Into the third week of school, we are starting to hit our stride. You can see this in the bustle around campus. Student activities, sports and trips are now all up and running as you can see from the information below.
This week we also had our first Farmers’ Market of the year. Thank you to our student organizers as it seemed to be a great success for them. We also had an MYP presentation on Wednesday with a video recap soon to be shared with those that could not attend. Please do not forget that we have a Parent Coffee morning live on Tuesday at 7:45am and a Zoom one Thursday at 3pm. We welcome any parents to join us.
Also below you will see some information concerning the excellent IB Exam results from our 2021 graduating class. In upcoming newsletters we will have more about their current plans.
To keep up with everything going on I suggest connecting to the school calendar on the website.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Staff Memorial
On Friday September 3rd we will be holding two memorials for Paul Malimi and Emmanuel Kitomary who we lost this summer. At 2:30pm we will have the memorial for Paul with an Alumni video, student memories and staff thoughts. At 3:30pm we will have the memorial for Emmanuel with speeches from friends and family. All are welcome to attend.
Paul Malimi
Emmanuel Kitomary
Blood Drive Update
On Tuesday afternoon the blood bank doctor will be at the health center to let those new donors from the last drive know their blood groups between 12:30 and 6pm. Please note our next drive will be on Friday November 26th.
Ben’s Corner
The year feels like it is well and truly underway now. There are always a few teething problems over the early days as people become accustomed to their new environment, new systems bed in and the school year finds its own inimitable rhythm. No two years are ever the same. New faces slowly become familiar, we begin to feel more comfortable in our surroundings and we start to find out how we might fit into it all.
At UWCEA, it is all too easy to lose oneself in the daily dance of dynamic school life. As we all know (or are discovering!), there is an awful lot happening in and around our campus…all the time. It is impossible to be involved in everything so we all need to make choices and think where we can join in, where we might learn and grow and, hopefully, add value along the way too. At the same time, we need to be mindful of maintaining balance and not setting ourselves unrealistic expectations.
As leaders, we are often tasked to ‘get off the dance floor’ and move up to the ‘balcony’ so as to gain a truer, broader perspective of the patterns and flows of what is happening across the school. The idea being if you spend all your time in the day-to-day dancing, consumed in the details, it is harder for you to see what needs to be done in order to continue to grow and develop.
I like to think of this in another way and this is what I shared with the teachers and support staff during their orientation. For me, it is all too easy and understandable to get absorbed in your own interactions. You have your classes, your Clubs and Activities, your Service, your OP Trips and so on. These are all (hopefully) important to you, so they consume your time, energy and attention. My challenge to all of you is to take time sometimes to get up on the balcony yourself and look at everything else that is happening all around you. Recognise that we are part of something bigger than ourselves. Something important and significant. Enjoy the dance but take the time to appreciate the view from the balcony.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
This week I would like to celebrate our class of 2021 graduates, this is prompted by receiving the attached photo of three graduates who have just started at the University of Oklahoma with a message thanking me for being part of their journey.
Amongst our graduates we have a student who achieved 45 points, the maximum possible in the IB Diploma and a first for the school. Overall 17% of our students received 40 points or higher and 42% achieved 35 points or higher. The UWCEA graduating class had an average grade of about 34 compared with the world average of 33.
We of course do not only celebrate the top scores but also the many students who achieved an excellent grade for them, they are all our successes.
Back to our current students. In mentor time on Monday, we focussed on Tanzanian culture. Some of our Tanzanian students and the long-term residents presented information about living here in Moshi, information about the local tribes and some basic Swahili. This is something we plan to continue with.
The D2 students have continued with the usual pressures of work, internal assessments and extended essays while also continuing their commitment to CAS. They are working hard but remaining balanced and communicating. I hope this continues.
For D1 it is the last day they can change subjects without paperwork. I will be emailing all students and parents over the weekend with a confirmation of their current choices. They have all started service and many are participating in sports activities during the week. This weekend they are taking part in the Pamoja walk. They get a chance to spend time with their peers and teachers out of class and to meet their counterparts from Arusha while performing some service. I hope it goes well.
Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator
From the Counselors
Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you feel relaxed? The next time you are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels. Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just before you fall asleep. Breathing exercises can help you relax because they make your body feel like it does when you are already relaxed. Practicing breathing exercises are proved to be helpful in reducing stress, being present, and raise emotional awareness and your sense of wellbeing.
Starting Tuesday, August 31st I am inviting students to a 10 minute guided mindfulness session and over the course of this semester, we will be going through some basic breathing exercises and grounding techniques. There is no sign-up required, simply just join when you want to.
We will meet on the lower pitch, every Tuesday between 7– 7.15 pm. For your own comfort, bring a blanket/scarf that you can sit/lie on or wrap around you. If you have any further questions, let me know.
Looking forward to exploring how connecting to your breath can help you!
Starting anything new can be exciting, confusing, and bring different emotions. Diploma students in their second year (D2) are not new to the school or the workload, but deciding on the next steps of their academic journey is new. New programs of study, creating a resume, and new locations, schools, and finance considerations can make taking the next step toward university study overwhelming.To help demystify one aspect of the process, I conducted a resume workshop with students recently.
The resume workshop provided students with:
Reasons why a resume is important,
Do’s and Don’ts of resume writing,
Components of a resume, and
Practical examples of how to format a resume
As the University Counselor, I am ready to teach, encourage, learn, and partner alongside D2 students on their journey. My partnership with students is dependent upon us knowing each other well. All D2 students are required to have an appointment with me before October to discuss their future plans. For some students, this will be a meeting when we go down the checklist of what should be/or has been completed. While for others, it will be more of a discussion about possible college or service oriented options. It is my goal that each student has a graduation plan and that it is documented.
For documentation purposes, our school is using Maia Learning. This web-based platform allows students to do global university research, take career assessments, request letters of recommendation, and store all important admissions related university documents all in one place. This platform also allows me to communicate with students about deadlines, send documents for them to review and utilize, and make notes about each student’s unique journey. This platform has career and college exploration for M5 through D2 students.
In October, I plan to offer a parent meeting of M5-D2 students to introduce myself, services, showcase Maia Learning, and answer any questions. Additionally, I will begin taking D1 student appointments to discuss their thoughts on university options. M5 and D1 students are being required to attend certain aspects of virtual university fairs to understand what colleges across the world have to offer them in terms of programs and financial aid. As parents of D1 students, now is the time to have finance conversations with your student regarding what your family can afford to contribute toward university studies. Financial implications are vital as students dream and plan their next steps.
Upcoming Important Dates
September 8, 2021 Council of International Schools Sub Saharan African Fair from 12-3 pm; required for M5 and D1 students, optional for D2 students
September 14, 2021 Davis Partner Institutions, from 3 pm-5 pm and 6 pm-8 pm EAT
September 22, 2021, Davis Partner Institutions, from 3 pm-5 pm and 6 pm- 8 pm EAT
October 6, 2021 ,Davis Partner Scholarship Fair, from 3 pm-5 pm and 6 pm- 8 pm EAT
Early decision and early action deadline for most universities October 15th or November 1, 2021
Things are getting very interesting for us in MYP!
We had our very first Parent Info Session on Wednesday, August 25th, 2021. During the session, parents were introduced to the MYP framework, it’s constituents, the challenges and above all the magic of it! A recording of the session as well as the PowerPoint presentation used will be shared with those who missed it. More of those to come as the year goes by!
With regards to what is happening in the classroom, M1 students are feeling more comfortable with the way things happen in the MYP. They are getting used to routines and are demonstrating wonderful collaboration skills. They are exhibiting the qualities of balanced IB learners who are gritty and interactive!
MYP students will have their first MYP assembly for this year on Monday, August 30th, 2021 where they will get to “talk” about the program, inquire, reflect and develop a deeper understanding of what awaits them in this wonderful journey.
Service as Action plan commenced this week. M1, M2 and M3 students are involved in Service Learning in collaboration with the Language and Literature department. Their goal is to promote a culture of reading while challenging themselves and discovering their abilities.
M4 and M5 have joined the DP students in various service activities and are ready to give back to their community!
It’s already looking bright… these are the future leaders of our world who are changing it to the better one step at a time.
