Moshi Campus News – 31 Aug 13

Dear Parents,

In this week’s newsletter you will find a reminder of tomorrow’s picnic at TPC, a welcome letter from the Board, more information on our Outdoor Pursuits programme and news of our planned ski trip for next March.

We are looking forward to seeing as many parents as an make it at tomorrow’s picnic at TPC. All parents, teachers and families are welcome. Please bring your own food (there will be a barbecue for you to cook on) and drinks will be available from a cash bar. 12 noon to 5pm.

On behalf of the ISM Governing Board, it is my privilege to welcome all ISM students, staff, guardians and parents to the new school year 2013-14.

The Governing Board has just concluded its first meeting of this school year. We discussed where ISM is right now, where we want to head to and what we need to put in place to get there. Prior to our meeting, the Finance and Advancement Committees have met to bring recommendations and ideas to the recent board meeting. Both committees are chaired by Governing Board members and they are made up of parents with relevant expertise who, like us all, are devoted to doing what is best for ISM.
We all feel and are excited about the positive spirit at our school. To quote our mission statement, such a learning environment helps develop our students and us adults to be and develop into balanced global citizens who are empowered to act responsibly in a complex world.

We wish you all an inspirational 2013/14!
Tine Hemelings
Chair of the Governing Board

Our M5 students will soon be going on their Leadership symposium to Marangu Hotel for a 3-day workshop on leadership and team-building skills. Arusha Campus M5 class will be joining us for a variety of focussed sessions led by the teachers as well as our Guest workshop leader, Caroline Schraa. We will be camping but also have the benefit of the seminar room at Marangu Hotel for which we are very grateful. A letter has gone home with the students today explaining the requirements. Day students, please return the permission slip and payment by Tuesday 3rd September. Boarding students do not need to pay extra as it is included in their boarding fees. The trip will be accompanied by Mrs Totty Aris and Mr Rafael Holt.

This is to remind any parents of D2 students planning to register for SAT tests in October, that the deadline for registration is 6th September. If students wish the school to pay on their behalf, they must see Keiron White before Tuesday, 3rd September.

Registration for the ACT tests on 21st September has now closed, although standby registration for the ACT is available with an extra charge.

The school is again organising a ski trip for students in M1-D1 next Easter holiday. Parents of students in these classes will have received a separate email with details.

We have now been able to publish the costs of our Outdoor Pursuits trips this semester. Unfortunately ISM no longer receives free permits to enter the national parks and expatriate teachers and students are charged a higher rate to enter than Tanzanian students. ISM also charges day students an additional amount for food. The costs of trips in TSh will be as follows:

	Tanzanians		Non-Tanzanians
	Boarders	Day Students	Boarders	Day Students
Pares (L1)	55,000	67,000	55,000	67,000
Mandara (L1)	53,000	65,000	83,000	95,000
Mawenzi (L3)	175,000	211,000	240,000	276,000
Rongai (L4)	270,000	306,000	334,000	370,000
Uhuru Peak (L5)	340,000	388,000	415,000	463,000

Last week we had an interactive House Assembly where the whole school came together to create their House identity through the creation of a House flag. Every students had the chance to place their painted hand on the flag. It was lovely to see the older students helping the younger ones. We look forward to more House spirit on Friday 27th September at our inter-house athletics day!

Our Primary Gathering also took place on Friday where we celebrated birthdays and IB Learner profiles. This is a chance for primary announcements and sharing of learning amongst the students.

This Monday, 2nd September, P5/6 will be brave and stand up in front of most of the school to talk about Heroes and the meaning of being a Hero. Meanwhile the D2 students will gather to focus on their Internal Assesment schedule with Mr Fitzpatrick, our DP Coordinator. M5 will meet with Mr Dombkins, our MYP Coordinator to ensure they are on track with their Personal Project.

We are seeking anybody in Moshi who would be able to teach a musical instrument to our students. We are especially seeking a piano or violin teacher. This would involve teaching for however many hours you could spare on one or more afternoons per week and you would receive a small payment. Please do let Susan Jacon know on if you feel you could help in any way, or you know someone who can. Different students need different teaching levels, so a high level of expertise is not necessary for all.

