Moshi Campus News – 17 Feb 2019

Starting the 24th we will be having a few visitors to campus for different reasons.  As you know our final vote for the UWC acceptance is in mid-March and the visiting team is making a final pass by both campuses starting February 24th.  This will allow them to see our continued growth as a campus since their first visit.

Then later in the week we will have a film crew from the IB visiting both campuses and traveling with the M1 students.  They are making a film about the IB in Africa and as the oldest school we will feature in the film.  It will contain footage of students of all ages involved in activities during the day and will also have interviews with some alumni, students, teachers and others.  Thank you to those that have agreed to be involved.  They may also add people during the visit, so if you are asked and are willing, please do join in.

Please note the accomplishments below of our M5 students in completing their Personal Projects.  It is now onto the Mock Exams so they can best prepare for May.  Also note the Expanded sports section which has all the award winners and others from our Sports Celebration.

Lastly, I do hope to see you Saturday at the Khanga Gala.  A number of people have been working very hard behind the scenes to make sure this event is as fantastic as last year.  You do not want to miss this fun event that also benefits Tanzanian scholars.

Bob Cofer

The second annual Khanga Gala is just around the corner, get your tickets!

Join us at this festive evening that brings together the ISM community and its supporters for a good cause. There will be a silent auction, amazing raffle prizes, great food and music!

All the funds raised from the event will allow us to continue giving more Tanzanian students an opportunity to do the IB Diploma at ISM through our Scholarship Programme.

You can buy individual tickets or reserve a table at the reception on both campuses.

We still welcome donations and support. If you want to donate an item or service for the raffle or auction, or support in other ways please email Mwegelo Kapinga (development@ed.ismoshi.com)

Anybody involved in our school community over the years would tell you that sport has always been an integral part of life at ISM. Encouraging students (and adults) to be involved in physical activity and the idea of promoting healthy choices is something we are really focused on as a school. There are countless and varied sporting opportunities on offer for members of the ISM community, incorporating individual and team sports and, hopefully, catering for a range of interests and performance levels.

Of course, we have representative teams in many sports who compete in NTAA competitions, as well as non-competitive sports on offer in and around the campus for students of all abilities.

This week’s inaugural “Sports Celebration” afternoon was a wonderful way to recognise the achievements of our students and staff in the sporting arena across the first half of the school year. Since August, we have competed in football, basketball, rugby, netball, rounders, ultimate frisbee, tennis, volleyball, athletics, and, of course, swimming.

It was wonderful to hear the coaches and students share their experiences and recognise teams and individuals who have excelled in this area. It was heartening to observe how many recipients of the awards were recognised not solely for their sporting prowess but more so for their commitment, teamwork, camaraderie and efforts.

A huge thank you to the many adults who give up so much of their time to support the sports programme at ISM as coaches, chaperones, timekeepers, MCs or, even, as supporters. It could not happen without you. If you have not played an active role in sports at ISM to date, rest assured there are many more sporting opportunities on the horizon, so, please get out there and get involved.

Ben Morley

All our literature students in D2 are sitting their final oral commentary examinations this week in the Rafiki Hall. This is an official IB examination, results and recordings of these oral commentaries will be sent to the IB as part of the student’s final assessment. The oral commentaries constitute 15% of total marks. Good luck to all our literature scholars.

In the lead-up to the final DP examinations in May, the Mathematics Department has scheduled additional revision classes for all students of Mathematical Studies. The purpose of this is to support the learning of all these students and assist with their examination success in the finals. While these sessions are compulsory for about half the class, all the students of Mathematical Studies are strongly advised to participate in these revision sessions which start on Monday 18th February.

While D2 students are slogging away at their studies, D1 are jumping in the pool. In a test of their ingenuity, D1 students will be working engineeringly, collaboratively constructing marine vessels for the annual D1 Raft Race across the ISM swimming pool. Good luck to all our young engineers and mariners.

