Arusha Campus News – 13 Jun 2020

Just a sixth of the Arusha Diploma Graduation viewers caught on this screenshot yesterday.

This week’s newsletter is almost completely made up of images! None more spectacular than this landscape that loomed up in front of my windscreen on my drive over to Moshi earlier this week.

First up we had the opportunity to celebrate the Arusha D2 Graduation through an online cermony. It was terrific and a spectacular job was done by Mr Anderson, our DP Co-ordinator and his trusty students, most especially Ghaidaa who put togther a great monatge of video clips. Tine (Board Chair), Anna (DIrector) and I were privileged to watch the proceedings unfold from the luxury of the gardens of a rather emplty Arusha Campus! Thank you to Mr Acomb for being our Guest of Honour and delivering the sort of eloquent address, full of profound thought that we had come to expect of him. Another ‘old’ face that was lovely to see was that of Miss KP or Miss Kinsey as we now know her. Gina was of course the D2 students’ original tutor when they set out on their Diploma journey, but she was forced to return to Canada with illness. And finally it was great to see the D2’s themselves of course, with their families enjoying their day! It will last long in the memory.

I simply love the artwork that Miss Kate has put on display in this week’s newsletter. Aren’t we lucky to have such a talented and inspirational Head of Art – thank you Kate for all the amazing art you inspire us to create!

As thoughts invariably turn to our reopening in August, you may wish to think about buying some new t-shirts and other UWC East Africa merchanidise which has just arrived in our shop.

Finally, as if you needed a reminder, this week will bring our academic year to an end. I won’t even begin to describe the year – we all know what a funny one it has been. Anyhow, we will be screening a final assembly of the year to everyone on Zoom so please try and join us. At that assembly we will be saying goodbye to those of us, students and teachers, who are leaving. The link for this assembly is:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83205005391?pwd=UzlNV0ZmdUJKWkJoNXU4UHA5dVFZUT09

..but I shall send a reminder later in the week.

Regards

Phil

What a wonderful opportunity today for all of us to wish our graduating class of 2020 the best of luck and a wonderful life journey ahead, as they move on from UWCEA and say their farewells in celebration of the time they have spent together learning and growing at ISM!

In preparation for our last week of school, Primary parents and children are invited to come and collect their belongings and return all library books/reading books. On Monday 15th and Tuesday 16th June school will be open between 9.00 – 11.00 am for this purpose. Secondary families and students are able to return their textbooks and other borrowed materials during last week, Mon-Thu from 9 am to 12 pm in Reception. If you or your family have any signs of cough, cold or fever please remain at home and you will return borrowed items at a later date. Semester 2 reports for both primary and secondary students will be sent to all of you by June 18th, the last day of the quarter.

A huge thank you to all teachers who have worked so very hard to make the remote learning environment a veritable opportunity for more learning and growth for our students, against all odds. I would also like to thank you, families and students, for your determination and continued support of our efforts through this learning journey. Have a wonderful summer break!

With best regards,
Ciprian

Hi everyone!
I would like to take the opportunity to thank the school community for supporting me and my family through what has been a difficult year for us. As many of you know, I have spent the year in Canada undergoing treatment for breast cancer. I have completed my chemotherapy and while I was extremely disappointed to not be able to return to school for quarter 4 as planned, I am now feeling well and keeping safe here. As Zola and Alera are proudly announcing in this photo, I am happy to share my news that I have accepted an offer of admission to the Stanford Graduate School of Education where I will work toward my Master’s Degree in Learning, Design, and Technology. We’re looking forward to this new adventure in California, but we also miss Tanzania terribly and can’t wait to get back there and see many of your friendly faces someday soon. Thank you all for your support and love during my 10 years there, and this year in particular. Please keep in touch.
Gina (aka Miss KP), Ethan, Alera, & Zola Kinsey

Hi everyone, my name is Jessica and I will be teaching Biology and MYP Science. Some of you may remember me from two years ago when I was Head of PE here. Well, after doing some teaching and sports coaching in New Zealand and Australia in the time that I have been away, I am thrilled to be back at my school! I attended ISM Arusha Campus (as it was known then) from Kindergarten until Secondary 5 when I left for Moshi and did my IB Diploma there. When the opportunity came to work for Mr Bowen again (he’s so great), it was a chance I simply had to take, and so I am delighted to be back!

M1 and M2 Design students learned from Sayan (P6) about upcycling. They came up with some pretty cool upcycling projects of their own! 

Tristan’s amazing plant pots above….and below is Jessica’s mirror made from an old tyre.

More uses for those old tyres…..how about a foot rest as Liam is modelling! (above). And how about this for a creative candle holder made out of a tin can. Great design from Siri (below).

We have taken stock of a new range of T-shirts. These will continue to be statutory wear in the Primary School but of course will appeal to Seocndary students and adults alike. Here are some of the new colours on display courtesy of our residet models (above). We also have a range of hoodies which will certainly come in handy during those chilly months of June to August (below)

We made it to the end of a school year filled with enough ups and downs to be an amazing roller coaster ride. The key is that we have made it through, and as we prepare to disembark from this school year, I hope you will take some time to reflect on this wild ride. As you reflect, be sure to ensure that you consider the positives along with the negatives, and who you are as a result of all that has happened. Growth does not happen without some “growing pains,” and although uncomfortable they help lead us to a much better version of ourselves. In addition, it is a good time to express gratitude to the people in your life who helped you thrive during the challenging times, and enrich your life in spite of it all.

I hope that you were able to read this week’s Wellness Wednesday Newsletter. In the newsletter, there is a link to the survey we are conducting on enhancing the way we provide mental health services to our school community. This survey is for staff, students, parents, and other vested members of our school community. Please take a moment to complete the survey on the link below. The survey is open until Friday, 19 June at 3:00 PM EAT. Thank you to those of you who have already responded. Your insights are tremendously valuable as we continue to improve the way we support the mental health and wellbeing of our school community, especially as we prepare to open again after a quarter+ of Distance Learning and the long break. The survey can be accessed at this link

https://forms.gle/8KTo3KfAPpYW6mrs8

Over the long break, I encourage you to have a family talk about the cost of college/university and the application process. This will be essential to creating a realistic plan moving forward. Most institutions in the US have a section of their website that is the Net Price Calculator https://collegecost.ed.gov/net-price and the College Board also provides a section on planning to pay for college they call the College Board Calculator https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/college-costs/college-costs-calculator

In addition, I encourage parents who are preparing for the process of letting go, I want to share this excellent presentation about building a RAFT or RAKE to ensure smooth sailing for your child as they prepare to launch https://slideplayer.com/slide/10484823/

Lastly, for those of you who have students preparing to go to the US this coming academic year, I have scheduled a meeting with the US Consular in Tanzania for Wednesday, 17 June at 4:00PM. Invitations have been sent out to students, but I welcome any others who are interested to email me to receive the invitation. 

Finally, as we wrap up the year, I encourage everyone to continue to explore the wealth of resources available in the following places:
1. Maia Learning (Current M5 or D1 parents: If you still want Parent Access, please email me so that I can send it to you).
2. UCAS, Common App, or Coalition Application websites (They are the most popular application websites for UK and US and offer a variety of planning resources.)
3. Visit the websites and social media of the institutions and programs that you are interested in exploring. They are all working to increase their online resources given the impact of the pandemic on their ability to provide in person meetings and tours.
4. The last of the events that we are promoting:

Most importantly, create time to enjoy the things that are meaningful in life, and that give life purpose. Have a wonderful break!

Take care and persevere,

Cassandra Ford
University and Socio-Emotional Counselor