Arusha Campus News – 11 Sep 2021

A Board bulletin will be published in due course but in the meantime, meet the new UWC Board (above)!

Hakim (U19 Boys Vice Captain) scores in our match this week and dedicates his goal to the memory of his late teacher, Mr Neil.

We all know that the last few weeks have been quite difficult for the whole UWC East Africa community but the thing that has struck me this week is the way in which our members have rallied around in support of one another.

My U19 Boys were elated after their 4-0 win on Wednesday this week, but all the self-congratulation paled in comparison to the way the boys hoped that Mr Neil would be watching. I’m sure he was and that he would be ever so proud.

Our first Board Meeting  this week (above) was further evidence of teamwork and unity as we elected new office holders and welcomed new members. 

Poor Jessica Gatheca, one of our D2 stars, fell off her bike last weekend and injured her leg quite badly. As she hobbles along the road ot recovery, she was overwhelmed by the numbers of visitors and well wishing messages at her hospital bedside. She is now getting VIP recovery service at the home of Dr Swanson – our former parent! Another example of a rallying community!

And then there are the counltless weekly messages that I get from people who never forget us and never stop loving us. As soon as I send this newsletter, Mr Darren will send me an email all the way from Sumatra just to say ‘Great newsletter, Phil, love to all of you…’ and then there is Mr Oli, Miss Tanya and Mr R, Miss Flo, Miss Arora, Miss Willms, Miss KP and many more who are always sending us messages of support and good will.  I will leave you below with a picture of Mr Anderson, who sent us a message of good luck for UWC Day, this week. Look at him now, bellowing out orders to those tough Gridiron players in his new role in Canada.

What a worldwide family we belong to…..and aren’t we lucky!

Phil

Mr Anderson (former IB DP Co-ordinator) laying it on the line…..as usual! (above)

House Council Executive 2021 (above)

In Secondary we have elected a new Executive for the House Council. These school leaders will work together with the House Captains throughout the year to plan, organize, and lead activities to build spirit and leadership at UWC East Africa. Our new executive is as follows:

In addition to the House Council, a group of students has also worked to develop a Student Government for the Arusha campus. On Tuesday in the secondary assembly we will explain this new leadership group and students will begin campaigning – stay tuned for updates!

Name the canteen!
Wouldn’t you all agree that our new canteen is far too beautiful to just be called ‘the canteen’?! Students and parents alike are invited to suggest names for this new building that will properly reflect the central place it holds in the life of our campus. Some suggestions already made include: The Rhino Club, Rhino Hall, The Hunger Station, Meru View Cafe, and Kifaru Kafe.

If you have a suggestion for a name, please send it to me by email, WhatsApp, or you can use the new suggestion box outside my office in room S2.

Asanteni,
Ms. Christy Willett
Deputy Head of Campus

The new restaurant. Can you think of a name?

This week we had a fantastic Share Time showing a great variety of learning including a song from the EC children, A song and and explaining similarities and differences from the P1 class and the P4/5 shared their similes and art work. Mr Bowen read us the Go Away Bird by Julia Donaldson. Our Share Times allow our students to become confident public speakers and to be good audience members.

The UK’s Stage Coach company https://www.stagecoach.co.uk explains 5 reasons why performing arts are important.

1. Creating well rounded confident individuals
Performing arts help encourage children’s confidence which has real-life uses such as for presentations in meetings, in job interviews or even just to be able to talk to someone in person.

2. How to cope with constructive criticism
Children are taught how to give and receive feedback, developing resilience in children which they will benefit from through all stages of their lives.

3. Discipline and determination
Learning perseverance and self-worth teaches children to be confident walking through life.

4. There are no wrong answers.
Performing arts give children the confidence and freedom to be themselves without the pressure or fear of doing it wrong.

5. Getting fitter and letting off steam.

Dancing, acting and singing can burn off a lot of energy. Performing arts allow kids to express any emotions they might be feeling.Amanda

 

Jube (above) at home now in Cleveland, Ohio!

The Fall is an incredibly busy time as students are starting to prepare university applications and the universities are busy making presentations to attract potential students. This week we had our first virtual college Fair. Students in M5 and D1 participated in a University Fair put together by the Council of International Schools. This fair was designed for member schools in Africa. Universities from all over the world were in attendance and students had a chance to get a broad overview of the various systems and opportunities, from the US, Europe, Asia, Australia and beyond.