More to come next week on assessments, project and the learning expedition.
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Arts
This week the M4s were given a small section of the Trevi Fountain sculptures to reproduce. Once completed the A5 drawings were assembled to reveal the image. Overall they produced really impressive work through careful observation, as well as tonal and textural variety.
Residential Life
Opportunities to engage with the cultures and nature of East Africa
This value rings true on a multiple of fronts in residential life and will be exemplified this weekend as all our D1 students from both Moshi and Arusha join together in our final orientation experience. In 2019, UWC East Africa started what we hoped would become a tradition, and that was the “Pamoja Walk’. Pamoja is a Swahili word for ‘together’ and the simple plan was for each campus to set out from the foot of their respective mountains, Kilimanjaro and Meru and meet in the middle to be together.
And this is what we did… Except we made it even better. We met at a Maasai School called ‘Pamoja’ where we made new friends and carried out some fun service projects to make their school even more promising. This weekend, we plan to build on this opportunity for our students to give back, embrace their surroundings and work together as united campuses.
At UWCEA, we encourage resilience, perseverance, tolerance and above all, a sense of belonging. Such character traits cannot go unnoticed with our youngest of boarders – Kimbilio. For 3 weeks now, they have lived off campus as we complete their new residential house. Not one complaint was heard from the students, and I am excited to see them re-join our community within our gates as today we officially open up, the “new Kimbilio.”
In addition to our values above, I thought it pertinent to add the thoughts of Ari, a new D1 student who joins us from Alaska USA below:
“My experiences the past few weeks being at UWCEA have been, in a word, indescribable. Having this be my first school has been one of the best experiences of my life. Of course, the adapting to this place has been a little hard, but the people here have made it much easier for this place to feel like home for me. From the ping pong matches, to the amazing teachers, to my first ever OP trip, every day in UWCEA has been incredible.
I chose UWC because I found that the values and goals, which each UWC holds, connected with me greatly. The value of difference, the celebration/understanding of different backgrounds, and the call to protect and respect the environment, all these made me feel like I needed to go to UWC.”
Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life
Outdoor Pursuits
Wow, what a start to the OP. Feedback from both Arusha and Moshi students has been really positive about our Reefs level 1 trip last weekend. This was one of the best groups I have taken on the Reefs OP with nearly all students eager to jump in and help with camp set up, cooking, assisting younger students and cross campus relations. Students explored coral streams, snorkelled a mangrove underwater world, kayaked, paddle boarded, rock pool walked and removed coral destroying urchins. I am looking forward to taking a lot of these students on the level 2 trip in September.
“This trip for me has been a dream, thinking about it in few days I’ve done a lot of new experiences: for me it was the first time seeing the actual ocean, the first time camping and the first time seeing corals and tropical fishes outside of an aquarium; but the experience that I consider the best was snorkelling in the mangroves, it’s such a unique experience that I had only seen in documentaries, and instead I was there and it looked like being in another world; so yes I really enjoyed this trip.”
Gabrielle L
Reefs Level 1
Friday, our older students are taking on Mt Meru and aiming to summit Socialist Peak in the level 4 preparation trip for the Kilimanjaro summit trip in October. They have been training over the summer and getting their bodies and minds ready to take on the steep slopes and handle the altitude. Great preparation for the final step of the Peaks program.
M1 will be out Saturday morning, heading to Meru Forest where they will be introduced to important OP skills for success in all Peaks and Plains trips. Learning how to pack a bag and wear it while hiking, setting and breaking camp, teamwork and of course enjoyment of the great outdoors.
Our OP program has had such a huge sign up this semester due to the hard work from many people. This is definitely the case for the Plains branch of the program with over 80 students registered for the level 1 alone. This has led us to create a second level 1 trip to be able to accommodate all these students. As the 24hr run has been postponed this gives us a weekend where we can fit this trip. So, it will run on Saturday the 4th and 5th of September.
Robin Marsh – Experiential Learning Coordinator
Sports Update
After School sports clubs and activities got off to a great start this week. It was nice to see our students actively participating in a variety of activities. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and balanced lifestyle is integral to lifelong learning and central to our values.
