Moshi Campus News – 3 March 2018

As we have entered March the rains have come for a clear visual of the change in seasons.  With the rains of course come the cooler temperatures.  For our students this is also the signal for the last few weeks of the third quarter.  For the D2 students the visual change signals the impending end of the internal assessments.  In a similar position, the M5 students are wrapping up their ePortfolio tasks as all of these for both groups will be uploaded to the IB by the time they get back in April.

Our Primary students had a great time on Thursday in our future garden space discussing and planning their designs.  This was followed by the M3 Science Fair on Friday.  I really enjoyed seeing the different topics students came up with.  From discussions with primary students, visiting the fair was a highlight for them as well.  They each seemed to have different favorites.  I was impressed with how well the M3 students were able to explain the topics to the primary students.  With these two events and the Kili presentation by Dr Nick Pepin, we definitely had a science focus to the end of the week.

I would like to thank the parents who attended the Parents’ Morning last Tuesday, it is good for us to have these informal times to chat about various aspects within the school.  We are hoping to move to a more regular, quarterly schedule with these.  Please also note the upcoming meetings listed below for parents.

View from the location that students will be passing out water for tomorrow’s Kili Marathon

MAP Testing
On Wednesday March 14th, there will be two informational presentations for parents about the MAP testing.  In these sessions I will go through the reports sent to parents and discuss other features that allow teachers to better help students in the classroom.  Parents of students in P4 to M3 are encouraged to come.  The sessions will be at 7:45am and 7pm.

ManageBac
On Wednesday April 11th, the informational sessions will be for parents that would like to know more about ManageBac and the information they can access.  The sessions will be at 7:45am and 7pm.

Bob Cofer

The science fair was a fun time of learning and sharing. Thank you to everyone who visited K-hall and supported the M3 science class. Some of the favorites topics included information about how our brain receives information and better ways to study, how water’s pH and electricity affect the growth of plants, and several approaches to understand how bacteria co-exists with us.

Jaime Stratton

On Thursday morning all of the Primary children went with their teacher and Mr Andrea to the ISM orchard and campsite area behind the ISM buses. This is because we are planning to turn this whole area into a beautiful and useful garden for the ISM community. Primary and Secondary students are going to grow food and flowers, using the best ideas that the Primary children came up with. Some wanted a watermelon patch, lots wanted to grow strawberries, others requested a meditation area and a few wanted a rockery. Final decisions for the space will be made on Monday and after that the digging can start! We envisage that the garden will become a worthwhile and exciting educational project.

This weekend D2 students complete their CAS Portfolio and the D2 Visual Arts students are finalizing their studio pieces and investigation workbooks.  Most DP students attended a fabulous Mt Kilimanjaro climate talk presentation by Dr. Nick Pepin, a global expert on the topic of mountain forests from the UK’s Portsmouth University.  Nearly all the D1 students have decided on their Extended Essay subject. 

Please arrange to attend the Fri March 23rd parent-teacher conference.  Parents of DP students are encouraged to monitor your son or daughter’s ManageBac page to help you to keep tabs on their progress. 

Our D2 students continue to contribute to plans for the Sat May 19th ISM DP graduation. This will be preceded by the IB DP official exams (https://bit.ly/M2018IBDPExamSchedule)  that start on Mon April 30 and continue until Fri May 18. Each student’s individual schedule is different depending on their own list of classes.

Rick Fitzpatrick

Parent-Teacher Conference
We shall have a Parent-Teacher Conference on Friday March 23. We urge parents to come on this day and discuss the progress of children with their teachers. All parents are reminded to access Managebac and monitor grades in preparation for the conference as we will not have formal reports at the end of this quarter.

MAP Tests for M1-M3
These tests will begin on March 12th. MYP students in M1-M3 will take MAP Growth tests from NWEA which replace the annual ISA tests which we have given in the past. We give students MAP Growth tests to determine their instructional level and to measure academic growth throughout the school year (and from year to year) in Reading, English Language and Mathematics. The M3 will also take a Science test. 

M3 Science Fair
We thank all the parents who were able to attend the Science Fair on Friday March 2nd. The students’ presentations were quite engaging.

M5 Mocks
The M5 students begin their Mocks on Tuesday March 6th. These continue until Thursday March 8th. Parents are asked to encourage and support the students during this period as we do the same at school.

Careers Day
We have arranged for a Careers’ Day on March 22 featuring different professionals within the ISM community. Students in M5 to D2 will have an opportunity to learn about various professions from members of the ISM community who have volunteered to present on that day.

M5 Work Experience
The M5 students will have a work experience week from May 21-25. All the students who have given contact details of the institutions/organizations where they intend to work have already received letters of introduction.

David Ochieng

Dear all,                                              

As you may know, the M1-M4 students have 1 week at the end of the school year to carry out a project that will help our local community. (Also known as ‘Focus Week’)

We, the M1’s and M2’s, came up with the idea of making a creative and interactive sound garden over by the Daycare center.

