Moshi Campus News – 12 Mar 2022

I will keep my section short this week as you can read for yourself below many of the events of the past week and those coming up. I will mention few things that have not made it in yet however.

Congratulations to the M3 for their informative and entertaining Science Fair yesterday. Ms Jaime has run great fairs each year and this one was no exception. 

You will read below the details of all of our recent sporting fixtures. Well done to all of our teams and special congratulations to the U19 Boys Basketball on their victory.

This week as well parents, teachers and students started planning the International Day which will be on Saturday April 23rd after the holiday. Keep an eye out here for more information.

On a similar note, the Diploma students are busy planning the Graduation Celebration on May 21st and are looking for those that would like to help/contribute in various ways. Please can parent volunteers contact Debbie Bachmann via WhatsApp +255 757558744.

We also have our last blood drive of this school year on March 25th, the same day as the market so you can give blood and shop in one visit.

Please note that emails from Agnes Elias are from UWCEA.  Agnes is working in the front office as Grace is on maternity leave and school emails will appear in your inbox sent from Agnes Elias.

A last note from me is that we have conferences for Primary and Secondary coming up. The Primary ones are on March 24th and the Secondary are on March 29th and 30th. While dismisal will be the same on Tuesday, there will be an earlier release at 12:40pm for secondary only on that Wednesday.

Bob Cofer – Head of Campus

Dear community,

I am sad to share with you that Aika Mingi passed away on March 1st. Aika was a Diploma student with us and graduated in May 2020. Her family has a long connection to the Moshi area. On March 5th there was a small family only funeral. Some UWCEA staff attended a memorial for Aika last Thursday.

Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family at this terrible time.

Holi is a festival that will be celebrated on campus on Friday, 18th of March from 4pm onwards.This is an optional event held outside of the regular school day. There will be Music, Dance and the color and water play. This will be followed by Indian Dinner at 6pm.

The event will be held on the pitches with the groups split by primary/secondary for the color throw. On this occasion generally white clothes are used but keep in mind the color can stain skin and clothes so plan accordingly and you may want a change of clothes. This is open to all students, but primary students must be accompanied by parents.

The dinner will cost for day students and parents at 10,000 Tsh for secondary/parents and 5000 for primary students. If you are interested in staying for this then please sign up and pay at reception on Monday or Tuesday.

Organizing Committee

This week, I had the pleasure of joining our P3/4 class on their overnight camp to Mkomazi National Park. We spent the night camping under the stars and the days exploring the wildlife. The absolute highlight was our time spent in the Rhino Sanctuary, where we tracked rhinos in their natural habitat. The students were an absolute delight throughout and a wonderful time was had by all.

The P3/4’s new Unit of Inquiry focuses on the Central Idea, “Species become endangered and extinct for a variety of reasons,” and their Lines of Inquiry include “Factors leading to the endangerment of species” and “Actions by humans which affect animal survival.” The government supported rehabilitation programme in Mkomazi includes the restoration of habitat and re-introduction and breeding programmes for the highly endangered black rhinoceros (and wild dogs…which we also saw!). I cannot imagine a more authentic link to learning and, if the ultimate endgame of inquiry in the PYP is Action, then what better way to showcase how people can bring about meaningful change. The P3/4’s final Line of Inquiry is “The responsibilities humans have for the survival of other species” and, given the passionate reaction of everyone on this trip, I think we might just help achieve this.

I cannot think of a school anywhere that gives their young learners such unique opportunities. As I wrote in the Guest Book, what a privilege.

Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus

The D1 students submitted their Extended Essay choices on Tuesday and there have been discussions with students and teachers about these. Students will find out their subjects next week and should then meet with their supervisors to discuss their ideas before starting their research. At the same time the D2 students have been having their Viva Voces. This is a chance for them to reflect on their Extended Essay journey and talk about what they learned and how they have grown as a learner.

The D2 students are nearing the end of their secondary education journey. The Economics students submitted their portfolios on Tuesday and now it is just Mathematics, Theatre, Visual art and Music to go. The orals for the French, Spanish, Swahili and Self-Taught classes took place on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. All students arrived on time and took the experience seriously. The draft of the final timetable has been shared with students to allow them to give feedback on the gap when they have two papers in one session.

