Arusha Campus News – 25 May 2024

The Campus (above) has had an eerily empty feel this week, with our departed Duploma D2 students having flown the nest and with all our M5 students out on work experience. The large church congregation across the road and its soothing loudspeaker has atoned somewhat for this feeling of loneliness.

Fri 31st May – M5 Ceremony

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

Carice, Juliana, Lola, Nicolene and Ru were out and about early this morning to help food sales at the M3 Charity Football Tournament that is taking place as I write! Thank you ladies!

A productive week in spite of the sadness of waving goodbye to our beloved D2’s. The week started with a PTA Executive Meeting at which we agreed that I would share a bulletin outlining the slightly different administrative organogram that will be in evidence on Arusha Campus. I shall prepare a more detailed article but for now here is a brief overview. As you may know, we will be saying goodbye to Miss Christy after five years of amazing service. We have decided that the best way forward will be to appoint a Head of PYP, Head of MYP and Head of DP. These positions will then support me as Head of Campus and Miss Coralie as Head of Residential Life. Miss Amanda will be Head of PYP, Miss Anoek will be Head of MYP and Miss Jessica (Peterson) will be Head of DP.

If you have a question or issue that you would like to see being addressed then your Head of Programme will be who you turn to after your class mentor or class teacher. Our Campus Management Team will continue to meet once a week and that will be comprised of Head of Residential Life, the three Programme Heads and me as Head of Campus. More details to follow but that is an indication of what to expect. We are excited about the changes and I welcome any questions that you might have.

Also at the PTA meeting, we received the suggestion to try and broadcast news of school trips a little more in advance than we are currently managing. This is understood and as a staff we will take this on board and try to do just that. Our website is the best place to link up with our Community Calendar https://www.uwcea.org/calendar/ and on here you will be able to see future trips and events. The OP Team have already set all the OP dates for 2024/25 so they will be live very soon.

Talking of trips, I shall be out of school for much of next week as we tackle the M4 Bronze and M5 Gold XP Adventures. Details and pictures in next week’s newsletter!

Have a great weekend.

Phil

Hi all,

Rachel and Stéphane here, writing from beautiful El Salvador!

Who we are in a nutshell:
– French nationals who have been enjoying international teaching for the past 25 years (UK, Spain, Tanzania – Mwanza, Uganda, El Salvador).

– Two adult children: our daughter, Calisté, finishing her second year at Concordia in Montreal, Canada, and our son, Tao, about to sit his IB exams and on his way to Leiden University in the Netherlands.

– both keen on outdoor activities and endurance sports (well, especially Steph for the latter!), and avid readers – mostly world classic fiction.

– very happy to go back to East Africa in a truly international setting

Looking forward to meeting you all in August!

Rachel and Stéphane

This stunning display was created by the P4/5 students (…and Miss Adele and Miss Saada!) as part of their Businesses Unit

On Friday 7th June we will celebrate Swahili Day from 1.00 – 2.00pm.

Clay!
Clay is a fun material for children to play with and it is beneficial for a child’s development. We have had a lot of fun making and creating objects with clay. P4/5 made jewelry and P3/4 made pots in the last few weeks.

What’s fantastic about clay is its open-ended nature. There’s no right or wrong way to play with it, giving children the freedom to explore and express themselves. Whether they’re rolling it into balls, flattening it into pancakes, or creating intricate sculptures, each action reveals something unique about them. It could be their level of focus, their creativity, or even how they approach problem-solving.

Children develop hand-eye coordination by squeezing, patting, and pounding the clay. They also develop finger and hand muscles by poking and pinching.

It allows children to be creative and learn about texture, shapes, and forms by manipulating the clay by rolling, cutting, and shaping it. It also gives children experience making three-dimensional objects.
 

https://mylittlescholars.com.au/why-children-should-play-with-clay/

Amanda, PYP Co-ordinator

P3/4 display their creations in clay (below).

M3 get to watch and learn from a visiting artist in Miss Leah’s art class.

A little update on what’s been going on in Visual Arts the last couple of weeks.

M3’s (see image above) are working on a portrait project where they had to pick an artist and art movement to influence their own portrait of a person of their own choice. Drawing faces is always a challenge because of proportions and placement of features. However, we were super lucky to have a friend and former colleague of mine, visiting from the UK. She is also an Art teacher as well as a super talented and recognised artist. She spent 2 lessons with M3’s giving them feedback and advice on their summative work as well as a workshop on how to best draw a face. The students were enthralled and all got stuck in! The results spoke for themselves. Well done M3’s!

