Moshi Campus News – 26 Jan 2014

Our P5/6 students will spend three days this week on and around Simba Farm in West Kilimanjaro studying weather and how environmental and human factors influence the weather. They will be camping at the farm. The trip is from Monday (27th January) to Wednesday (29th January).

On 11th and 12th February, we will be conducting International Schools Assessment (ISA) tests for students in P4,P5,P6,M1 and M3. These tests help us to assess our students’ understanding of the curriculum in the areas of reading, writing and mathematics and give us indicators of where or when we may need to make curriculum adjustments. As parents you will also receive a report of your own child’s performance and can see his/her areas of strength or weakness identified in the assessments. Prior to the ISA tests, we will be conducting practice tests with the students in these classes on Thursday and Friday, 30-31 January.

The Outdoor Pursuits trip to the Usambara Mountains will be from Thursday – Sunday, 30th January – 2nd February.

The next school assembly is on Monday, 3rd February at 7:35am. This will be a Primary Sharing Assembly.

We welcome you to join us for the M5 Personal Project Exhibition in Karibu Hall on Tuesday February 4th. The M5 class is very excited to show you their products, and discuss their process and reflection. It has been a big project for them over the school year and we encourage your support on Exhibition Day!

The next Parent Association committee meeting is on Monday, 3rd February. If you wish to meet with the Parent Association committee and discuss any issue with them, you are welcome to see them between 8am and 8:30 on that day in Bob Horton’s office.

The M1 Field Study trip is from 5th to 7th February. More details will be published in next week’s newsletter.

It is 6am on Moshi campus and, despite the darkness gradually becoming light, there is a hive of activity. The running club is preparing towards the Kilimanjaro Marathon in March and the swimmers are thrashing through the water at the pool. I am always impressed by the motivation in our students to get up early and get out there to do their training. We are very excited by the forthcoming professional swim clinic (8-9 Feb) where there are only a few places left. If you are keen for your child to join in please email Ms Farrell on .
Meanwhile in the exam room the tables are being prepared for the next mock exams. These exams have gone very smoothly, thanks to our DP Coordinator Mr Fitzpatrick and the teachers invigilating the exams under IBO conditions. More university places have been rolling in demonstrating once again what a good cohort this graduating group of May 2014 is.
We have the P5/6 field trip this week and soon after the P3/4s will also be having this opportunity. The class teachers will send out details as the P3 from Ms Kacey and Ms Jann’s group will be joining this P3/4 trip.
Looking ahead to March our book week (17-21 Mar) will take place. You may wish to chat to your child about what they would like to wear for the dress-up day, a character from any book will do. Book reading competitions have already started in secondary and will soon be initiated in primary. Please see the recommended book list below sent out by our English department for ideas for books for your children. Many children are now reading through e-books or on their Kindle. Getting children reading is a priority for us as a school, please support your child in ensuring they are reading at home. We have a well stocked library where they are welcome to borrow books as well.
Totty Aris (Deputy Head of Campus)

Please find attached a reading list put together by the staff of the English department at ISM. After numerous enquiries from parents about what their children might read, it was felt that it would be helpful for students to be provided with some suggested titles for books. It is meant to be neither comprehensive nor exhaustive and it is certainly not obligatory. It is a work in progress and we are aware that there are some areas of the list that need to be developed: M1-3 poetry, drama and non-fiction, for example, but feel that the list as it stands will be useful to parents.
We hope you and your children enjoy exploring these books.
Joe Wright (Head of English).

This quarter, we have admitted 8 new students in boarding. They come from Tanzania. Uganda and Namibia. Most are already settled, especially because 3 have siblings in the school already.

The quarter started on a good note with the D2 students writing their mock examinations 2 days after they arrived, and these have gone on very well. They have utilized study hall time very effectively and set the mood for the other boarders.

Val Wesselink, the new Diploma girls boarding parent has also settled in very well.

In case of any questions or concerns, you can reach the Head of Boarding through email on .
We look forward to a successful quarter.
Rosemary Bango (Head of Boarding)

