Moshi Campus News – 4 Jun 2017

This Monday we are looking forward to the P6 Ceremony, which will mark the transition of our eldest children from the Primary School to the Secondary School. P6 parents are welcome to join us in Karibu Hall at 7.35am for this special celebration.

Please do complete our community survey (if you have not yet done so). Parents can access the survey at
www.uwcea.org/survey
If you are a student, please go to www.uwcea.org/survey-students instead. Other groups (teachers, support staff, alumni, board members) have already been emailed alternative survey links.
The survey will close on Monday, 5th June

You are welcome to join us for a picnic outside Karibu Hall next Saturday afternoon 3:30-5:30pm to say farewell to Keiron White who is leaving ISM. Please pack some food, some non-alcoholic drnks and a blanket to sit on.

Towards the end of every school year our D1 students undertake field study as part of their IB Diploma Science work in the various subjects available (Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Environmental Systems & Societies). All the D1 students will travel to Arusha next week from Tuesday to Thursday to take part in this essential element of their programme.

This week is ISM’s Healthy Living Week. From Monday to Friday we will educate and challenge the students to make positive, healthy choices, e.g. regarding nutrition, exercise, play, rest, balance, hydration, sleep, hygiene etc. Please help us to reinforce these positive healthful messages at home. Perhaps discuss with your child why it’s important to get enough sleep and exercise, why it’s good to have a balanced life, why it’s beneficial to eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, why it’s best to drink plenty of water throughout the day and why it’s important to wash your hands after going to the bathroom or before eating.

MYP Drama Evening on Thursday, 8th June 2017 Our M3 and M4 have just concluded the choices of the art subjects for their next MYP grade levels. What this means that some of them will not be continuing drama in their M4 and M5. To mark this transition, it is our tradition to organize an exit performance to celebrate some of the skills they have acquired in drama. We hold this year’s drama evening on Thursday, 8th June in Karibu Hall starting 6:45 pm. We would like to invite all of you to join us on this date as we show case some of the talent on the units they have been working on this this quarter. Each year group will be presenting short scripts that they have practiced this quarter. Each of the pieces have been sourced, planned, rehearsed or choreographed by the students. The students have learnt technical and performing skills such as auditioning, casting, blocking, stage configuration, physical action, proxemics (stage distance), music and dance. Here is a brief break down of what to expect from each group:

M1 Pandora’s Box: The M1s will perform a version of the classical Greek myth of Pandora’s Box. Pandora is created and given as a punishment to mankind because Prometheus stole the fire to give to mankind. In the box is a host of horrific things and Pandora is instructed not to open the box. This is a story of what curiosity can cause in our lives.

M2 Communicating through dance: The group will be performing a dance they have choreographed around the theme of gardening.

M3: Romeo and Juliet: This group will be performing an abridged version on Romeo and Juliet, an old love story by William Shakespeare.

M4: Scripted Scenes: The group will be performing short pieces of between 4-10 minute each. You are all welcome. George Juma

The P1/2 and P2/3 classes showed themselves to be confident communicators last Monday when they presented this week’s whole school assembly. They shared their learning from their current unit of inquiries in several different fun and informative styles – including through comedy, rap, art, song and dance. The audience was entralled; what a positive way to begin the week!
Many thanks to all the parents who helped their children source different outfits for everyday of the week. We had a lot of fun this Spirit Week.
Dates for your diaries: Monday 12th June – final day of Primary Clubs Wednesday 14th June – PYP reports will be published on ManageBac Thursday 15th June – Primary children will go home at 10.15 for the holidays
Reminder: Please email your request to the Head of Campus () and Head of Primary () if for any reason your child cannot remain at school until the end of term. Kate Schermbrucker, Head of Primary

Well done everyone who took part in Spirit Week, i.e. by dressing up to a different theme each day. As well as being a bit of fun, this brought unity to the school with students of all ages taking part. Well done also to the Student Council for proposing the week, organising it, supplying the cake prizes and selecting the winning classes. Friday’s class prize winners were M1 and P1/2. Both classes received a delicious cake prize.   