Anthony Hemmens

M5 Personal Project Exhibition
We sincerely thank members of our community who created time to visit the PP Exhibition stands last Tuesday. The day was successful because you were part of our audience. We appreciate the efforts the M5 parents put to finance and support their children/wards during this important process in the MYP. The pictures capturing the occasion were shared through your email.
 

M5 Mock Examinations
The M5 students will take Mock Examinations next week from February 20 to 22, 2019. The schedule and details have already been sent to students and parents. Students will do on-screen examinations in English Language and Literature, Integrated Humanities, Integrated Science, both Extended and Standard Mathematics and the interdisciplinary examination. They will also take a paper-based Kiswahili Language and Literature exam.  Day parents are notified that students may leave the examinations a little later than normal and transport arrangements should be made accordingly.
 

M1 IDU Trip
M1 students proceed to Lake Eyasi for an educational trip as from Monday February 25 to Thursday Feb 28, 2019. This trip involves Design and Integrated Humanities (I&S) subjects. Students will be exploring how:

• The Hadzabe and Datoga communities have developed strategies for adapting to harsh environments;
• These communities have responded to their everyday needs using resources that are around them.

MYP SURVEY

We intend to introduce Student Led Conferences and also share various components of the Middle Years Programme. A survey form on the suitability of this mode of reporting students’ progress has been sent to the parents through email. We request parents to respond as fast as practicable in order to help us make objective decisions and plan how to disseminate information to them. The survey will be closed on Friday February 22.

David Ochieng

Last weekend students went to South Pare Mountains in Same district for the Level 1B OP trip. This level allows our younger students to put the skills they learned during camp-craft to work and develop their resilience and physical capacity to walk for long hours.  The group left Moshi campus mid-morning on Saturday and arrived at the campsite late afternoon after about 2 hours of off-road up-hill travel. After pitching their tents and refilling their water bottles, they hiked for an hour to Malema Rock (picture1) where they learned the horrifying history of the rock. This short hike was a nice warm up for the long hike that followed. On Sunday they hiked up through the villages, swamps and rocky parts of the South Pare Mountain. Then it was down to Ranzi Dam where they enjoyed a long lunch by the dam shores before hiking back down to the campsite. Despite limiting the views from the top of the mountains the morning mist made the hike up fairly easy for most of the students. The hike down was a bit tough for some students but everyone showed resilience and made it back to camp safe and sound! Monday was spent traveling back to Moshi where they bid their Arusha friends farewell.

South Pare Outdoor Pursuits trip

Our U15 boys and girls soccer and U19 boys and girls basketball have now finished their NTAA tournaments for the year.  We had some excellent successes and most importantly we had students enjoying healthy active lifestyles.  The results are below:

• U15 Boys Soccer – 5th
• U15 Girls Soccer – 3rd
• U19 Boys Basketball – 1st
• U19 Girls Basketball – 4th

ISM on the court and pitch in recent contests.

The U13 and primary swim team representing ISM in Usa River for the Kennedy House swim meet on Saturday the 9th of February had a very successful day out.  They managed to better their standings from the previous meet placing 3rd. Thanks to Coach Sabini Miss Debbie for taking the students.

The achievement mentioned above was even more significant considering we had 9 eligible swimmers in Dar for the TALISS swim meet, they teamed up with ISMAC to have a joint ISM team. All swimmers did tremendously well, however special mention must go to Delhem R who won his age category, Elijah R for coming 3rd in his age group and Patrick S who is currently the fastest U13 50m Freestyle swimmer in the country.

The season isn’t over yet! A group of 23 swimmers from ISM will participate at the MSC gala in Mwanza from 1-3 March and, the last Primary and Secondary NTAA gala, hosted by St Constantine’s, will take place on 8 & 9 March. Please don’t forget to come and support your children – they will swim faster!