M1’s are getting stuck in with their final Assessment of the year with some sardines! We are trying new painting techniques to create dreamy and more abstract pieces of art whilst using more than just paintbrushes! I cant wait to see the end products as their sketch books are already full of wonderful practice runs! The image below shows Ethan (M1) and his fish painting.

Don’t forget to walk through the corridor leading into the Art and Science block which is regurlaly updated with new artwork from the students.

Whether you are a leading International School with over 80 nationalities in attendance or a local Government School, one thing is for sure – the degradation of our natural environment will cost us both dearly. At the onset of the rainy season way back in October,  the Rotary Club of Arusha West Side (RCAWS) decided to join forces with UWC East Africa, Magereza School and ECHO’s East Africa Impact Centre to implement a tree planting project along the Dodoma Road in between the two schools, and within shouting distance of the RCAWS weekly meeting venue.

The project started on 30th October with a visit from ECHO. We decided to meet in one of Magereza School’s larger classrooms (see image above) where we congregated with UWC and Magereza students to learn about the importance of trees in our ecosystem, tree husbandry and how best to make our tree planting a success. Through regular liaison between Ms Bendera (Head of Magereza), I discovered that there was an appetite from her school to plant trees and create a more sustainable immediate environment for her schoolchildren. The greatest need for the school and its children is shade. So a variety of shade trees were planted such as Croton megalocarpus or Msenefu in swahili. In addition, a need for fruit trees was identified and so a variety of mango, avocado and guava trees were also put into the ground (picture below).

The biggest threat to the trees since we planted the 150-odd saplings has been slashing back weeds, mainly weeds of the Parthinium sp. 

We will have to wait until the rainy season growth has died back a little to really assess how well our saplings have survided. However the project shows no signs of losing momentum and in August we will renew our tree planting efforts.

Putting another tree into the ground near the classroom area at Magereza School.

Mental Health Awareness

This month in the US the focus is on mental health, and last week was Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. As a result, I want to take a moment to reflect on the importance of talking openly about this topic, especially ahead of major transitions for some of our students (and staff). Change (and exams) can generate feelings of anticipation and excitement as well as anxiousness and dread. We have been working with the D2 students on the concept of “Leaving Well (R.A.F.T. building)” but recognize that it is sometimes easier said than done. Knowing how to talk about emotions while also utilizing resources and coping skills is essential in order to thrive during transitions and stressful times.

In a recent Life Skills class, our D1 Peer Mentors, who have been expertly trained by Dr. Robin Peterson, talked with their classmates about the work that they do to support the mental health and well-being of their classmates. They were followed by Ms. Ina Walter, a local mental health professional, who shared her expertise on how to have a healthy relationship with stress. We hope that our students will make the most of the mental health resources that exist on this campus and at their next destination to ensure they are able to succeed in all facets of their lives. It has also been great to see all of the students maintaining their physical health through a range of CCAs, including those early morning risers who are part of Morning Motivation. Mental and physical health are essential elements in order to thrive no matter what challenges one faces. Keep moving and talking about your feelings as you work towards experiencing optimal mental health throughout life.

Here are some resources you may find useful during this month and beyond:

NAMI “Take A Moment” campaign: https://www.nami.org/get-involved/awareness-events/mental-health-awareness-month/
Understanding Mental Health Awareness Month: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/understanding-national-mental-health-awareness-month-john-morley
UK Mental Health Awareness Week 13-19 May: https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/our-work/public-engagement/mental-health-awareness-week

Money Matters

A big (and stressful) issue this admissions cycle has been the rising cost of tertiary education. However, this has been offset on our campus by the tremendous amounts of grants and scholarships our students have been offered. With the new admissions cycle already underway for our D1 students, this recent blog about how to prepare for the financial realities of paying for college/university may provide some key insights for families as you prepare for the not too distant future…. https://sites.gatech.edu/admission-blog/2024/05/01/tackling-tuition-exploring-paying-for-college/

If you were not able to attend the presentation on 22 May for D1 parents and guardians to assist with your preparation process, please see the recording and presentation link in the “Past Presentations” section of the UWCEA Careers website.  Also, take a moment to consider these other upcoming events…

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)

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