A sound garden is a collection of pieces of material that make sounds when you play with it. We want to keep our project as Eco-Friendly as possible so we decided to only use recycled materials. We’ll need quite a lot of material so here is a kind request from us:

Please check the list below for any items you may be able to donate:

Pots & pans
Drying racks
Plastic bottles/bags
Biscuit/choclate tins
Cutlery, wooden spoons etc.
If you have any of these, please bring them to Ms. Mary in the Music Room.
Please think about this and pass it on.

Warm regards and have a great week,
Doris van Zwetselaar on behalf of all the M1’s and M2’s.

We are fast approaching the end of this quarter. School closes on Friday 23rd March and boarders can leave the same day and return to school on Tuesday 3rd April 2018. Kindly note that this time they will not return to school on a Sunday. A few parents have shared with us their travel arrangements for the end of this quarter. For those using flights, we request that parents send us the details in good time, and also inform us if your child will need transport to and from the airport. The school provides free transport to and from Kilimanjaro International Airport and Moshi Airport on the scheduled opening and closing days. However, we charge for transport on other days.  Please remember, It is not possible for the school to provide transport to Arusha airport.

Information about travel can be sent to the child’s boarding parent or to the Head of Boarding at rosemarybango@ed.ismoshi.com.

From the beginning of this week, we have started a trial program where MYP boarders have study hall in classrooms, and not in the dorms.  We have so far received some positive feedback, and we hope to make an informed decision for the future by the end of this quarter.

Rosemary Bango

This past weekend our U15 and U19 teams were in action, results were mixed as our U15 Boys Football won 1 and lost two, the U19 Girls Basketball lost all three, however, all three games were close and decided in the final minute. The U19 Boys Basketball kept up their undefeated season, as they won all three games quite handily. The swimmers came back from the TALIS meet with a few individual medals and personal bests, as the competition was difficult. All in all, a good weekend for the Leopards.

This weekend kicks off the 3rd NTAA Season and our U15 and U19 Netball teams will be in action at ISMAC. They look forward to a great start to the season. On Monday March 5th the U19 Boys and Girls Basketball teams will be playing SCIS.

As the season and year progress please keep up with all the info, news, and sports reports by reading the Moshi Campus News.

Go Leopards

Scott Hibbard

The Expat Youth Scholarship (EYS) is a philanthropic program sponsored by Clements Worldwide to award six scholarships each year to expat students from 13 to 21 years old.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of EYS, with over USD 100,000 donated during this time to help these young scholars complete their educational goals.
If you are an expat and have or know children between these ages, they could win up to USD 3,000.

Clements Worldwide encourages students living abroad to become cultural ambassadors, promoting cross-border understanding, friendship, and peace. This scholarship rewards efforts of young people around the world to live up to these goals.  This year, the Scholarship is looking to capture these experiences via any chosen visual representation (such as videos, photos and more). Students are asked a vital question: What piece of local community/culture has most impacted your life in such a way that you will always carry it with you, regardless of your geographic location?

Entries to this year’s edition may be submitted from February 28th to March 28th and, after the voting period, the winners will be announced on May 23rd. To learn more about this Scholarship visit www.facebook.com/expatyouth.

Primary Sports Gala

We will be holding our Primary Sports Gala, with lots of visiting primary school teams, on Saturday 17th March. Children will be invited to participate in football and swimming throughout the day. One or two school teams will also be staying over on the Friday and Saturday nights, but most opted to just come for the day. If you are able to help us with the swimming part of the weekend, please email me at: kateschermbrucker@ed.ismoshi.com

Next week some P4 – P6 boys are looking forward to a friendly football match against Hope School on Tuesday afternoon, after their normal club session.

On Friday next week more than 20 primary swimmers will make their way to St Constantine’s to participate in the swim gala. We wish them the best of luck!

Meanwhile weekly club sessions of netball, football, swimming, basketball, dance, outdoor games and ball skills continue this quarter. Many thanks to all the sports coaches, teachers, teaching assistants, secondary students and student teachers who provide this large range of fun hour long sporting sessions for our students week after week. If any parents would like to volunteer to lead a weekly club session in Quarter 4 please email me on: kateschermbrucker@ed.ismoshi.com

Notice: On Monday we will be having a Primary Spirit Day, which means that all the primary children should dress up as their favourite animal. This is to mark Wildlife Day on Saturday. For more details take a look at this website: www.wildlifeday.org

Reminder: Please always use the library bags to transport the library books back and forth, so that they do not get damaged. Also, we have had a few problems with water bottles leaking in the same bag and damaging our books. Please check that your child’s water bottle does not leak. If it does, then please replace it. Thanks for your help with this.

This week our P6 students began their PYP Exhibition work. The Exhibition is the culminating project of the PYP and is a chance for students to demonstrate all the learning and skills they have developed from their time in Primary School. Each student will collaborate with a group to research into an issue that they feel passionately about. They will eventually draw conclusions and carry out action to make a difference regarding their issue. Finally they will present all about their Exhibition experience to all members of the community – an exciting day in the life of any PYP student.

