Arusha Campus News – 10 Nov 18

From left, Mr Ratsakatika (Head of PE), Jessica (P6) and Mr Samwel (Primary PE Teacher)

The school playing fields are deserted before me, when just half an hour ago there were young athletes from seven Northern Tanzania Athletic Association schools competing in the annual championships. Over 250 athletes were in attendance and took part in a day of extraordinary performances. The Primary Championships took place on the previous day and the performances were no less impressive. As an NTAA we have tried to promote the importance of fair play and sportsmanship and I am pleased to say that this was evident in abundance on both days. ISM Arusha perofrmed heroically and finished in 2nd place (Primary), and 5th place (Secondary). In my eyes these represent tremendous accomplishments. 

I am afraid I do not have any action picures from the event to hand as I write this, so my picture above is a worthy acknowledgement to the efforts of Mr Ratsakatika who did a phenomenal job in organising both events. The quality of both events was superb. Also pictured is Mr Samwell who has been teaching athletics to all of the primary classes this year. Much of the credit for our amazing 2nd place finish in the Primary category must go to Mr Samwel for his coaching. The final person in the picture is Jessica who performed so well on the day, winning several of her events, that she was voted as the NTAA Outstanding Female Athlete for the Primary Championship.

This weekend we have an OP Trip Level 1 out to Mandara Huts. We thank Mr Marcel for leading the Arusha students on this trip. News will follow in next week’s newsletter.

Have a super weekend,

Phil

P5/6 were spoiled on Monday by David Charles who works for d.light. David came to talk about solar energy and to share the importance to protecting the environment. Each child was given a solar light.

Thank you to David!

Our CCA programme continues to thrive and this week we welcomed some new faces to some of our activties. Here is Terence joining in with Molly and Roni in a huge wall construction project.

Thank you to Mr Dave for organising such a diverse CCA Programme. There always seems to be something for everyone. If you would like to offer a CCA or if you have an idea of a CCA that currently is not being offered please see Dave and he will consider its inclusion next quarter.

The swimming and athletics CCA’s have been a great success with bitnour teams in those sports performing terrifically in the past few days.

The M5 students have been incorporating visits to the gym as part of their Physical and Health Education curriculum with Mr Ratsakatika. Whilst at the gym, Mr Arnold, the gym instructor has been sharing his expertise about all aspects on healthy exercise and effects on the body. 

We would like to thank the Management of the gym at Sable Square for their offer of their facilities. If you would like to take out membership of the gym at exremely competitive rates, then please visit the facility and say you are from ISM!

Some of the new PTA parents. From left: Anoek, Jodi, Carley, Nathalie, Monica, Gustaaf 

The new ISMAC PTA executive committee has recently been elected and we are excited to reach out to you! We would like to briefly introduce ourselves and give you an idea of what you can expect from us this year.

First, who are we? We are Guustaaf van de Mheen (Chair), Monica Dunstan (Vice-Chair), Mark Blackett (Treasurer), Michel Allard (Parent representative to the Board), Anoek van der Vinne (Secretary), Nathalie Harrison, Jodi Swanson and Carley Andrews. ISMAC administration and teachers are represented by Phil Bowen, Darren Acomb and Ruth Haske.

We aim to support the school by organizing social and cultural events to bring the wider school community together. In addition, we act as a representational body by bringing general and specific issues to the attention of the school. We kicked off with a successful Halloween event and provided refreshment during the primary inter-house athletics tournament.  We look forward to working with the school community to make the year ahead of us a successful one.

The PTA email address has been reinstated and you can reach us on https://pta@ismac.ac.tz  We will be reaching out to you for input and ideas from time to time. We will be sending out a survey in the next week to help us understand what you would like to see from the PTA, we appreciate your time and consideration in completing this survey. Watch this space!

The backstage crew would like to re-use old props and avoid purchasing new items for the Little Shop of Horrors production in December however we are having difficulty finding the following items:

Dentist’s chair  (an old fashioned, chunky, black recliner chair may work)
Cash register (old fashioned looking, not brightly coloured)
2 x flip-open phones (90s style)
Coat stand
Table top radio
Old plastic  flower vases
Plastic plant pots

Please contact Ms. Katrina on katrinas@ismac.ac.tz or drop your item(s) off at the EAL Room.

Thank you from the Backstage Crew

If Jiu-jitsu is something that you or your child is interested in taking up, contact our resident expert, Jeremy on jeremy.dennis.swanson@gmail.com