TALISS Swim Event

Sports Celebration afternoon

On Wednesday, February the 13th we held the ISM Sports Celebration Afternoon for semester 1 and recognised all our teams who have competed in the NTAA tournaments during the year.  Special mention was made of our Most Valuable Players and the players appreciated by the coaches. We also recognised the huge achievement of some of you NTAA Athletics Record holders.  See below

Below are the records from the NTAA Athletics

Primary and Secondary Swim Galas

After weeks of learning and refining the MYP students will be showcasing their swim prowess in the Secondary Swim Gala on Tuesday the 5th of March from 7.45am to 10.15am.  The Primary will have their showcase of swim skills the week before on Wednesday the 27th of February from 10.35am to 1pm. Parents are invited to support their children and see what they have been learning in lessons.

If anyone is willing to volunteer their time to time races in either or both events it would be greatly appreciated.  Please contact me robinmarsh@ed.ismoshi.com.

Kilimanjaro Marathon – https://www.kilimanjaromarathon.com/

Don’t forget the Kilimanjaro marathon is coming up and it is not too late to sign up, check the website.  We are currently 2 weeks off the run date and training schedules should be intense for one more week and then taper off in the last week to ensure bodies are ready to give their all in the race. 

If you are still looking for training opportunities and some company or just looking to keep fit, there are several things happening on and around campus to help you prepare for the Kili Marathon.  There is:

• Monday 3.15pm Mr Foya run session,
• Tuesday 5.30am Cross fit and 4.30pm Mr Melhado run session,
• Wednesday 3.15pm Cross fit,
• Thursday 5.30am Cross fit and 4.15 Sports fitness club,
• Friday 5.15am run interval training,
• Saturday 7.15am Campus run with Ms Jaime/Marieke.

Saturday Soccer

For the football fans out there don’t forget that Saturday soccer is back on from 9am to 10.30am for PYP students.

Robin Marsh

We have a big week of house events last week with a Spelling competition in the secondary school and a hula hoop challenge in the Primary.  The results are as follows
 

Primary Hula Hoop

• 1st Place – Mawenzi and Kibo tied
• 2nd Place – Meru

Secondary Spelling Competition

• 1st Place – Mawenzi
• 2nd Place – Kibo
• 3rd Place – Meru

As you can see from the current standings above, this means that the scores have again swung in favour of Mawenzi with Kibo hot on their heels.

Valentine’s Day was marked with gifts in the whole school. The Students’ Council also organized a disco on Thursday evening to mark the day.

Being a long weekend, we had no classes on Friday the 15th of February. A good number of boarders chose to go home to spend time with their families. However, many stayed on campus, and were involved in various recreational activities, including a trip on Saturday to the Materuni waterfalls.

On Sunday morning a group of 15 students including 10 boarders left for Nairobi for the Model United Nations Conference. They will be away the whole of next week representing the school in this prestigious annual event. We wish them well.

Rosemary Bango

Thank you to all members of our community who contributed to make Book Week a success! From ‘mystery readers’ and Secondary ‘buddy readers’ who visited Primary, to those who presented in assembly, ran events or contributed to the book sale, our whole community contributed to making this a special week. We would be glad to have your feedback on this year’s Book Week and your suggestions for Book Week 2020, please fill in this form to do so.

Laura Webb

The week started off with a very successful hula hoop challenge. All the students showcased their skills as they went through hoops, rolled them on the ground, around their waists and wrists. Well done to Mawenzi and Kibo which tied and to Meru for being the runners-up. The Primary students enjoyed viewing and listening to the M5 Personal Projects which were educative and inspiring. Congratulations to the M5 for a very successful event.

In the coming week, on Friday the 22nd of February, the Student Council is organizing Funky Colors Spirit Day. All students are encouraged to wear colorful clothing and have fun with this form of self- expression. The P5s will also be going for their overnight camp this coming Thursday, we wish them a great experience. I wish all families a pleasant weekend.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

Five new Brownies (girl scouts) were enrolled into the First Moshi Brownies Pack this week. Congratulations girls!

Deborah Mills

The children have continued their work on dark and light and connected their learning on superhero Venn diagrams to new work on nocturnal and diurnal animals. We’ve had a first look at two new words; Crepuscular (active around dawn and dusk – think foxes) and Cathemeral (active at random times during both day and night – think some of the big cats).