Starting next week we will have a specific UWC only fair. The university counselors from all 18 UWCs have been collaborating to create this fair specifically to cater to the needs of our students.
On September 14 we will have the first 50 Shelby Davis Partner schools participating. On September 20 we will have the remaining 50 Davis partner school present. Lastly on October 6, we will be hosting a “Friends of UWC” fair. These are institutions from various parts of the world who have scholarships and programs specifically designed to attract UWC students.

Additionally there will be the UK Virtual week September 20-25. There mare live webinars and instagram events going on all week.

We also will have presentations and smaller fairs and other opportunities for students. Covid has drastically changed the landscape for university recruiting as schools are not visiting. This has created a multitude of opportunities for students to participate in virtual visits. If you are interested in checking these out, I post all fairs with the links for registration on the Managebac calendar for M5, D1, and D2 students.

For more information about the Shelby Davis UWC Partner program: https://www.davisuwcscholars.org

As we settle in to school here, we will also be hearing from students of the class of 2021 who are arriving on campuses in various parts of the world.

Kate Swope
Pronouns:she/her/hers
University  and Career Counselor
Teacher of Visual Arts
Mentor Program Coordinator

Mr Adam teaching the M5 Extended class this week

In the Maths department a lot of changes have occured this year! M4 and M5 now have an extended course in order to push students who would possibly pursue math related careers or higher levels maths at the diploma level. This will supplement the framework with additional concepts and skills. Standard mathematics aims to give all students a sound knowledge of the mathematical concepts whilst allowing them to develop their skills across MYP units. So far we have had a very positive response from students and the energy in the classrooms has been encouraging.
 

Science has also seen a lot of changes with the M4 and M5 groups splitting from integrated science to biology, chemistry and physics. This has allowed students to dig deeper into the individual sciences and still make connections through the scientific method.
Moving on from MYP, the diploma 2 classes are either conducting their final internal assessment practicals or gathering their ideas with research questions and exploration. A challenging, but exciting time in the course. See a picture of Chloe (below), one of the D2 biology students, finishing off the last trials of her finals.

Our trip to Lake Eyasi way back in 2019 with Miss Anoek and ….. who remembers Miss Flo!

MYP students all spend lessons with Mr Khalid for the subject Individuals & Societies. I&S involves inquiring into historical, contemporary, geographical, political, social, economic, religious, technological and cultural contexts that influence and have an impact on individuals, societies and environments. DP students, on the other hand, might take Economics, Business Management, History or Geography with Mr Chris, Mr Andrew or Ms Anoek.
Each I&S subject is designed to foster in students the capacity to identify, to analyse critically and to evaluate theories, concepts and arguments relating to the nature and activities of individuals and societies.

Where possible, we make connections to the society, communities and environment around us. Highlights are the M1 inter-disciplinary (IDU) trip to Lake Eyasi (above) where students will experience and learn how the Hadzabe and Datoga tribes have adapted to their environment and the M2 IDU trip to Pangani and Tanga where students will experience and learn how geography, history, cultural and language influences have shaped the Swahili coast.
In our DP subjects, we also try to make real-world connections where we can. Such as after a recent lesson on the international trade in waste when D2 Geo students organised a tour of the school’s recycling depot. After this, they invited a guest speaker to discuss their ideas on how to improve recycling options in the bomas and our campus as a whole.

There are a number of ways that our residential students and Arusha families can get to know each other outside of the classroom:

Last week I attended our PTA meeting in our new canteen and provided an update on our Link Family program that connects residential students with families in the community. Over the next couple of weeks interested families will host two/three students for dinner.  These initial interactions give residential students an opportunity to get off campus and spend time with a family, and also allow our guests to share their own cultures and traditions with families here.  In addition to a home cooked meal, link family interactions can be a trip into town for an item they need, spending time with your small children, or a weekend hike.  Please contact me if you are interested in taking part in the program.

We provide weekend excursions each month in the local areas such as day trips to the snake park, Meru waterfall or swimming in Majii Moto.  These trips are open to ALL students and a great opportunity for our young scholars to spend time together on the weekends. Outside of the new Residential Office (the old canteen) you can find a calendar of upcoming events and information about signing up.