The following activities are available to secondary students this quarter. Most activities are from 3pm to 4pm (unless stated otherwise).
Mondays

• Teaching English to ancillary staff (D1-D2)
• Recycling Group (M1-D2)
• Jewellery Making (M1-M4)
• Musical Production (Singing/Dancing) (M1-D2)
• Day Care Centre Teaching (M5-D2)
• Partnership with WATU schools (M5-D2)

Tuesdays

• School Bank (M4-D2, 2:30-3pm)
• Student Council (M1-D2, 2:20-3pm)
• Poetry Club (M1-M5)
• Woodwork (M5-D2)
• ISM Welcome Committee (M1-D2)
• Dance and Performance (M1-D2)
• Karanga Primary School Football (M1-D2)
• Rhythmic African-American Poetry (M4-D2)

Wednesdays

• Day Care Centre/Moshi Chapel swimming (M3-D2)
• Woodwork (M1-M3)
• Musical Production (Singing/Dancing) (M1-D2)
• Computer Game Design (M1-D2)
• Print Making (M1-M5)
• Photography (M1-D2)
• Gift-making & Origami (M1-D2)
• Instruments, Voice & Performance (M3-D2, 3:30pm-5pm)

Thursdays

• School Bank (M4-D2, 2:40-3pm)
• Teaching English to ancillary staff (D1-D2)
• Sokoine Primary School (D1-D2)
• Pit Orchestra (M1-D2)
• Model United Nations (M4-D1)
• Mkombozi Rugby Teaching (M4-D2)

Fridays

• Dance & Choreography (M1-D2)

This semester the cycling club will be meeting monthly on Saturday mornings starting this coming Saturday, 7th September at 9am. Students should sign up each month in the breezeway – the group will be limited to ten riders for safety reasons.

For those who live in Arusha, fun bicycle races and a 5km run/walk will be taking place at Olasiti Hill (behind Arusha airport) on Saturday, 7th September from 9am to 2pm. These events are supported by the Rotary Club of Arusha.

During the next quarter of after school clubs we are hoping to set up an ISM Brownie Pack. This would be for primary girls only based on the UK Brownie system. Through weekly meetings, special events, day trips, sleepovers, camps and holidays, Brownies learn new hobbies, play music, explore other cultures and get adventurous outdoors. They can also extend their knowledge and abilities by working towards Brownie Interest Badges covering many different hobbies and activities from Science investigator to circus skills! Please check out their website for further details: www.girlguiding.org.uk.

This club will only go ahead if we have enough primary girls committed to becoming a Brownie for the whole school year, as well as a parent/community person to help run it, with the possibility of taking it over completely next school year.
Please contact Annalee Horton by emailing if you are interested in your daughter becoming a brownie or if you are willing to help throughout this school year.
Many thanks
Annalee Horton

Primary T-shirt uniform
It is lovely to see our primary students in their array of coloured ISM T-shirts.
Primary parents, please note that ALL our students should be wearing an ISM T-shirt for school. These are available from reception at 8000/- each.
On PE Days, primary students should wear their house T-shirt which can also be purchased at reception. This helps the activities in the PE lesson which are organised by house.

No Hat no Play OR no club!
It is now week 3, and nearly 90% of primary students have brought in a hat. Please note that primary cildren are required to sit in the classroom at play time if they do not have a hat. In addition if there is a PE class outside or a Club outside they should also have their hats. Many students keep a hat in the classroom which they can use when needed.

Birthdays
We love to celebrate our primary students’ birthdays. Class teachers display the birthdays of the month in class and we have a special mention in our primary gathering every two weeks. A few parents have sent in cakes so their children can celebrate with their class; this is a lovely idea, however please respect the following guidelines:
1. E-mail/speak to the class teacher BEFORE the big day
2. The celebration will take place at Break (10.15) therefore please deliver before that time.
3. Please do not send in extra party-bags or sweets. We are firm and consistent about this policy as we are concerned for the children’s teeth. A cake is a great way to celebrate and enough for the children.

.
Totty Aris (Deputy Head of Campus)

D2 full diploma students have submitted their Extended Essay draft. The one and one half points of the 45 total points for a full diploma student that comprises the value of the EE portion takes on more significance when one reflects on how two of the four ISM May 2012 grads who failed the IB DP missed attaining it by one point!

