Moshi Campus News – 21 May 2017

Our two new buildings are now nearly completed and we held a competition amongst our students and staff last week to name these. We are pleased to announce that our new boarding house (above) is named Kisiwa House (island) – this will be ready in just a couple of weeks and will accommodate up to 32 boarders next year in self-contained rooms, mostly with two students in a room. Kisiwa joins our seven other main boarding houses: Kiongozi (leader), Kijana (youth), Kivuli (shade), Kimbilio (hiding-place), Kiota (nest), Kipepeo (butterfly) and Kilele (peak). Thanks to Esuvat (D2) for her suggestion of this name.
We have been using our new multi-purpose hall over the last few weeks for D2 and M5 examinations and will continue in this vein for another week or so as D1 and M4 undertake their end-of-year exams. We are very pleased to name this hall as Rafiki Hall (friend) to complement our other large hall, Karibu Hall (welcome). Once exams are over, the final touches will be put to the building by our contractor and we then expect to use Rafiki Hall for many small assemblies, meetings and gatherings. Thanks to Mrs Linda Kileo for her suggestion of this name.

Periodically, we ask all ISM parents, students, teachers, Board members and alumni, to complete a survey to tell us what they think of the many different aspects of the School. This information is then used to help us to identify our priorities for developing and improving the school in the year ahead. You should have received an email last week giving you the link to the survey. There are slightly different questions for the different groups, so please only use the link that you receive through your own email address. Many thanks for your help.
If you did not receive the survey link, please contact Grace Mkumbwa on or myself on to request the link. This survey is only available until 5th June.

Many congratulations to our U9 and U11 netball teams who both won gold at the Kennedy House competition on Wednesday. Thanks also to Maria and Coach Ryan for training them up so well and accompanying them on the trip.
For Sale: There are still plenty of ISM T-shirts in stock in a variety of different colours. They cost TSh 10,000 each. There are also a few ISM caps left which TSh 7,000 each. These can be purchased at the ISM Reception Desk.
Advanced Notice: Spirit Week Primary Students are not expected to wear their ISM T-shirts when they are dressing up for Spirit Week. Monday, 29th May – pyjama day Tuesday, 30th May – wear black and white clothes Wednesday, 31st May – gender switch OR spots & stripes Thursday, 1st June – clone day Friday, 2nd June – will be class choice (the class teachers will let you know)

Congratulations to all our graduates who celebrated the end of their high school yesterday. Thanks also to our D1 group who begged them to stay in the musical interlude at the ceremony.
Our M3 students returned from their class trip to Makumira last week and appeared to have spent a valuable three days there exploring aspects of drama, music and art. We hope to bring you some photos soon.
This week our D1 students begin their end-of-year examinations on Monday, closely followed by the M4 end-of-year exams which start on Thursday. Both groups know that these exam results will be significant indicators in their progress to date through their courses.
Also this week our M5 students are out of school undertaking work experience. Each student has been asked to arrange their own work experience with a company or organisation so that they can gain a better understanding of what it is like to work for a week and better recognise some of the difficulties as well as the benefits. This experience can also help to guide their future choice of career. We wish them well and look forward to the feedback they will provide on their return to school on Monday, 29th May. The final M5 Ceremony will be held on Friday, 2nd June, and we will then bid them farewell for their holidays. Nearly all will be returning to join the Diploma Programme here in August.
Spirit Week is only one week away and all our students will be dressing up that week to mark our community spirit. Dress themes for each day are as follows: Monday, 29th May – pyjamas Tuesday, 30th May – black and white clothes Wednesday, 31st May – gender switch OR spots & stripes Thursday, 1st June – clone day Friday, 2nd June – each tutor group will select their own theme for this day.

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS At the moment, the NTAA has not re-scheduled the secondary school rugby and netball games that have been postponed due to poor weather conditions the past two weekends, it is the hope this decision will be made at the NTAA meeting next week.
This is the last week of official practices and they will end on Thursday May 25th!
In next week’s newsletter the ISM Secondary School Sports Brochure will be available. This will outline our program for next school year and the sport offerings. Keep looking in this space for the information
The Co-Ed Basketball Tournament will resume after the M4 and D1 exams that happen next week.
Finally, plans are being put into place for next year and the ISM Sports Department is looking for volunteers within the ISM Community who could lend their expertise in a sport to our students, and be a coach for one of our Secondary School teams. Interested people should contact Scott Hibbard ().
Activities As always the ISM Sports Department wants to advertise three excellent after-school activities, so please find below information regarding swimming, tennis and horseback riding.
Swimming lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced with Coach Sabini. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact Coach Sabini in person.
Tennis Lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced players with Coach Charles. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact him at 0757606766.
Horse riding is also available and those interested need to contact Mr Priva at 0758053280 for more information regarding times, prices and requirements.
As the year progresses please keep up with all the info, news, and sports reports by reading the Moshi Campus News.
Go Leopards Scott Hibbard, (Head of Sport and Physical Education)