D2 students completed their second week of mock exams that will finish on Tuesday January 28th though the final day’s exams will only cover two subjects – Psychology and Spanish Ab Initio. The serious and focused work of the students in their D2 exams has been apparent and pleasing to observe. By mid-February all parents will be informed directly via email of their child’s mock exam results.
D1 full diploma students received a detailed EE briefing this week. Each now must reflect on the question of in which subject area he or she will like to write this independent, self-directed 4,000-word academic research paper. The first draft will be due in late-August (and the final version a month later) and each will be assigned a faculty member who will supervise and provide encouragement and support during this challenging project.
DP students’ Creativity-Action-Service (CAS) activities continued in full swing. One cannot overstate how tremendously useful these extra-curricular activities are in balancing out life for DP students whose rigorous academic work can be very taxing. In the late-afternoon hours of each weekday students are deeply involved in their “ACTION” aspect through sport on the ball fields/courts and this highlights the truly holistic aspect of our educational program. The importance of sport also has an essential physiological component documented in this article recently – https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/how-inactivity-changes-the-brain/.
If you are a parent of more than one child (and of different genders) you may find this interesting reading – https://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/01/22/do-parents-have-different-hopes-and-standards-for-their-sons-and-daughters/
As a teacher of the Humanities these set of maps were a gold-mine discovery recently that you too may enjoy – www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/01/13/40-more-maps-that-explain-the-world
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick Diploma Programme Coordinator

It was a very busy second week back at school last week. The new children are settled and our unit of inquiry has got off to a great start. We brainstormed the meaning of living and non-living, sorted objects accordingly and planted sunflower seeds to find out exactly what plants need in order to grow and change. We examined different types of seeds and sorted them. The children started a growth diary to record what happens to their sunflower seed.
Next week we will walk around the campus to identify all the living things we see and record by drawing pictures. We will start to inquire into what life cycles are through looking at books, watching various children’s programmes and doing puzzles and sequencing pictures.
Literacy Our inquiry into life cycles will involve using non-fiction books. The children will sort fiction and non-fiction and discuss the differences between them to get a better understanding. Letters of the week will be w and z, made by Walter Walrus and Zig Zag Zebra. EC2 children will look at the sound that s and h make together. The growth diary will be ongoing as the children draw and label what happens to their sunflower seeds. The story of the week will be ‘Jasper’s Beanstalk’ by Nick Butterworth and hopefully by the end of the week the classroom will have its own Garden Centre/flower shop for role-play. If anyone has any of the following we can borrow, I’d be very grateful: Children’s gardening tools Small wheelbarrows Packets of seeds (full or empty) Plant pots/small plant trays Gardening magazines
Numeracy Measurement will continue for another week. Number will involve playing a variety of number games in differentiated groups.
Other things to remember

Swimming on Monday (please help us by blowing up armbands in advance)

Library bags returned on Tuesday and Friday

PE T-shirts to be worn on Friday as well as appropriate footwear.

A sunhat and a spare set of clothes should be kept at school

A healthy snack and water bottle everyday.
 

We welcome Krishna and Joeka, our new boys in P1.
New Unit of Inquiry: Everything has a Place Theme – How we organise ourselves Central Idea – People live and work together in communities. Lines of Inquiry: 1. Organisation of communities 2. Roles and responsibilities 3. Similarities and differences between communities We have discussed what a community is. We have talked about ISM as a community. We will go onto talk about the school being part of the Moshi community. Who is in our community? What jobs do people do? What are the needs and wants of the Moshi community?
Language focus for the week Write a recount of the weekend. Children will be encouraged to use the language of time. (First, Next, Then, After that, The next day…) Sentence and word level work will also focus on descriptive language. Write a simple story with a familiar setting. Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and continue the One Armed Robot Family (bhkpmnr) Phonics – Group 1: Words beginning with br, cr, dr, pr, tr. Group 2: i-e as in bike, revise ie as in tie, y as in cry and igh as in night.
Maths focus for the week Mental skills will focus on counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. Quick recall of addition facts of 7, 10 and 20. All children will learn about shapes and their properties. They will learn about 2D shape (eg square, circle) and 3D shape (eg cube, pyramid). We will also continue learning about place value (tens and ones) in number work.
Art We will create shape pictures.
What to bring to school: Every day: A hat for playtime, a healthy snack, water bottle and reading folder. Timetable: Monday

New reading books and homework packets including spelling lists will be issued.

PE (wear your house T shirt and shorts for gymnastics) Tuesday

Swimming (swimming costume, towel, flip flops/crocs, swim aids such as floaters if necessary. Goggles and sun cream are optional.) Thursday

Library (Bring library books in your special library bag to return and then choose new ones)

