Arusha Campus News – 5 Dec 2021

Candy and Mathilde enjoy the snakes at Meserani………..Zach (centre), less so.

I write this from a frosty England to where my family and I have escaped in an attempt to beat the impending red-listing of Tanzania. A number of students have also made the early dash to be home for the December holidays and we can only hope that all families manage to get to where they want to be for the festive vacation. I have remained in Tanzania for school vacations for the best part of the last three years and I will say just one thing – if you are going to be ‘stuck’ anywhere in the world then we should count ourselves very lucky that we are in Tanzania with its all-round warmth and beauty!

Our Primary students must be ready for a holiday and I am so pleased to see that the classes have been using the last two weeks of term for that important experiential learning that is such a golden asset here in Arusha. P6 went camping in Tarangire (see image above) with their friends from Plasterhouse whilst P2/3 visited the snake park at Meserani and had the chance to handle some slithering serpents! As I reflect on the week from my European lockdown location and with Early Childhood and Nursery just back from their safari to Arusha National Park, nothing gives me greater pleasure than to see our teachers and children making the most of the wonderful environment around them, pandemic or not!

Phil

Monday 6th January – PYP Top of the Pops 1.30pm

Wednesday 8th December – Last day of School

Monday 10th January 2022 – First day of School

Friday 21st January 7pm – ‘Freaky Friday’ drama production

Saturday 22nd January 7pm – ‘Freaky Friday’

Primary Share Time (above) was in the pool this week!

What a difference a week makes! With the ever-changing situation due to COVID 19 once again impacting our campus, this week saw many of our families making some tough decisions. Students normally excited about December break were stressed about being able to get home, or even about getting back to school if they chose to go home. With all of that going on we still had reasons to celebrate and come together as a community.

Some D2 students have started to receive responses from their university applications. This is a very exciting and nerve-wracking time for our D2s and we wish them all well as they hear the news!

Value #7 – Opportunities to engage with the culture and nature of East Africa
P6 students enjoyed their annual trip to Tarangire. Students were excited to share their stories of watching lions hunt. I’m sure everyone was sad that Mr Phil couldn’t join them – most especially Mr Phil! P2/3 explored Snake Park on Friday, thanks so much to the parent volunteers who accompanied the class.

Value #2 – A sense of belonging, acceptance, and tolerance
On Tuesday, our secondary students had an assembly hosted by Ms Robin and a campus group known as IRIS. This group spoke to our students about gender, sexuality, tolerance and community. In addition, our new president, D2 Beeri, updated the school on progress being made by our new Student Council

Value #3 – A holistic and diverse portfolio of learning experiences
I was very pleased that an artist/vendor from the Christmas Fair agreed to include a visit to the D1 and D2 art classes on Monday before returning to Kenya. His art, which features augmented reality, as well as his experiences as a political artist in Kenya, provided some great lessons for our senior artists-in-training. He lives part time in Arusha and is considering offering a CCA next quarter featuring AR and VR in art – so keep an eye out for this exciting opportunity!

In addition, the D1 and D2 Business Management classes benefited from a visit by Markus Decker (father of D2 Lukas). Mr Decker spoke to the students about his rich, multi-sector business experiences, ethics in business, and more.

Value #1 – A safe, collaborative, and caring community
I’ve just come back from a unique PYP Share Time held at the pool and very much enjoyed the P6 Synchronized Swimming display. Equally wonderful was seeing the M4 PHE class assist the EC students to safely enjoy the pool party held after the exhibition was complete.

Hope you all enjoyed your last full week of school for this year!
See you at our final assembly on Wednesday.

Ms Christy

Another busy week in the Primary school has flown by. P6 enjoyed a trip to Tarangire with students from the Plaster House. P2/3 had a fantastic morning at Snake Park looking at a variety of animals and riding a camel! Thank you to MIss Carmen for supporting both of these adventures.

As we approach the holidays it is a good time to remind everyone of the importance of developing students’ fine and gross motor coordination. The midwife who delivered Gabriella said to me ‘never underestimate the square babysitter’ and whilst I understand her sentiment we mustn’t use this method for the whole holiday. I encourage parents to ensure that their children (no matter how big or small) do activities to stretch their mind and coordination over the holiday. Learning and doing a new skill will help your child to remain alert and to continue to grow.

