Moshi Campus News – 28 Oct 2023

You will see a bit below about many of the things going on recently here in Moshi. This weekend we had our traditional Halloween Trunk-or-Treat for the primary and the Haunted Houses for the secondary. These events are a lot of fun for the students and the community, but they do require a lot of behind-the-scenes work. I would like to thank all those that put together those creative “trunks” for the PYP and those members of our community, particularly from KCMC that joined the students in creating and running the haunted houses. For 3 hours the 40 volunteers and students ran 2 houses for others amusement and fright.

Today we have students scattered everywhere as there is a Theater trip, a swimming competition and two outdoor pursuits trips. I hope everyone is having a lot of fun.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we had a considerable proportion of secondary parents join us for our conferences. This is one of the ways we can keep you informed about what is happening in the classroom.

It is important to note that we have a lot happening in the month of November so please do keep an eye on the calendar. Both full school and Moshi campus events are listed so you can stay informed.

Bob Cofer – Head of Campus

Just a small sample of those involved in running the haunted houses.

Our student organizers are preparing for this event that will have students, governmental and non-governmental officials discussing local needs for a proposal paper for COP 28. Do not be surprised to see them around campus that weekend.

Sports Weekend is just around the corner. This year we are preparing for over 600 participants at the U16 and U19 level in Football, Basketball, Netball, Touch Rugby, Volleyball, Ultimate Frisbee, Tennis and X-Country.

Starting Friday at noon and running through Sunday afternoon this will be the 23rd edition of this traditional event.
From this campus we expect about 100 sports participants and a large part of the community is also involved. If you have not volunteered, but would like to be involved, please see Coach Pickell as I am sure he would welcome the support.

For Parents:
Due to the scope of the event for secondary students and based on past experience on Monday morning in classes, we will be starting class at 10:30am. This means we will not have the first two periods on that day. Primary classes will run as normal. 

Bob Cofer

Every Sunday evening, I complete The Week Ahead board in the Staff Lounge. This sets out many of the meetings, visitors, events and other happenings across campus over the course of the upcoming week…and weekend! It never ceases to amaze me just how much takes place at UWCEA everyday and the rich variety of experiences and opportunities that are available for our community.

Many things are student-initiated or, even, student-led but there is always an adult facilitating to some degree. This may be a really hands-on approach or it may be a more backseat style but there is always someone giving their time and energy above and beyond the “regular school day.” Take this weekend for example, we have two OP trips out, NTSAA events at SCIS and sports on campus, Halloween happenings all over the place, a DP theatre trip, the TedXYouth rehearsal, town trips, online university fairs, movie nights, cooking and so on ad infinitum. As everyone knows, our day does not end when the academic classes finish and life at a residential UWC is almost a 24/7 endeavour.

Oftentimes, our best laid plans fall short of our intentions. This is completely understandable and should be embraced and taken as a learning opportunity, particularly in a school that values “innovation over perfection.” When I stand back and review The Week Ahead each Sunday, I consider where I am involved over the coming days. Where am I going to add value? As we move through the gears of Q2 together, I ask you to do the same, as students AND as parents. What could you be involved with? Can you support a Club or Activity? Might you be able to help with an ongoing service initiative? Could you reach out to the PTA? Maybe lend a hand with the upcoming production, chaperone a trip or a sports fixture? Could you drop into a class to share your expertise or experiences? Remember, “kuji toa ni moyo.”

Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus

This week sees a continuation of activities on campus and in residential life: various Halloween events – Haunted Houses for Secondary students, Primary Trunk or Treat, and a Halloween party for M1 and M2.

Thank you to all the parents, students, staff, and extended community members who helped plan, organise, and prepare the events this weekend.

Additionally, our students from Kijana and Kiongozi dorms took a day trip to Arusha to visit the Natural History Museum. They looked at artefacts that were discovered in the Ngorongo crater and learnt about our human ancestors. They also learnt about the flora and fauna in the botanical gardens and had a chance to meet Tom, a 150-year-old tortoise. Finally, they got a chance to pick up some essentials not easily found in Moshi at the mall and Shoppers supermarket!

Please take a look at the email I sent out about departures and arrivals for the December break as well as the other breaks for the rest of the term and reach out if you have any questions.

Enjoy!
Adnan Mackovic – Head of Residential Life

It was good to see many parents at the conferences and to have so many conversations about how your children were doing. We know some of you could not attend, please make contact with the teachers or me if you would still like to talk to us. We are looking at ways to help parents where language was an issue.

