As we have been through a pretty full January and February this long weekend provides us with a bit of a break to reflect back or just take a bit of a breather from everything.
As you can see below not everyone is taking a break. We have some students off swimming in Dar and others on the Peaks and Plains trips in the Ngorongoro Conservation area. I have seen some of the pictures so far and while they may be hard work at this level, the surroundings definitely make up for the effort exerted.
Looking ahead, please note that we have a number of cultural, sporting and other events in March as highlighted below. Also note that the last day of the quarter is on Friday April 1st. Classes for the 4th quarter will start on Wednesday April 20th.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Coffee Morning
On Thursday, March 3rd, we will be having our Parents Coffee Morning on campus at 7:45am. It has been a bit delayed by the accreditation planning and visit, but this will give us more to discuss as we look forward. If you are available we would like you to join us in the social center.
We will also be having a Zoom Coffee soon for those that cannot join us in person, so look for the invite for that in the next week.
Bob Cofer
PTA Information
We have noticed that several new families have moved to Moshi this year. If your children attend UWCEA Moshi Campus, you are welcome to join our PTA (Parent Teacher Association). It’s a great way to meet the community and get involved in fun activities! If interested, please send a WhatsApp to Pavz Dhani (+255 765665255) so she can add you to the PTA WhatsApp group.
UPCOMING INTERNATIONAL DAY – 23 APRIL 2022
This is a PTA-led event that is working together with students from the school. Our idea is to create 7 stands covering the different areas of the world:1. North America, 2. South America, 3. Asia, 4. Middle East, 5. Far East, 6. Africa, 7. Australia/New Zealand/Oceania. Ideally, we’d like to have one teacher, one parent and 2 students in charge of each stand. Traditional foods, activities, flags, decoration, traditional dress etc relating to the countries represented on these stands would be great!
We would also like to run both a silent raffle and an open one. If anyone has anything they could donate to the open raffle which is specific to their country-of-origin e.g soapstone carving from Zimbabwe, a cheese board from Holland etc this would be very welcome! For the silent auction, any prizes e.g. hotel/tented camp vouchers, balloon safaris, food hampers, spa hampers, gift vouchers, meal vouchers etc would be much appreciated (it’s also a great way to advertise your business!).
If you would like to be a part of this incredible event, please send us an email: uwceamoshipta@gmail.com
A set date for a meeting with the student co-presidents (Tendo & Aika) and the teachers will be shared with you all in the near future.
The Executive team at TEDxYouth@UWCEA is more than pleased to inform you that audience applications for the event are now open!
This is your chance to have the once in a lifetime experience of witnessing a number of diverse topics delivered by engaging speakers, at the end of the day leaving you full of insight and having, as the theme states: ‘Faith in the future’.
Please note that as much as we would love everyone in the UWCEA community to be part of this exciting event, it is logistically impossible and audience limits are set by TED. And so we encourage you to fill in the application as soon as you see it.
Also note that a ticket costs Tsh. 20,000 if paid beforehand and Tsh. 25,000 if paid on the day of the event.
As was discussed in last week’s newsletter, we received such positive initial feedback from our synchronised visiting teams. They were so impressed by our student body, from EC all the way through to D2. They spoke about the authentic, meaningful relationships and connections that abound across our campus and how our students are so attuned with our Guiding Statements. In many schools, these are often little more than wallpaper but, here, it seems they are alive and kicking! This week, we wanted to acknowledge this marvellous early assessment and thank the students for all that they do. On Wednesday, every student in the school had an ice-cream hand delivered to them by way of saying thank you, congratulations and, of course, keep it up.
The teachers also enjoyed a richly deserved get together to thank everyone for their ongoing heartfelt efforts in doing all that they do to make our school such a special place. Indeed, as we all look forward to a much needed long weekend, spare a thought for the teachers and community members who are supervising and facilitating the Peaks L4 OP Trip, the Plains Level 5 OP Trip, the TALISS International Swim Meet and, not forgetting the staff who are supporting numerous events on and around campus over the coming days. After all, the stars that have most glory have no rest.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
The week started with the D1 Project Week presentations. The D1 students talked to the M4 to D2 students about what they did and what they learned. It was impressive to see them speak so well about their experiences.
The D2 students submitted their TOK essays on Thursday and have now finished with that component. For the majority of students, the only work left to be submitted is the Mathematics IA. The mock reports were issued on Thursday, and I will be following up with a few of them in the next week. Their orals start on Tuesday and carry on into the next week.