We had an amazing week in primary sports as we count down to the end of the year!!
The primary netball squads (U9 and U11) were caught a bit off-guard when they learned of the netball tournament this past Wednesday. And who could blame them. They haven’t practiced as a team since Quarter 3, but that didn’t stop them from winning the tournament!!!! See the team pictured here in their favorite pose, wearing their medals for 1st place in BOTH tournaments!!! Amazing job: Sahil, Onno, Tavari, Townes, Fedya, Aman, Aiden, Shose, Dominique, Zuberi, Ian K, Gurtej, Yuvraj, Cecile, Joanna, and Brian. Also big thanks to Coach Maria for her amazing guidance on the day!
Rugby parents should be aware that we have the second and last Touch Rugby tournament on Wednesday, 24 May at Kennedy House. We will leave at 11:15 from the school. Day students please arrange for a healthy lunch and snack. Letters will go home on Monday.
This weekend is Primary Sports Weekend in Dar. The final list of participants is:
Levi, Shose, Ashraf, Niall, Delham, Abraham, Gurtej, Ian, Nuno, Jonah, Brian, Ezekiel, Daniel C, Yuvraj, Fedya, Onno, Zuberi, Aiden, Chase, Sahil, Noah, and Reuben. Ms. Claire, Coach Ryan and Coach Sabini will attend as chaperones. Packing list and trip information will be sent out this week.
Lots of upcoming sport dates, especially the triathlon at Kennedy House. Please consider entering a team. Contact Coach Ryan for more information (0766300454).
Upcoming Dates – Primary Sports Wed, 24 May – Touch Rugby – Kennedy House Fri 26 – Sun 28 May – Primary Sports Weekend – IST, Dar Wed, 31 May – Cross Country – Kennedy House Sat 10 June – Cross Country – Braeburn Sun 11 June – Triathlon – Kennedy House Ryan Sullivan

The ISM Brownie guides will be organizing a garage sale on Saturday, May 27th from 10am to 1pm.
If you are leaving Moshi this summer this is an ideal opportunity for you to sell items you do not wish to take with you. It’s also a great place to pick up some bargains; toys, books, shoes, kitchenware and bedding, etc
You can support this event by hiring a table to sell your goods or by coming to buy from the stalls. Refreshments will be on sale throughout the morning. Tables must be paid for in advance at the main school office. The price for a table is 20,000 TSH. Please see Annalee Horton if you have any questions about this event.

Next weekend a group of students will be setting out to climb the Ash Cone in the centre of Mt Meru. Formation of the Ash Cone and its associated lava dome and flows in the caldera is younger than 7800 years. The main cone of the volcano has a caldera which is 3.5 km in diameter. It has a large breach on its eastern side. The last minor volcanic eruption occurred on Mt Meru in 1910. We wish our group all the very best.

As you know, we have taken class photos of all children in EC – D1. You can see the printed photographs displayed on a board near Mr Cofer’s office, or also see low-resolution copies at www.uwcea.org/classphotos. We will be offering prints of the high-resolution photos for sale in three different sizes. This is to raise money for the Scholarship Fund. This is a fund which supports deserving scholarship students in the ISM Diploma Programme.
Print: 8 inches x 10 inches – 4000 Tsh Print: 6 inches x 8 inches – 2000 Tsh Print: 5 inches x 7 inches – 1000 Tsh
Please pay the correct amount of cash in at reception and complete the form which the receptionist will give you. We can only provide prints if this form has been completed accurately and the cash paid. Orders can also be paid by MPesa on 0767-534766, but only if followed by a text message giving clear instructions on which photos are needed, which size, what quantity, and which student these prints should be given to.

We hope you all enjoyed the Muffins for Mums and Dads Assembly on Monday as much as we did. This should have given you a good idea of the work going on in each section of the Primary School. Thanks to everyone who came to support this community event.
 

