Arusha Campus News – 2 Jun 2023

Yuvraj, Martin, Aidan, Miss Caitrin, Quentin, Charlie and Karan were the M2 Organisers of the most amazing football tournament last weekend. Here’s to doing it all again next year!

Fri 2nd June – M5 Ceremony

Fri 2nd June – Last Day of CCA’s

Thu 8th June – Duke of Edinburgh Int Award Gold Adventure (4 days)

Sat 10th June – U11 and U13 Netball at Kennedy House

Wed 14th June – PYP Play

Fri 16th June – Last Day of School

The Arusha Rhinos Rugby Team travelled to Iringa last weekend to compete in the Iringa 7’s Touch tournament. They ended up as worthy plate winners  – Mr Oli, Jess B and Jess P pictured on the front row!

As my calendar flips over to read ‘June’, its difficult to believe we are already in the last month of school. Suddenly our Diploma 1’s are actually the senior citizens in the school and about to enter their last year. Quite a thought, especially to those who have been in ISM throughout! As I look back through all the images that I have posted in the year in these newsletters, it is quite breathtaking to see the range of activities that have taken place. It is part of my job to constantly question whether we as an institution meet the values to which we hold ourselves accountable. Our values that talk about a healthy lifestyle and diverse learning experiences are nailed head on I think.

A big thank you to our fabulous PTA who organised a tremendous car boot sale last weekend (see image below). Thank you very uch.

Please do not forget to check that your school fee account(s) have been cleared before the end of the school year. Our system is set up so that reports and enrolment spaces for next year cannot be issued until fee accounts are cleared and up to date. Thanks for your understanding on this matter.

Have a great weekend.

Phil

Pictured above, some of the contestants for last week’s Primary Dance Competition!

The PYP Student Council organised spirit days and a dance competition. I was so impressed by the risk takers at our school who joined in the dancing and dressed up as Movie stars this week. The quality of the performances truly showed the creativity, enthusiasm and confidence of our students.

Dance offers many health benefits including building strength and endurance, better muscle control and coordination, strengthening your heart and posture, and increasing your flexibility and overall strength.  Dancing and other movements allow a person to express themselves. When a person feels free, the body releases happy hormones.Keep calm and keep dancing!

Amanda, PYP Co-ordinator

P2’s and P3’s (pictured above) came together during buddies and made inventions with recycled materials. They were told to present their work on what does the invention do, what it looks like and it’s name. Such great inventors.

Swahili Day celebrations show cased a variety of learning from plays to dancing, drumming and singing. Asante sana Ms Ann-Joyce for your work with all our nursery to Diploma students.

The visiting Monitoring Team from the UWC International Office (pictured above)

MYP started the week with an info meeting for M3 students and families about subject choices for M4 and M5. Thank you to the Swahili, French, Visual Arts, Music and Drama teachers who presented an overview of their course in M4-5. Now it is up to students to decide which Language Acquisition and Arts subjects they like to continue. We also thank Ms Cassandra, our college and career counsellor, who explained about the UWCEA High School Diploma (M4-D2).

A special thank you to Ella (M1), Eleanor (M3) and Eben (M4) who represented the Arusha MYP students in a meeting with the visiting UWC Monitoring Committee.

Wednesday’s Swahili Assembly was a great success, asante sana Mwalimu Ann-Joyce! We are particularly proud of the MYP students who took part, well done all!

The ability to communicate in a variety of modes, in more than one language, is essential to the concept of an international education. In addition to the English Language and Literature course, MYP students learn both Swahili and French in M1-3 before they decide which of the two they will choose in M4-5. Throughout the Language Acquisition courses, students develop their listening, reading, speaking and writing skills. In both Swahili and French, teaching and learning is organised into six phases. The phases do not correspond to particular MYP year levels. Students do not necessarily begin in phase one – they can begin at any phase, depending on their prior experiences, and may exit from any phase on the continuum.

Anoek, MYP Co-ordinator

Ian, Shiven and Brian visit Maisha Matters

For our community service we donated to an orphanage, located a couple hundred meters below Braeburn school, called Maisha Matters. We started on the 20th of April and the idea was that we would donate for 4 whole weeks in a row, a total of 1 month, and have now finished on the 20th of May. We asked the orphanage what they wanted us to get and so each week we got donations from different people and our parents. With these donations we bought baby milk powder, peanut butter, cashew nuts, healthy biscuits, dried fruits and corn flour for Ugali. 

Brian, Ian and Shiven (M3)

It has been a while since my last contribution, I seem to have spent most of my time in the Performing Area these last 6 weeks! D2 have now left and the D1 are almost done with their end of year examinations.

Indeed it has been a very busy past 6 weeks, full of anxiety prior to the exams, joy and mixed emotions during our Class of 2023 Graduation. Some of our former graduates actually came to pay a visit on campus during our Graduation this year and it was lovely to see them and listen to what their journey at university has been like so far.

We wish all the best to our leaving D2 students and hope to see them pop in as well in the next few years.