 

Last Friday’s M5 Ceremony was a fitting farewell for the class. They had spent the first part of the week working with a local primary school on a service project and from conversations with the students when they returned they really enjoyed themselves. On Thursday they, and the D1 students, listened to members of our community explain what life holds for them in the Career Day presentations. A huge thank you to all those who came and shared their experiences with the students.
This week the D1 students will be completing their required Group 4 science projects from Tuesday to Thursday in Arusha followed by three school days focused on their Extended Essay and Theory of Knowledge. The M1 to M4 students will start their MYP focus days on Friday which is a combination of community service activities and interdisciplinary focused projects allowing students to focus their learning in different areas of interest.
Our final secondary full day will be the Secondary Sports day on Wednesday, 14th June with the houses competing in a number of sports.
Be aware that the end of the year is coming quick. Reports for M1-M4 and D1 will be released on Wednesday, June 14th.
On Thursday, June 15th, we will have the end of year assembly at 9am – all parent are welcome to join us for this. The assembly will be followed by Parent-Teacher conferences in Karibu Hall from 10:35am to 12 noon. This is an excellent opportunity for you to discuss your child’s report and progress with his/her teachers. Students will be free to leave school from 10:15am on Thursday, 15th June. Have a good week Bob Cofer, Head of Secondary

We are quickly getting to the end of the school year. We break for the long holiday on Thursday, 15th June 2017. It is that time again that we remind parents to make transport arrangements for the break, if you have not already done so. Students are allowed to leave on Thursday or on Friday morning. For those using flights, kindly send transport details to the Head of Boarding on, Rosemary Bango, on email address . The school provides free transport to Kilimanjaro Airport on the scheduled closing and opening days. We do not provide transport to Arusha Airport. Boarders will return to school for the new year on Sunday, 13th August 2017.
The highlight for this weekend was the M5 ceremony which took place in Karibu Hall on Friday afternoon. 17 M5 boarders were part of this colourful ceremony. They were joined by their parents, and were all happy to complete that phase of their school life. The boarders then left with their parents.
On Saturday and Sunday, a few boarders took part in the Kili Fair to support the Sparkling Elephant Project (SEP). There was a town trip on Saturday afternoon, and a basketball tournament in the evening.
School Shop – Invitation to Operate Every year the school advertises for partners to run the school duka. Anyone who wishes to operate the duka for a year from August 2017 (including the current partners) can get in touch with the Head of Boarding on to get more details. Rosemary Bango, Head of Boarding

The school’s Sparkling Elephant CAS group is helping at the Kili Fair this weekend to promote the plight of elephants and other endangered species. And of course they took Tumaini (their very own elephant) with them. The group are focusing on propagating the need for space for giants within the Kitenden corridor area! They are promoting building bee hive fences as mitigation and an income source!

They are working to safeguard Kilimanjaro’s biotope by advocating for securing the Chagga homegardens and reintroducing the oysternut as a trigger and for income. The theme is sustainable living and responsible tourism within the greater Kilimanjaro area.

Next Saturday, June 10th, many of our D1 students will be taking ACT tests. These reasoning tests in English, Mathematics and Science are important for students who intend to apply for admission to universities in the USA in 2018.
The next set of ACT tests in Moshi after these will be on Saturday, 9th September. Students wishing to register for the September ACT tests must do so before 1st August 2017 – that is before the start of next school year.

We would like to draw your attention to our expectation for students to bring laptops to school. Students in M3 and above will be required to have their own laptop in classes from August 2017.
It is expected that students will have a laptop with its own keyboard running Windows 7 or higher, or Mac OS X 10.6.1 or higher. Please note that Android tablets, iPads, Chromebooks, and Windows RT laptops are not capable of running software required by some courses. Both current anti-virus software and Microsoft Office (2010 or higher) should be installed. It should have wireless connectivity and, preferably, be able to operate for 4 hours (or more) on battery.
Students in M5 and above will be expected to have a graphic-display calculator for use in their classes. We very strongly recommend the purchase of a Texas Instruments TI-84 Plus calculator for M5 and Diploma students – we do not recommend other makes or models, as all teaching will be directed towards how to use TI-84+ and students with other models are likely to have difficulty. As these calculators are difficult to obtain in Tanzania, the school holds a stock of these calculators for purchase at cost price (including all carriage and taxes).
Students in M4 or below are expected to have a scientific calculator for their use – we do not recommend any particular model.

