Moshi Campus News – 6 Jun 15

After almost eight months of construction, we were very pleased to open the new Sports Facility yesterday. Our new building comprises changing rooms for boys and girls, public toilets, a pump room for the swimming pool pump, a fitness centre which will have new weights equipment in it by next quarter, a PE/Sports office and ample storage space. Students and others can start using the changing rooms and toilets from today.

It was an honour to welcome Simon Mtuy to open the facility. Simon has been described by National Geographic as an Extreme Athlete [see channel.nationalgeographic.com/videos/an-extreme-athlete/] and he still holds the 2006 Guinness Book of World Records spot for the fastest unaided ascent and descent of Kilimanjaro (in under 9h 22m). He is certainly a good role model for our young athletes.

We instigated the journey of our education, and we will continue to advance on that journey. Without our parents, teachers and the rest of the ISM Community, we would not have reached so far. In our gratitude, we would like to invite you to celebrate, not the end of our educational expedition, but rather a milestone. Mark it on your calendars and join us on the 12th of June, at Karibu Hall, to celebrate the end of our MYP years, a paved path for our future.

Next Saturday, June 13th the brownies are holding a garage sale in Karibu Hall from 10am til 12.30pm. If you are leaving Moshi this year, this is an ideal opportunity to sell unwanted items. Tables will cost TSh 20,000 and should be paid for in advance in the school office at the latest by Wednesday, 10th June.

There is excitement in the air in the Secondary School at ISM. It’s not just that the long holidays are almost upon us. Students in M1-M4 and their teachers are looking forward to taking part in an innovative learning activity next week: Project Y.
Project Y is an example of Project-Based Learning and what we refer to as our MYP Focus Days. This is an innovative approach to learning that teaches a multitude of strategies that are critical for success in the 21st century. Students drive their own learning through inquiry, as well as work collaboratively to research and create projects that reflect their knowledge. From gleaning new technology skills, to becoming proficient communicators and advanced problem solvers, students benefit from this approach to instruction.
From June 11-16, students will work in small, multi-grade groups to formulate, explore, research, create, and present a “Why” question.
Having the opportunity to research a topic of personal interest within a collaborative multi-age group has significant learning benefits. Imagine a question such as “Why is Usain Bolt the fastest man on Earth?” They might explore genetics through a scientific lens; the history behind Jamaican sprinters; culture, and the impact it has on athletics; or diet, and the impact it has on developing athletes. The connections and possibilities are endless and exciting.
Most of all the time will allow the students to explore a topic they are passionate about with students they do not usually work with. Educational research, experience, and real world examples tell us that multi-age groupings allow for unexpected moments of creativity and collaboration, which allow new relationships to be formed and new learning connections to be made.
In the future, ISM students will enter a workforce in which they will be judged on their performance. They will be evaluated not only on their outcomes, but also on their collaborative, negotiating, planning, and organizational skills. By implementing PBL and our MYP Focus Days Program, we are preparing our students to meet the 21st century with a repertoire of skills that translate to the workforce. Moreover, PBL projects are often impressive, grand undertakings created and presented with ultimate pride and care.
Creativity, collaboration, research, deeper learning, mentorship, leadership and more-what a great way to end the year!

We are very excited to share our program for the upcoming C&S Blitz, MYP Focus Days and Sports Day. Please see www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/mypfocus.pdf for the detailed programme for the 4 days from June 11-16, 2015.
M1-M4 students will be divided in 12 vertical groups, with our current M4 students as team leaders. On Thursday morning, each group will have the opportunity to complete hard labour (painting and building an outdoor kitchen), organize and lead activities with the Daycare children, and participate in active and written C&S 2014-2015 reflections. Starting Thursday afternoon, the groups will move into Project Why… where groups will work together to come up with an open-ended, academic question that they will then research. They will come up with a creative presentation, which will be presented on Tuesday morning. Following break on Tuesday, students will compete in our House Sports Day, playing Capture the Flag, basketball, volleyball, football, ultimate and American football.
It will be a very fun, action packed 4 days, and we look forward to your son/daughter being involved in all activities.

A final greeting for this school year from the Music Room! We have had a very fruitful year with several successful student performances in a variety of events, lots of changes in the room, and most importantly some great things happening in Music classes. All of the PYP and MYP students have finished up their final units over the past weeks and displayed some great creative and musical skills in the process. Included this week are some pictures of a variety of learning experiences Music students have gone through over the past weeks: P1/2 doing rhythm review exercises together as well as learning some traditional folk dances, P3 students doing an individual written activity, and M2 students engaged in peer critiquing of their final project – writing their own melody. It was a great way to round out a most successful year.
One point of note for all students and parents involved in the private music lesson program: this coming week, June 8-12 will be the final week of private lessons for the school year. For the few days of school, we will need to pack up all the equipment and instruments for storage over the long break. We appreciate your understanding and support with this.
Wishing everyone a restful holiday and we’ll see you in August!    