Parental encouragement of D2 full diploma students related to a quality (and academic honesty-guided) EE is invaluable. May I highlight two areas related to the EE Assessment Criteria?
A) “holistic judgment” – Four of the 36 points come from “holistic judgment” which the IB defines as “the qualities that distinguish an essay from the average, such as intellectual initiative, depth of understanding and insight. While these qualities will be clearly present in the best work, less successful essays may also show some evidence of them and should be rewarded under this criterion.”
B) “Formal Presentation” – Another four of the 36 points come from “Formal Presentation” which is “This criterion assesses the extent to which the layout, organization, appearance and formal elements of the essay consistently follow a standard format. The formal elements are: title page, table of contents, page numbers, illustrative material, quotations, documentation (including references, citations and bibliography) and appendices.”

The regular Theory of Knowledge, Life Skills and CAS activities of DP students really do keep our young people engaged, focused and involved – if they take advantage of all ISM offers! For instance, some have signed up to participate in our mid-December hit musical ‘Oliver’ and if your child likes acting, singing or the like, encourage them to sign up! Additionally, nearly two dozen Model UN club students have been meeting and are gearing for the February 2014 international conference in Nairobi.

The excellence that underlies IB DP education appears to be driving a continued growth in terms of more schools taking it on worldwide – over 2,400 schools now offer it. Read more interesting IB stats at: www.ibo.org/facts/schoolstats/progcombinationsbyregion.cfm.

Should you have questions regarding the IB DP and our courses (or need to see ISM’s school calendar so you plan vacations and ensure your DP son/daughter does NOT miss any lesson days please!), I encourage you to do so. Go to www.uwcea.org/about-us/publications.

Now I have a huge request of you: Come to our campus four times this year! When? ISM DP parents or guardians ought to attend the end of quarter parent-teacher meetings this school year that are slated for the mornings of Oct 11, Dec 20, March 28 and June 20. Kindly do your best to plan work responsibilities engagements around these essential dates where your sons/daughters REALLY need your presence so you can meet 1-1 with their ISM DP teachers and myself. We want to apprise you of your child’s progress!

ISM College Counselor Daryl Rustad addressed both the D1 and D2 classes this week and D2 Life Skills teacher Jon Bigg organized the D2 session wonderfully. Mr Bigg has developed a great schedule for the all-important D2 reference preparation process that D2 students ought to follow. D1 and D2 parents (who have not done so) should arrange a meeting with Mr Daryl Rustad so things remain on track for your child’s post-ISM higher education plans. Write him at darylr@uwcea.net.

A secondary student-managed news service recently published the two articles that address issues of importance to ISM DP students – www.theday.co.uk/free/the-future-everyone-is-connected and www.theday.co.uk/health/idleness-matches-smoking-in-world-death-rankings.

Feel free to write me with any questions, concerns or constructive criticism!
Sincerely,
Rick Fitzpatrick
Diploma Programme Coordinator

Unit of Inquiry
Last week the children shared all the new things they learnt over the long holiday from learning to fish to learning to ride a two wheeled bike or scooter. The children now how much more of an understanding that learning takes place everywhere. Please continue to discuss new learning opportunities with your child/ren and let me know if they have any lessons outside the school day such as horse riding or music lessons. You can write this information down in the blue communication book this weekend.

We also started talking about the different learning that takes place in the classroom such as at the writing table, the construction area, the maths area and the role play area. The children will add to the list as they have more experience in these areas. Next week we will look at the learning opportunities outside our own classroom such as at the IT lab, the music room and the Sports Field.

Literacy
Last week the children were introduced to the sound h. This means that we have found out about a,c,d and h so far this term. Next week we will find out about the letter sounds t and m. Please remember that we teach letter sounds, not letter names.
Students that know most or all letter sounds are already word building and will be using their knowledge of sounds to write simple sentences. Our art work will be integrated into the sounds of the week. We will make tea and toast and read in a tent. The children will also use marbles to make pictures.