Last week was our very last NTAA competition with the primary athletes, and it was a wonderful day spent at Kennedy House in the sunshine for the Cross-Country meet. Cross-country runners place as individuals and as a team; points are scored for each place, and the lowest scoring team (i.e., the team with the highest placing five runners) is the winner. We had several runners vying for the tops spots, but closer than anyone else was Gurtej who was second overall in U11. All runners should be congratulated for their effort! Ryan Sullivan

Last week, the Life Skills Department and the Diploma Programme at ISM welcomed 20 speakers from the ISM community to speak to the M5 and D1 students about their work. Students were involved in 3 sessions of 40 minutes, in which our guests described their experiences and facilitated questions that were driven by student inquiry.
As you can see from the list below, the day provided an exceptional breadth of experience for our keen, future leaders. We are extremely grateful to all those listed for taking time out of their busy schedule to attend and in particular, we want to thank Sebastian Deitzold who flew from Zanzibar to participate. We received very positive feedback from the students about all of the talks and how it shaped their perceptions of their future.
Joris de Vries – NGO in Moshi | Krupa Patel – Business in Tanzania | Yann Hardy – Agriculture Projects | Jasmijn Bleijerveld – Beekeeping | Hope Jootna – UK Police | Rene Kleinveld – Horticulture | Dr. Oliver Henke – Cancer Treatment in Moshi | Clint Arthur – Engineering Biogas in Moshi Schools | Sebastian Dietzold – Developer – Fumba Town Zanzibar | Khalid Rushaka – TZ 1st Olympic Swimmer | Tara Mtuy – Public Health Research – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine | Selma and Ngome – Makasa TZ Safaris | Marco van Zwetselaar – IT and DNA Research | Gemma May – Start-up Businesses | Joey Renju – Owner Honeybadger Lodge Ryan Sullivan

Dear Parents and Staff, About ten days ago, the governing board held its last meeting for this school year. During this meeting we welcomed the director elect, Dr Anna Marsden, and said goodbye to Keiron White and Bob Horton.
The composition of the board has also changed: Kajiru Kilonzo and Geoffrey Sigalla were appointed by the shareholders to the board; Ann-Joyce Mwamafupa and Scott Hibbard are currently the teacher representatives; Marco van Zwetselaar is the new PTA representative for Moshi campus and Mark Blackett for Arusha campus.
During the next scheduled board meeting on 28th September 2017, we will be reviewing our strategic direction in this changing environment of international education in Tanzania and considering all options for the school, including the future of the Arusha IB Diploma Programme. This will allow Anna, our new director, time to understand our school well and, together with the board, be ready to make strategic decisions.
We believe we have a strong community which has significant experience. We therefore would like your ideas before that meeting, especially on strategies for increasing enrolment, which is critical for our school in this current environment. In August and September we will arrange meetings to gather your ideas and hope this gives you adequate time to prepare your thoughts and proposals. Please contact ISM management or any board member if you want to discuss these ideas in advance, or contact us by email: or

Parents are reminded of the upcoming triathlon that will take place at Kennedy House on Sunday 11 June 2017. Participants may race on a team of three, as individuals completing all disciplines alone, or in a 5km fun run.
Forms must be completed and submitted to Kennedy House:

Team Entry Form – www.uwcea.org/tri_team

Individual Entry Form – www.uwcea.org/tri_indiv

Fun Run Entry Form – www.uwcea.org/tri_fun

Update:

D1 students received feedback on their end-of-D1-year exam results and this will will appear on the ManageBac semester report due for publication by June 15th.

D1 Geography students conducted several hours of field work in Moshi town associated with their coursework.