Next weekend the art students will be setting up for their final exhibition, to which members of the school community are invited. The final CAS interviews will also be taking place the week beginning 21st March.

At the moment the TedX group are busy in Rafiki setting up for Saturday’s event.

Women’s Day Assembly

This took place on Monday and was organised by the Prisma, Courage Café and Femmezania groups and represented the different viewpoints well. We started with P5 who said “There are many important women in our lives: aunties, grandmothers, sisters, teachers, friends and many more. Today we are honouring our mothers.” There were many times while they talked where tears came to my eyes and they ended with “If this is what mothers do imagine how many things all women do. Thank you to all the hardworking women in our lives.”

Poems about women were said and we looked at women’s rights in different countries. The ending was a Chilean protest dance.

As we left all women were given a rose and the organisers then went round to give roses to other women working on campus.

It was a well organised event. Congratulations to all involved.

Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator

Dear parents and guardians,

I would like to take this opportunity to alert you to our upcoming April break. The school quarter as you know, finishes afterschool on Friday 1st of April and our PYP and MYP dorms will be closed on Saturday 2 April. We re-open these respective dorms on Tuesday 19 April at 10am. Please note that I have sent your child a document for them to compile their April holiday plans so I can begin arranging transport to and from the airport and the necessary PCR tests if required. Please speak to your child about this so we can finalise it all next week.

Our Diploma dorms will remain open and staffed by our wonderful EAs for those students that choose to remain on campus.

As always, our residential life is thriving with academic mentoring in MYP, arranged activities for our PYP students and we had a wonderful DP trip to Materuni Waterfalls on Sunday, to name but a few events. This excursion is best outlined by Patrick, who had the privilege of exploring another hidden gem in our backyard:

“This past Sunday, we residents of Kilele and Kipepeo (along with other friends from all DP’s dorms) went on a unique trip to Materuni, organized by our dear Residential Parents, Miss Val and Miss Janet. Materuni is a beautiful waterfall located on the outskirts of Moshi. I believe that this trip was essential for relieving daily stress and appreciating the natural beauties that surround us. I can say that my friends and I had a lot of fun admiring the scenery, sharing our thoughts, and swimming near the waterfall. I know that this personally was my first experience with a waterfall and was incredibly exciting! I believe I speak for everyone when I say that it was a lot of fun, despite the considerable cold that some people went through (including myself) because of the water temperature coming straight from Mount Kilimanjaro.”

 The weekend ahead brings more excitement with sporting fixtures and a residential movie trip to Arusha. We are also looking forward to celebrating Holi on Friday the 18th – otherwise known as the festival of colours. This should no doubt be a lot of fun and more will be revealed as we progress through the final planning stages.

Should you wish to contact me regarding the upcoming April break, please do so at your convenience.

Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life

MYP Success Stories
Growth Mindset Episode #17
“Knowledge is messy. Because knowledge is connected to everything else, you can’t isolate the knowledge aspect of anything neatly. In the knowledge universe, you can’t pay attention to just one factor.” – Verna Allee

There is something about knowledge that makes it highly interesting and always sought for. I came across an article that discussed it thoroughly. Apparently, there are 12 guiding principles to knowledge. I will share a few in this week’s segment because they link directly to our MYP programme and our teaching and learning journey.

1. Knowledge is self-organizing. The self that knowledge organizes around is organizational or group identity and purpose.
2. Knowledge seeks community. Knowledge wants to happen, just as life wants to happen. Both want to happen as community.
3. Knowledge travels via language. Without a language to describe our experience, we can’t communicate what we know. Expanding organizational knowledge means that we must develop the languages we use to describe our work experience.
4. The more you try to pin knowledge down, the more it slips away. It’s tempting to try to tie up knowledge as codified knowledge-documents, patents, libraries, databases, and so forth. But too much rigidity and formality regarding knowledge lead to the stultification of creativity.
5. There is no one solution. Knowledge is always changing. For the moment, the best approach to managing it is one that keeps things moving along while keeping options open.
6. There is no silver bullet. There is no single leverage point or best practice to advance knowledge. It must be supported at multiple levels and in a variety of ways.

