Another Sports Weekend has come to an end here in Moshi. This year we had 12 schools joining us and Arusha campus to play hundreds of matches over a 3 day period. Each year I am proud of the support that we get from the community, the staff, the teachers and the students who pull together to make this event a success. I cannot possibly list everyone in this space, but please imagine the amount of cooking, cleaning, gardening, refereeing, coaching and other behind the scenes work that is needed for a 900 person event. Thank you to those that made it happen.
While you can see one photo just below of Kilimanjaro rising above the volleyball, Mr Mateusz has shared a few more photos you can see at the bottom of the newsletter. Coach Pickel will say more about the event next week after he recovers.
Tomorrow our secondary students have a late start and please note that on Wednesday there are no classes due to the voting public holiday.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming Events
PYP News
It was lovely to see so many of the primary children enjoying the atmosphere at Sports Weekend. I hope everyone had a good time.
Saturday football will not take place this coming Saturday, 30th November, due to our U9 and U11 boys’ teams participating in a football festival at SCIS. Unfortunately, we do not have enough girls to field a team at this time. Invitations for the tournament have been issued on Life. Please approve your child’s participation or withdraw them from the trip. The chaperones will be Mr. Morley, Coach T and Mrs. Dowie.
On Friday, 29th November, we will have our Primary Sharing Assembly. This will take place in Rafiki Hall starting at 7:40am. I imagine it will last around 45 minutes but I will have a clearer idea after Tuesday’s rehearsal and will email details then. Please come along to support your child and get a glimpse of what they have been doing in class.
Be sure to read the article below about the M1 students who have received medals, which have just arrived on campus all the way from Australia. Numerical Acumen is an Australian based maths competition that the children participated in during their time in P6 with Ms. Natasha last year. Congratulations to our ex P6 students Atu, Hikari, Niko, Tiago and Alice. We are very proud of you!
The end of the quarter is just 3 weeks away. Please note the following dates:
Wednesday, 27th November – Public holiday
Monday, 2nd December – Final whole school assembly of the semester starting 10:30am
Thursday, 5th December – Last day of primary after school clubs and Evening of the Arts (more details to follow)
Friday, 6th December – Primary gathering featuring the children from the Daycare Centre
Saturday, 7th December – Last Saturday football of the semester
Monday, 9th December – Public holiday
Wednesday, 11th December – PYP parent teacher conferences
Friday, 13th December – Primary gathering (French) and last day of classes. Regular finishing time.
Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator
EC/P1 Class
Eijaz turned 4 this week, and we celebrated his birthday. He was very excited as he gave cupcakes to his friends and teachers. Happy Birthday, Eijaz.
This week, we drew pictures of two rooms, the living/sitting room and our bedrooms. We highlighted where the furniture was situated and how we used those rooms. P1s added a short explanatory paragraph with their drawings. Our final drawing of the week was of the outside of our houses. This coming week, we will add one more room of the children’s choice to our list and the children will present their work to each other in the classroom.
P1s are completing their work on teen numbers this coming week and will move on to comparing them. They have been looking at how to recognize teen numbers in various recordings, show teen tally marks, place value, and spell them correctly. ECs are working on their numbers to 10 in a similar way.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
It was a terrific week in P2/3 with lots of fun imagination used in our writing, our reading and our creating. On Monday we read a book about Pete the Cat who turned a box into many different things- a submarine, a rocket, etc. A few of the students talked about wanting to do the same. This idea coincided with the arrival of the annual shipment which meant we had a wonderful supply of boxes! The students have been working in groups to make cool creations! We will be showing them at the Sharing Assembly on Friday. We hope you can make it.
Home Learning will be sent home on Tuesday this week. The preparations for Sports Weekend involved being out of our class immediately and it was not possible to prepare for the week ahead in the usual fashion. Don’t worry though- we’ve got so much to do! For example, P2 Math has been focused on subtraction and P3 have been solving and writing word problems.
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
Our Natural Disasters unit is drawing to a close. The children are working on PowerPoints about extreme weather (drought, floods, blizzards, tornadoes and hurricanes). They have made plaster volcanoes and will be painting them this week. They have written acrostic poems and Kennings about natural disasters and will do some weaving this week on the same theme. Samples of these activities will be on display at the Evening of the Arts on 5th December. In maths we will be continuing working with protractors and also using subtraction skills to calculate the value of missing angles. The children have started writing stories about volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis and will finish those off this week. On Wednesday there will be no classes due to the elections. We look forward to seeing many of you at the PYP Sharing Assembly on Friday. P4/5 will be sharing their recent work on tessellations.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
This week, P6 explored the exciting world of reading in a whole new way. They discussed how to select a ‘Just Right’ book and put strategies like the Five Finger Rule and the IPICK method into practice. Our classroom transformed into a cozy literary café, complete with menus highlighting different book genres. Instead of food, P6 got to ‘sample’ a variety of books.
‘Book Tastings’ like these inspire curiosity, encourage thoughtful discussions, and help build critical thinking skills. By considering what makes a book ‘just right’ for them and discussing their thoughts with others, P6 learned to make connections and think more deeply about their reading choices. Many discovered new authors or book series they were eager to read, leading to some great conversations within the class.