Numeracy
Data handling
The children will look at a graph of favourite learning areas and answer questions, comparing results.
Measurement of Time; Understand weekly and daily routines at school. Continue to learn days of the week.
The children will make their own timetable of what they need to bring to school each day as we discuss routines of the school week.
Number
This week we will focus on one to one correspondence when counting objects as well as ordering numbers to 5/10 or 20 depending on the level of the child.

Things to remember
P5/6 assembly on Monday morning at 7.35 in Karibu Hall
PE shoes and T-shirts to be worn on Monday and Friday
Library bags to be returned on Tuesday and Friday

Homework Folders
Well done to all children who have had a go at their homework packets. The idea of homework in P1 and 2 is to provide a strong home-school link and for parents to see the kinds of activities we are doing in school. It is an opportunity for you to be part of your child’s learning and to consolidate learning that is happening at school. Please do not worry if your child is reluctant to complete. Just leave it until they are ready.

Unit of Inquiry
Our Unit of Inquiry is ‘Healthy Living’. We will focus on the second line of inquiry and consider indicators of healthy living. The children will answer the question, “In what ways can we tell if our bodies are healthy?”.

Art
Our art activity was very successful last week. Thank you Anine Piers, who is the Secondary art teacher, for some great ideas. We will continue to look at the artist Arcimboldo and try to create some pictures in his style. The children will also be introduced to Pop Art where familiar items (such as food!) are used to create pictures. We will look at pictures by Roy Lichtenstein who used lots of dots to create his pictures.

Language focus for the week
Write a recount of the weekend.
Write a simple poem using words with opposite meaning. (eg dirty-clean, healthy-unhealthy, fit-unfit)
Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and the Ladder Letters (litujy)
Phonics: Revision of initial sounds and words with i as the middle vowel (eg tin, win, hit, sit, fish, wish, drink, flick etc)

Maths focus for the week
All children will work on calculations and learn about addition. They will recognise addition can be done in any order and use the + and = signs. Some children will engage in lots of practical activities combining sets of objects and finding the total. They will begin to record addition number sentences using the correct symbols. Some children will learn about ‘counting on’ as a strategy to add. Others will be extending their understanding of addtion and will learn by heart some addition facts.

What to bring to school:
A hat for playtime and a healthy snack.

Timetable:
Monday

New homework packet issued. PE (wear trainers and a house T shirt)
Tuesday

PE (wear trainers and a house T shirt)
Thursday

Library (bring books to return and then choose new ones).
Friday

Spelling test and return completed homework packet.

Language – Write a recount of your weekend with a focus on using proper tenses for verbs. We will continue to look at past tense verbs with a focus on the many pesky irregulars (such as ‘buy’ to ‘bought’, ‘ride’ to ‘rode’ etc.). Morning work this week will include correcting grammar mistakes in sentences as a way to emphasis the need to use proper capitalization and punctuation in all writing.

Math – Our concentration on the tens and units place will continue with some students also working on the hundreds place. All students will be expected to write numbers in their expanded form (28 = 20 + 8). As confidence with moving along the Hundreds Charts by ones and by tens has built, students will work more independently on these questions. We will practise our Doubles Facts as well as counting by 2s and 5s.

Unit of Inquiry – Our Unit is “Transportation” with the central idea of “Transportation meets the needs of the community.” This week we will consider the development of transportation systems. We’ll brainstorm and write about the things communities needed to develop as modes of transportation evolved.

IT – We have learned to find pictures on Google Images that relate to our Transportation unit. Students will make a document with a picture for each category of Transportation (land, air, water).

Reading Folders – Beginning this week, students will bring home their reading logs and leveled readers. These books will be exchanged on Thursdays and Mondays. Please use these reading logs as a chance to record how the reading at home is going for your child.

Homework – Students will review the sheets together in class before bringing them home in plastic pouches. Please return the whole packet on Friday.

What to bring to school: a hat for playtime and a healthy snack

Our Timetable: Monday: Library, please bring your books and bag
Wednesday and Thursday: PE, remember to wear your sneakers and bring along a hat and water bottle.

I can hardly believe that we are already into the month of September and that this is week 4 of Term 1! Amazing how time flies when one is having fun.