I spoke to both D1 and D2 during Life Skills this week.
For D1 I talked about grades and the differences between IB and other systems and the fact that globally last year about 8% of grades were 7s. I reminded them of the report schedule, that reports will be issued at the end of each semester. At the end of the year, we have exams and although the results of these are reported, they are not on the transcript. After the exams we will have the Collaborative Science Project and the TOK exhibition. Please do not book flights before the 13th June.

For D2 I also talked about reports. These are issued at the end of Semester 1 and at the end of quarter 3 just before they go on study leave. They will have oral exams the last two weeks of semester 1. These will be mocks for most subjects but will be the final ones for the School Supported Self-Taught Students. The written exams will be 7th to 16th February for the mocks and from 24th April to 17th May for the final exams. Their graduation will be on Saturday 18th May. I would like to remind you that each student will only be given 3 tickets although they are allowed to give them away. We have started thinking about who will organize different parts of the ceremony.

On Friday night we had the Halloween events. Students were involved in organizing and acting and did very well. Groups of students were taken to the Haunted Houses by bus and they were ready to leave at the correct times despite some last minute changes. Other students helped with the Trunk or Treat for the PYP students.

Two students travelled to Dar for a climate seminar which unfortunately had to be cancelled but the maturity shown in the way they handled it was impressive. We have students on both rides and reefs OP trips and other students at SCIS for a swimming gala. On Saturday evening a group of students are travelling to Arusha campus to see a play performed by a professional group and on Sunday another group travel there for a TedX practice.

Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator

On 23rd October, at 6:02 PM, we celebrated Mole Day with our chemistry teacher Ms. Rina. Celebrated annually on October 23 from 6:02 a.m. to 6:02 p.m., Mole Day commemorates Avogadro’s Number (6.02 x 10²³), which is a basic measuring unit in chemistry. Mole Day was created as a way to foster interest in chemistry. As we celebrated in the dining hall with a cake, onlookers expressed their interest in the origin of the day, and we tried explaining to them what a mole was. It was a fun-filled dinner and the best part was how it brought everyone interested in chemistry together. Thanks to the kitchen staff for preparing the cake and snacks, and thanks to Miss Rina for arranging the event.

Nayem

The complete results of the final round of the South Africa Math Olympiad have just been released. Even if no candidate of UWCEA made it to the medalists list, we are pleased to see that Jonatan (graduating 23) came first of all candidates from outside South Africa. Well done to him!

We will share information about signing up for the 2024 edition in January/February when we know more. Students interested can create an account and practise on https://mytutor.chat/signin (it is free).

Julien

On Wednesday October 18th, the KCMC CAS students along with Miss Stephanie and Dr. Marieke, went to KCMC hospital for a hospital visit. We had a lot of fun with the kids, their parents, and the doctors. We played games together and even danced to some happy songs. It really helped them engage in some exercise, which was really good for them. We smiled and laughed a lot, and everyone felt very happy.

The young patients were so excited to have us there, and we felt really good for being able to make them smile. The doctors and parents were happy too because we brought some joy to the hospital. It was a day full of happiness and kindness, which has reinforced our resolve in helping the hospital patients in any way we can.
Verus – KCMC CAS Co-chair.

Our students have a delightful sense of humor, and it occasionally surfaces in the most serious of situations. “Miss, ‘My assignment isn’t late; it’s just early for the next deadline!”

While I definitely can appreciate the creativity, and couldn’t help but laugh at that specific moment last week, I realized that the fear of dates and deadlines can be overwhelming, and is the “ring master” of procrastination. So, we decided to explore a useful tool to help avoid any unnecessary stress: The Understanding Map developed by Project Zero at Harvard Graduate School of Education which serves as a valuable tool for structuring discussions and engagements centered on critical thinking.

We’ve provided some question stems to support MYP learning, alleviate assessment stress, and empower learners to take ownership of their education:

• What is the intended learning behind what you are doing?
• What are some learning strategies your teachers recommend to help you be successful?
• How are you managing your resources and organization for this task?
• How can you manage your time and energy to best approach this task? Will it work best in “bursts” or extended focus?
• How are you making sure your time (especially online) is time well spent?
• How are you accessing and acting on feedback from your teachers?

We encourage you to engage in these conversations with your students, as they play a vital role in nurturing a growth mindset and mindfulness in responding to various learning experiences.