The MYP framework fits all of the above well. Here’s how we have been exploring knowledge this week:

M1:
Our IDU between Maths and Language Acquisition (French) reached its final stages this week. In an activity called titled “Voulez Vous Achetez une Maison”, the students presented their houses and engaged in a role play activity. Our “real estate agents” lured some of their teachers, the potential buyers, to buy the house of their dreams.

M2:
“The Giver” has been a big part of M2’s journey this quarter as they have been exploring the ideas of Utopia and Dystopia in relation to the novel and in context of the world we live in today. They are about to begin working on their speeches and are excited to share them soon.

M3:
M3 students worked really hard on their science fair projects. The students explored the Scientific Method and transferred skills from their previous units combined with their interests to come up with interesting projects that make us stop and think.
The topics were diverse, and the whole process was entirely student led. Keep an eye out for the pictures project descriptions soon.

M4:
M4 students explored the idea of a memoir. Legend has it that Hemingway was once asked to write a story in only six words. This is what he wrote: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
In 2006, a magazine in the US asked its readers to create their own 6 Word Memoirs, and ever since then, it has been a thing known as the Memoir Project. These are two of our M4s creative text productions.

M5:
The final reports for personal project are due in a week. M5 students received feedback from their supervisors and are in the process of editing them and updating them for final submission. They are going to start preparing for the exhibition soon. Stay tuned!

Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator

On Thursday after class, 14 risk-takers took part to the first round of 2022 South Africa Maths Olympiad (SAMO). Since 2019, the first round happens online, using the platform MyTutor.chat.

 

Some numbers:

• 85% of the 14 students qualified to the 2nd round, which will happen in May, as South Africa follows a Southern hemisphere calendar.
• Candidates have to answer 20 questions, some of them quite challenging. Students were able to get from 8 correct answers to an impressive 20 correct answers! So even those that did not make it were actually very close.

From now on, they can get more practice on the platform to give their best in the next round. All our students (and our parents/guardians) are invited to register on the free platform to have a taste of what SAMO questions are (beside is one from M1-M4). We hope to have a larger crowd next for the 2023 edition!

Julien Munier

Last weekend we had the Peaks L2 South Pare trip go out. This trip is designed for the MYP students who want to make it through the Peaks Levels to summit Kilimanjaro when they turn 16. A challenging route with spectacular weather really put our students to the test, and they all met the challenge well. Here is what they had to say about the trip.

Level 2 Peaks was indeed something else. From the scorching heat to the breathtaking view of the lake at our campsite, this trip was filled with surprises. Our first day began with long ride from school to Chome, the starting point. Honestly, it was very difficult to get our legs working after the long ride and nearly all of us were breathless after 10 mins of hiking! Day one was very exciting as we were all looking forward to the trip and its soon to be unfolded discoveries. It was quite a steep hike and after nearly hiking for 3-4 hours, we reached our campsite. The campsite was indeed the reward we were all waiting for after that day’s hike. Day one’s campsite was astonishing and very peaceful. On the other hand…. Day 2 was just something completely different. To start off, the beginning of the hike went well as it was downhill, but it seemed like a heatwave on the way uphill! In total, we hiked for 14km the entire day and reached the long-awaited campsite by 4pm. The sense of accomplishment and tiredness were at different level that day. All in all, this trip was an eye-opener and it also allowed us to discover our full potentials. Looking forward to level 3!

The following weekend we have the 3rd Peaks L3 trip (2nd to summit Mt Hanang this year). Then the last trip before the April break sees our Reefs L4 trip go to Fish Eagle Point to continue their service growing coral and helping to regenerate reefs in the area. During this trip some of our more experienced students and staff will be taking part in the PADI Rescue Diver course meaning they will be one step away from becoming dive masters.

Robin Marsh – Experiential Life Coordinator

D1 Parent Meeting Arusha and Moshi Parents

Please join the University Counselors for the Arusha and Moshi campuses for a D1 Parent Meeting on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, from 8-9 pm EAT. No RSVP is needed. This session will be recorded.

