Arusha Campus News – 31 May 2024

This week has been XP week and we have had our M4’s (Sunday to Monday) and our M5’s (Tuesday to Thursday) out in the Tanzanian bush, carrying out their adventure. The teams need to orienteer in their groups and navigate to several checkpoints en route to their campsite for the night. They have to be entirely self sufficient, carrying all their own food, cooking implements and tents.

Sat 1st June – Interact Car Boot Sale

Tue 4th June – U16 and U19 Rugby vs BISA at UWC A

Thur 6th June – U13, U16 and U19 Netball vs BISA at UWC A

Sat 8th June – 8:30am Secondary Netball and Rugby Finals at KHIS

Wed 12th June – 1.30pm PYP Play

Ian, Sander, Sayan, Shiven and Brian were one of the XP Bronze groups from M4. Here they are pictured overlooking Kilima Moto Crater which constituted checkpoint three on the day.

From a personal point of view I have been lucky enough to have a terrific week. On Sunday and Monday I was with Miss Amanda and Mr Frank managing the XP Bronze Adventure. From Tuesday to Thursday I was with Miss Christy, Mr Frank and Mr Isaac from Moshi managing the XP Gold Adventure. Apart from spending lots of quality time with the M4 and M5 students we were immersed in the most beautiful countryside. Very lucky indeed! The XP Programme was designed by us and is an evolution of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award. In short, under the supervision of Miss AnnJoyce, Miss Amanda, Mr Frank and me, participants select and set objectives in each of the following areas:

Service: undertaking service to individuals or the community.
Physical: improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities.
Skills: developing practical and social skills and personal interests.
Adventure: planning, training for, and completion of an adventurous journey in the Tanzanian countryside.

The M5’s enjoyed their celebration day today (see image left and below) and we wish them the very best for their extended holiday. They will be back to meet all the new D1 students and embark upon their Diploma course. Whilst they must relax and recharge their batteries it may be prudent to start looking at the literature that lies ahead in English and have a sneak pre-read of the texts!

Have a great weekend.

Phil

Hi Everyone,

I am a dedicated learning support teacher with a passion for inclusive education; a husband and father of two fantastic children. I graduated in Special Needs Education, I am certified to conduct psychoeducational tests and exam access arrangements, and I am a member of the British Psychology Society (BPS).

With unwavering dedication, I will strive to help each student reach their greatest potential while nurturing a culture of inclusivity and achievement within the learning community of the UWCE-Arusha campus.

Ansibert

P3/4 made shadow puppets as part of a legacy from the ancient Chinese. They created the characters, wrote the script and acted out the play.

Puppets! Puppets are extremely beneficial.
A puppet can be made from a paper bag, a sock or from cardboard boxes or toilet rolls. The purpose of a puppet is to create interaction and fun dialogue. Puppets have the potential to improve language skills, creativity, social awareness, and more.

Language Development

Children love to have ‘conversations’ with a puppet. Each verbal interaction with their puppet will encourage language development.  It is also possible to have a conversation between two puppets.

Social Development

A child learning social skills, has an opportunity to be more sociable through the medium of a puppet. The puppet becomes the spokesperson for the group.The puppet becomes the instructor and children often enjoy listening to the puppet teaching them to be sociable.

Emotional Development

Puppets can teach children about their emotions.  Children can interact with the puppets as they share their ability to be happy, sad, angry, funny or jealous. Children can express these emotions too without upsetting anyone. Their puppet character is the one to feel these emotions. Playing with the emotions of the puppets helps to develop the characteristics of sympathy and empathy too.

Listening Skills

The puppet on your hand can encourage your child to listen to it as it gives instructions or tells a story. Puppets can help children to learn rhymes and songs as they imitate the puppet too. 

Motor Skills

There are a number of motor skills that children can improve through playing with puppets. The fine movement required to wear a puppet helps with dexterity and using fingers to manipulate the puppet improves fine motor coordination.

Hand Eye Co-ordination

Marionettes or string puppets help with eye-hand coordination as the puppet is made to walk and move in different directions. All these skills improve balance and directionality as the child has great fun playing with the puppet.

Building Self-Confidence

Putting on a children’s puppet show often happens quite spontaneously when children have access to puppets. It is really encouraging to see how children develop their self-confidence through the act of handling a puppet. The puppet is centre stage and the child becomes more confident to speak in front of other people with the help of a puppet friend.