Reading in the MYP:
Actively and critically engaging with reading is a fundamental skill in our MYP program. Each grade level is currently engrossed in exploring novels as part of their units. These reading experiences are essential for developing comprehension, critical thinking, and vocabulary.
What are we reading in class?

• M1: Fish in a Tree
• M2: The Giver
• M3: Trever Noah: Born a Crime
• M4: I Am Malala
• M5: Welcome to Lagos

We strongly encourage all students to not only read for class assignments but also to nurture the habit of reading for pleasure. Reading opens up new worlds of knowledge, imagination, and creativity. It’s a lifelong skill that will serve you well beyond the classroom.

M5 Personal Project Dates and Deadlines:
In the M5, students are actively engaged in their personal projects, with a strong emphasis on developing their process journals, a crucial aspect for documenting the project’s detailed process. They will be submitting Criterion A of their reports on October 30th.

MYP Dates to Remember:

• October 30th – M5 Personal Project Criterion A Due
• November 4th – NTSAA Football and Basketball on Moshi Campus
• November 17th – Sports Weekend
• November 25th – M5 Personal Project Check-in
• December 15th – Last day of Semester 1

Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator

Leopards on the Move!

Lots of action this week on campus.  Our Netball teams had a dominating display on Thursday.  Both the U16 and U19 teams proved that their hard work at practices have made them a hard team to come up against.  Great job ladies!    

Also on Thursday the rest of UWC Moshi’s fields were full.  There was an Ultimate frisbee game, a football match / practice and volleyball were playing against Bendal school. It was so exciting to see all the students participating.

Friday morning the PYP swimming squad went to SCIS for a swim meet.  Let’s wish them luck. 
Today the secondary swimming squad meet is also at SCIS, I know they are excited and ready to match up their skills against the other NTSAA schools.

This past Thursday the Secondary athletics team had a meeting and discussed training and events they will be participating in on Nov. 11 at the NTSAA athletic meet.  Some of the students will also be using this meet to be ready for the sports weekend cross country 5k run.

Sports weekend is Nov 17th.  This is a huge event, make sure you block your calendars and are here to cheer our teams and help out if you can.

Coach Pickell

Many thanks to everyone who contributed to making the optional PYP Halloween celebrations such a fun event for the children. This event could not have taken place without the people who decorated their cars and the people who donated sweets. Particular mention should go to Rhea and Josephine (two MYP students who organised their own trunk) and the residential dorms, Kilele and Kipepeo, who also ran a trunk. How lovely that our older students gave up their time and effort to provide our younger ones with such an enjoyable afternoon. On Monday morning we had 3 bags of sweets in the box but by Thursday, there must have been 30! We were able to share those donations between 12 primary trunks, 2 secondary haunted houses and the MYP party. There were many people working behind the scenes and I am grateful to everyone for their generosity – I would like to especially thank Ms. Tahera and the kitchen staff for providing the Halloween meal, the team of gardeners who cleared the small field to make such a pleasant venue for us and Coy Buckley for providing music at the dance party.

We had a group of PYP swimmers representing us in a swim gala at St. Constantine’s on Friday. At the time of writing, I don’t have the results but these will be shared later by the Sports department. Well done to these children (and their chaperones Coach Sabini, Mr. Ally and Jen Biringer) for making the long journey to Arusha on a very hot day, swimming in their events and then managing to get back to Moshi in time for the trunk or treat.

Last week I shared some dates for this quarter. I did not make it clear that the dates of the Primary gatherings have changed from those originally shared back in August. Some of you will have put the original dates on your calendars so I am listing the new gathering dates below to avoid any confusion.

• 3rd November EC/P1 Primary Gathering
• 17th November Primary Gathering singalong with Ms. Jamie
• 24th November PYP Sharing Assembly (all classes will present)
• 1st December Primary Gathering at the Daycare Centre
• 15th December Last Primary Gathering of the semester.

Details about the Primary Athletics Day on Wednesday, 8th November, will be shared in next week’s newsletter. The children wear a house shirt for this event and these are available for purchase in the Development Office.

Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator

We explored materials this week. We gathered a list of what materials we know and which ones we want to learn more about. After a vote of hands, we will begin to look at metals next week. We will create a list of questions we would like to answer about metals and then we will do our research.

This coming week, we have our primary gathering on Friday. For those who have a few lines to learn, please help them practice at home. They are not memorizing any lines, but just remembering who their character is and their actions. You are welcome to watch them present a short story to the PYP community.

