tanzanian countryside. Once we arrived at our first campsite, the students quickly set up camp, and settled in for the long weekend of climbing, camping (at three different sites), and conversing about a range of topics. In the end, we covered 25 kilometers of ascents and descents across diverse terrain and through villages who welcomed us warmly. Throughout the two days of hiking, we were joined by children from the villages who cheerfully followed and helped to keep us motivated along the journey. There were moments of peace and tranquility as the students took time to enjoy the views after a few steep climbs, and then pure joy as we completed the journey at Mambo View Point just as the rains started to roll in. We were all so grateful for the leadership and support of Mr. Isaac Foya and his team throughout this experience, as they continued to teach and encourage each step of the way. Onward and upward to level three!

Our modified sports weekend is only days away.  We will be running it a little different this year as we will only have UWECA Arusha and Moshi competing, however, we will be increasing the categories for greater student participation and allowing our younger students to take part in a tournament this semester.  We will have U11, U13, U15 and Open categories.  A sign-up sheet has gone out to everyone, please check what your children have signed up for in MYP/DP.  The idea is that students take part in as much as possible as there will be limited number of games, but lots of different sports to take part in.

Tennis with Coach Charles
Tennis with Coach Charles continues with him offering private and/or group lessons Wednesdays at 3:30pm to 4:30pm and Saturdays from 9.30am to 11.30am. Please contact Coach Charles at the courts at the above-mentioned times or call/message on 0710606766. 

PYP Saturday Soccer
Saturday Soccer this Saturday with Mr T and several of our skilled M5, D1 & D2 students helping to run the club.  It kicks off at 9am and finishes at 10.30am just in time for the PYP swim squad to get their laps in.

Go Leopards
Robin Marsh 

Last Saturday, the cycling group embarked at 7.30 AM on the journey towards Weru Weru, a small village located approximately 10 kilometres west of the campus. At first, the weather seemed to be quite ambiguous because of the grey clouds that captured the landscape as far as the eye could see. However, rays of sunshine blessed us as we approached the midway point between the campus and Weru Weru, sparking true joy within us.

After we reached the Weru Weru River Lodge, a decision was made that we could go even further, that is, to the Weru Weru river. It was an excellent choice, as the cool river stream provided an opportunity to have a relaxing moment of self-reflection about the ride so far. The mood was high among the riders after setting off on the way back to the campus, and it seemed like there is nothing in this world that would interrupt the marvellous journey. This proved to be wrong for me because my bicycle’s chain suddenly broke down as I was speeding down a bumpy road. I reached out to a local cyclist who noticed my situation and helped me set up the chain. I was genuinely grateful to him because I was able to continue my journey back to Moshi safely.

The trip was a great success because we quickly arrived at the destination and even had some time to relax by the river, which lifted our moods before departing back to the campus. Of course, it would have been incomplete without the supportive community of cyclists, composed of people both within and outside the school. I learned an important lesson in trust because I understood that opening up to others when needed can truly improve the situation.

Kristaps

You are all welcome to our PYP sharing assembly on the 20th of November 2020. All classes will be presenting a short snippet of what they have been learning. There will be presentations from Swahili, French and Music teachers as well. Presentations will begin from 7:45am in Rafiki Hall. Please be reminded of our health and safety procedures as stated by the school board. All visitors to campus must wear a mask when entering a building.

Sports weekend will kick-off this Friday from the 20th to the 22nd of November. Some of our very own PYP students will be taking part in many U11 events. Please come and show your support.

Mboka Mwasongwe & Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinators

A big thank you to the P6 students as they have continued to work with our class. They have persisted in building relationships with the children, taking them through books and safe play. This week, they took time to share their work on plants with us. I would like to commend them for patiently refusing not to give up and finally winning the heart of the little ones.

Next week, we will be working on our presentation for the PYP sharing assembly as well as continuing our exploration of pets around school. We have looked at the life cycle of fish this past week. The children are very much interested in learning more about cats, dogs and chickens. So they will choose which animal to explore in more depth as we begin the week.

The rains seem to have started. Please remember to send in indoor shoes if you have not done so already.

Mboka Mwasongwe

P2/3 has been exploring tessellations this week using pattern blocks. They’ve come up with some beautiful designs which can be found on our class door and the wall around it. The students have completed their brochures about a place they have lived in or visited. The brochures are carefully advertised in our classroom library. We’re hoping to set a time to share these brochures with other PYP students soon.

On Friday, we took a field trip through Moshi town to TPC. The field trip gave us an opportunity to travel through downtown Moshi, through the sugarcane fields and to Madame Pearl’s house. This allowed us to see both an urban and rural area. Thank you Madame Pearl for hosting us at your lovely home!

Elisha Jaffer

This week the P4 children have been learning about changes in matter. They have been melting pewter with Mr. Marsh and creating elephants’ toothpaste with Ms. Jackie. Many thanks to the secondary school teachers for leading these exciting activities.  Be sure to come to the PYP Sharing Assembly on Friday at 7:30 to learn more about our science investigations. In Maths we are working on our multiplication tables and in Language we have been busy writing stories and comics.

Next week the class will be in the capable hands of Ms. Zitha and some of the PYP teachers will be coming in to read stories and do some activities with the children.

This week our focus has been on forced migration and the children have been learning about refugees. We have looked at short movie clips describing refugees’ journeys and photographs of the items people bring with them when they leave their homes in an emergency. One of the wonderful things about being a United World College is that our younger students have access to our diverse group of Diploma students. These older students often give freely of their time and expertise to enhance the educational experiences of the PYP children. On Friday Peter, a diploma student who has spent time in a refugee camp, visited the P5 class so that the children could interview him and learn about his experiences. Thank you, Peter. Next week the children will be completing their country studies, writing up their migration journeys and preparing for our PYP Sharing Assembly which will take place in Rafiki Hall on Friday, 20th November at 7:30am. We look forward to seeing you there. The photo shows the children completing our map of Africa puzzle. It was a group effort and they joined hands to put the final piece in place together.

Deborah Mills

The P6 classroom has become a greenhouse of growing plants. The cress seed experiment is underway, with little sprouts showing students what seeds need to grow. The beans seeds are working their way through mazes to the sunlight. The squash seeds have sprouted, and some were put into soil. As you can see, we have a lot of growth occurring in the classroom. We are also practicing growing as leaders in the PYP. Please have a talk with your child about what it means to be a good leader and role model with their actions and choice of words.

Yesterday, we practiced more on scientific illustration by picking a grass plant to draw from roots to flower. The students impressed me with their skills in drawing details. We will be sharing all of this at the Sharing Gathering next Friday, so hope you are able to make it. We will also take some time to post pictures on Seesaw of the experiments and artwork that has been done in class.

Sarah Brummel