Arusha Campus News – 9 Sep 2017

Mawenzi Primary Quiz team line up in front of their house ready fro riday’s quiz. The eventual winners were…….MERU!

As we prepare for our UWC/Peace Day Assembly on Monday 18th September, there will be a chance for you all to meet Dr Anna Marsden, our new Director who will be joining us for coffee and a short discussion on the United World College movement in the school library at 7.45am on Friday 15th September.

This weekend our Northern Tanzania Athletics Association (NTAA) sports season kicks off in earnest. Our Under 19 footballers and U15 basketballers will be competing against NTAA rivals on Moshi Campus. We wish them the best of luck.

Also in Moshi, will be our M1 Camp Crafters who will be launching their Outdoor Pursuit careers at Marangu. Good luck guys.

Finally, dont forget our UK University Fair at 8.30am at ISMAC on Monday. All welcome.

Phil

Thank you for taking the time to read this weekly newsletter. I hope many of you will be able to attend the campus meetings with the Board taking place over the next two weeks where Tine Hemelings, the Chair of the Board of ISM, asks for you to share your ideas about how we can increase enrolment on our campuses. I now ask you to think why you send your children to ISM to experience the education offered by the school in conjunction with the International Baccalaureate. Is it because you heard your primary-age child explain how trees make their food from water and the gas humans breath out, thus beginning to explore the interconnectedness of flora and fauna, or perhaps your fourteen-year old son who spends so many hours in his room suddenly talked to you passionately about the impact of blood diamonds in the Democratic Republic of Congo and took it upon himself to go into jewellery shops and ask to see their import certificates, or maybe you were simply amazed by your child in the Diploma Programme producing in their extended essay a body of work far greater than you could ever have imagined? You know why you send your children to ISM and I ask you to share this with your friends and family and then I challenge you persuade one new family to visit us. If you bring me families with whom to talk, it becomes my job to show them what is so great about ISM, a job I, with Phil Bowen and Bob Cofer, would love to do. I am on the Moshi campus on Mondays, Tuesdays and on Arusha on Thursdays and Fridays, Wednesdays I split between the two. You can reach me by email on annamarsden@ed.ismoshi.com, or you can contact Phil Bowen on  philb@ismac.ac.tz and Bob Cofer on bobcofer@ed.ismoshi.com. Finally, after a successful meeting with parents in Moshi last week I now invite all Arusha parents to meet with me to hear more about ISM’s journey to becoming a UWC on Friday 15th September from 7.45 am in the library.

Anna

Dear Parents and Staff,

On behalf of the Governing Board of International School Moshi I warmly welcome you at the beginning of this new school year.

The Governing Board currently consists of the following members: William Kivuyo, Rachelly Mboya, Hilda Mungure, Kajiru Kilonzo, Geoffrey Sigalla, Marius Jacobs, Monique Janmaat and myself, all appointed by the shareholders. Marco van Zwetselaar and Mark Blackett are respectively the Moshi and Arusha campus PTA representatives. The ex-officio members of the Board are Anna Marsden, Director, Bob Cofer and Phil Bowen, Heads of Moshi and Arusha campuses, Mustafa Madan, Finance Manager and Ann-Joyce Mwamafupa and Scott Hibbard, teacher representatives. This picture was taken at the previous board meeting in May 2017, where we welcomed our new director, Anna Marsden.

At our next Board meeting to be held on 28th September 2017 we will be reviewing our strategic direction in light of the changing environment of international education in Tanzania. All options for the school will be considered, including the future of the Arusha IB Diploma Programme and the school’s ongoing journey to join the United World College movement.

We believe we have a strong community which has significant experience. We therefore would like to hear your ideas before this meeting, particularly those focussing on strategies to increase enrolment as we feel this is critical for our school in this current environment. Please fee free to contact  the school leadership or any board member if you have ideas you want to discuss.

Ms Tine Hemelings, Chair of the Board

Despite this being a short week, life is still busy in the Primary and Secondary schools. Students of all ages have been settling into their routines and after a couple of weeks of school the holidays seem a long way behind us.

