It is hard to believe we are six weeks into the third quarter already. It may be my age, but this year has seemed to move very quickly. I suppose this is partly due to the number of events we have had this year. We tend to have a full calendar, but with the Opening and the Primary Sports Weekend we have had a few more events than normal.
In that vein, in two weeks we have a wide mix of events on campus. It is Book Week with a number of activities planned for those of all ages. We have “The Wave” hitting the stage on March 4th and 5th. Representatives from the UWC International Office, National Committees, and the different UWCs will be having their annual conference here in Moshi. And lastly, we have a group of researchers working on a study for the UWC here to interview students and teachers about their education.
I would like to say good luck and have fun to those students leaving on Sunday for Nairobi and the MUN conference. From experience I know how much participants enjoy these events.
Bob Cofer
Upcoming
The Wave
This year’s production, The Wave, is the story of a school not unlike our own where good intentions lead to terrifying consequences. Featuring a star-studded cast of your peers and guest appearances from a few teachers, this play is definitely not to be missed. Come, join The Wave!
Tickets are 5000 shillings for adults and students.
Although we have adapted the play to make it suitable for our intended audience, we still need to respect the artistic integrity of the performance. With this in mind, we have decided that the play is suitable for students from P6 upwards. However, parents please be mindful that the script includes some moderate swearing and scenes that some might find distressing. Parent discretion is advised.
International Day
On Friday March 20th we will have our annual International Day. It will start with an assembly at 11am in K-hall. Students of various ages will be performing, and it will kick off with the parade of flags. After this there will areas around the front of campus with many of our countries represented. The PTA with student and teacher representatives have already started planning these booths. There will be plenty of music, food, activities and costumes to keep you entertained. We welcome everyone to what is sure to be a fun event.
Project Week
Project week is an engaging and challenging UWC experience for first year diploma students to put into action their knowledge and skills to make an impact on the community, challenge oneself or explore their host/home country. Project week is a 6-day experiential learning opportunity that aims to encourage participation in service or challenge activities. It offers students a chance to explore Tanzania, encourage social contacts with people outside the UWCEA community and highlight self-reliance and resourcefulness.
Project week will take place between the 8th and 13th of June, but the planning process is well underway. Groups of 2-8 students are working with a supervisor to plan and carry out a week-long experience within Tanzania and within a constrained budget. Proposals are due by Friday, 28th of February.
Parents and members of the community are also encouraged to input their ideas and spur conversations about project week with the students and the project week committee. If you have any suggestions of events, organizations or places that could be a possible initiative for project week, feel free to contact William Melhado, the project week coordinator (williammelhado@uwcea.org).
Ben’s Corner
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the biggest one first.” Mark Twain
Dealing with deadlines is a harsh reality for every IB student across the globe. At any given time, you might have assignments due, presentations to prepare for, tests scheduled, sports matches to participate in, an OP trip to train for, a Service visit to plan and so on to fade. The downside of a holistic, rich and varied learning experience is that everything takes time. A person’s success in many walks of life, including school, is becoming more and more influenced by that person’s ability to effectively manage their time.
However, procrastination is the thief of time. There are tools out there to help you avoid it…particularly online. For example, StayFocusd is a Chrome extension that blocks access to sites like Facebook and YouTube during hours of your choosing. The age old art of creating “to-do lists” can be hugely effective. Breaking big projects into discrete steps so that you are able to tick them off one at a time. “Eating the frog” is another on-trend approach, referring to Mark Twain’s famous quote above. The frog being that one thing that you have absolutely no motivation to do and that you are most likely to avoid. Eating the frog means to just do it before the frog eats you! Once that one task is done, the rest of the day will be an easier ride in comparison.
When you have multiple assignments due, many people feel it is better to plough through one and get it done before moving onto the next. Rather than work on each project a little bit at a time. Similarly, some people find it more productive to work in time blocks and include regular, planned breaks. Others set SMART Goals to help clarify ideas, focus efforts and use time and resources productively. All of these strategies increase your chances of meeting deadlines.
In the end, deadlines are part of all of our lives and dealing with deadlines whilst maintaining a positive, growth mindset is something we should all strive for. Good luck…
Ben Morley
Diploma News
This has been a short but important week for Diploma Students. The D2 students submitted their final TOK essays and many just have orals to go before the final exams. Their mock reports have been issued and now is a time for reflection on what is needed to improve. For some of them these were a shock and conversations have started about what they need to do.
During this week and next week we have D1 students participating in a variety of activities including:
Preparations for the International Fair,
The East Africa Model United Nations in Nairobi
An OP trip to Usambara
Training for the World Schools Debate in Arusha
Rehearsals for the upcoming play
Helping out with book week
Launching rockets with primary students
Congratulations to all involved in any of these and particularly to those involved in more than one. More details will be given about these events later.