Creativity

Puppets encourage creativity on several different levels. Making your own puppets from recycled socks or paper bags is just the starting point.

Story-Telling and Sequencing 

Storytelling comes alive with puppets. Retelling favourite fairy tales can make it easy to think of puppet show ideas when starting out. Learning how to repeat the rhyming part of the story, like in the Gingerbread Man, helps with memory skills.

The creator of the Muppets, Jim Henderson, had this to say about the value of puppets:  “One of the nicest things about puppets is that it’s your own hand in there. You can make it do anything you want to.”

https://best-start.org/blog/the-amazing-benefits-of-playing-with-puppets-in-early-childhood-

Amanda, PYP Co-ordinator

P2’s have been on various field trips (above) to expand their knowledge on inventions. They visited AtoZ,Tanfoam and Zenith media.

The M4 Boys who organised the tournament pose with the victorious team on the day!

For our community project, we decided to host an event we held last year as well, a charity football tournament. For this year’s edition, we were raising funds for Tengeru children’s school in Tengeru and we managed to raise around 950,000TSH in total. As a group we would like to give thanks to the people who supported us and helped to make this event possible we would like to give thanks to Mr. Phil, Mrs. Catrin, Mr Gift, Mrs Anoek, and Ms Jessica for making this event possible and helping us with everything could be arranged as well as the staff that took their time to help as set up the tents and bleachers on the pitch. We would also love to thank the M2 girls who took their time for us, sold drinks, and held a very successful bake sale. Half of the money we raised was because of them!

M3 Boys

Miri, Jun Woo and Agile enjoyed a week at Maternity Africa last week.

The M5 students returned to school on Monday morning excited and with fascinating stories about their work week. The experience proved to be a valuable eye-opener, filled with diverse encounters that challenged and inspired them.

Some students discovered the challenges of repetitive tasks, while others witnessed the unpredictable nature of the workplace, experiencing firsthand the importance of focus and perseverance. Others learned about workplace adaptability as they navigated unexpected situations, from cleaning plastic pollution off the ocean coast to witnessing the realities of patient care and even surviving a messy meal order mishap, highlighting the importance of accuracy.

In addition to overcoming hurdles in the professional world, they have also honed practical skills that will serve them well in the future, from designing and making a lampshade and repairing a car engine to understanding the art of professional report writing and self-management at work.

On Tuesday morning, they delivered impressive presentations to the M4 students, parents, and teachers. They showcased their professional experiences and captivated the audience with tales of their diverse experiences.

We are incredibly proud of the M5 students! Their work week wasn’t just about work – it was a journey of exploration, discovery, and growth. They returned not only with valuable skills but also with a deeper understanding of themselves and the world of work.

Miss Delphine, Life Skills

Sally is on the croissants!

Amazing, really, was the recent M3 Science Exhibition (see image above). Through in-depth investigations, our students demonstrated their grasp of a wide range of scientific concepts. Every exhibit showcased their diligence and ingenuity, ranging from inventive engineering projects to chemistry experiments. The students’ ability to clearly communicate complex ideas in their projects surprised both parents and fellow students. The displays demonstrated that not only are our students capable of doing amazing things right now, but they are also prepared for the challenges presented by Group 4 projects, Extended Essays, and Individual Investigations in the Diploma Programme. The M3 students demonstrated exceptional problem-solving abilities and a genuine enthusiasm for science. We look forward to following their curiosity and commitment to success in the future. Their journey into the world of science has just begun, and we can’t wait to see the incredible things they will achieve.

Miss Christabel, Science

Our M2 students (above) have been learning about digital literacy this quarter. They have explored the concepts of digital footprints and online safety, gaining a deep understanding of how their online activities shape their presence in the digital landscape. Through insightful discussions and case studies, they have examined how digital footprints can influence others’ perceptions, both positively and negatively.

This week, they had an engaging debate on the topic “Should schools monitor our social media?” Our classroom was quickly transformed into a vibrant forum as the debate sparked passionate discussions.

Students presented compelling arguments from various perspectives, such as identifying fake profiles, privacy, social support on bullying, and mental health. The Judges, Carice, Lola, and Ruari, found the complexities of the issues presented by both sides intriguing, making their evaluation and feedback challenging; it took them quite some time to announce the winners.

As they continue to build their digital literacy toolkits, M2 students are developing the essential skills to navigate the online world responsibly. Their recent debate is a testament to their critical thinking and commitment to becoming responsible digital citizens.