D1 Global Politics HL students recently presented their HL extension task 10-minute presentations on topics as diverse as deforestation in Indonesia, the perils of protectionism and the global problem of human trafficking.
Upcoming:

The annual D1 science fieldwork trip in collaboration with ISMAC D1s occurs on Tuesday June 6th and extends through Thursday June 8th. Completion of the Group 4 Science Project by each D1 student is a key element of this trip.

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.

Those D1s who score poorly on the end-of-D1-year exams 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.”

Please attend the parent-teacher consultations on Thursday, June 15th.

School recommences on Mon August 14, 2017. Boarders should arrive the previous day. Every day of school missed by the DP student is a serious problem – avoid it at all cost as their educational benefit from each ISM DP class day is enormous.
Weblinks: On IB DP curriculum and requirements – ibo.org/programmes/diploma-programme/curriculum
On a teenager’s establishing great habits – 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
On 21st century skills that today’s youth need – globaldigitalcitizen.org/21st-century-skills-every-student-needs
Best advice from 2017 Commencement Speeches – www.forbes.com/sites/francesbridges/2017/05/31/the-best-advice-from-2017-commencement-speeches/#6028bbd37def
On the Group 4 D1 Science Trip – ibpublishing.ibo.org/server2/rest/app/tsm.xql?doc=d_4_biolo_gui_1402_1_e&part=9&chapter=6
Rick Fitzpatrick, (Diploma Coordinator):

Last week the children created their sticker story pictures and we have begun to record their stories. Next week we will finish the summative assessments and the children will reflect on their learning for their reports. We will also go outside to make a story; watch out for this displayed in our classroom later on in the week. We will be finishing off the unit of inquiry by exploring the similarities and differences between all the traditional stories we have focused on throughout the last six weeks.
Literacy The children will make a book about the highlights of their year and EC2 will write simple sentences to accompany their pictures. EC1 will focus on the sounds y, v and j and EC2 will think about the long vowel sounds for the final week (Made by Mr A, Mr E, Mr I, Mr O and Mr U)
Numeracy

Addition and subtraction stories – EC2

Rhymes and number songs including 5 naughty monkeys jumping on the bed, 5 little monkeys sitting in a tree, (these rhymes help children to understand the concept of subtraction)

Weighing activities will continue for the final week.

2D Shape activities

Dear Parents, This week begins Healthy Living week. We will be talking about making healthy choices in our daily lives. This ties in nicely to our unit summative assessment as we our looking at water conservation and making better choices with water.
Please send in a healthy snack for your child.
We had lots of fun last week during our school spirit week. The children looked great every day and displayed excellent school spirit.
This week in class The P2/3s have decided what their summative assessment will be. Their focus will be water conservation and they will be trying to persuade people to be mindful with the water they use. They have chosen many ways to showcase this (poetry, books, poster, letters). We have reviewed telling the time both past and to the hour. We determined what was important in different books. We read Circle of Friends which was a wordless book.
The Week Ahead in class Unit of Inquiry During this week, the main focus will be completing our summative assessment for this unit. 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: The children will be looking at Synthesizing. Looking at the big ideas. I used to think, but now I think. My new thinking is, I am beginning to think. We will be using The Little Matryoshka book and There was an old lady nursey rhyme to demonstrate this idea.
Writing: We will revisit Personal Narrative writing this week. Writing in complete sentences. Those who are ready will be encouraged to write using paragraphs.
Math: This week the children will be reviewing math skills that have been taught this year. We will be focusing on telling the time and symmetry. We will also be building on these skills for those children who have a good understanding of them.
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework – Healthy living week Tuesday: Library – PE Wednesday: P3 French Thursday: P3 French Friday: Homework to be returned – PE Please ensure that your child has indoor shoes / spare clothes including socks and suitable outdoor shoes. Thanks! All the best Clare Hibbard P2/3