Margaret Brunt
From the Counselor
Thank you so much to those of you who have responded to the request for “Experts” in the community to come and share your expertise with our students in a variety of ways. We’re excited about those of you who are planning to take part in the upcoming Book Week and hope to see more of our community coming to campus to enrich the learning experiences of our students across all levels. If you have not had a chance to fill in the Community Experts form, or if you would like to fill it in for someone you know who is a willing expert, please use the link below to join the list of eager volunteers! https://forms.gle/ZH3CEXFqwguVNPBf7
Upcoming University Event: Thursday, 27 February we will have a representative from Education USA (affiliated with the US Embassy) present to students, and available parents, about some of the key factors involved in preparing to attend university in the United States. We look forward to this opportunity to ask questions about obtaining Visas and implications of the recent travel ban. This presentation will take place at 10:30 on the Moshi campus and at 2:30 on the Arusha campus. All are welcome.
Lastly, Mr. Kileo (emmanuelkileo@uwcea.org) and I (cassandraford@uwcea.org) remain committed to providing resources and support for the mental well-being of all members of our community. If you have any concerns that you would like to speak with either of us about, please feel free to contact us via the email addresses provided.
Thank you and wishing you a wonderful (looooong) weekend.
Cassandra Ford
MYP News
M1 in Lake Eyasi The M1 class were on a Humanities and Design interdisciplinary trip from February 17-20. This was a cross campus trip involving both Moshi and Arusha campuses. The students investigated how the Hadzabe and Datoga communities develop strategies for adapting to harsh environments. This included making jewelry and adornments.
M5 Work Experience Appeal We are requesting members of our community working in or with organisations/institutions to open their doors to our students as from May 25-29, 2020. The M5 students will be out of campus for Work Experience week. Work Experience is part of our M5 career development requirement programme. The goals of the program include enabling students to:
Take risks in a new and challenging environment;
Work independently;
Interact professionally with adults;
Experience a professional work environment from the perspective of an employee.
In case you can accommodate one or more students please contact me at myp_moshi@uwcea.org.
David Ochieng
Residential Life
This weekend we have different groups out Friday, Saturday and Sunday with a pool party thrown in for good measure. The trips include Arusha National Park, Miwaleni Springs, Materuni Waterfall, the hot springs and a local river walk. Just the things needed to relax in the middle of the term.
Monday we will start getting back into the normal routine as we prepare for the week ahead. Please note that a few residential students will be on the MUN trip to Nairobi that leaves on Sunday and others will be on the OP trip starting on Thursday.
Ian Horne
Kiongozi/Kivuli Day Trip
Last Sunday, 34 MYP resident students and 5 teachers had quite a local adventure! We started out at Ms. Marissa’s cob house building site, where she and her family are building their new (practice) home using traditional materials and methods. We learned a lot, and had fun getting muddy in the process. It was a great way to interact with local trades people and also to work together as a team to assist in the construction process. After our visit, we hiked back to campus, through a few local villages and traversing a river in the process. Overall, a very tiring but rewarding day exploring more of our surrounding Moshi area. Thank you Ms. Marissa and family!
From the PTA
The PTA, Primary Student Voice and Secondary Students teamed up to raise funds for our fantastic Sports Department at last weeks busy event. Thank you!
Here you see the winner of our ‘Pirate Treasure’ game- our very own… Garvin!
As we continue to work together to provide extra opportunities to our children, please put Friday March 20th, 11am – 4pm in your diaries as we bring to you a ‘cornucopia’ of International delights at this years UWCEA International Day!!!
As always, if you would like to get involved in this old ‘ISM Favourite’, please get in touch.
PYP News
The children have been super excited this week, after the Sports Weekend and into the long weekend. 🙂 We said goodbye to Ms Gunhildur our student teacher in Primary. We wish her all the best as she goes back to back home to Iceland, and after that to Denmark to complete her studies.
We also said goodbye to Ms. Carolyn Pickering who visited the Primary for the week and has headed back home to the UK.
Cathy Wambua-Saha.
Book Week
Book Week is coming! March 2-6 will be filled with activities. More information will follow but this email is meant to help you take advantage of the long weekend to prepare your children for an exciting week of celebrating the joy of READING.
Things you can do now:
Talk to them about what character they would like to dress up as for our Book Character Parade into the school-wide assembly on Monday, March 2.
Sign up with your child’s teacher to be a Mystery Reader. It will delight your child if you are able to surprise the class with a book to read aloud at some point in the week.
Take a photo of your child reading and email it to me at kaceybuckley@uwcea.org or to your child’s teacher. The photos will be put up on our display board. Be creative! If you travel for the long weekend, you may have a chance to get a special picture of your child enjoying a good book.
As always, you can read, read, and read some more! Read together with your children and let them see you reading for fun. Doing any or all of the 3 suggestions above will help us to have the best Book Week ever and will boost your child’s enthusiasm.
