Moshi Campus News – 8 June 2014

We look forward to seeing many of our primary students performing in this dance assembly on Monday, 9th June starting at 7:35am in Karibu Hall. Parents are most welcome to this whole school assembly which will see performances from EC up to M5 students.

The Moshi Campus Parents’ Association has invited any parent who wishes to meet or discuss with them, to their regular monthly meeting this Monday in Bob Horton’s office. It will start immediately after the assembly and finish by 9am.

On Monday, June 9th, we have an exciting programme in place for our P6s, who will be transitioning into the MYP programme in August. They will be introduced to a number of different secondary subjects and will get a feel of wht it is like to be a secondary student. The P6s will be following a secondary timetable, so their break, lunch and finish times are different than their normal P6 school day. P6 students will not attend clubs on Monday, but will finish classes at 3pm.
At 4pm on Monday, 9th June, we invite all P6 parents to join us for an informal Question and Answer session about life in the Secondary School, and questions about the MYP Curriculum. We hope you can join us for a coffee in Room 16.
Marika Farrell
MYP Coordinator

From Monday, 9th June to Thursday, 12th June, our D1 Biology and Environmental Systems & Societies students will be in Pangani undertaking field study as part of their diploma course.

On Wednesday, 11th June starting at 1:30pm, our riders will be demonstrating their horse-riding skills in a Horse Show at the stables. All are welcome to watch.

We will be holding a special ceremony at 2pm on Friday, 13th June to mark our M5 students’ transition from the Middle Years Programme to the next stage of their education. All parents are warmly invited to the event when we will recognise each student individually. The ceremony will be followed by a tea and refreshments here in school. And then we will look forward to seeing almost all of the students back in ISM for the diploma programme in August.
M5 students will be expected to leave school with their parents on Friday, 13th June. There are no classes or activities for M5 students in the following week and we cannot accommodate M5 boarders after Friday, 13th June. Reports for M5 students will be issued on Thursday afternoon, 12th June.

All other students will finish school on Friday, 20th June.

Next Saturday, 14th June, many of our D1 students will be taking ACT tests which are required for entry to many universities and colleges in the USA. Regular registrations for these tests have now closed, but it may still be possible to accept a late registrant on payment of an additional fee.

Last Tuesday, we held a Spirit Day and took photos of all the classes in school. You can view or download these photos from www.uwcea.org/spirit. If you also wish to see photos of the graduation and the D2 class, these are available at www.uwcea.org/gradpics.

ISM JUNIOR LEOPARDS BRING HOME THE WIN On Saturday May 31, ISM hosted its first U14 Girls’ and Boys’ Basketball Tournament. We were very lucky that the sun came out, as we played on the outdoor courts. After 24 games, lots of cheering and excitement, we had teams in both the Boys’ and Girls’ Finals. It was a very exciting tournament, as 5 of the games were won by 2 points or less, and two games went into exciting overtime periods.
On the girls’ side, our ISM Pink Leopards won the Silver Trophy, and our ISM Green Leopards won Bronze. On the boys’ side, out ISM Blue Team won the Championship in a tight match over St. Constantine’s. The ISM Orange Team won Bronze.
Thanks to Coach Maggie, our P2/P3 Teacher, for developing these student-athletes since January. Well done Leopards!

Future Stars Academy will be hosting a Summer Sports Camp on the Moshi Campus from Monday, 21st July to Friday, 25th July. Any child aged 5 to 16 years is invited to register for this camp which includes football, basketball, tennis and swimming activities and many other games. The cost is $150 for the week. Details are attached in the accompanying flier which is also available to download from www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/futurestars_flier.pdf. The registration form is also attached and can be downloaded from www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/futurestars_reg.doc. Questions can be directed to .

The Director writes… As many of you will know, on May 4th/5th over 40 members of the school community met at Kishari House, Moshi to move forward with our strategic planning process. Over this two-day period many ideas were discussed in terms of supporting the school’s on-going development and key strategies and objectives were clarified.
Both the Board and Senior Management Team have been working with the Strategic Planning Convening Team to discuss the development of a ‘Vision 2030’, a Strategic Map as well as a Strategic Plan and various groups will be finalising these over the coming weeks. We very much look forward to sharing these with you early in the 2014/15 school year.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the support that you have shown to ISM over the past year. I hope that the forthcoming vacation provides both you and your family with an opportunity to re-energise, reflect and most importantly time to relax and enjoy activities that are new and different.
My colleagues and I look forward to welcoming many of you back to ISM in August. To those sadly leaving our community we all send you every good wish for the future and hope that our paths will cross again somewhere in the world. Travel safely! Warm regards, Robert Horton (Director)

The Brownies would like to thank all those people who supported the garage sale yesterday either by buying a table, donating clothes and baked goods, helping on the Brownie refreshment stall or coming to shop! The total raised was 568,000 TSH which will be divided equally between Brownie funds and to pay for a child to have a cleft palette operation. Many thanks to all the Brownies for their efforts. Helping to organise this charitable event was the final part of their challenge badge and this Thursday they will all receive their badges.