This is what our learning in class will look like this week:
UOI – “Learning from the Past”
Central Idea: Atefacts and other evidence help us to understand history and how people lived in the past.
We have had a great time looking at many different artefacts that the children have brought to school and trying to work out what they can tell us about the past by asking questions like: What they are made of?, Why might they have been made?, What were the people like who made them?, What was the country like that the artefact might have come from? etc… We have also been able to look at two DVDs about archaeology and what it can tell us about the past. We were so busy that we did not get to carry out our own “archaeological dig”, so we plan to do this learning activity this week. At the same time we will continue to refer to and think about the different types of historical evidence, how historians work with the evidence of past civilisations and the information that the artefacts give us about the past. We also have some great books in our class library which complement our Unit of Inquiry and the children will continue delving into these to see what they can learn. The children will start to think about an artefact that they would like to research and make a model in preparation for their summative assessment task.

Reading – Reading groups are now up and running. Please check your child’s reading log each day to find out what reading homework they have (usually on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays). Once reading homework is completed, please sign your child’s reading log as an as an indication that reading homework has been completed. You may make a comment if you wish, but this is not essential. It is really important that readers and reading logs are brought to school each day, as we use them in class and it is annoying for the teacher and distressing for the student if these are left at home.

Maths – P4 Addition of basic facts. Vertical/column addition without regrouping. Multiplication as repeated addition. Multiplying by 2s, 5s and 10s. Rounding to the nearest 10 and the nearest 100. Story sums involving addition and multiplication.
P3 Multiplication as repeated addition. Using basic facts for more complex addition sums. Rounding to the nearest 10.

Language – Historical Recount writing about mummification.
Punctuation – Full stops, capital letters and question marks.
Assessment on common nouns and proper nouns.
Verbs (doing words). Combining verbs and nouns.
Spelling – group 1- “spelling the “k” sound – words that end in “ke” e.g. mistake, bake group 2 words that have “-all” in them e.g. tallest, calling group 3 the regular short “i” sound as in “in” e.g. which, think.

Reminders:
Every day:
School t-shirts, hats, zip bags (reading book, reading log, spelling book and homework books), a healthy snack.
Monday:
Full school assembly. Parents welcome.
Homework handed out. It is an expectation that homework will be completed in full each week. Some children are not doing this and there will be consequences from next week for incomplete homework. Please encourage your child to do a little bit each night, so that it is not left until the last minute and then done in a rush or not at all.
Wednesday:
P.E. wear suitable attire – house/school t- shirts, shorts and trainers.
Thursday:
Library bags and books to school for exchange/renewal
Friday:
Homework handed in
Spelling test
P.E. wear suitable attire – house/school t-shirts, shorts and trainers
Early finishing time – 12.35pm

Looking forward to another great week together,
Miss Jann

This week has seen us focusing on cartoon superheroes, rounding numbers and rehearsing for our presentation to the whole school assembly on Monday morning. P5/6 parents and guardians may attend the assembly if they wish.

This is what our learning in class will look like this week:
UOI – Our first Unit of Inquiry, “Heroes”.
Central Idea: We look to heroes to show us who we can be.
3) Role models and their influence on us
Next week we will switch from looking at famous heroes from the past and present to consider less celebrated individuals who have an even greater impact on our lives because they touch us directly, either at home or in school. Children may well ask you to describe your heroes and role models as part of their homework.

Reading and Writing
We will have a grammatical word focus on compound words, prefixes and suffixes.

Maths
We will revise multiplication of numbers by 10, 100 and 1000. This we will extend to better understand the connection with dividing by the same numbers and how both dividing and multiplying like this relates to place value. Following this we will explore methods of adding multiples of ten and near multiples of ten.

Homework – This was completed and returned more effectively then last week. Only one or two children failed to complete everything or did not stick work into their books. Thank you!

P.E. – is on Wednesday and Thursday. Please ensure that your child/children are dressed in or bring the appropriate clothing to school on these days – house t-shirts/school shirt, shorts and trainers.

Library – is on Monday. Please remind the children to bring back books for exchange/renewal.

Hats – Most children now have hats with just one or two exceptions. If your child does not have a hat please try to purchase one this weekend.

Assembly – We will be sharing our learning so far with the whole school on Monday morning at 7.35am. Parents are welcome to attend.

Scott Hawkins