Moshi Campus News – 16 Jan 2016

I would like to remind all families that students are required to pay the costs of any trips to the school before their child’s place on the trip can be confirmed. Details of the trips and costs were given in last week’s newsletter at www.uwcea.org/moshinews/160110. Payments can be made through the school’s bank accounts or by MPesa on 0767-534766.
Regards, Mr. Isaac Foya – OP Coordinator

Every year, a number of our students take the ISA tests set by ACER (Australian Council for Educational Research). These tests, designed for international school students, help us to evaluate our own curriculum and teaching and also help you to determine your child’s level when compared with international standards. After the tests, each parent will receive a detailed report of their child’s performance. However it is important to remember that a child’s academic level is measured in many different ways and these test scores only provide one possible assessment and these must interpreted along side all the other assessments that take place regularly in your child’s classes.
Students in P4, P5, P6, M1 and M3 will take tests in Mathematics, Reading and Writing and, in addition, M3 students will take a Science test.
Trial tests (for practice only) will take place between 1st and 3rd February.
Actual tests are scheduled between 8th and 16th February.
If you would like to read more about ISA tests, please see https://www.acer.edu.au/isa. Parents of children in these classes should also read the ISA privacy statement at www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/isa_privacy.pdf.

The International Baccalaureate wishes to ensure that the three programme regulations for PYP, MYP and Diploma are easily accessible for parents. These documents are all available on our website as follows:

PYP General Regulations

MYP General Regulations

Diploma General Regulations

We would to remind all parents whose children are not Tanzanian nationals, that each child requires a separate residence permit class C in order to study at a school in Tanzania. If your child already has such a permit, could you please email it to me at to ensure our records are up to date? The immigration authorities have advised us that it is not sufficient for your child to be a dependant on your own permit.
If your child is a day student, or if your child is a boarder and you reside in Tanzania, you will need to apply to the immigration department for a student permit for your child. Your application will also need to be signed and stamped by the school who will also need to provide a confirmation that your child is studying at ISM. The Director’s PA, Rosie Premsingh [] will assist with this process.
If your child is a boarder and you do not reside in Tanzania, the school will obtain the permit for your child and will pass the cost on to you. We will need certain documentation from you. Rosie Premsingh will also handle this process.
Although we do try to obtain permits as quickly as possible, there have often been lengthy delays in this process in the past.

Happy New Year and Welcome back, from the Music Room! We hope that you had a restful and relaxing holiday and are gearing up for a musical second term at ISM. There are several updates that are important to pass along:

Private music lessons will commence this coming Monday, January 18 and will continue through to the last Thursday of this quarter, March 17. This term, we are happy to offer lessons on the following instruments: Drums (Mr. Paulus), Guitar and Piano (Mr. Swai), Trumpet (Mr. Machibya) and Violin (Miss Kellerman). Because CAS and club activities have changed for many students, if you or your child previously were taking lessons last term, please do re-sign up for a time that suits you and your schedule. This can be done simply by going to the Private Music Lesson Board outside Room 12 and signing up on the appropriate schedule.

If you have an instrument that has been rented from ISM, please remember to renew that rental by submitting the appropriate fee to the accounts office. If you are not sure when your rental period is up, contact Miss Kellerman for details. If you would like to take lessons this term and do not have an instrument to use regularly, remember that this is a policy for the Private Music Lesson program, so you can also see Miss Kellerman to find out if the school has any instruments available to rent to you.

