Arusha Campus News – 18 Aug 2024

The OP Plains Discoverers pose in the shadow of one of Tarangire National Park’s famous baobab trees this weekend.

Wed 21st Aug – 3pm Meet the Secondary Mentors and Teachers

 

The large group of Hanang climbers consisting of students from both campuses, pause en route to Mt Hanang which can be seen in the background.

The school year has well and truly got under way! This afternoon two vehicle loads of tired walkers dismounted in the main car park within minutes of each other – the Plains trip to Makuyuni and the Peaks trip to Mt Hanang. Tired but happy is how I could describe the students as they slumped on the grass outside main reception. And the best thing? They had all started talking about their next trip!

If you are an ‘old’ family or new, one thing will be new to all of us and that the LIFE platform. This is now a single site where you can access academic progress as well as OP opportunities and your child’s fee account. It is a splendid system and like all new things may take some practice. We have been using LIFE for a bit longer than our families and so I wish to reassure you all that it will hopefully make all our lives a bit easier.

Please try to remember to clear your child’s fee account if you haven’t already done so. I can safely say that calling parents to remind them about fee payments is the least favourite part of my job, so any timely clearing of your child’s school fees is much appreciated.

Have a super week,

Phil

P5 show off their artefacts that they have been sharing with their class this week.

Welcome back to school. We are excited to start the new academic year. Please see the important dates to add to your diarys for Quarter 1.

Tuesday 20th August CCA Fair 2.00-2.30pm
16th – 20th September MAP Testing P4-6
Tuesday 24th September – Friendly Primary Athletics at KHIS (selected students)
Friday 27th September – Nursery-P2 Fun Sports Day
Monday 30th September – P3-P6 Moshi to visit Arusha
Wednesday 2nd October – PYP 3 Way conferences
Thursday 3rd October – P3-6 Interhouse Sports Day
Friday 4th October – Last day of Quarter 1

Amanda Bowen, Head of Primary Years Programme

Pictured above: the M2 class reads (auto)biographies during their English lesson in the library

It was great to see our campus come back to life after the holidays. We welcomed new and returning students and teachers, assigned new lockers, found our way to the new Theatre classroom, explored the new Learn platform, re-started MYP lunch football at the big field and, of course, completed our first week of subject lessons.

Families are invited to Meet the secondary mentors and teachers on Wednesday 21 August at 3pm. This will be followed by an info session for M5 parents about the eAssessments.

M1-5 classes meet with their mentor every morning and also have two scheduled mentor lessons each week. Mentors monitor student’s overall academic and socio-emotional wellbeing and are often the first point of contact for students and families. This year’s MYP mentors are:

M1 – Caitrin Trappe
M2 – Alli Abd-El-Rashid
M3 – Hilary King
M4 – Bryan Davidson
M5 – Gift Tyea

Anoek van der Vinne, Head of  Middle Years’ Programme

Not new to the school, but new to this position, I am excited to be taking on Head of Diploma this year. I had the best mentor who is still answering my questions and we are missing Ms. V more than ever. It has been a busy week welcoming new D1s and working with them to figure out their subject choices. D2s are straight into their final year with deadlines quickly approaching and a lot on their minds. As a community we want to encourage healthy habits and a balanced approach to life even with all the stress of academics. Make sure to sign up for CCAs and take advantage of all the great opportunities on offer.

Jessica Peterson, Head of Diploma Programme

This weekend, a group of 9 students from Arusha Campus set out to summit Mt. Hanang and returned triumphantly after days of hard work, dedication, and students freezing their socks off! We asked the students what they liked most about the trip: and they had to say, “the view, the together-ness, and the mingling between the two campuses.” Besides successfully summiting the 4th highest mountain in Tanzania, we had a special 19th birthday celebration for Kim as we hiked up the mountain! Now, the students prepare for their next trip as Kilimanjaro looms ahead…

Kim, D2

Photo above: Musa Khalidi, Executive Director of International Admissions at St. Lawrence University presenting to students in Arusha last school year.

University Essay Workshop – September 3, 4 and 5

The first week of September, all UWCEA D2 students across both campuses will have the opportunity to participate in a university essay workshop. Participants will be matched with an admissions representative from a university who will offer early feedback on a university entrance essay. Over 40 representatives from universities around the world have signed up to participate and will be offering feedback on UK “personal statements”, European “letters of motivation”, US “Common App essays”, US “supplemental essays”, Switzerland “motivation letters” and more. This is an opportunity for our D2 students to receive expert feedback from an admissions representative with their unique perspective and experience before submitting their essays officially to universities and also a chance to practice talking to admissions representatives – an important skill in this process. More details will be shared with D2 students and families soon.

We are very lucky to have a number of amazing colleges and universities from different parts of the world coming to talk with our students. The details are still being finalized but please note that the schedule of visits will be posted on our UWCEA Careers and Universities website. https://sites.google.com/uwcea.org/uwcea-careers/calendar-overview/calendar-of-college-fairs-in-person-virtual-visits. These visits are typically open to D1 and D2 students. There will also occasionally be events for M4 students, M5 students and families.

Adam Kendis, University and Guidance Counselor

Jimmy roars through the forest on his way to his podium finish.

This weekend some of our former students joined csurrent students in a local motorcross event.  Jimmy (M2), Yannick, Bram and Liam  (all former students) competed in a motocross competition. Liam came 2nd place in the intermediate and Jimmy got a prize as the youngest participant! 

You are invited to our ‘Meet the Mentor/Teachers’ on Wednesday 21 August at 3pm. Here you will get the opportunity to meet the M5 mentor, Mr Gift Tyea, and the secondary teachers. It will take place near the secondary language classrooms.

This will be followed by an information session for M5 parents/guardians about the M5 eAssessments which will tentatively start at 4pm – or perhaps a little earlier when you have had the chance to meet with all M5 teachers.

We look forward to meeting all M5 parents/guardians.

On Tuesday 20th August we will be throwing open our doors to welcome students from other schools to join us for the day. We would like other children to experience UWC East Africa and so please extend this invitation to your friends in the city. Everyone is welcome.