Thank you to our teachers, teaching assistants and parent volunteers who all helped this year’s primary clubs programme expand to offer a whole range of new activities. The last club will be on Thursday 11 June.
Unfortunately some of our primary clubs will be ending early as our volunteer Matt has had to go on a trip and we don’t have anyone to replace him. This week the following clubs will not run: Gymnastics, Tennis, and Primary Games. If your child is part of one of those clubs, please pick them up at the end of school at 13:05 and take them home, as there will be no supervision. Apologies for the inconvenience.

For quite a while now the school has been slowly making steps towards engaging with improvements across the school that encourage a healthy lifestyle. Campus Management has spent some time reviewing the dining room food to create a more nutritionally balanced diet over a four week cycle for our boarders. Salt has been removed from the dining room tables and posters regarding food requirements are on the walls. The Life skills programme in the secondary school had a particular focus on healthy living, understanding what we eat and drink and knowing your BMI (Body Mass Index). In primary, we were keen also to educate and encourge students to think more about how healthy they are. Recently we started a initiative to weigh and measure our primary students so we can work out their BMI. The Nurse is taking note of this and our medical consultant Dr Dekker is helping analyse the data. If there is a concern over a child’s BMI then we will be informing parents via a letter. Together we hope to continue this innitiative with parents at home, whether boarding or day students, to encourage our young people to live healthily for a long and prosperous life.

End of Year reports will be issued for all primary and secondary students (except M5s) on Thursday afternoon, 19th June. Anybody wishing to have a soft copy emailed to them, should please email . Please note that reports will not be issued to students whose fees are not fully paid.

As usual we will have our end of year assembly on Friday, 20th June. This is not only a chance to celebrate the last quarter of the year but also an occasion to say goodbye to our leavers and celebrate outstanding students. Awards will be given each year group for Most Improved student, Top Academic Student, CAS Student & IB Learner Profile student of the year. We will also be awarding certificates for the students who have showed the most commitment and enthusiasm in each subject. After the assembly, parents of secondary students will have an opportunity to meet with teachers for our final Parent-Teacher consultation 10.35-12.00.
Students will be free to leave school after 10:15am on Friday, 20th June. Once again we strongly urge you NOT to arrange for your child to leave school earlier than this. Parents of boarders are asked to let Rosemary Bango know of travel arrangements as soon as possible on

We have some special arrangements in the secondary school for the final week of term. From Monday, 16th June to Wednesday, 18th June, our M1-M4 students will be engaged in special activities as part of our MYP Focus Days.
On Tuesday, 17th June and Wednesday, 18th June, our D1 students will be spending time working with their Theory of Knowledge programme and with their Extended Essays.
On Thursday, 19th June, all secondary students will be engaged in the inter-house sports competition.
More details will be given in next week’s newsletter. Please ensure that your child does not miss these activities and events and that they attend school until the final day on Friday, 20th June.

On two school days this week, five-person teams of D1 Physics, Biology and Chemistry students conducted their interdisciplinary Group 4 Science Project. The focused Science research topics included: ‘Alternatives to Charcoal’, ‘The Distribution of plant species around the ISM campus’, ‘Soil Capillarity in ISM’, ‘How does the pH level of the soil influence the growth of grass and biological weathering at ISM?’, ‘Water consumption at ISM’, and ‘Effects of Detergents on Plant Growth on ISM’. A superb collaborative team activity, each student participated both in the research, writing and classroom wide presentation. Learn more about this project at: www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/Gp4Project.pdf
May I again remind parents to please make the trip to Moshi, if at all possible, for the parent-teacher meeting on Friday June 20th?
The first day of the 2014-2015 academic year will be Monday August 11th. Please plan accordingly.
Last month over 128,000 students worldwide took the May 2014 IB DP exams. All of these (and including the 48 in the ISM DP class of 2014) await the release of the results on July 6th.
Our incoming IB DP student numbers for the class of 2016 has now reached 50 for the first time in the school’s decades long history.
Our ‘Diploma Retention Policy’ requires us to ask any D1 student who did not reach 24 total points (as the end-of-D1-year exam grade on his/her 6 classes) and 12 higher-level points, to return for the re-take exams that will take place on Friday, August 8th to Sunday, August 10th, 2014. About a dozen of the D1 students are in this situation. If they succeed in reaching 24/12 as their total points after the August 2014 retake exams, they may continue as full diploma students. If they do not, they will be required by our policy to move to ‘Diploma Course’ status (formerly called ‘Certificate’ status). This week, parents of D1 students who did not reach 24/12 and who will have do retake exams will receive an email on this matter. Please note that these retake exams cannot be scheduled later, so students affected may need to readjust their plans to ensure that they are present.
The rigors of the IB DP require us as parents to assist our DP students to maintain balance in their life. Regular exercise, a healthy diet and adequate sleep are essential pieces of this puzzle but it is too often forgotten. Can you encourage your son/daughter to develop good exercise-related habits now as teenagers? Try this website for related ideas – www.uwcea.org/dip27.
Some IB DP students struggle with the fact that exams are hand-written and illegible writing means examiners cannot decipher content and can result in lower grades. Remind your son/daughter in the ISM DP of this issue. This article relates – www.uwcea.org/dip28. Or, buy the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens book for your child and talk about the great suggestions it provides! Go to: www.seancovey.com/books_7habits.html to learn more about this text.
Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick Diploma Programme Coordinator