We’ve researched some of these amazing creatures during our IT sessions and the picture you see here was a great example of the beauty of our PYP curriculum. Here you see two children who have set up and are managing their own Venn diagram activity in the animal play centre.

I trust that you’ll all enjoy a fantastic long weekend.

Owain Evans

This week, the children brainstormed what a community looks like and they shared great ideas with each other. We took 2 small trips which have opened our eyes to the wider community around us. We walked to the primary boarding house and visited Mussa’s home. Mussa was very excited to give us a tour and the children have already begun to gather great ideas of action.

We also walked further up the road to the school day-care center and took some time to play and get to know the young children there. Please keep the conversations going at home as the children start coming up with what they would like to do to make meaningful changes in their community.

Sharpening our sentences can be quite involving. P1’s have been working on writing sentences that make sense. P2’s have been working on revising their sentences and looking out for capital letters, full stops and correct spellings. They will continue to work on this next week.

Mboka Mwasongwe

We kicked off this week with a hula hoop challenge. Students tested their gross motor skills and spatial awareness by rolling hula hoops across the field, and using them to skip across the field. Thank you Ms. Debbie and Ms. Cathy for organizing this!

We have been inquiring into synonyms this week. We brainstormed synonyms for the words happy, sad, angry and funny. Students chose to create acrostics for words that they chose. Students have also been looking at rhyming couplets – with some inspiration from Roald Dahl’s Revolting Rhymes. Students are using rhyming couplets to describe ideas they are passionate about.

In math, we have expanded and simplified number forms and connected this to expression. The two forms of numbers represent the same number. We have also been playing a variety of math games to continue practicing our math facts.

We have had D1 students come spend some time with our class in order to aid us with positive interactions. I encourage you to continue these conversations at home, and discuss how we can continue using positive words to create a positive environment.

Elisha Jaffer

We had a fun week in our class, mapping different areas of the school and trying to add coordinates to different point s on our maps. We will continue with this activity in the coming week, where students will hide things according to the coordinates on their maps and others will use those coordinates to find the “treasure.” We have also been looking at prepositions to improve our writing skills and also creating a timeline in I.T. to document the journeys of different explorers. In the coming week, they will be writing directions in instructional writing and we will continue exploring coordinates in Math.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

This week in the P5 class we have been studying different types of Media for our Unit. We have been looking at videos and websites to see how media can be biased. We have learned that not each website or media source can be true, and we need to be careful about digital media. For Math, we have been exploring fractions. We played fraction games with our fraction kits to know the value of them. We practiced making equivalent fractions and comparing fractions.

Next Thursday is our trip to Kahawa Shamba. Everyone has turned in their money and forms. Thank you for getting it in this week. If your child needs to borrow goods from the OP room, they need to bring in a 10,000 tsh deposit on Monday. Please decide at home what needs to be borrowed from the OP room.

Written by the P5 class for our Media Unit.

Sarah Brummel

The highlight of the week was our visit to the science labs where Dr. Mac, Ms. Mary and Mr. Justin kindly shared their time and expertise and led us through a dissection of a goat heart, lungs and intestines. What an amazing way to see that animal body systems are interconnected! The children have started making a presentation about their chosen body system. Many thanks to Ms. Elisha who led a workshop on how to use Google Slides – the children enjoyed it a lot and have learned a new skill. The children will put the final touches to their presentations next week and will construct a 3D model to aid understanding of how the system works. The final part of this body systems unit will involve looking at the endocrine system and how the release of hormones triggers puberty. Our lacrosse sessions in PE are going very well, I hope you have managed to look at the videos posted on Seesaw. In maths we have been working on plotting co-ordinates and we will move on to looking at data handling. On Tuesday the P6 students have an extra swimming lesson. They will be paired up with EC children to help them get ready for the PYP swim gala later this month.

Deborah Mills