We are delighted that Kennedy House is joining us this week on Wednesday 10 June from 10.00 to 12.00 for a Netball/Touch Rugby tournament. The students participating will need to wear their green ISM T-shirts on that Wednesday. Parents are very welcome to come and support; some of the primary classes will be out for short periods to cheer on their classmates.

CAS, Sports and primary clubs will continue until Thursday 11 June. We are very grateful to the many parent volunteers who ran clubs or coached sports throughout the year. If you are willing to offer your services in the secondary or primary sections next academic year please email Totty Aris or Marika Farrell.

Since last week’s newsletter many new photos have been added for the 2015 Graduation Ceremony. Thanks to Lynn Rieks for the most recent set. Please view all three pages of photos at www.uwcea.org/grad15

Last night our boarders put on an excellent talent show in which many secondary students showcased their abilities. Congratulations to all involved!

At last week’s primary assembly, the primary classes performed various displays showcasing their skills in gymnastics, football, basketball, dance and agility exercises! Many thanks to parent Noah for preparing such a wonderful assembly.

All students will receive full reports this month.
M5 students will receive reports on Thursday, 11th June.
Other Primary & Secondary students will receive reports on Tuesday, 16th June.
Please note that reports will not be issued to students whose fees for 2014/15 have not been fully paid. If you wish to receive a soft copy of your child’s report, please email Totty Aris on .
On Wednesday, 17th June we will hold an end-of-year celebration assembly in Karibu Hall from 9am to 1015. Parents are very welcome to join us and celebrate the successes of the year as we award certificates for Academic Excellence and tp IB Learners & CAS students of the year. We will also say farewell to leaving students and staff. Students will be free to leave school at 10:15 on
Our final secondary parent-teacher consultations will take place in Karibu Hall from 10.30-12.00.
Please do not withdraw your child from school until the last day unless it is absolutely necessary to do so.
Parents of boarders are requested to contact Rosemary Bango on as soon as possible to confirm travel arrangements for boarding students.

During the long holiday we will be welcoming a number of visitors to the school: 20 – 29 June: CAS Camp – Students from different schools will be joining our CAS Camp undertaking community service work in the area and enjoying a safari. 26 June – 7 July: Students from Munich International School will be staying in Kivuli 1 – 15 July: Sidcot School from the UK will be visiting and staying in Kijana house.

As announced last week, we will be adding a further primary class on the Moshi Campus in the next school year. Teachers for classes next term will be as follows:

• Early Childhood – Ms Annalee Horton
• P1/2 – Mr Larry Anton
• P2/3 – Ms Kate Schermbrucker
• P4 – yet to be appointed
• P5 – Ms Jennifer Anton
• P6 – Ms Sarah Sengendo

Many of our students are participating in different aspects of this weekend’s Kilimanjaro Tourism and Industry Fair, including the Moshi Club Fun Run.

More details are at www.kilifair.de.

This past week most D1 teachers provided feedback on the end-of-D1 year exams.
Monday June 8th to Wednesday June 10th our D1s will be off campus for their interdisciplinary Group 4 Science Project. The focused Science research will take placeat a campsite near the ISM Arusha campus. Each year this event is a superb team activity an each student will participate both in the research, writing and presentation. The focus is on real-world skills – collaboration, communication and motivation.
D1 full diploma students will make their 5-7 minute presentation on their EE progress to date on Tuesday June 16th. Remind your child to prepare for this.
May I again remind parents to please make the trip to Moshi, if at all possible, for the parent-teacher meeting on Wednesday June 17th?
The first day of the 2015-2016 academic year will be Monday August 10th, and boarders return on Sunday, August 9th. Please plan accordingly.
Last month over 130,000 students worldwide took the May 2015 IB DP exams. All of these (and including the 36 in the ISM DP class of 2015) await the release of the results on July 6th.
Our incoming IB DP student numbers for the class of 2016 has now reached 54 students 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 several days before the start of school on August 10th. In the coming week parents of D1 students in this situation will receive an email on this matter.
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/dip92.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns. Rick Fitzpatrick – Diploma Coordinator

Important dates for your diary Friday 12th June EC/P1/2 assembly at 7.35am outside P3 classroom
Monday 15th June EC2 visit P1 classroom – School ends at the normal time on this day
Tuesday 16th June Class Party – further details coming next week
Wednesday 17th June End of year whole school assembly at 9.00am in Karibu Hall. School finishes after this assembly at approximately 10.15am
This week we are finishing our stories and graphing favourite sounds. Children will also choose 2 portfolio pieces. We will do some reflections on the year and some final assessments on the sound part of our unit of inquiry. We will also be busy practicing for our assembly.
Please remember your child needs PE shoes on Tuesday and Friday.