Thanks to all who contributed to fund the transportation to the USA of three surviving children of the Lucky Vincent School bus accident for their medical treatment. The children were airlifted out from KIA last Sunday morning on a plane provided by the Samaritan’s Purse Organisation and they are now in Sioux City in Iowa receiving treatment at Mercy Hospital; ISM students from Arusha Campus were at KIA to wish them a safe journey. The plane was acquired through a private donation. In this huge international effort, many organisations came together to contribute to this collaborative effort to secure treatment for the children and all transportation costs have now been met. We would like to thank all donors who gave so generously and helped the huge effort to raise over TSh 11 million to cover some of these costs. The money collected has been used to pay for US visa costs for the children and their parents and the amount remaining in our fund has been donated to Samaritan’s Purse: www.samaritanspurse.org/article/three-child-survivors-from-tanzania-bus-crash-arrive-in-u-s/.

Update:

D2 IB official DP exams concluded on Friday morning May 19th. These and all exams are sent via DHL to the IB’s contracted scanning center in the UK and from there they are dispatched electronically for e-marking by examiners worldwide.

By the end of this coming week, all D2s will be sent their electronic PIN code and password with which each will log in on July 6th to view their IB results.

DP faculty and staff arranged a tremendously successful Friday evening grad dinner and Saturday afternoon graduation ceremony for the forty-seven graduates. Particular thanks go to Mary Pantlin, Music Teacher and Keiron White, Head of Campus.
Upcoming

End-of-D1-exams will start on Mon May 22 and continue through to Tues May 30. Those D1s who score poorly may have to return for re-sit exams in the days preceding the start of school in August 2017. As per the ISM DP Retention Policy, “At the end of the D1 year, all full diploma students will be expected to have a minimum of 24 points (obtained by adding the end-of-year examination grades from their six subjects excluding ToK and EE). Any student achieving fewer than 24 points (or fewer than 12 HL points) at this stage will be required to take re-sit examinations before the start of the D2 school year in subjects and at times and on dates set by the Diploma Programme Coordinator. If, after the resit examinations, the total points score is still less than 24 points (or HL points are below 12), the student will be required to reduce their programme of study.”

D1s will participate in a praxis-oriented Theory of Knowledge/Extended Essay mini-workshop on Friday June 9th, Mon June 12th and Tues June 13th. As part of this the D1s will present a summary of their work to date on their Extended Essay.

Please plan to attend the crucial the parent-teacher consultations on Thursday, June 15th.
Weblinks: On youth and their future – www.nytimes.com/2017/05/10/opinion/owning-your-own-future.html
Why learn math? – www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfdFw3hXkf0
On the knowledge illusion – www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/books/review/knowledge-illusion-steven-sloman-philip-fernbach.html
On our solar system in perspective – www.theatlantic.com/video/index/417309/our-place-in-the-universe
On Being Smarter, Better, Faster – best-selling author’s book review – www.scientificamerican.com/article/a-q-a-with-charles-duhigg-author-of-smarter-faster-better
Rick Fitzpatrick, (Diploma Coordinator):

What an exciting time we had last week in EC! The children made gingerbread men and when they went to take them out of the oven they had run away! We searched high and low following the clues they left behind until we finally found them back in the classroom! Many thanks to Ms Kacey for helping us to solve the disappearance of ‘The Gingerbread Men!’ On Friday a group of parents performed the story of ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ on our class stage. What a talented group of actors! Many thanks to Ms Pearl, Rakesh, Gelske, Agnes and Pavan.
This week the children will finish their sequencing activity on the story of ‘The Gingerbread Man’ and retell the story using their pictures. We will focus on the story of ‘The three little pigs’ and provide opportunities for the children to retell this popular story in different ways. The children will experiment with different materials to make houses for the pigs and test them for their strength and suitability. The children will start to plan a story for their summative assessment. They will be able to choose how they tell their story from the variety of devices they have been trying out over the last month.
In music we will sing popular nursery rhymes and learn some that aren’t as well known.
Numeracy

Recognizing, continuing and creating patterns (including 2D patterns)

Addition and subtraction; adding and taking away 1 and 2 and using a number line to add and subtract.