As all of our classes get back into the swing of things this term, parents please remember that your involvement in their musical education is key to success! Encourage musical activities, inquire about classes and lessons, and support your children through their music homework, whether it simply be practicing or doing classwork. Your involvement does not have to be a lot in order for your children to feel and see the positive effects! Musically yours, Susan Kellerman ISM Music Teacher and Program Coordinator

Almost all boarders are back in school for the third quarter, and are already settled in. A handful have not resumed for personal reasons, but we expect them back soon. We appreciate all parents who made arrangements for the smooth return of the boarders, by either bringing them back to school personally, making appropriate arrangements or sending flight details in good time.
Classes resumed on Wednesday 13th morning, and the D2 students have started writing their Mock examinations.
Starting this quarter, Peter Kitali takes over as the assistant boarding parent in the MYP . He can be reached on mobile number +255 767 081 050
A group of boarders have gone to Arusha on Saturday, 16th January for a basketball and football tournament at Braeburn school. A few will also go for an OP trip to Marangu. Other activities have been planned for boarders who will be left on campus this weekend.

This term we are excited to offer about 40 Creative and Service activities for MYP and Diploma students. Our secondary students can be proud of their initiative and engagement, as many of these activities are fully student-initiated. Please look over the following offerings with your secondary students.

	Creative	Service
Monday	Meditation (M1-D2) Journalism (M1-D2) Woodwork (M1-M5) Raisin in the Sun Glee Club	WATU Sec Sch Netball (M4-D2) WATU Discussion & Debate (M5-D2) Teaching English to Ancillary Staff (M5-D2) Msamaria Centre for Street Children (M4-D2)
Tuesday	Yearbook Woodwork (M1-M5) Slamming Stereotypes (M4-D2) Children of the Arts School Band	Art for Health (M1-D2) Karanga Pri Basketball (M4-D2) Children of the Arts Maths Help Kilimahewa Partnership (M4-D2)
Wednesday	Music Production (M5-D2) Origami French Club Table Tennis (M4-D2) Current Affairs (M4-D2)	Kidachini Pri Soccer (M3-D2) Mwereni School (M1-D2) Daycare Centre Swimming (M1-D2) French Club
Thursday	Chess Club (M1-D2) EAMUN (M5-D2) MSMUN (M1-M4) Sparkling Elephant (M1-D2)	Sokoine Primary Computers (M1-D2) MAD Tutors (M5-D2) Maths Help Sparkling Elephant (M1-D2)

This week we will have a try-out week. This means students will have the chance to try out the different activities without committing at first. On Thursday, January 22nd students will be required to sign up online. Please note that M1-M3 students must sign up for one creative or service activity, while M4-D2 students must sign up for one creative and one service activity.

We are delighted to announce the sale of our ISM Primary IB Learner Profile Tea Towel. These tea-towels were created by our own primary children. In early December each child drew their own face which was placed on the print, including some faces of the teachers.
The Tea towels cost TSh 10,000 each, or three for TSh 25,000. TSh 3000 from each tea towel sold will go towards a charity project to be voted by the Upper Primary classes in March.
The tea towels will be available from reception or from Mrs Aris’ office.

We also have some 16Gb USB flash drives for sale. These can be purchased from reception at TSh 15,000 each.

The Animal Lovers Club (Primary) is looking for anyone who would be happy to speak and present to our club on the topic of animals, either in general or about a specific animal. We meet on Mondays from 2-3 pm and ideally we would like a speaker for one of the following dates: February 1st and 29th, March 7 and 14th. Please contact Debbie Garbett on .

D2 students started their mock exams on Friday and will continue through Monday January 25th. The punctuality and determination of the class of 2016 is good to see. They realize how pivotal these exams for they know it is the only simulated practice exam session and it will be a key benchmark. D2 teachers meanwhile are preparing lessons, invigilating exams and marking exams. By 8 February exam results will be shared with D2 students. The results of these exams will be reported in the Q3 full report for D2 students.
The DP class of 2017 also got back to work on Wednesday after the holiday break and all seem to be on track and seriously focused on their studies.
In Life Skills, D1 students completed a 289-question career planning survey called the Jackson Vocational Inventory Survey (www.jvis.com). The results should enable D1 students to be better able to dialogue with our university counsellor Mr Rustad about university majors, etc. Each D1 should have emailed that JVIS PDF report to parents for dialogue purposes.
CAS starts this week for Semester 2. As a Diploma requirement it is essential that all our D1 & D2 students complete a Creative, Action (Sport) and a Service commitment every semester. All of our students are now signed up with a range of activities. We have always been very pleased with the positive attitude of ISM students towards their ‘CAS’ that takes place Monday to Thursday afternoons and on the weekend in some cases.
ISM’s Model United Nations Club has been busy with intensive debating skill practice along with international affairs research as they prepare for their participation in the February East African Model United Nations conference to be held in Nairobi.
As usual, feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Rick Fitzpatrick, DP Coordinator