In addition to their reading activities, P6 has been working on factors, multiples, and prime numbers in Maths. They also teamed up with D1 students to film their advertising campaigns as part of their current unit of inquiry.
Natasha Berri
M1 Math
Congratulations to our M1 students for their outstanding achievements in the 2024 Numerical Acumen Challenge, which they participated in while in P6.
The online competition aimed to boost students’ mathematical fluency and problem-solving skills through a series of challenging, timed exercises that tested their speed and accuracy with mental arithmetic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and fractions.
Our students had the opportunity to compete alongside participants from across Australia, showcasing their skills on the leaderboards and earning medals and certificates in the categories of Dedication, Improvement, and Performance. Their outstanding achievements highlight their hard work and dedication to mastering these essential math skills.
A huge congratulations to our medal recipients:
Performance Award: Hikari & Atu
Dedication Award: Alice
Improvement Award: Tiago & Niko
Well done to everyone for their hard work and fantastic efforts. Natasha Berri
Outdoor Pursuits
Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot happening. There was the arrival of new kit (the equivalent of Christmas morning for the OP Team), the clean-up operation from week without walls (a huge amount of kit!), and planning and organising Peaks Discovery to North Pare. This was another successful trip between the two campuses with over 30 students climbing and camping at Kindoroko Summit (2200m). Please read Arion’s (D2) review below for further details.
Mr Andy has been off campus all week completing his Wilderness First Responder course with Mr Bryan from Arusha. Over the course, participants review the principles of wilderness medicine, learning how to perform a comprehensive physical examination, gather critical patient history, and evaluate vital signs. This was a great week with lots of new knowledge and skills acquired. Even with meticulous planning, accidents do happen on OP trips and staff need to be trained and ready for every eventuality. The picture shows the group practicing how to use a portable altitude chamber in case descent is not possible when hiking at altitude.
Finally, the last OP trips of the calendar year are happening next weekend (29th Nov – 1st Dec). Rides Exploration will be leaving from Kingori to Momela for a challenging 3-day ride. This will test students’ endurance but also allow improvement and hone their mountain biking skills. Finally, the first Mindfulness trip of year will also be departing. During the trip students are introduced to the fundamentals of breathing and yoga and engage in fun games and creative artwork. This should be a great trip!
As always, a big thanks to all the staff who volunteer to be part of these trips and allow the opportunity for our students to get off campus and into the wonderful outdoors.
The OP Peaks North Pare trip remains one of the best entryways into the OP world and is the perfect balance of challenge and enjoyment. It brought us all closer together, strengthened our bonds and helped us learn invaluable skills about hiking and camping.
The journey and destination provided us with perfect weather and breathtaking views of both Kenya and Tanzania, with Mount Kilimanjaro towering in the distance, only interrupted by a mix of clouds and sun, presenting the most beautiful rainbow over the horizon. This was all followed up by a magnificent sunset.
We all contributed to helping prepare meals and cleaning up, and between tasks and meals, we continued deepening our connections. Though our legs were all sore in the days following, it will never not be worth it.
Thanks to the OP Team who make these wonderful opportunities all possible!
Arion B (D2)
Service
Celebrating the First Smokeless Kitchen of the School Year!
This week, we are thrilled to share some incredible news—our team has just completed building the first smokeless kitchen of this school year!
Smokeless kitchens have an enormous impact on the health, safety, and livelihoods of families in the Moshi region. By reducing hazardous smoke from traditional cooking methods, these kitchens help prevent chronic respiratory illnesses and give back valuable time to women who would otherwise spend hours collecting firewood. Our mission continues to create healthier, more sustainable lives for the local community—and last week, this dream became a reality for another staff member.
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed their time and expertise to the students and staff who planned and built the kitchen. The students were able to experience working in a team, using new tools and techniques, and developing a deeper connection with the community.
We’re already looking forward to our next build on December 7th, where we hope to construct another kitchen. With each project, we are reminded of the crucial role that teamwork and community spirit play in creating positive change.
Thank you once again to everyone who has helped make this first smokeless kitchen build possible. Your dedication and hard work have made a significant difference in the lives of others, and we couldn’t be more proud.
Warm wishes, The Smokeless Kitchen Team
Diploma News
Many of the Diploma students put down their books and laced up their boots this weekend to get involved in Sports Weekend – a highlight of the year for many of our sports players. I overheard one diploma student say “We are amazing! We can do the IB and we can play sport!” She is right – this year our students have found the balance between playing hard and working hard! We are so proud of their achievements in netball, basketball, tennis, football, frisbee, volleyball and rugby!
Earlier in the week, the D1 students presented their learning from Project Week at our PW Fair held in K-Hall. They had the opportunity to reflect on their successes and challenges and every student I spoke to said it was one of the best weeks of their life! Some played basketball with their heroes; others visited TV stations; some planted trees; some learned about laws in Tanzania; some lived among the Maasai people and others helped clean the beaches in Tanga. We know they will have a lot of advice to offer next year’s D1s.
Academically, the D2 students are starting to rework their Extended Essays, prepare for the Language Acquisition mock orals and the final Self-Taught Language A orals. The D1s are finishing up semester 1 assessments. D1s will receive their reports on 15 December.
This week Wednesday is a public holiday in Tanzania. I’m sure the students are looking forward to a midweek break following the busy weekend.
