Arusha Campus News – 29 Aug 2021

Our Peaks 4 trip to climb Mt Meru set off on Friday, whilst yesterday morning the D1 students set off on the Pamoja Walk. This is a walk where Moshi D1 students walk from the base of Mt Kilimanjaro and Arusha D1 students walk from the base of Mt Meru. We meet and sleep at Pamoja Maasai School (see above)  in the middle of the plains between the two iconic peaks. There at the school we had a range of service activities which we carried out.

We have only just completed week three of the term and yet I am already singing the praises of the fabulous educators that teach your children. And this is why they deserve it. The students returned from Reefs 1 Trip with quite the greatest amount of euphoria that I have ever witnessed after a trip. The location, equipment and activities play a part but any trip depends on the supervising staff and Mr Samwel, Miss Coralie and Miss Peterson (along with Mr Robin and Miss Frida from Moshi) clearly did a fantastic job. Poor Miss Coralie has not had any time to rest on her laurels as she is now half way up Mt Meru with the Peaks 4 trip! Miss Coralie and Miss Peterson are the kind of people who volunteer to help everywhere! What would we do without them.

And from now until December you will hear more and more of the words ‘Freaky Friday’. Miss Sarah, Head of Arts, has already cast the annual musical and is into rehearsals already. None of us know Miss Sarah that well yet but I am getting the impression she works all hours given to her, and never gets a rest! Please consider dropping in to her classroom or stopping her on the walkway to ask if she needs some support. Staging a musical is a colossal task and I am sure she would be appreciative.

This week I have been teaching PE and once again had the time of my life! What phenomenal athletes your chldren are! Keep up the healthy lifestyles everyone with healthy eating and exercise as described by the PYP Reminders in this newsletter.

Thank you for your messages of condolence for our bereaved staff members. A miserable week all round for Arusha Campus on that front, with the deaths of Grace Accounts’ husband, Mr Khalid’s brother, Miss Caitrin’s dad and Mr Neil. As we come to terms with the gaps in our lives as a result of their passing on we thank you for your understanding. May they all rest in peace.

Phil

Greetings from the Deputy Head of Campus. This is my 3rd year at UWC East Africa and I’m so happy to be back for another exciting year. I’m looking forward to welcoming back our fantastic students and parents and to meeting the newest members of our community. Please do stop by my office any time if you have any questions or concerns, or even just to say hello. You can usually find me in S2 located in the Secondary section of the school.

In the past two weeks on campus we welcomed parents to many activities. Primary parents came in to meet the teacher throughout the week and also enjoyed a CCA fair to help choose after school activities for their children. In Secondary, parents were trained in ManageBac, met teachers, learned about the M5 eAssessments, and were given a second opportunity to learn about the MYP.

Most students and teachers have settled into the new timetable and have started to really dig into the challenging curriculum. OP trips began last week with Reefs Level 1 and Secondary students have chosen House team captains. Elections for our House Council Executive will take place soon. This year’s musical production has been cast and rehearsals have already started!

Over the coming weeks all staff will participate in traditional First Aid training to support the OP program as well as all students on campus. In addition, selected staff have begun a Mental Health First Aid course which began online this week and will continue next month.

It’s so great to see the campus hopping again!

Christy Willett

Last week saw auditionees from across Middle Years and the Diploma Programme, audition for the upcoming UWCEA secondary production of Disney’s Freaky Friday,

The key to a successful audition is preparedness, and being able to show a real and convincing portrayal of the character you are auditioning for. The more experience you have of auditions, the more relaxed you will become! Some auditionees had great confidence but lacked singing skills, while others showed inspiring potential as actors/singers but did not “commit” fully to the role.

PLEASE NOTE; A small tech and stage crew, band, and additional smaller roles will be recruited at the start of Quarter 2.

Congratulations to the following students who showed outstanding performances in auditions and have been cast in main roles:

Ellie Blake                  I Dewa Ayu, Widyadhari Kendran
Katherine Blake         Chiara De Felice Villano
Fletcher                      Bannen Green
Adam                         Marius Aagaard
Karl                            Yue Kin Lim
Monica                       Fisiola Nugraha Santosa Surya Atmaja
Savannah                  Susanna Wensel
Mike/Ms. Meyers       Roos Postema
Kitty                           Olivia Sayani
Torrey                        Avinash Meeshach Abeyasekera van Dort
Dr Ehrin                     Michal Demeter Tvrdoň
Mrs. Luckenbill          Grecia Lopez
Danielle                     Shahad Alothman
Mrs. Time                  Maria Martinez

Cater Waiters:           Veerle Sophia Koops
                                  Odette Castillo Pinto

Well done to all once again to all and we are looking forward to an entertaining stage production in December!

