Arusha Campus News – 22 Mar 2020

The Campus has appeared a lonely place in the last few days but I am pleased to say that the work on buildiong our new science laboratories has actually accelerated! Here you can see the foundations in place, ready for the next stage to happen!

Finns having fun keeping busy!

The Campus has been quiet – it has to be said, but as we embark on a programme of on-line learning, we should embrace the opportunity to learn something new and become even more resourceful, whether you are a parent, student or teacher! With just one week to go until the holiday, many assignments this week will consist of finishing off units and work that was hastily abandoned in the rush to close school. My hope is that we all have a fabulous holiday and come back to find school re-opening on the 20th April! Wouldn’t that be terrific! Whatever happens, rest assured that we will be here to teach your children and that our on-line expertise will no doubt amplify exponentially over the period that we are separated.

Please send me pics of you wherever you are in the world – whether you are in Kisongo or Kiev and I will endeavour to get them in the newsletter.

I shall keep you updated with the Campus development and we will start to introduce some of our teachers who have been recruited to join us in August!

Make the most of the family time everyone!

Phil

PS Look at Kasia, below, getting to grtips with Google Classroom – probably a lot quicker than Mr Phil to be honest!

I wanted to first say a huge thank you for all your expressions of support in light of school closure and your continued communication to make sure we are in a good place with supporting students’ learning remotely after an eventful week. Your messages of encouragement and thanks from around the world from students, parents and National Committees truly touched me and made me proud to be part of such a supportive UWC community.

Learning continues remotely for the last week of Quarter 3, on ManageBac for secondary and through classroom teachers’ communications in the primary. More information will be shared with you in terms of what learning will look like in Quarter 4; keep an eye out for whole school, IB program and class-based communication as we are navigating through these ever-changing times. We are all an email away if you need any support whatsoever!

We managed to hold a quick small assembly at the beginning of the week with the amazing drama portfolio performances for M4-5 students, especially performed with a PYP audience (pictured). Also pictured is a photo of most of the residential students before sad goodbyes were said in preparation for their departures due to school closure. Safe travels for those departing, stay safe and healthy wherever you might be in the world for all of us and we look forward to good news for after the break!

With best regards,
Ciprian

Nathalie Vignard, IB Diploma Co-ordinator and DP French

Nathalie has been involved in international education for the past 15 years as a teacher of French and as an IB Diploma coordinator. In addition, she has taught TOK and History and is a French B examiner. With a French father and a British mother, she grew up in a bilingual environment in Africa and South America. She has taught in international schools in Kenya, Malawi, Switzerland and UK, but was missing Africa so much that she came back to work in Zambia. She was a facilitator during the Exceptional Youth Zambia UWC Short Course last August, and is now excited to meet and work with UWCEA students.

Mary Baltazzari

We all know Mary who is more popularly known as Mama Ngao. Mama Ngao is a mum to everyone and is always on hand to help clean up a spill in Seocndary or to get Mr Anderson a fresh pot of coffee! To put our current crisis in to perspective, Mary has been backwards and forwards to the hospital every day for the past few weks to visit her husband, our very Mr Jo the Swimming Pool Lifeguard. Poor Jo had a motorbike accident and is poorly with a damaged leg. He is on the mend and we hope he is back home soon. Thank you Mama Ngao!

Last Saturday, 84 Form 2 students from Pamoja Secondary School in Maasai Land visited Arusha Campus in an event organized by D1 students Luanga, Nibia and Raluca (see picture above as they arrive at Arusha Campus) . After arriving, they were treated to a campus tour with D1 tour guides, before a selection of Pamoja students performed a thrilling welcome song and dance for us. They then split off into four rotating stations manned by D1 students which included Capture the Flag, Volleyball, Picnic Games and UWC Orientation Games. After lunch, the boys and girls finished the afternoon with football matches, basketball scrimmages and hanging around the PYP playground and swings. Tembo was especially proud of his football squad taking overall honours in the UWC Cup!

Thank you to Dr. Cornelia for assisting with this, and we look forward to definitely seeing the lovely students once again in 2020!

It’s amazing what a difference a week can make, and we know that the current events are impacting each of you in different ways. As you begin to prioritize and settle into the routines you create over this time, we wanted to share some additional resources with you to assist with dealing with the variety of emotions that will occur during this time. We recognize that as families you have been put in a position that you were not expecting, and as you deal with your own emotions, you are also having to support your children in new ways. Please know that we are here to help, and want to provide you with tools to assist you during this challenging time.

Please see this document that we will updating throughout this time of uncertainty with resources related to the mental health of students and their families:
Counselor Resources During COVID19 Closure (Here is the link to the document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_cg9bmPvoI1E8iUGIxoW_t5RDxBkLkNV03kzOPmNDYM/edit?usp=sharing)

University Counselor Note: All D1 and M5 students are now connected to our new college planning platform Maia Learning (Login link: www.maialearning.com/#/user-login) , which they can log into via their school Google email account. We will be uploading resources and activities throughout the school year. Please encourage your child to check frequently and complete assigned tasks. For our D2 students, college/university decisions are starting to come in, and it’s time to begin making decisions. Many institutions are extending deadlines and making concessions regarding changes occurring globally. Students are encouraged to stay connected to the colleges/universities they have applied to, and be aware of any updates that they need to respond to in a timely manner.

Also, there is a HUGE FREE online university fair occurring 20 & 23-24 March that I am strongly encouraging students, and parents, to participate in. There are several events taking place over each day, so please see this link for more information and to register for events you are interested in:
https://explore.cialfo.co/webinars

As always, Mr. Kileo (emmanuelkileo@uwcea.org) and I (cassandraford@uwcea.org) remain available while school is still functioning. We will maintain regular work hours, and recommend you do something similar. This means we will respond in a timely manner during our regular hours.

Sincerely,

Cassandra Ford