Unit of inquiry Last week we began our new unit of inquiry, which comes under the Transdisciplinary theme of ‘How the world works.’
The central idea is: ‘All living things go through a process of change.’
The Key Concepts are

Reflection

Form

Change

Causation
The Lines of Inquiry are

Identifying living things

Life cycles

How living things change over their lifetime

Developmental stages of various living things
We spent some time last week finding out what the children understand by the concept of change. The children had opportunities to change the way they sang a song in music or moved across a space in PE. Next week we will continue to look at the central idea and the concept of change. The children will think about the changes that happen in cooking as they make some cakes or cookies and then go on to think about what is meant by ‘living things.’ The children will be going on a walk round campus to find living things, record their findings and sort pictures of what is living and what is not.
Numeracy Patterns will be a focus this week to prepare the children for thinking about patterns in life cycles. Number will continue to be developed through daily mental maths problems connected to our unit of inquiry and group work on counting, comparing and recognising numbers.
Literacy We will read some stories involving living things and the changes that occur in their lives such as The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. If you have any stories about animals or plants that focus on their growth and change please read them to your child or send into school so that we can share them with the class. Our writing/recording will be connected to our observations as we become scientists and find out more about living things. Handwriting/ fine motor skills are developed through daily writing practice and other appropriate activities. Letterland activities continue to develop recognition of letter sounds. EC2 will focus on reading and writing high frequency words this week.

Information for Parents We are glad to welcome a new student to our class. Tristan has joined us as a P1. The children have been excited to have a new friend.
I’d like to invite you to our primary gathering this week. Several of our children will be reading what they wrote about a trip that they have taken. We will also all be sharing a song. We will meet at 7:35 outside the primary rooms. Karibu.
Language focus for the week This week both groups will be focusing on reading words with digraphs (th, wh, sh, and ch). We will also continue to read in our groups and write every day.
Maths focus for the week The Group 1 children will work on addition strategies this week. The Group 2 children will learn that multiplication is repeated addition. Both groups will practise these skills with hands-on activities.
Unit of Inquiry We will focus on preparing for our primary gathering this week. We will illustrate our stories and practice reading them aloud. Then we will begin our new unit about communities. We will start by focusing on which communities we are a part of.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Monday: Wear PE clothes and shoes. Tuesday: Bring your library bag. Friday: Swimming

Although it has been a short week the students have been working hard to prepare for their summative assessment task next week. They are currently working in groups of 5 to design some games and activities for the primary students to enjoy at break time on Monday. This will allow us to assess our unit on relationships, i.e. how well the students collaborate and communicate with each other, how well they build relationships with the other primary students, whether they display the attitudes of respect, empathy and cooperation etc. The children have worked with the teacher to design a rubric on which they all agree and by which they will be assessed next week.
In maths the children have been learning about reflectional symmetry. They made their own symmetrical patterns and also identified symmetrical objects from nature. They are now also able to work out where the line of symmetry goes and whether an object has more than one line of symmetry.
In PE the children have been learning the steps to a country dance which they will perform at the ISM Sports Weekend in February.
New Unit: (starts on Thursday) Transdisciplinary Theme: How we organise ourselves Central Idea: Transportation systems are directly related to the needs of a community. We will begin tuning in to this unit by considering the types of transport we use and see in our daily lives and what they are for.
Mathematics Focus: subtraction
English Focus: New unit vocabulary. -le words, e.g. table, apple, bottle, little, middle.
What to bring to school every day: A hat, water bottle, a pair of indoor shoes and a healthy snack.
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework will be set | swimming lesson Tuesday: Library session Thursday: PE lesson Friday: Homework due in
Kate Schermbrucker – P2/3 Teacher and PYP Coordinator