Part of our goals is for students to gain leadership skills in planning for and leading a variety of sports and activities. Thanks to our students, staff and the wider community, almost all activities started well with only a few minor hiccups.
In the coming weeks, we hope to start scheduling inter-school fixtures on a small scale. More information on this will be shared in the coming weeks.
Should you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to contact me.
Gilbert Kaburu – Sports and Activities Coordinator
Student Activities
Community Activities
PYP News
Many thanks to Ms. Anna, our director, for inviting the PYP children to a “Welcome back to school” party in her garden. Ms. Anna grilled the burgers and sausages whilst the children played with a wide variety of playground toys and watched cartoons. We all had a wonderful time and are hoping this event will become a new PYP tradition.
Ben Morley led our first Primary Gathering of the year today. It was lovely to celebrate birthdays and award leaves. We talked about UWC schools being “Schools like no other” and then thought about what makes us special and what makes us different. How lucky we are to go to school in such a beautiful place and to share our days with kind and creative people. Our next Primary Gathering will be on Friday, 3rd September when P6 will share some of the activities that they are doing in class. All are welcome but please wear a mask inside Rafiki Hall.
Dates for your diary:
Friday, 17th September – Spirit Day (When I grow up I want to be…)
Wednesday, 6th October – PYP athletics day
Thursday, 7th October – 3 way goal setting conferences for teachers, parents and children.
Harjeet and Adrian joined Student Voice for their first session this week. We were proud to see them representing us during the Primary Gathering. We are looking forward to the Spirit days that they will be organising.
Well done for those who received the first leaves of the school year. Aarefa received hers for being reflective, Hugo for being knowledgeable and Adrian for being a risk-taker.
We celebrated Micaiah’s birthday in class this week. Happy Birthday Micaiah and thank you for letting us share the day with you.
This week, we talked about how we can be kind to mum and dad at home. Please look out for these actions and let us know. You can take a photo and send it to us.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2 Class
The P2 students got quite a bit of new learning done this week. Students have started working on data collection by creating questions and tables. Next week they will ask their peers some questions and collect information. This information will then be graphed into bar charts. We have been very aptly been learning about different kinds of germs and how to stop them from spreading. The irony of being sequestered at home with a cold after the germ talk is not lost on me!
Hopefully we’re all back on Monday, free of runny noses and with smiles on our faces!
Elisha Jaffer
P3/4 Class
It has been a busy week in P3/4. Brand new superheroes have been created and sent on dangerous missions to save the world! These stories are continuing to be written and turned into comic book form. Next week, we will begin to turn our attention to real heroes in our families and communities. Home Learning will include a sheet to fill out together so we look forward to learning more about heroic acts, big or small, from people who your family may know personally.
It is great to have our full class now that Luana has returned. We are truly settling into routines and the days are going well.
Monday- library (hooray for the new bags!)
Tuesday-swimming
Thursday- PE
Kacey Buckley
P5 Class
This week the P5s have produced a child friendly explanation of children’s rights and will now start inquiring into those groups of children who don’t enjoy full access to their rights. We hope to have some visiting speakers. If you know of anyone who would be happy to come onto campus to speak to us on this topic please let me know. In maths we have worked on rounding numbers and will continue with this next week. Our grammar focus has been proper and common nouns. Next week we will look at compound and collective nouns. On Tuesday we made vegetable soup with alphabet pasta. Everyone was busy and worked sensibly in the kitchen. The finished soup was delicious and the children enjoyed drinking it, sitting in the sunshine after their swimming lesson.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
Seeds have sprouted and are growing, with some winding their way through mazes. The P6 is thoroughly enjoying their plant unit explorations. This week they shared their first mini slideshows to share answers to some of their initial questions. They also started sketching an outdoor plant to practice scientific illustration. There are some very talented artists in the class. During Author’s chair this week they read aloud an acrostic poem about plants using new knowledge or vocabulary from the unit.
Next Monday the children who have chosen to be house captains will give introduction speeches to the rest of their house. To plan ahead, we will be having a plant-based feast the week of September 6-10. Each child will be asked to bring in a dish from home that is made from ingredients that come from plants. The P6 Gathering when they will share learning from this unit is next Friday, the 3rd of September.