Now the D1 students are getting our full attention, much to their pleasure or dismay I would say! Next week they will be back in class, and although the end of year exams have ended, teachers will carry on working on delivering the syllabus. Some subjects have already started the IA and students are expected to submit a draft before the break. On the 12th-13th June, they will have 2 days focusing on their Extended Essay and will be expected to start the writing process so they are confident enough to finish it during the summer break. The aim is to reduce the amount of work during next semester, while they are completing more IAs and working on their university applications. Having said that, they also deserve some rest during the long break and we are looking forward to seeing them back on campus next semester!

Nathalie, DP Co-ordinator

Inquiring Minds Want to Know

Burning Questions

As the school year draws to a close, we are finding that students and families are asking lots of questions in preparation for the long break. Your questions are welcome, and I will do my best to answer those that are related to career and college planning in a timely manner. Thank you to those of you who have been doing your homework by attending virtual fairs, in person presentations, scouring institution websites, utilizing Maia Learning, contacting me, and a host of other ways to get accurate answers to the questions you seek. Please keep the questions coming, but also utilizing resources that have been developed to assist you along the way.

In preparation for the D1 Parent Meeting that was held on Thursday evening, some parents submitted questions that I thought it would be helpful to share the answers to with everyone. Here are some Frequently Asked Questions and answers for your consideration:

1. How much is the Davis Foundation Scholarship?
The money provided by the Davis UWC Scholar program is in the form of a grant that is given directly to the institution, and not the individual student. The amount included in the student’s financial aid package is dependent upon how many UWC alumni are enrolled on the campus. More information can be found on this website: www.davisuwcscholars.org/

2. Are “Day Students” eligible for the Davis UWC Scholars program?
Any student who graduates from UWC East Africa and enrolls in a Davis UWC Scholar Partner institution is eligible for the grant.

3. Can I earn an athletic scholarship?
This is very institution specific, and involves a recruitment process that may or may not happen before a student matriculates to an institution. For US sports scholarship consideration it is important to become familiar with the NCAA Eligibility process (web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/). Also, note that not all institutions offer sports scholarships (ie. US Division III schools, and most other countries).

4. What financial documents do I need to submit for need based financial aid?
Although many US institutions require the CSS Profile for international students, there are a large number of institutions that require a different form, including their own institution specific form. It is important to visit the Financial Aid section of the institutions website to see what form they require, and what supporting documents are also necessary (ie. tax forms, bank statements, home/rental payments, etc.). Please make sure you are looking at the requirements for international students if you are not a national of that country because many times there may be a different form required for international students.

5. Is it advisable to apply early to highly competitive institutions?
Applying early is only advisable if you are certain about the institution and you have a competitive application (ie. grades, Anticipated Grades, test scores (where necessary), well written essays/personal statement, and for Early Decision, you know without a doubt that if you are admitted you would attend. The early round is for students who have done their homework and know that there is no part of their application package that will substantially improve if they wait until later to submit.

6. Where can I find information about scholarships outside of the US?
On the UWCEA Careers website (accessible to individuals with a uwcea.org email address), there is a section called “Scholarships” where we continue to list scholarships that we are aware of around the world. In addition, there are some country specific scholarships that students have learned about through local organizations, government entities, and alumni of institutions living in their home country.

This is just a small sampling of the wide range of questions that have been asked throughout this year. During Thursday’s presentation, and some of the other events held throughout this week, many questions were answered in the form of presentations by myself and school staff, as well as by college/university representatives. I encourage D1 parents to review the presentations from this week that were sent via Toddle, and welcome others to review information from the M3 parent presentation this week and on the Maia Learning accounts of M4 and M5 students.

There is so much more to discover, so continue to exhibit the skills of the IB Learner Profile of Inquirer so that you can become more Knowledgeable in the pursuit of a world filled with post-secondary possibilities.

More Resources For Your Consideration

This week I received the recording and resources from an excellent webinar that was facilitated by the ACT titled “Well being, College and Career Success.” The ACT has a wealth of career and college planning resources for students from MYP through DP. I invite you to take a look at the recording and additional resources in the link below that offers a plethora of information to help no matter what stage you are in with your post-secondary planning.
Link to recording and presentation download: https://shorturl.at/yzETZ

In addition, please consider the following in person and virtual events to provide answers to some of the questions you may have:

UPCOMING College and University Events

3 June: 7:30-11:00 AM EAT SAT in Moshi (See uwcea.org/tests for more information)
9 June: 11:20 AM Arusha (During D1 DSS)  Amherst College in person visit
15 June: 4:45-6:00 PM EAT 15 on the 15th: US Liberal Arts Colleges Presentation and mini-virtual fair. June focus: Us Application Essay Writing, making an impact.
Link to register for these events: https://www.davidson.edu/admission-and-financial-aid/15-15th-liberal-arts-colleges-across-united-states

Keep asking questions and seeking answers!

Cassandra Ford
College and Career Counselor

cassandraford@uwcea.org

If you have some financial acumen and feel you could contribute to our Finance Committee then we are interested in hearing from you. We meet on Zoom about four times a year.

If you are interested please contact Phil on philbowen@uwcea.org