New class reading books will be issued. Friday

Spelling Test

We were pleased to have another student join us last week. Darshan joined Mateo and Jesmin as our new P3 students. Karibu!
We are looking for more Mystery Readers as a new term begins. Let me know if you are willing to come in with a picture book of your choice and read to our class. The best times for us are Tuesday/Thursday morning or Wednesday/Thursday afternoon.
Unit of Inquiry – Simple Machines Last week we explored the terms that we will use for the duration of the unit. Force – a push or a pull that can change the way an object moves Work – using a force to move an object Machine – a tool that makes work easier In the weeks ahead, we will consider each of the 6 simple machines (inclined plane, wedge, wheel and axle, screw, pulley, and lever) by making models, doing experiments, and using them.
Language We will continue our work on Procedural Writing. Students have written the steps for activities that they know how to do. Please read over a recipe or instructions with them sometime this week as an example of how procedural writing is different than narrative writing. This focus pairs nicely with considering the sequence of stories so we will discuss and write about the order of events in several books. The spelling chunk of the week is -ore.
Math Both groups will work on measuring using centimeters and meters. We will also review the mental math skill of counting backwards from double digit numbers up to 99.
Monday: Library, please bring your books and bag. Homework sent home. Wednesday: PE, remember to wear your sneakers and a hat and bring your water bottle. Thursday: Swimming, bring your suit and a towel. Reading books swapped out, bring your Reading Log as well. Friday: Spelling test and return completed homework.

Our first two weeks have just flown by and we have been engaged in many different learning activities. Miss Maggie’s dad is an accomplished children’s musician and we have been able to learn one of his songs which is all about different habitats. This has tied in perfectly with our unit on Biomes and we look forward to performing this song at a future assembly. Watching videos, book browsing, class discussions and using atlases and maps have all helped us in our inquiry so far. This week we will be using our IT time to do some research about the rain forest and in Art we will continue with our “rain forest art” theme. We are also learning how to create flour paste batiks during art – something I promised the children we would do during our last unit on The Arts, but never quite got around to.
During P.E. we are doing gymnastics and it has been very encouraging to see the progress the children have been making in learning the different movements and skills associated with this.
Your child may have mentioned our ice-cream sundae times tables challenge. Each week we will be focusing on a different times table and if when tested, the children get 100%, they will earn a part of an ice cream sundae e.g. 2x may get them a cherry, 5x a bowl, 10x a scoop of ice cream, 3x a spoon and so on. At the end of the term we will make these ice cream sundaes in class. Please encourage and assist your child to learn their table for the week, so that they can make the most delicious sundae possible as their reward.
This is what our other learning in class will look like this week: UOI Unit 4 – Where We Are in Place and Time – Biomes Central Idea – There are a wide variety of environments on our planet made up of living and non-living elements. Lines of inquiry – Types of biomes         Location of different biomes         Interactions of living and non-living things         Human responsibility to share resources with other living things         Preservation of natural environments We will finish watching a video on the rainforest and explore further, the interaction between living and non-living things. We will learn about the different layers in the rainforest and the animals and plants that live there.
Maths – Miss Jann’s Group – Story problems involving fractions. Simple addition and subtraction of fractions. Assessment on fractions. Money – using money in real life situations. Miss Debbie’s Group – Money. The relationship of coins and bills in various currencies.
Language – Riddles about the rainforest animals and plants. Factual writing about the rain forest – a report on an animal. Spelling – group 1 words that contain ph that says “fff” e.g. photograph, elephant group 2 the first of the three sounds of -ed e.g. invented, reported group 3 Consonant blends tr, -nd and -ng e.g. train, pond, bang Grammar – irregular verbs e.g. blow/blew, sing/sang, bite/bit
Reminders Every day: School t-shirts or polo shirts, zip bags (reading book, reading log, spelling book all need to come to school each day), a healthy snack for break time. Monday: Homework handed out – spelling, reading, Maths, language Wednesday: P.E. Please wear house/school t-shirt and shorts or tights (no jeans, skirts or dresses). No need for trainers, as we will be barefoot in the hall for gymnastics. Please see that long hair is tied up. Thursday: Times tables test – 5x. Library. Please remember library bags and any books that are due back for return/renewal. Friday: Hand in homework Spelling test Swimming – please remember costumes, towels and sunscreen and goggles if your child uses them. Class Camp – our annual class camp is scheduled to take place on February 18/19. More information will follow shortly. Request – I am collecting large plastic water and/or soda bottles (1½ – 2 litre size) so that we can make biomes in a bottle. If you have any, please send them to school. Thank you! Looking forward to a great week together. Miss Jann

I look forward to seeing many of you on Monday morning before P5/6 set out on their field trip to Simba farm. It promises to be a hugely enjoyable and rewarding camp. The children have been studying the instruments that meteorologists use to study weather as well as conducting some simple experiments in the class room to better understand air pressure. After our return, on Thursday the children will take ISA trials tests in English and Maths prior to the real tests next month. It promises to be a busy yet productive week for all of us. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the field trip please don’t hesitate to email me on
UOI – ‘Wild Weather’ Central Idea: Weather changes as a result of environmental factors and human influences
The children have constructed their own instruments to measure wind speed, wind direction, air pressure, air temperature and rainfall and will be using these in coordination with observations to record the weather at intervals next week whilst on camp.

IN THIS ISSUE