On Thursday the D2 presented to D1 about their legacy projects. They were able to talk about what they have learned outside of the classroom and what they will leave. Students talked about how they have changed, their intercultural friendships, the service groups and many other things.
Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator
MYP News
MYP Success Stories Growth Mindset Episode #15 “Change is the end result of all true learning. – Leo Buscaglia”
M1s IDU Update Our Math/ French interdisciplinary unit is about to reach its final stages. According to our M1 team of teachers and students, this learning experience has allowed everyone involved to:
Make connections between knowledge and the world around us
Gain perspective
Allow room to organize and to have multiple tasks
Create opportunities to be open-minded
Here are some “snapshots” of the unit and how things are progressing:
M2 Service Learning Celebration: Here’s a short update from Raymond in M2
“On the 23rd of February 2022, 20 pupils from The Bridge Academy in Shanty Town arrived at our school at 2:15pm. For our service learning, we chose to teach a handful of children from The Bridge Academy about different football techniques inspired by our Physical and Health education unit and putting into action the concepts skills we learned in class ourselves.
This took placed on the pitch, where they learned the fundamentals of football and played a short “real” game at the end. They left campus at 3pm and returned back to Bridge Academy. The well-being of the children that we taught was our main priority. We ensured that they were safe at the same time as they are having fun.”
Personal Project News
Fabio in M5 has a few words to share with you!
“The personal project has allowed me to expand my knowledge on giving back. I have created and redesigned a local Maasai house to benefit the community. The home includes a solar system with three lights and a radio, a smokeless stove, and a large area; for the customer, it is free of charge (picture above). I have always been an advocate for supporting people who were less fortunate than me; this is something that I may have gotten from my mother. Initially, I aimed to create a model that could later be part of an NGO. I was intrigued by mama Furaha‘s story. She has a twelve-year-old daughter and is struggling to find her next home. She had been supported by the government in that they had given her a plot of land.
I have created a gofundme to help finance the construction of the house. I encourage you to look at the page for more detail and potentially even donate to help this amazing woman have a home again. We have placed a donation box at the front office for donations. Together we can make her construction a reality”
Inter-house Swimming Galas The inter-house swimming gala is an opportunity for our students to showcase their learning (PYP), assess the efficacy of their personal improvement plans (MYP) and for our DP students to maintain an active lifestyle. It is also an opportunity for students to demonstrate their ability to apply their thinking and reflection skills.
The meets this year will be held on Tuesday 15th March (for PYP) and Wednesday 16th March (for Secondary students).
We look forward to celebrating our students’ progress and learning journeys.
Swim Squad at TALISS Meet in Dar This weekend our swim team is traveling to Dar for the TALISS Invitational Swim Meet. This is one of the most prestigious events in the national swimming calendar. We wish our students and coaches the best of luck in Dar. We look forward to hearing about their accomplishments and experiences when they return.
Upcoming events We have a very busy sporting calendar in March. On March 5th, our U15 and U19 Netball teams will be at the Arusha campus for the NTSAA netball, while our U15 Basketball team will travel to Braeburn for a basketball tournament. In addition, we will host HOPAC, Braeburn, UWC Arusha and Rafiki for an Open boys and girls basketball tournament here for the weekend. Look forward to an exciting weekend of sporting action.
TALISS Invitational Swim Meet 2022 in Dar on the 26th and 27th of February
U9/U11 friendly football matches against Paradise Primary Academy on Friday March 4th
NTSAA U13 Basketball Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday March 5th
HOPAC U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tour to Moshi on Saturday March 5th
NTSAA U15/U19 Netball Tournament at Arusha campus on Saturday March 5th
NTSAA Primary Swimming Gala at UWCEA Arusha on Friday March 11th
NTSAA Secondary Swimming Gala at UWCEA Arusha on Saturday March 12th
PYP Inter-house Swimming Gala on Tuesday March 15th (10am -12:15pm)
Secondary Inter-house Swimming Gala on Wednesday March 16th (10am – 12.30pm)
NTSAA U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday March 19th
NTSAA U15/U13 Boys and Girls Football Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday March 19th
Blue Sand U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at St. Jude on Saturday March 26th.
Gilbert Kaburu – Sports & Activities Coordinator
Outdoor Pursuits
Our third double header weekend of the semester heads out over the long weekend in an effort to reduce missed class time for both students and teachers, and it is a BIG one.