Collaboration has been the word of the week, with this being the theme of the secondary assembly on Monday and both sections looking towards elections of new student councils. Indeed the special share-time today in PYP was focused on electing their new student representatives.

Collaboration continues throughout the PYP and the MYP through our trans-disciplinary themes and interdisciplinary units (IDU), along with our Outdoor Pursuits (OP) programme. In the coming weeks we will see M1 take part in the OP campcraft weekend and M2 travel to Pangani for their IDU. Beyond the curriculum we will be entering into interschool sports, with basketball, football, tennis and rounders to name but a few of the sports this semester.

The parents have not been left out of collaborative learning this week, with a PYP workshop and an introduction to Managebac.

Enjoy the long weekend and we look forward to more and more collaboration.

Darren

Anita, Hana’s mum, talks about her migration story

 In P6, many parents have come in to share their migration stories. We have shared maps and heard about the many wonderful countries people have lived in, why they have moved around and positive and negative affects of these moves. We also had a presentation about refugee camps from Mark Blackett, who inspired us to take greater care of the amount of water we use.

The M2 class from Arusha and Moshi Campus are off to the Pangani for their inter-disciplinary unit about the ‘Coast’ from 12-15 September. The students will carry out fieldwork in Pangani, this follows on and forms part of the Individuals & Societies and Mathematics curriculum.

Students have studied coastal processes in class during their unit. In Pangani they will use mathematical methods to measure the height of the cliffs and document the landforms. They will also do a visit historical sites in Pangani with a local guide, where they learn about the significance of the town in the slave trade and migration at that time. We are looking forward to an enjoyable and educational time together!

Tell us if you like the new look.

https://www.uwcea.org

The Outdoor Pursuits programme at ISM provides students with opportunities for healthy outdoor recreation, leadership development and experiential learning. Currently the OP programme consists of a graded hiking programme intented to allow students to progress progressively through challenging levels, starting with an overnight Camp-Craft trip for M1 students to learn OP basics followed up with trips from Level 1 to Level 5 – a six day trip to summit Mt Kilimanjaro. We are also planning to introduce an OP Mountain Biking trip this semester- watch this space!

Signing-up for an OP trip:
Sign-ups for OP trip will start on Monday 21st of August. OP information with cost and dates has been emailed to students and posted on ManageBac. It will also be presented to students through tutors on Monday and throughout next week as well as posted on the OP notice board at school. To sign-up, it is the students’ responsibility to inform Ms Larpent, the OP Coordinator, of their interest in an OP trip, upon which they will receive the sign-up letter for parents. Payment can then be made directly at the accounts’ department in order to secure a spot for the trip. As there are limited places, priority will be given to students who are the first to make full payment.
Please note that the Tanzanian government is applying the VAT tax on tourism activities and unfortunately this tax is affecting the cost of our OP trips. The differing prices for Tanzanian and expatriate students reflect differing charges from the National Parks.
Please do encourage your son/daughter to take this opportunity to experience the wonderful environment here in Tanzania.

Below is an overview of the OP trips for Semester 1:
 

PLEASE OBTAIN ENTRY FORMS FROM PHIL OR CAROLINE AT RECEPTION

Arusha Medivac provides Tanzanian citizens, residents and visitors with medical air evacuation within Tanzania and to Nairobi, Kenya. We are the only service provider with our own aircraft and professional medical team in Tanzania.
Utilizing a fixed-wing aircraft configured with life-saving medical equipment and supplies, Arusha Medivac is regulated by the TCAA and runs in accordance to all civil aviation regulations. Behind every call for service is a team of professionals driven by compassion. Arusha Medivac is dedicated to delivering the best possible care.
Arusha Medivac offers a variety of memberships ensuring everyone is covered while living and traveling in Tanzania. We also offer a fee for service option to enable anyone in a medical emergency to receive assistance when they need it most.
For more information about getting yourself or your family covered email info@arushamedivac.org