We will cover:

• what do you students need to focus on over the summer as we prepare now for the application process that opens in the fall;
• the UWC guidelines and expectations for the Class of 2023 that each family will sign;
• anticipated cost for your D1 student with the application process, and
• documents needed to ensure completion of college applications, scholarships, and financial aid documents.

The zoom link

Meeting ID: (please see email to parents)

Passcode: (please see email to parents)

Career and Skills Symposium Coming Soon–March 17th.

This upcoming week is the Career and Skills Symposium for M4 and M5 students. All D1 and D2 students have also been invited to attend with permission from teachers. This event will be from 9:00 am until 12:40 pm and then from 1:25-2:15 pm with a focus on pathways after UWC students can take presented by our D2 students. Participants will experience a conference-style event in which they have selected the sessions they want to attend. In Life Skills, classes this week we have gone over the purpose of informational interviewing and students are equipped with questions to ask our volunteer presenters.

Thank you to everyone who has volunteered to be a part of this event.

Andrea Kitomary

U9/U11 Football Friendlies against Paradise Primary Academy
We hosted a football friendly match against PPA last week. We had students playing in the U9 Mixed teams, U11 Girls and U11 Boys. There were lots of interesting match ups, skills and sportsmanship. Games like these take a lot to organize and run, and I would like to thank Mr. T and the players for ably representing our school.

UWCEA U19 Tournament held last week
Last weekend we hosted HOPAC (Dar-es- Salaam), Rafiki Foundation, UWCEA Arusha, Braeburn Arusha and Born To Learn (BTL) here for a basketball tournament for Under 19s. There was excellent basketball exhibited by the teams.

In the end, our Boys beat UWCEA Arusha, while the girls came third after Rafiki and HOPAC. We would like to thank all the players and staff who worked behind the scenes to make this event a resounding success. Coach Mapalo coached the girls’ team while Mr. Johnston coordinated the event and coached the boys. Well done!

U13 Mixed Basketball Team at Braeburn
Our U13 Mixed U13 team traveled to Braeburn for the NTSAA tournament. They played against players much bigger than them, but that did not faze them. They played their way through the preliminaries to the final where they lost narrowly to St. Constance International School. Well done to the lads and Coach Ataho.

NTSAA Netball at Braeburn

Our netball teams played at NTSAA Netball Tournament at Braeburn.

Our U19 Girls beat 4 teams, only to lose the finals to the Arusha campus by 2 points.

The  U15 Girls  lost their pool but had very close games against Orkeeswa and St. Connies. They played their hearts out despite having 3 of their team players absent.

A huge thank you to the girls, Coach Maria and Coach Heloise for the job well done.

Upcoming events
On Friday, our PYP Swim Team traveled to the Arusha campus for the NTSAA Primary Schools Swim Meet, and today their secondary counterparts make the same journey for the secondary version.

This will be followed by the PYP Inter-house Swim Meet on Tuesday and the Secondary Inter-house Swim Meet on Wednesday.This event is compulsory for PYP and MYP students, and optional for DP students. Please come and cheer on the budding swimmers as they showcase their learning.

• PYP Inter-house Swimming Gala on Tuesday March 15th (10am -12:15pm)
• Secondary Inter-house Swimming Gala on Wednesday March 16th (10am – 12.30pm)
• NTSAA U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday 19th March
• NTSAA U15/U13 Boys and Girls Football Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday 19th March
• Blue Sand U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at St. Jude on Saturday March 26th.

We need volunteers to help with timing, marshaling and recording during the swim meets next week. If you are happy to help, please email me on gilbertkaburu@uwcea.org.

Gilbert Kaburu – Sports and Activities Coordinator

Well done to the swimmers who attended the meet in Arusha on Friday. We look forward to seeing all of our PYP students in the pool on Tuesday when we hold our PYP swim gala. The event will be 10:00 – 12:00pm. Parents are welcome to attend.

On Monday we will have a PYP meeting to remind the children of the expectations regarding the use of the duka. Please note that PYP students cannot enter the duka without an adult during the school day. At lunch time a member of staff will accompany PYP children who wish to purchase their lunch from the duka. However, there is no adult  available to do this at morning break so the children need to bring a snack from home. After 3pm the PYP children should not be on campus without an adult to supervise them. If your child wishes to purchase a snack from the duka after their club before they leave the campus that is okay but they should not be spending time in the duka after 3pm unsupervised. The duka staff have been asked not to serve PYP children before 3pm unless they are accompanied by an adult. At weekends the children are able to visit the duka at their parents’ discretion.