Last week was a very busy week as we carried out assessments to inform report writing, therefore some of the work planned was not completed and will be continued into next week.
Unit of Inquiry We didn’t manage our silent gallery walk last week so looking at and reflecting on art posters will be a priority. We are preparing for our art show and presentation in the last week of school (Look out for your invitation coming next week) so working with a variety of art media is another priority. The children are having so much fun with their art projects.
Language

• New children will play some games to remind them of the letterland characters that have been introduced so far. This has been an introduction to letter sounds that will be built upon next academic year.
• EC1 children will work on writing initial sounds of words with correct formation. Some are ready to write CVC words.
• EC2 children will finish their poems based on the book that was used last week as the basis of our literacy work, ‘The runaway pizza.’
• We will find out how to write invitations and what information to include in them.

2 weeks to go!
Dance Assembly – Monday 9th June Parents and Carers are invited to a special dance assembly on Monday 9th June at 7.35am in Karibu Hall. There will be a variety of groups performing. Music Fun Club will perform Surfin USA and P1 and 2 will be dancing and singing Cool Cats.
Unit of Inquiry – Art Theme – How we express ourselves Central Idea – There are different ways to express our ideas and feelings. Lines of Inquiry:       1. There are many types of artists.             Elements of art and design.       2. Expression through the arts.       3. Art appreciation. We are learning about the elements of art and design: line, shape, colour, value, texture, form and space. We will continue to focus on texture and create some pictures with rubbings. We will look at some artists and how they express their ideas through art. We have been creating pictures in the style of Monet.
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. Continue to work on various poems. Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and spelling patterns. We will also continue to work on capital letters. Some P2 children will learn to join letters together. We will revise many of the spelling patterns learnt this year.
Maths focus for the week We will apply many maths skills we have learnt this year to solve problems. Example: I had 20 cookies. I gave 3 to my mum and 2 to my brother, how many left?
What to bring to school: Everyday: A hat for playtime, a healthy snack, water bottle and reading folder.
Timetable: Monday

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

PE (wear your house T shirt, shorts and trainers) Thursday

Library – No books will be issued. Please make sure any outstanding books are returned.

Final reading books will be issued. Friday

Spelling Test

This week P2/3 worked very hard on their Maths and Spelling assessments for the year. In addition to that we also worked on writing stories about our made-up animals, planted and observed seeds in different conditions, and learned about milliliters and liters. The class received a “cooperation” leaf from Mr. Scott at assembly for being so well behaved in my absence as well as for being so cooperative with me thus far during Miss Kacey’s maternity leave. Well done! Now, here’s a look at the week ahead.
Language Arts On Monday we will have our last assessment which is just a writing piece. Students will write (unassisted) about a given topic. For the rest of the week we will be conducting some research and doing some informational writing about animal adaptations. Each student has chosen an animal that they would like to research. We will use the information they find to write song verses.
Maths We will be doing some more measuring using milliliters and liters at the start of the week. We have been using various objects; buckets, cups, water jugs, etc. and guessing how many milliliters we think it takes to fill these objects. The students have really enjoyed this and we will expand on it further next week in class!
Unit of Inquiry P2/3 was so lucky to have Miss Annalee come in on Tuesday and plant seeds with them. They experimented on planting the seeds under various conditions. We observed the growth of these plants on Friday and will do so again on Monday. Then we will discuss why some plants grew and some didn’t. We are also taking a closer look at the adaptation of insects as there are so many fascinating insects here in Tanzania! The class has been very enthusiastic about this unit and it has been so much fun to see the ideas and questions they have come up with.
Reminders: Monday: Library, please bring back library books to swap. Homework is handed out. Wednesday: PE – please bring hat and sneakers. Thursday: PE – please bring hat and sneakers. Reading books swapped, please bring your reading logs. Friday: Spelling test and return completed homework.

Miss Jann will be away again from school on Monday, 9th March and is expected to be back in class on Tuesday. Many thanks to Miss Pearl who has stepped in to teach the P3/P4 class during Jann’s absence.

Last week the children were treated to a fascinating and engaging talk about medical anthropology / beliefs by Christine Kleinveld. Many thanks to Christine for taking the time to educate the children! They also undertook a series of assessments which are not yet complete.
UOI – Beliefs Central Idea: People’s beliefs influence their behaviour The children will begin their summative tasks.
Reading, Writing and Drama Assessments and summative tasks will make up the language instruction time.
Maths After analysis of assessment papers we will do further revision of areas of weakness that the children identify in self assessment.
P.E. – is on Wednesday. Swimming will once again be on Thursday.
Library – Will be on Monday. Please remind your child to bring their books for exchange.

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