Our Plains Level 5, 2 years in the making, will head smack bang into the middle of the great migration and the highest density of mammal predators on the planet. They start their hike at the shifting sands in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, hike their way through 1.4 million wildebeest to Nasera rock and then finish off by picking their way through Ol Karien Gorge to see the nesting cliffs of the Serengeti’s Griffin Vultures. Some of the students have opted for the deluxe package and will be taking a drive through the Ngorongoro Crater as they make their way home, more or less guaranteeing their chances of seeing lion and elephant too and maybe even catching a glimpse of a rhino. This is not even a once in a lifetime experience. Most people don’t do this and it will be truly breathtaking. I am very much looking forward to seeing the pictures and hearing the tales of their adventures. Very jealous.
Likewise, our Peaks Level 4 Ngorongoro hiking trip will go out. The route has been altered and for the first time our students will be taking on the 3rd highest peak in Tanzania, Loolmalasin, before making their way through the conservation area and the wildebeest. This is less of a Safari walk as it is part of the Peaks program, however the summit of Loolmalasin will test their stamina and resolve as it will be on their first day and they will have to continue for 4 more days of hiking afterwards.
Robin Marsh – Experiential Learning Coordinator
PYP News
As we gear towards the long weekend, we hope that you all have great plans for rest and play.
Here are dates for your calendar. The coming half of the 3rd quarter will be packed with fun activities which should not be missed.
TEDx team scavenger hunt for PYP (Student Led Event) – Sunday, 6th March
Women’s Day Assembly (Upper primary will be attending) – 7th March
PYP Inter-house Swimming Gala – 15th March (10am -12:15pm)
Student Voice would like to thank everyone who helped celebrate Two’s Day. I hope you’ve had sometime to check out our board. If not, it’s highly recommended!
EC/P1 Class
P1s took on the challenge of making 3D shapes this week. They used playdough and lollipop sticks. They concluded that it was easier to make some shapes than others due to the number of faces and whether they were curved or flat.
ECs loved the books they read during story times this week. They are learning to listen to stories for longer durations. They explored the letter k and looked for items that begin with the sound ‘k’. A particular highlight was a game they played using their name tags as they learned how to recognise their name.
We hope that you have a lovely long weekend.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2 Class
We have been excitedly awaiting Gerrit’s arrival this week. We are so pleased to have him in our class and would like to wish him and his family a Karibu Sana to Moshi.
This week, students have been researching the different planets they have chosen. They have used a template to find information about their planet of choice as well as used clay to build models of their planets.
Next week, we’ll look at seasons, day and night; and gravity followed by an end of unit project where students will share their learning on one of the concepts we’ll focus on next week.
Elish Jaffer
P3/4 Class
A huge MERCI is owed to Madame Pearl who led the happy class in a celebration as a belated conclusion to our Rituals and Traditions unit. As you know, our extra classes make connections to our units when possible and the French class had a wonderful time with learning birthday vocabulary, making invitations, and hosting a party.
Our Exploration unit is moving quickly. We will devote a lot of time next week on individual reports on different explorers. This work will be in-class rather than a home project. We will present our findings at the Primary Gathering on Friday, March 4th. You are most welcome to come and watch!
This date is also important as the deadline for submitting permission slips and copies of passports/residence permits for our exciting trip to Mkomazi the following week. We are thrilled with the opportunity we will have there to combine the focus of our Exploration unit with our upcoming Endangered Animal Unit.
I hope you all enjoy your long weekend. If driving for hours someplace with your family, remember that calling out multiplication facts is a wonderful way to pass the time!
Kacey Buckley
P5 Class
Two’s Day was lots of fun. We enjoyed rescuing gummy worms from drowning (Save Fred), drawing pictures with the number 2 and writing a list of our 2 best memories, 2 favourite pizza toppings etc. In maths the children have been calculating volume, constructing metre cubes with newspaper and building structures with centimetre cubes. Next week we will start looking at fractions. We have worked with alliteration and similes this week and will start writing our own poetry next week. I hope the children enjoy the long weekend and return to school refreshed on Tuesday.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
The first week of our unit of inquiry has introduced the Kingdom of Benin using mapping skills and also a timeline to establish dates.
Several children have already done some home research via the challenge grid and these have been shared in class. The puff puffs and cinnamon rolls proved very popular!
In maths we have been completing number sequences, while we wrote a formal thank you letter in writing.
Good luck to Rhea in the TALIS swim meet this weekend. Several children have letters for a football friendly next week. The TedX Scavenger Hunt deadline has been extended with a re-sent email giving all relevant details. Lastly, Happy Birthday Jonathan, thanks for the cake and enjoy your birthday.