This week we have completed another STEM challenge as part of the students’ design (UoI) summative assessment. The students were asked to construct a trap that would be fit to catch the Gingerbread man. I was really impressed with their creative designs, some hidden in the grass and others laying a trap of tasty treats to lure him in. To congratulate the kids on a great year we will design outfits for real tasty Gingerbread men on Monday. This will lead in well to a conversation about ‘balance’ which is has been the word of the week. We will be continuing to talk about this next week as we move into Healthy living week. In some of the photos in this newsletter you can see the students learning Tai Chi and working on breathing techniques in order to self-regulate their emotions and to improve their physical balance and mental well-being.
We will be preparing for our student led assembly coming up on Friday and in Math we will continue reviewing any concepts that present difficulties for the children.
We have swimming again next week so please help the students to remember to bring their kit. Julie Bowen

The spirit week dress up days have made this a fun week for P5 (see the attached photos of Pyjama Day, Spots and Stripes or Gender Swap Day and Cool Day.) They were definitely the coolest kids in the school today!
Please note that Coach Ryan will be continuing the end of year swimming assessments on Tuesday and the P5 children will need to bring a swimming kit.
This week in Maths we have been investigating fractions and decimals. In Art the children have been making plaster sculptures. As part of our Unit of Inquiry Sarah Rubinstein (who has a background in health education) and Ryan Sullivan (our school counsellor) worked with the P5 and P6 children to discuss physical, social and emotional changes. Thank you Sarah and Ryan for giving up the time to help the children further their inquiry. We have one more session planned for next week. The children have also been busy researching their chosen body system and planning their model ready to present at the end of the unit. Part of our Unit of Inquiry is to consider rites of passage. This will form the basis of next week’s homework activity. One of our lines of inquiry is “Rites of passage – change.” On Friday Cecilia talked to her classmates about a personal rite of passage, her upcoming first communion. She told us what this will involve and the preparations she has made. We wish Cecilia and her family a happy celebration.
Next week is “Healthy Living Week” at ISM. This school wide activity fits in beautifully with the P5 Unit of Inquiry. During the week we will be carrying out various keep fit activities so please make sure your child is wearing suitable footwear for exercise each day. One focus will be the importance of staying hydrated and the beneficial effect this has on our body systems. Dr. Marieke Dekker will visit the class on Wednesday to talk about the brain. Ms. Tahera will talk to the children about the coming of age ceremonies associated with her religion. We are so fortunate to have experts in our community who are willing to take the time to help our children to learn. We will also paint our sculptures, finish our body systems models and combine our research questions into a giant quiz! We will continue working with decimals and put the finishing touches to our information books (contents pages and glossaries.) It will be a busy week!
The week ahead:
Please wear running shoes everyday. Monday – Healthy Living Week Assembly, Library, final homework packet of the school year. Tuesday – P.E. (swimming), Music and French Wednesday – Swahili Thursday – French Friday – Return homework, Swahili, Music, P.E.
Deborah Mills, (P5 Teacher)

The P6s had a great week, learning more about changes we go through as humans. They also heard about the Outdoor Pursuit programme from Mr. Foya, rehearsed for their ceremony this coming Monday and had a blast dressing up for Spirit week. Thank you parents and boarding parents for making this happen. We also appreciate Mr. Ryan and Ms. Sarah for leading some of our unit lessons; they were fun and very informative.
Next week, we start with the P6 ceremony in Karibu Hall at 7:35a.m. We hope to see as many of the P6 parents there.
We have looked at some of the rites of passage from around the world and the students shared their own experiences. We also have some photos showing the rites of passage celebrated in our class; these are much appreciated.
The P6s have been working very creatively on their Summative Assessments through Powtoon. We hope to complete them in the coming week and begin presentations on Friday. In Language Arts students will be writing letters to each other, as they reflect on the year and what memories they will keep of each other.
In Math we continue to review various concepts and this week we will look at symbols used in Math and what they mean. We will also go through names and properties of different lines and shapes and solve some fun riddles.
This week’s schedule Monday – Library and I.T. Tuesday – Music and French by Alliance Française in Room 29 (the P6s get a feel of their M1 French lessons) Wednesday – P.E., French, Swahili Thursday – Music and I.T. Friday – Swahili and P.E

IN THIS ISSUE

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