Information for Parents You are invited to our Primary Gathering on Friday, June 12th at 7:35 which will be held outside the primary classrooms. Our class will be sharing some of the activities that we have been doing during our current unit. As always, you are also welcome to attend our final all-school assembly on June 17th at 8:45 in Karibu Hall. All of primary will be singing a song together.
Literacy Focus for the Week We will have fun this week reading some new books, and doing activities to extend our understanding of the stories. We will also continue to read in our reading groups.
Maths Focus for the Week The children will be reviewing maths topics from throughout the year.
Unit of Inquiry We will wrap up our unit about teamwork and community helpers this week.
What to Bring to School Children need a hat for playtime and a healthful snack every day.
Timetable Monday: Library (return your books) Wednesday: PE (please send proper shoes and house shirt) Thursday: PE (please send proper shoes) Friday: Show and Tell

This week it has been really fun to watch the children working in their unit groups. There has been a lot of great teamwork and discussion whilst practising and preparing for the summative assessment task which is to be completed next week. In their groups they will be going into another Primary school classroom to “teach” the students in there what they know about their chosen resource (food, air or water). For this they have put together a range of items to help them explain, including: drama, Powerpoint presentations, maps, written prompts, posters, graphs and photographs. When not preparing for or doing this task, we will be book making or solving puzzles in P3 next week. The children will have the chance to make their own story or information book based on whatever their passions are, and they will need to manage their time throughout the week in order to complete this activity to a good standard. They will also have the chance to complete a range of puzzles and problems based on both mathematical and language skills and knowledge. Next week is our last full week together as a P3 class.
What to bring to school Hat , Water-bottle , Communication book (every day please).
Timetable Monday: Some homework will be set, but no spellings. Wednesday: Kennedy House are coming to ISM to compete in Netball and Tag Rugby. Some of the P3 children will be involved in this. Thursday: PE and last Library session. Please ensure that all library books are returned to school this week. Last day of clubs. Friday: Homework due in.

Information for Parents I can’t believe we are down to the last week and a half of school! We are busily working on finishing up various projects before the end of the school year. There will be a rugby and netball tournament on Wednesday from 10:00 – 12:00. Parents are welcome to attend. We will have our PE lesson on Monday this week.
Language focus for the week This week we will be working on writing persuasive speeches for the summative assessment project. Groups are continuing to work on their updated versions of fairy tales and the innovator newspaper is starting to come together.
Maths focus for the week We will continue working with decimals this week. We will be comparing them with fractions, rounding, and multiplying.
Unit of Inquiry Students are busy working on their summative assessments. They have all identified a need or problem and developed an innovation or invention that will help. They are creating models of their innovation and informative posters to communicate their ideas to their classmates.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Monday: PE (wear trainers and house shirt) Wednesday: Kennedy House tournament 10:00 – 12:00 (here at ISM) Thursday: Library (bring books)     PE (wear trainers and house shirt)

This week the students have been enjoying carrying out science experiments, although the results have been rather disgusting! One investigation was to discover what exactly is inhaled when a cigarette is smoked. We used plastic bottles to act as lungs – they were pumped by hand. The contents of the cigarettes was caught in cotton wool placed at the opening to the bottles. The resulting brown, sticky, smelly goo left on the cotton wool was enough to convince the students that they never wanted to take up this habit. Especially as we have been learning about the amazing and intricate structure of the human lung. Previously the children had also compared pictures of a normal lung to a smoker’s lung and observed a significant difference between the two.
Our second main experiment was to check the effect of different kinds of drinks on human teeth. Three of the students kindly donated their milk teeth. Each tooth was placed in 40ml of one of the chosen drinks, i.e. water, milk, Stoney Tangawizi, Coca Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, Juice and Sprite. The Stoney Tangawizi tooth split in half after 2 days and one part had completely dissolved by the end of the week. The Coca Cola and Pepsi teeth turned brown and the Fanta tooth turned bright orange. The students carefully weighed and measured each tooth twice per day and recorded their results in a table. The teeth are now in a glass jar in the classroom if anyone would like a closer inspection!

Unit: This week the children will complete the summative assessment for the unit. Transdisciplinary Theme: Who we are Central Idea: Our health is affected by the choices we make
Maths focus: Designing mathematics games.
English focus: Reading information texts. Writing a balanced argument.
Science focus: Body systems. Puberty.
Timetable Monday: Homework will be set | Library session | PE lesson (swapped with Friday) Wednesday: PE lesson Friday: Homework due in | No PE lesson (swapped for Monday)
N.B. The P6 Ceremony will be a part of the final assembly starting at 9am on Wednesday 17th June in Karibu Hall. All P6 students are requested to be present in order to receive their end of Primary School certificates. Parents are most welcome to attend.
What to bring everyday: Please bring a bottle of water to keep on the desk. A healthy snack for break times. A hat for break times, lunchtimes and sport lessons. A change of shoes if it is muddy.

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