Writing numbers and recording simple addition and subtraction stories using the symbols +/-/= (EC2)
Literacy

The long vowel sound o made by Mr O (EC2)

Revise sounds made by Bouncy Ben and Eddy Elephant (EC1)
Spirit week Our class dress up theme for Spirit week is Princesses and Princes so dust off those crowns and tiaras EC children, ready to dazzle the Primary school with your finery.

Maths This week the children designed a unit related survey, decided how they wanted to gather information and then went around the school collecting the required data. They decided to find out how many people around the school had different roles. So they created individual tally charts counting the teachers, children, fundis, gardeners, building, teaching assistants etc. They worked collaboratively with each other and used their thinking, organisation and communication skills. Next week we will finish the survey and then use the data to create graphs. This week has seen P1/2 coming to some conclusions after our investigation into the work done by ISM groundsmen.
Literacy/UoI “ISM gardeners work hard. They need a break.” Vicky “If they weren’t here, the school would not be beautiful.” Walter “They work hard. People should thank them.” Niall “They keep school looking nice. They really take care of a lot of people.” Chantelay We also couldn’t quite believe that they don’t have some time off for a party in work on their birthdays…
The children have realised that simply by acknowledging someone, by greeting them, finding out their name or making a positive comment about their work they make a difference to that person and their day. They are telling me all the time about the new people they have met and thanked working around the school. We have been looking into what a maintenance crew does at ISM, using books and the internet to research and develop questions for our special guest on Friday. We presented some of our work in Microsoft Word and had a fantastic time learning how to use a new app on our class tablets to present information in exciting ways. P1/2 would like to say a huge thank you to P4/5 for coming to teach us these new skills and for showing us how an interdependent and cooperative ISM learning community can benefit everyone.
We read three short animal tales brought in to us by Suhanee and her family, and thought about how members of a community can impact others in positive ways. We planned and wrote our own moral tales with a footballing ostrich, a nervous eagle, thirsty crocodiles and a tail-less peacock. This has helped us to integrate some of our VCOP sentence development work, spelling and handwriting into creative and memorable stories. Research tells us that developing basic skills in ways like this embeds and strengthens our learning. Through this process we build brain architecture in far more lasting ways than rote learning and testing alone (and it’s a lot more fun too!).
A few reminders this week please… 1. Do please understand that children should have both indoor and outdoor shoes in school. Some are wearing just socks around the classroom because they have only one set of shoes with them. That’s not really safe or hygienic for them, particularly in this rainy and muddy season of the year. Take time to check this weekend. 2. We are a few weeks into our new A3 reflection log homework and some children have not yet presented anything. Help me to encourage them to give it a try? 3. We have an assembly this coming Friday. Please send in a large T-shirt that we can cut up. Help the children to learn their short lines and do come along if you can make it. We promise you some “armless” fun.
All the best Mr Evans

Dear Parents,
Thank you all for coming and supporting your child during the Muffins for mums and dad’s assembly. The children performed very well in front of a large crowd.
P2/3s have another important presentation coming up. On the 29th May @7:35 in K-Hall we will be presenting in the whole school assembly.
The 29th May is the start of ISM’s Spirit week. The children will be taking part in a variety of fun spirit activities. 29th May- PJ DAY 30th May – black and white day 31st May – Gender switch (girls dress as boys, boys dress as girls) OR spots and stripes – your choice 1st June – Clone day (dress like a twin) 2nd June – Class choice – Famous Rock Stars (this can be a famous person a rock star or someone cool)
This week in class The P2/3s have been comparing volume and the capacity of a variety of different containers. They also carried out several experiments to see how much their water bottles contained. We read several books based around water: The Important Book, Water is Water and Water Can Be. The children then produced their own class book about the importance of water.
The Week Ahead in class Unit of Inquiry This week in class we will be spending time to inquire into the children’s own individual questions around water. For this the children will be researching during IT class. They will be going to the library to research. If you can help your child at home with any of this research it would help a lot. Sharing the planet Central idea: Water is essential for life on earth.