Mboka Mwasongwe

We had a wonderful week in P2/3. With Trunk-or-Treat in mind, we made our Halloween decorations and we also wrote terrific spooky stories. It was fun to take advantage of read-aloud books online as well- I think the class favorite was Creepy Underwear!

We learned about bubbles and how to make them last longer. Check out the art in front of the classroom and ask your child about the best bubbles made! In the week ahead, we will go to the Secondary Science Lab for an experiment with Ms. Jaime as a part of our learning more about properties of matter.

We have implemented DEAR into the schedule a few times a week. Drop Everything And Read has been a success as students are selecting books and spending a 10-15 minutes reading independently. Please keep up the reading at home! It is so very important.

Kacey Buckley

One of our lines of inquiry in our storytelling unit is “How stories relate to culture and history.” The Chinese version of the Cinderella story referred to a lucky fish and that tiny feet were considered to be beautiful. This week we have inquired into both of these beliefs. The children learned about the historical practice of foot binding. We measured our own feet and then compared them to a 7.5cm golden lotus. Milo brought in some lotus shoes from China to show us – we could not believe how small they were (see photo). In art we made model fish and shoes and  we have 2 beautiful new displays up in the breezeway. We also had a very interesting discussion regarding, “What is beauty?” and looked at pictures of “beauty” from different cultures, past and present. We have now started looking at myths and next week the children will learn about the elements of a myth (one of our lines of inquiry is “Story genres and elements”) and they will write their own myth. In maths we will look at line graphs and also work on times tables. We ended the week with a birthday celebration – many happy returns to Anne.

Deborah Mills

P6 dived headfirst into the wonderful world of reading this week. We discussed what makes a ‘Just Right’ book, and we sharpened our reading skills using strategies like the Five Finger rule and the IPICK method. P6 also did a ‘Book Tasting’.

A book tasting encourages children to be curious and open-minded and provides the opportunity to ‘sample’ a variety of different books and authors. It’s like going into a restaurant, but instead of food, it’s books on the menu. Our classroom was transformed into a mini restaurant and the menus on desks described the different book genres available. P6 ‘sampled’ books they had not tried before, with many finding a new book series or author that they enjoyed. At the end of each ‘book course’ P6 completed a written reflection which gave them the opportunity to record their thoughts and book recommendations. It was a great way to combine fun with learning.

In our current Media unit, we investigated the fascinating world of food advertising. We also worked together to develop a success criteria linked to our Lines of Inquiry. In Maths, P6 successfully completed the Numerical Acumen Challenge, a programme designed to develop number fluency and recall.

Natasha Berri

Application Season is Upon Us

November is around the corner, and with it comes the official start of the application season. This week we were honored to virtually host guests throughout the week who shared their expertise on topics ranging from what happens once you submit your application to a highly selective institution to guidance about completing the complicated financial aid forms. Students who participated in these events gained additional insights to help them be prepared to hit submit over the next couple of months with confidence and assurance that they put forth their most competitive application.

Tune in while you can

I cannot stress enough how fortunate our students (AND parents/guardians) are to be able to interact directly with the decision makers in the admissions offices. Students who have been participating in events have not only gained a better understanding of what they need to do as they make very important decisions regarding their post-secondary plans, but the connections they make at these events open the lines of communication with representatives who they can follow up with as they have questions throughout the process. Some of these connections continue once the student is on campus and has already established a relationship with a key ally in their new academic home. This is why I once again emphasize the importance of reviewing the list of upcoming events below, and visiting the websites of institutions that you want to learn more about. They want to help you make the best possible decision and have a wealth of information beyond their institution that can make a stressful process much more rewarding.

With that said, please see what is coming our way that you may not want to miss…

UPCOMING College and University Events

• **This just in… 29 October: 5:00 PM EAT Hamilton College, Ithaca College, and Cornell University (just for UWC students) virtual presentation
• 30th October: Arusha 3:00 PM EAT NYU Abu Dhabi
• 2 November: 10:20 AM EAT Sciences Po (France) virtual presentation
• 4 November: 7:30-11:00 AM EAT SAT exam – Moshi campus (See uwcea.org/tests for more information)
• 15 November: 4:45-6:00 PM EAT 15 on the 15th: US Liberal Arts Colleges Presentation and mini-virtual fair. November focus: SEVIS, 1-20, F-1 Student Visa and Enrollment. Link to register for these events

There are many more events on the UWCEA Careers website calendar, so take a look and plan ahead.

Stay calm and enjoy the journey!

Aizhan Smagulova – University and Career Counselor