Our first week was filled with excitement and news about the holiday. The children have come back looking fresh and full of enthusiasm. We welcome Paige and Jwalant to P4; they are a great addition to our P4 family.
Maths – the students have been working hard on multiplication and division facts. We have also reviewed the concept of telling time. In the coming week, we are going to be working on some real life problems related to time and the different operations we have learnt about (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division).
Language Arts – We are winding up the unit on “The Arts” and with this the students are using descriptive writing to write about their projects. They are putting together various projects towards their summative assessment. In addition to this we will have our fortnightly spelling practice and assessment related to the unit.
Unit of Inquiry – students will be working on their Summative Assessment where they use different forms of Art to express how they see the world them. They will set up a “mini- exhibition” in their class on Thursday after break (from around 10:45). All the P4 parents are welcome to celebrate our learning with us.
Artwork and artists who inspire us:  
   

Information for Parents We will be wrapping up our unit of inquiry this week as kids work on their summative assessments. We have learned a lot about mythology and how it relates to our cultures and belief systems. The kids have really enjoyed this one and I am excited to read their creations! We will be switching gears and focusing on digital literacy in the next unit.
Language focus for the week Writing imaginary stories will be our focus this week as students work on creating their own myths for the summative assessment. We will be focusing on writing using a pattern. We will peer edit and review each others’ stories as well as self-assess our own stories.
Maths focus for the week The students are really excited about their individual inquiries into fraction skills. Each student chose a fraction skill to learn more about last week. They have inquired into how to do the skill and become more knowledgeable about it through practice. This week they will develop their own maths homework related to their skill and research into how people use this skill in their daily lives. They will then communicate their new learning by explaining how it works and creating several word problems to go with it.
Unit of Inquiry The central idea of our new unit is that digital media changes the way in which people access information and connect to each other. Our lines of inquiry are: ways we use digital media, evaluating information from digital media, and our responsibility in virtual environments. Due to the nature of this unit, there may be more computer based homework than usual.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Monday: PE (wear PE shoes and a house T shirt) Thursday: Swimming (bring swim kit) Friday: Library (bring books to return or renew)

We’ve had a very busy and fun week learning about each other and getting to become familiar with the weather outside and the elements that it brings! The students were introduced to a weather report project that they will work on together in pairs during class next week. The students have been keeping a weather writing journal that keeps up with the weather every day. In this journal they are able to show how they reflect towards their day and write down their expressions on emotions of how they think the weather is going to affect them that day. We have investigated different temperatures around the world in Fahrenheit and Celsius and have been finding the mean, median, mode and range of those temperatures in Maths. Students are developing knowledge about the weather around them and they are taking initiative in wanting to learn more about the clouds in the sky and what they are there for. We will continue our cloud study every day and we have been including small cloud details in our weather journals. This will serve as a guide to our everyday observation of the weather around us.
This Week: Unit of Inquiry: I want to keep the focus of the central idea, which is; weather changes as a result of environmental and human influences. This week in our unit of inquiry we will be brainstorming ideas with our partners on what we think the weather report should look like, what details we need to include and how to make the presentation seem like a real weather report.
English Language Focus: This week in English we will be continuing to write in our weather journals. We will begin to write our script for our weather report project!
Maths: The students will finish up with their mean, median and mode/range activity during the beginning of the week. We will then switch our focus to finding probabilities in the weather.
Notices: The students will be needing props from home to bring in for their weather reports this week. They will decide on Monday their topic and will be thinking about what items or things they need to include into their presentations by Thursday so that we can present on Friday.

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