Where we find water

Water cycle

What people do with water

How water shapes human and animal activity
Reading: Over the next couple of weeks, I will be continuing to be assessing the children individually on their reading and comprehension ability. During their individual reading time, the children will be developing their comprehension strategies and looking deeper into what they read.
Writing: We will continue to focus on paragraph writing and I will introduce the hamburger template for them to have a go at writing one. We will continue to work on their genre of choice and also having a partner edit and check their work. The children are working on giving each other glows (positive feedback) and thing to work on.
Math: This week the children will be reviewing math skills that have been taught this year. We will be looking at using the hundred square when following math problems. The will also be continuing to reading scales used for measuring liquid (milliliters and liters).
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework Tuesday: PE / Library Wednesday: P3 French Thursday: P3 French Friday: PE – Homework to be returned Please ensure that your child has indoor shoes / share clothes including socks and suitable outdoor shoes. Thanks!
Useful website: https://primaryhomeworkhelp.co.uk/maths/interactive/numbers.htm
All the best Clare Hibbard P2/3

Unit of Inquiry: This week we did our first STEM challenge. The students were given time to plan and design a free standing tower using marshmallows and skewers. They learned about the importance of collaboration and perseverance (grit); not giving up when the going gets tough. They had 18 minutes to build their designs. Afterwards, they reflected on their designs and began to question whether planning impedes or improves the design process. In the upcoming week we will build and create using techniques/methods that real artists and designers use and learn from these experiences.
Math: We will continue solidifying our understanding of division and basic geometry concepts. This week, in pairs the students used ‘maker materials’ to show their understanding of key vocabulary concepts.
Literacy: In the upcoming week we will present scenes from plays we have read and begin to work on drafting an exciting play script from a favourite book. We will look at narrative voice and use a planning sheet to draft out the progression of the story.
Keep working on those spirit week costumes! Our class has decided that on the Friday our theme will be “the future us” featuring ourselves in the future. Julie Bowen
   

I hope you enjoyed the children’s presentation in the Muffins For Mums and Dads Assembly. The children made their poems into cards. If you did not receive your card please check the recesses of your child’s schoolbag!
This week in Maths we continued working on division and also explored the meaning of range, mode, median and mean when looking at data. Ms. Jennifer ran a sewing activity in class and the children explored how it is possible to make a curve with a series of straight lines. In IT the children have been using the website studyladder.co.uk. They have used it to research the digestive, skeletal and muscular systems. One of our lines of inquiry is that our body systems are interconnected. Details of the individual log-ins for study ladder are taped to the outside of the children’s homework folders.
In the Unit of Inquiry the children sorted cards detailing different changes under the heading boys, girls and both (for example growing facial hair, wanting to become more independent) and then sorted the cards again into the categories physical change, emotional change and social change. We have watched a short Brainpop movie on the changes that occur during adolescence and made posters about the things teenagers like doing – these are displayed in the breezeway. We have enjoyed looking at baby and childhood photos as part of our inquiry on the changes that occur during the human life cycle. Thank you for sending these in. The children finished their Keith Haring style human figure paintings. These look fantastic and are on display in the breezeway.
Next week in Maths we will apply our division skills to fractions work. In Language Arts we will focus on using thesauruses to help make our vocabulary more exciting when writing. In our Unit of Inquiry sessions we will consider who can help us and to whom can we talk when we want support during times of change. It would be wonderful if we could also have some guest speakers come to class and talk about rites of passage in their families – celebrations like first communion or other landmark celebrations that happen when a certain age is reached. If you would be happy to come and talk to the children (it can be for a few minutes, it does not have to be for long) we would be very happy to see you.
Monday: library books and new homework packet go home Tuesday: French, Music and P.E. Wednesday: Swahili Thursday: French Friday: Swahili, Music and P.E. Please return homework to school.
Deborah Mills, (P5 Teacher)

The P6s started their week with presentations for the “Muffins for dads and mums” assembly. They presented raps, which they had written for their Exhibition. These were very impressive demonstrating great creativity.
We also have a new member in our class; James Evans who is visiting us for 10 days. He visits with his mum who is the incoming director, Dr. Anna Marsden and Luke his brother in M2.
The students have inquired into the different body systems and made models to show what they look like. They presented their findings and learned from each other.
In the coming week we will be looking at how the body systems work hand in hand, with each other. We also find out more about the social and emotional changes we face as we enter the puberty stage and into the teen years.
In Math we will continue with the concept of division particularly in numbers with decimals.
In Language Arts, the students were exploring poetry with personification and created some of their own. This coming week we will look at alliteration and using similies.
Next week’s schedule: It is Spirit week throughout next week (29th May – 2nd June) but we will have our usual timetable. Kindly note, the P6 Ceremony is on Monday, the 5th of June in Karibu Hall from 7:45 a.m.

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