Well done M2s!

Miss Delphine, Life Skills

Diploma 1 students hard at work in their end of year exams

With the D2 students gone following a beautiful Graduation ceremony and the M5 on work experience, the campus feels very quiet! We are of course looking forward to hearing from the Graduating Class of 2024 again and receiving pictures of their first day at university next semester.

Meanwhile the D1 are almost done with their end of year examinations and are looking forward to a well deserved break after going through some emotional goodbyes with the D2. It won’t be long before they attend their own Graduation and move on to their next adventure! During the last week of school, they will be off timetable for a whole day (10th June) to dedicate some time to their Extended Essay. This component of the IB DP core, is mandatory for all students completing the full Diploma. As an independent, self-directed piece of research, this 4,000-word paper requires good time management, thinking and research skills. The key is for students to pick a topic they feel excited about in one of their subjects. So far, the students have come up with an interesting range of research questions, such as: ”To what extent does playing at home influence a team’s goal-scoring prowess and defensive performance?” (mathematics), “How and to what effect does Margaret Atwood make use of setting in The Handmaid’s Tale to illustrate the role of consumerism in alleviating existential dread” (English A), “Can the traditional ecological knowledge of the Indigenous people of the Pacific islands be successfully integrated into the contemporary conservation of sea turtles?” (ESS), “How did Netflix’s diversification into the mobile game market affect its profitability and global market share?” (Business Management), “To what extent has Greek architecture influenced the design of the Brandenburg Gate?” (Visual Arts)…and many more!
Combined with TOK, the Extended Essay is an opportunity for DP students to gain a maximum of 3 extra points for their Diploma, as follows:

Connecting with the ‘other side’

What a fabulous Friday we had last week when the world came to us! This was a great follow up to the Global Application Systems presentation for D1 families that took place (and was recorded) last Wednesday evening. On Friday, we had visitors from campuses on three different continents (Asia, Europe, and North America, see images above). The fun started with Mr. Johnson Cheung from the City University of Hong Kong, who met with students and then joined them for lunch at the Rhino Tower before taking a tour of our beautiful campus. The students enjoyed learning about the opportunities that exist on his campus, but also in a very international city with an array of professional paths to pursue. Also during lunch, we were fortunate to host two alumni who were ready to share their experiences in the UK and the US. Lulu (UWCEA Moshi ‘22) spent lunch talking with students about her two years studying in the UK as she prepares for a work placement year in Rwanda before returning to the UK to finish her degree. Then Aryan (UWCEA Arusha ‘23) stopped by to catch up and share insights of his first year at a Davis UWC Scholar partner institution that has been very generous to the UWC movement. WE LOVE seeing our alumni, and learning about a world of possibilities that exist after life at UWC East Africa. Keep coming and sharing! Karibuni!

Another Way to Continue Connecting

Last week, we kicked off the first of a series of virtual evening events where students are welcome to come and hear from UWC Scholar Partner institution admissions specialists as they provide valuable insights about the holistic admissions process and their institutions. Representatives from Davidson and Middlebury Colleges shared fifteen strategies for writing the Common App essay and supplemental essays (where necessary) that will stand out in a crowded applicant pool. It was wonderful to see so many students from both campuses engaged in the session and asking excellent questions of our presenters. The learning fun continues next week with two sessions taking place, and then a final session on the last Tuesday of school.

See more information about this series below, and stay tuned to find out about other events by reviewing…

Upcoming College and University Events

*NEW* May/June: 7:30-8:30 PM EAT Admissions Talk Tuesdays (Different topics each Tuesday). Join us for a special session with a Davis UWC Scholar Partner Admissions specialist as they share information about the application process.

1 June: 7:45-10:00 AM EAT SAT test on Moshi campus (see information about other upcoming tests by visiting https://www.uwcea.org/tests)

3 & 4 June: 7:30-8:30 PM EAT Admissions Talk Tuesdays (see poster below for topics). Join us for these special sessions with Davis UWC Scholar Partner Admissions specialists as they share information about the US application process.

15 June: 4:45-6:00 PM EAT 15 on the 15th continues with a “Hot Admissions Topic” and a virtual fair with 13 Davis UWC Scholar Partners & 2 UWC “friends”

**Many more events (and resources) are on the UWCEA Careers website, as well as individual institution websites/social media**

Take care, be well, and enjoy exploring!

Cassandra Ford
College and Career Counselor
cassandraford@uwcea.org