Fine and gross motor activities don’t have to be expensive or require many resources. Encourage children to be creative and to think outside the box. Create an obstacle course, create pictures from sticks and stones, draw and create art projects from old paper, make a list of birds/trees in your garden, plant a vegetable garden, read together, make up games on car journeys or create shows and dances as a family.

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday.

Amanda

Another semester has come to an end and the achievements of our students have been phenomenal. The past few weeks have been busy with school work as well as school-related activities. Students have been on many different OP trips and we always enjoy seeing their smiles and entertaining stories when they return. This week is our final week and reports will be released on Wednesday. Please encourage your child to read over the holiday and rest. The students worked hard and are ready for a much-earned break

Thank you all for a great first semester. I would like to wish everyone a relaxing break and look forward to welcoming everyone back in January.

Hamid Rezayi

MYP Coordinator

One of the highlights of my first semester was joining the Level 3 Plains Trip to Maramboi

It has been at least 3 weeks since my last contribution and I just don’t know where those weeks have gone! As always at the end of the semester things get busier and busier: D2 students trying to cram last minute meetings with their EE supervisor and their TOK teacher, DP teachers marking the last assessment of the semester before filling out semester reports between leading an OP trip and doing some Christmas shopping at the recent Arusha Christmas fair. Yes, time flies!

As some of our DP students get ready to head back home for the December break, it is time to look back at what was accomplished this past semester.
The D2 ‘survived’ what was probably the most stressful semester of the IB Diploma programme, juggling between IA (internal assessments) deadlines, university applications, English and SSST final individual orals, French and Swahili mock orals, last minute SAT testing, sport injuries, flu…
They definitely deserve a good rest and some TLC to be ready to go in January and complete the last stretch of their journey to Graduation. Mock examinations will take place from the 31st January to the 4th February and the final IB examinations will start on Thursday 28th April (with Physics and Business Management on the first day!) and end on Friday the 20th May.
It was great to see so many D1 making the most of the Outdoor Pursuit programme this semester although I think some of them have now realised that you just cannot do everything! Next semester they will be introduced to one of the DP Core components, the Extended Essay, and Ms Kate, our university guidance counselor, will talk to them about university applications, starting with the research process and finding the perfect fit! It should also be noted that semester 2 will end with internal end of year examinations in June for the D1 students, which will be taken into account when teachers are required to submit Anticipated Grades in D2 during semester 1.

A few highlights for me this semester: our first D2 TOK exhibition, the first D1 interaction with primary students during a fun activity morning they organised during Quarter 1, the OP trip Plain Level 2, my visit at the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals in Arusha last week and an unforgettable Cultural Night!

I wish you all a great break!

Emmanuel is pictured ((4th from left) at the UNICEF Conference in Dodoma this weekend

As UNICEF Celebrates 75 Years since it’s establishment in 1946, as a UNICEF Youth Advocate, It has been an honour meeting the prime minister of Tanzania and addressing the issues affecting young people in Tanzania as well as the suggestions that the government should take into consideration so as to solve those challenges. Key issues addressed included high unemployment rate, poor educational curriculum, poor educational infrastructures, and lack of sexual reproductive health knowledge to adolescents. Other officials who participated included the Minister of Education, Minister of Health, United Nation Country Director, UNICEF Country Director, Members of Parliament, Regional Office Representatives and other government officials.

My message to my fellow students is that, be proud of whatever small change that you make, your age shouldn’t limit the chances you take to solve problems and bring changes in your community. Be innovative, don’t take opportunities for granted.

Emmanuel, Tanzania, D1

Organizing this blood drive has been such a wonderful experience. Our community has done a great job by adding to the blood storage of the Maternity Africa Clinic which had only 2 units of blood left. This is a huge step taken to save lives and it shall be a tradition behold by our community.

A huge thanks to PTA and House council who helped finance refreshments, Mr. Imani from Maternity clinic, Ms. Jessica Peterson, Ms. Anoek, Mr. Phil and Ms. Monica Dunstan for helping in organizing this event. And most of all, members of our community who participated in the donation, THANK YOU!

FIker, Ethiopia, D2

Due to the early departures to homelands for several cast members, the Secondary Production of Freaky Friday has been postponed to the New Year. It will now be held on Friday 21st and Saturday 22nd January. See you then!

Click on any month (below) to link to the live School calendar on our website