Miss Sarah

Head of Arts

P2/3 use their imagination to recreate ‘Octopus Socktopus’ by Nick Sharratt

Thank you for attending the Parent Information Sessions. Please contact your class teacher if you have any questions during the year. On Tuesday 1st September from 8.00 – 8.30am there will be an ‘Introduction to the PYP’. This is for parents who are new to the PYP and would like to find out more.

Approaches to Learning or ATL’s!
ATL’s are a set of skills that IB schools use to enhance learning. They are grouped into five sets: Thinking, Social, Self Management, Research and Communication. They naturally have a growth mindset occurring as they cover many different behaviours and self control. In class there is communication, sharing and discussion of ideas, thinking of ideas, noting down suggestions and coming up with a plan, social skills and listening to others, taking turns and self management to share equipment and space etc. ATL’s are linked to the PYP Learner Profile and the attitudes and by linking everything together we hope to enable each child to reach their full potential.

Miss Amanda

PYP Coordinator

Learner Profile (above)

Running through our PYP, MYP and DP is the International Baccalaureate Learner Profile. The P6 students have created fabulous posters about the Learner Profile and have thought about what it means to exhibit these characteristics.

Healthy Eating
Please remember to pack a healthy snack for your child(ren). Fruit, cut up vegetables, nuts and dried fruit, a sandwich with a healthy filling, yoghurt etc are fantastic.

Pick Up
Kindly collect your child(ren) at 2.30pm on non-CCA days. and 2.00pm on a Friday.

Buddies!
In the Primary school we have Buddies. P6 and P1, P4/5 and EC1/2, P2/3 and Nursery/EC1. Each week we meet up and learn together. We sing songs, read stories, make things, play together and build friendships. It is important for us to learn together and to create a positive atmosphere in our school community.

Damian, Valerie, Bram and Gavin perform before their virtual teacher in Drama this week!

We almost have a full quota of teachers on Arusha Campus! Our drama teacher, Miss Sue is currently stuck in South Africa but that has has not deterred her from delivering on-line lessons in Drama! As you can see, the M5 students are getting on with lessons as normal!

Last week we had MYP information sessions for new families and M5 parents. A big thank you to all parents who attended those sessions. If you missed them, please refer to the MYP Family Handbooks for more information, or I am just an email away, please keep in touch and ask questions.

MYP and Inquiry-based learning
Inquiry-based Learning provides a framework of learning that encourages students to become creative, critical and reflective thinkers. The MYP emphasizes intellectual challenge, encouraging students to make connections between their eight subject groups and the real world through five interactive areas. MYP fosters the development of essential 21st -century skills such as communication, intercultural understanding, and global engagement. The Personal Project is the capstone of the MYP.

Mr Hamid

This weekend the residential and day students did the Pamoja walk, even though we had to wade some of the way!

Earlier this week I met with a group of parents to discuss our Link Parent program.  Our Link Parent program provides the starting point for our residential students here on campus to meet and get to know our local families. As I shared with you in a letter this week, our students that live here on campus appreciate the opportunity to get off campus and get a taste of the home life they are missing.

Families interested in participating in the program can interact in a variety of ways. Our group agreed that a good starting point is for families to let me know if they are interested in hosting three or four of our students for a coffee or dinner. Unless you have a specific request (a particular gender/ nationality/ language speaker) I will designate the students that you will meet.

You can meet them in any setting you wish.  There is NO minimum time to spend with the students.  You can have them over for dinner on a weekday, or for lunch/dinner on a weekend.

For parents of elementary students, you can take part as well!  Many of our students miss their families at home and would love to get to know you and your younger children.

If you are interested in taking part, and you did not yet fill out the google form I sent last week, please contact me and I will send you more information.

Chris Green
Head of Residential Life

The interactive Rotary Group joined an amazing Trivia Night at Smileys on Thursday evening. Our D2s Ali, Rida, Hakim, Miguel and Anam put a lot of efforts to answer all the tricky question Miss Perterson had prepared for the night! Another fun night thanks to the Rotary Club!
And a special congrats to our teachers team, composed of Christy, Jessica, Jenifer, Katy and Coralie, that came 3rd, fairly beaten by a bunch of PYP dads, that were on fire!

Mr Jeremiah pretends to be the ‘body in distress’ for last weekend’s First Aid training on Arusha Campus.

This year, as a staff, we have decided to embark on First Aid training for every single staff member. This nvolves an eight hour session at  weekend with the expert trainers from DAT Emergency Response. DAT is run by Darryl Travas, an alumnus of ISM! We hope that this training will be something that parents will appreciate and that will enable teachers to feel more confident in situations requiring basic first aid.