On a number of Sunday evenings, the residential program hosts Community Evenings where students from specific countries speak about their home.  The Evening lasts about an hour and often involves not only facts and stories but also song and dance.  The cultural Evenings are open to our entire community.  This Sunday September 12 is the Ugandan Cultural Evening, starting at 5:00pm in the Library Annex.  Please join us!

Chris Green
Head of Residential Life
chrisgreen@uwcea.org
0786 166 065

M1 Camp Craft (pictured above) was a wonderful trip. The M1’s went to Themi Leisure park for a night. They spent the first day learning the skills for setting up the tent then went for a hike to a beautiful viewpoint. The M1 team were successful in completing their very first OP trip!

Plains Level 1 and Peaks Level 1b met at the crack of dawn this morning to depart to Monduli and North Pare respectively.

The Peterson Family lounge (above) is invaded!

Last weekend a group of D2s got a break from school and went camping! They cooked together as a community, had a dance party and took part in various activities. Rugby at the Peterson’s on Sunday morning with waffles was a definite highlight, where studenst were indoctrinated into supporting New Zealand!

And then on Sunday morning Thad Peterson led thise that were keen on a mountain bike ride in the neighbouring countryside (below)

Order books by September 27th. Orders can be made online at

https://world-schools.scholastic.co.uk/int-sch-moshi-arusha-campus

and add your books to the Arusha September Book Club basket.

You can also fill out the order form in the magazine that was sent home with your child, cash payments can be made with Grace in the accounts office.

UWC East Africa Health Guidelines are based on research and school best practice including input from UWC International meetings and expert personnel and have been adapted to best fit our climate and campuses here in Tanzania. These guidelines, and our accompanying self-screening protocols, apply to all members of the community regardless of whether individuals have been COVID vaccinated or have been previously infected. The

General guidelines
1. Students and staff who are well (healthy) should attend school every day.
2. Symptom self-screening checklist are in place for secondary residential students (residential parent screening for primary students) and parental screening for day students. Checklist will be provided for all students.
3. Symptom self-screening checklist to be completed daily by all staff before reporting to work.
4. Students and staff with underlying, related health issues MUST report these.  For staff, to the Head of Campus. For students, parents need to update the medical forms with this information.
5. If any students or staff – or anyone they live with – develop Coronavirus-like symptoms, they will be asked to stay away from school until they experience four, symptom-free days.
6. Facemasks are permitted but not required, for students and staff.
7. Students or staff who leave the country are now no longer required to isolate before returning to school PROVIDED international travel protocols, as stipulated by the Tanzanian Government, have been adhered to.
8. Staff, students and parents are reminded to take sensible precautions when travelling within Tanzania.
School and classroom setup guidelines
9. Hand washing stations at the entrance and across the campuses for all students as they enter.
10. Keep classroom doors and windows open to encourage air flow.
11. Students and staff are reminded to respect appropriate social distancing where possible.
12. As much outdoor teaching as possible.
13. Assemblies to be held outdoors where possible. Whole-school, indoor events postponed.
14. Timetable and room allocation manipulated to minimize student movement.
15. All students and staff required to hand wash/sanitize regularly. At least every time they arrive and depart from the classroom.
16. Hand sanitizer in every classroom, to be used every class change.
17. Staggered mealtimes will be continued, making use of indoor and outdoor spaces.
18. Housekeeping to disinfect classroom surfaces and door handles regularly.
Activity guidelines
19. Excursions/OP to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
20. External CAS partnerships to be evaluated and/or adapted on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
21. Sporting events and PE to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
22. Class trips will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
23. After school activities will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis looking at location and physical contact.
Guidelines for Parents and Visitors
22. All parents and visitors must wear masks inside school buildings.
23. Hand washing stations at the entrance of the school for all parents and visitors. Parents and visitors must wash hands before entering campus.
24. Parents and visitors should only enter school buildings by appointment.
25. All delivery vehicles will be stopped at the gate. Where possible offloading will take place at the gate.
26. Community activities as approved by the Head of Campus.
27. Outdoor facilities accessible during posted times but the changing rooms are limited to students only.

THIS DOCUMENT WAS LAST UPDATED BY THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM OF UWC EAST AFRICA ON:
19th August 2021

Click on any month (below) to link to the live School calendar on our website