Well done to the P4, P5 and P6 children who finished their MAP Tests on the computers earlier this week. Your child’s results and further information will be coming to you shortly.

Good luck to everyone who is participating in the Kilimanjaro Marathon on Sunday. I will be on the 5km course with our Primary Boarders.

Kate Schermbrucker

Did you know that an elephant can easily smell water all the way from Eefke’s house to Machame Junction? Did you know that a pig’s nose is not just for oinking, it is also for touching and feeling around? Did you know that puppies’ ears and eyes are blocked up when they are first born and they can only sniff with their noses? Have you ever heard of a Jacobson’s Organ (or a Vatchison’s Orca as we like to call it in EC) ?

Monday will be a great day to continue our investigations. Please dress up as an animal for the Primary Spirit Day. Try to do a little research together with your child over the weekend, i.e. what special senses does their animal have?

We’ll be having a visit from Baba Christian next week who will help us find out about sensory adaptations in local wildlife. Why does a wildebeest have such a flat face? Why do warthogs eat on their knees? These and many other questions are just waiting to be explored.

Owain Evans

This week, the children inquired into the question; ‘What would happen if there were no schools?’ They listened to each other’s thoughts. They even observed the daily life of some children who did not go to school.  After forming their personal conclusions, they created posters to share their thoughts.

In the middle of the week, the children had the privilege of going on a small tour of the school. Their aim was to learn more about their learning community and the people responsible for various areas. They asked several members of staff how they helped the school. Each person answered with a list of points for the children to think about.

“We learned that everybody helps everybody else,” said Niall.

Next week, they will be working on their summative assessment.

In mathematics, the children sought to understand the concept of sharing and remainders/left over items. They will continue with this and others in the coming week.

• Monday: Primary Spirit Day – dress up as an animal to mark International Wild Animal Day
• Tuesday: P.E.
• Wednesday: Swimming
• Show and Tell: Jasmijn and Janieck

Mboka Mwasongwe

Dear P2/3 Parents,

Tuesday is Ms. Makayla`s final day at ISM. She has been working with our class for the past eight weeks. The children have enjoyed working with her and have experienced different concepts and skills during her time here. We wish her all the best for her future teaching posts.

The children had a wonderful time observing and planning the school`s new garden space.

Next week the children will be continuing their work with fractions. They will be inquiring more into fractions of a set of objects, shapes and looking into equivalent fractions.

I will be assessing the children on their reading ability and identifying their new reading level based on their decoding and comprehension ability. Please ensure that you are listening to your child read and making a comment in their yellow home reader – Thank you.

The children are working in groups on this unit’s final summative assessment and will complete each task during their PE lesson.

• Monday: Spirit day – Dress like an animal
• Tuesday: Library and PE / Ms. Makayla’s final day at ISM
• Thursday: Swimming
• Friday:  Homework returned

Have a great weekend
Clare Hibbard

This week we went on a shopping excursion to Rosie’s Fruit Stand. I was really impressed with the Swahili language skills the students have developed. We estimated and calculated how much we had spent, both individually and collectively. When we returned to class some of the children opted to save their fruit and others wanted to share theirs, by making a fruit salad.

In math we have been working on developing basic accounting skills and making orders with a set budget.

In English next week we will look at advertising and how to make a persuasive text.

The P4’s have organized an Athletics Carnival for Friday 9th March. The children will offer their skills for ‘hire’. We hope all P4 children (who aren’t in the swim gala) can attend from 12:30-1:15. You are welcome to bring the whole family for this event.

Julie Bowen

The P5s enjoyed preparing for Primary Gathering and clearly and confidently explained the pros and cons of different energy sources on Friday morning (see photo.)

The P5 students are busy planning individual projects that demonstrate the usage of sustainable energy. Please remind your child to bring the materials they need to school on Monday. In class we have started working with bulbs, batteries, motors and buzzers to build electrical circuits. The children have investigated which materials are conductors and which are insulators.

Next week we will work with decimals in maths and continue with our work on speech marks in English. Our unit of inquiry work will focus on further inquiry into electricity and the building of the models that we researched for homework last week.

Monday is a spirit day- dress as an animal in honour of World Wildlife Day.

Deborah Mills

It has been a week of great excitement as the P6s counted down to their PYP Exhibition. The Garden Design activity also went very well. The students came up with wonderful, practical ideas and we are looking forward to the results.

We have started with the task of creating the Central Ideas for our issues and the students are very tuned in. In the coming week, we will move on to creating Lines of Inquiry and coming up with questions that will enable the students move forward. In Math we will review the concept of time and continue with some graphing work. The students will also have the task of linking the different subjects with their unit of inquiry.

Specialist subjects will continue as usual so students need to come with their P.E. kits and swimming costumes on the respective days.

Cathy Wambua