Swimming through mangroves, snorkelling, paddle boarding and much more were the activities that filled this year’s first Reefs OP trip. Together the Moshi and Arusha campus visited the beach of Tanga to get an introduction to the beautiful underwater world. We slept in groups in tents on a camping site on the beach, where we also had a kitchen in which we cooked our own food. It was the first of many reefs OP trips, which focus on the reconstruction and healing of the coral reefs along the coast of Tanzania. We got the opportunity to visit the coral nurseries and get a closer look at the reefs project. In addition to this, we explored the greater area of the reefs to get used to the sea and develop a better understanding of it. It was really interesting to see this new area and truly beautiful to be able to explore this area underwater. In addition to this, there was time to get to know the people from the other campus and hang out with them. Although this might not have been the typical beach vacation, but instead a busy weekend filled with all kinds of challenging physical activities, we had a ton of fun!”

By Roos Postema, D1

My name is Gabriel Kalamata with many years of experience of teaching music theory,practical piano and voice lessons. I follow the ABRSM (The Exam Board of Royal School of Music)curriculum from the UK whereby students can learn theory of music,voice and piano grade 1-8. Piano students can take part of ABRSM exams once or twice a year, but this year all exams are cancelled until next year. Exams are not compulsory, it is entirely the student decision.

Here are the times available at the moment.
Monday 3:30-5:00 pm
Tuesday 12:12:30 pm and 2:30-3:30 pm
Wednesday 3:00-3:30 pm and 3:30-5:00 pm
Thursday 2;30-5;5;00 pm

One lesson is Tshs 20000 and for one hour is 30000 payable at the beginning of the term. Parents who are interested to develop the talent of their children in music can call me on 0753 341076,0786 250226 or email me kalamata734@gmail.com

UWC East Africa Health Guidelines are based on research and school best practice including input from UWC International meetings and expert personnel and have been adapted to best fit our climate and campuses here in Tanzania. These guidelines, and our accompanying self-screening protocols, apply to all members of the community regardless of whether individuals have been COVID vaccinated or have been previously infected. The

General guidelines
1. Students and staff who are well (healthy) should attend school every day.
2. Symptom self-screening checklist are in place for secondary residential students (residential parent screening for primary students) and parental screening for day students. Checklist will be provided for all students.
3. Symptom self-screening checklist to be completed daily by all staff before reporting to work.
4. Students and staff with underlying, related health issues MUST report these.  For staff, to the Head of Campus. For students, parents need to update the medical forms with this information.
5. If any students or staff – or anyone they live with – develop Coronavirus-like symptoms, they will be asked to stay away from school until they experience four, symptom-free days.
6. Facemasks are permitted but not required, for students and staff.
7. Students or staff who leave the country are now no longer required to isolate before returning to school PROVIDED international travel protocols, as stipulated by the Tanzanian Government, have been adhered to.
8. Staff, students and parents are reminded to take sensible precautions when travelling within Tanzania.
School and classroom setup guidelines
9. Hand washing stations at the entrance and across the campuses for all students as they enter.
10. Keep classroom doors and windows open to encourage air flow.
11. Students and staff are reminded to respect appropriate social distancing where possible.
12. As much outdoor teaching as possible.
13. Assemblies to be held outdoors where possible. Whole-school, indoor events postponed.
14. Timetable and room allocation manipulated to minimize student movement.
15. All students and staff required to hand wash/sanitize regularly. At least every time they arrive and depart from the classroom.
16. Hand sanitizer in every classroom, to be used every class change.
17. Staggered mealtimes will be continued, making use of indoor and outdoor spaces.
18. Housekeeping to disinfect classroom surfaces and door handles regularly.
Activity guidelines
19. Excursions/OP to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
20. External CAS partnerships to be evaluated and/or adapted on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
21. Sporting events and PE to be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
22. Class trips will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis after risk assessment.
23. After school activities will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis looking at location and physical contact.
Guidelines for Parents and Visitors
22. All parents and visitors must wear masks inside school buildings.
23. Hand washing stations at the entrance of the school for all parents and visitors. Parents and visitors must wash hands before entering campus.
24. Parents and visitors should only enter school buildings by appointment.
25. All delivery vehicles will be stopped at the gate. Where possible offloading will take place at the gate.
26. Community activities as approved by the Head of Campus.
27. Outdoor facilities accessible during posted times but the changing rooms are limited to students only.

THIS DOCUMENT WAS LAST UPDATED BY THE SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM OF UWC EAST AFRICA ON:
19th August 2021

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