Please also remember that there is a Book Week spirit day, so start planning those book costumes now.
Thanks for your support!
Kacey Buckley
EC Class
I’d like to take this week to thank some of the fantastic adults who work to give our children in EC wide and varied experiences. Mr. T works hard to provide accessible but challenging opportunities through sports. The children are developing physically in terms of balance, strength and coordination, but the confidence and inter-personal skills development they are receiving is also wonderful. In swimming, the huge bank of experience developed over many years of teaching young children to swim makes Coach Sabini an absolute treasure for the children. The patient, often funny but always focused way in which he manages to first get the children used to the water, and later comfortable in swimming with floats and alone is a real pleasure to watch. Ms Mary and Mr Emmanuel lead the children in group singing and early experimentations with sound, pulse and rhythm. Their ability to somehow conduct a group of 3-5 year olds with a range of noise-making ‘tools’ absolutely astounds me. Ms Catherine joins us regularly to bring Kiswahili into our play. The way she integrates learning within the children’s own interests and supports first, second and even third language children in a caring and gentle manner is fantastic. Ms Tahera in our library works to support a contemplative and imaginative inner world for the children through stories and language. Ms Grace in our computer lab finds new and innovative online learning each week and is somehow able to work with several children on several different programs, tasks, games and media at the same time.
Thank you very much to all of the adults in our EC children’s lives.
Owain Evans
P 1/2 Class
The class learnt how to read simple grid maps this past week. We drew a grid map on the classroom floor, placed some items in it and played fun games locating things using only grid language. The children especially liked creating pirate treasure maps. They shared the maps with P3, asking them to locate their hidden treasure and various other items using only grid language. This will be a fun activity to do with your children.
In mathematics, we will continue to look at time. We will begin to look at time lapses. We will answer questions like what time will it be one hour later or one hour before. Please share the time of various activities in your house with the children. A visual clock in the house would help them get used to telling time.
Thank you for completing the map homework that was sent home. This week, we will be exploring animals that live in cold and hot climates. We will add our growing knowledge to the world maps.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P3 Class
This week in P3 we have been tirelessly working on our multiplication. The students have used a variety of games to practice their multiplication facts by drawing arrays, grouping or using repeated addition. We have also been working on our transport projects with students creating models using things in their environment. The students have also been researching transport modes and what they looked like in the past. I encourage you to take some time during this long weekend to practice students’ multiplication facts with them, and take a look at the mode of transport they are researching in class, and what the mode looked like in the past.
Please use the time during the break to think about what character your child would like to dress up as for Book Week. Any parents wanting to help decorate our door are more than welcome to send me an email and I will be happy to share more information. We are also looking for mystery readers in the classroom, so please send me an email letting me know if and when you’d like to come read to our class.
Well done to all the students who participated in the Primary Sports Weekend. It was amazing seeing the zeal and enthusiasm exhibited on the field and in the pool.
Elisha Jaffer
P4 Class
The P4s had a great week and enjoyed working on Design and Technology projects using 3D shapes as a way of looking at different tools we use daily. We will be looking at our money unit in the coming week as we move further in our unit.
We also looked at different inventors and will in the coming week look at the inventions and innovations that have been created over the years. The children will create timelines and look the inspiration behind some of the inventions and innovations.
We will be looking at various skills in Language. In writing we will look at organising non-fiction texts into facts and opinions as we look at persuasive writing. This will also be the week where we start our door covers in preparation for book week.
Cathy Wambua-Saha
P5 Class
The class started the week with a great act of service for their school. They helped remove litter from the playground, lower pitch, and upper pitch. As a class we removed over 2000 pieces of small trash. The highest amount by Amaya was 313. We were all impressed.
P5 has been hard at work with their group summative posters of a body system, discovering decimals, and finishing the brainstorm phase of their stories. They will begin writing them next week, and all reported so far that they like being young authors.
Next week the class will be busy preparing their Gathering Presentation from our current unit about the human body, and preparing the door book cover. Please join us at P5 Gathering next Friday. We also invite you in to come and read for Book Week. Please send an email and let me know what time and day is good for you. I hope you all enjoy the long weekend.
Sarah Brummel
P6 Class
The P6 children have devised central ideas and lines of inquiry for their Exhibition. Our transdisciplinary theme is “Who We Are.” The children have chosen their issues and will be focusing on challenges faced by street children, orphanages and Tanzanian tribes, deforestation, air pollution, advances in technology, poaching, animal welfare and wildlife on campus. Each group has chosen a board on the breezeway and has displayed statements explaining their personal connection to their chosen issue. We will be following the MISO protocol (Media, Interviews, Surveys, Opportunities for experience and action) Many thanks to the teachers and community members who have taken on the role of mentors. The children will begin their research on Tuesday. Exciting times lie ahead for the P6 students as they start their Exhibition journey. May 6th and 7th seem a long time away now but I am sure the time will fly by!