On Monday Ms. Agnes (front office) will be sending an email with details of Book Week which begins March 28th. This letter will include details of the dress up day (28th March), mystery readers and get caught reading photos. She will also send an order form so that you can purchase a copy of Mama’s Magical Kanga, our visiting author’s book, if you wish to do so. Please look out for this email in your inbox.

Upcoming dates

• Tuesday,15th March. – PYP swim gala (house shirts, swim kit, sunscreen and water bottle)
• Thursday, 17th March – P5 Camp
• Thursday, 24 March – Student Led Conferences – more details to follow
• Monday, 28 March – Book Week
• Friday, 1st April – Last day of quarter 3. Normal finishing time.

Mboka Mwasongwe & Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinators

As we gear up towards book week, we will be beginning our book reading this coming week. We will be reading Pinocchio. As we read, we will be looking at which learner profile our main character exhibited and what we have learned from the book. Apart from that, we will decide how we would like to decorate our door for book week. Book week is one of my favourite times of the school year. So look for all your favourite childhood books and get them ready. We will be asking you soon to come in and read some of them to the class.

Mboka Mwasongwe

We have spent this week wrapping up our unit on the solar system through student research on day and night, seasons, and gravity. Students have also been looking at telling time to o’clock, half past and quarter past. We’ve introduced cardinal directions and done some activities on the use of compass points in direction.

Please remember the primary swim gala is next Tuesday. Parents are asked to send a towel, bottle of water, swim suit and a house t-shirt. We look forward to hearing you cheer!

Elisha Jaffer

Incredible memories were made this week for the P 3/4 group! Our trip to Mkomazi went beyond my high expectations as an amazing way to blend the annual camping trip with our units of inquiry. The chance to see the protection of the endangered African Wild Dogs and the Black Rhinos will make our appreciation of our Endangered Animal unit even more special. Also, we felt like true explorers as we traversed the wilds of this unique, huge national park. Many thanks are owed to the people that made the trip possible- Robin Marsh who planned the details, Honest and Sanga our steady drivers, Ms. Catherine who helped with so many practicalities, Isaac Foya who can set up tents in a flash, and Ben Morley who did an impressive job of spotting animals and telling stories.

In the week ahead, we will reflect on our Exploration unit and gear up for our new unit. Tuesday is quite busy with the Primary Swim Gala! Otherwise, it is a normal week. I hope that everyone has the chance to catch up on rest over the weekend. Phew, we all need it!

Kacey Buckley

A highlight of the week for P5 was presenting in the International Women’s Day assembly on Monday. The children chose to honour their mothers and wrote their own messages of appreciation. In class the have finished off presentations about different vocal traditions (eg. Ring shouts, yodelling) and will be presenting these to each other in the music lesson. The children have been learning to identify and use figurative language. In maths we have been working with fractions. We are all looking forward to starting our new unit on earth processes. Our trip to Arusha National Park and overnight camp at African View Lodge will be a great introduction to this topic. Please be sure to return all paperwork including passport copies and residential stamps so that we can get our entry permits in advance and avoid wasting time at the gate. 

On Tuesday it is the PYP swim gala. All children should wear house shirts (available from the Development Office) and bring swim kit, towel and goggles plus a water bottle. Don’t forget your sunscreen!

Deborah Mills

Our Marangu camp trip went very well. Here are some highlights from the children: “playing at the waterfall was so fun despite the water being so cold!” Solomon; “the Chagga caves were cool inside and gave a good picture of living underground,” Otis; “it was my first camping trip, it was really nice,” Irene; “I liked playing frisbee and having fun at the campsite,” Kaisaar. Everyone put up and down their own tents and helped with food prep and washing up. Well done team. It bodes well for longer OP trips in MYP. I’ll share the photos ASAP.

Back in class we’ve done a creative writing piece about life as a Chagga tribesperson: drawing on the very interesting tour we had at the Chagga Live Museum. We also compared Chagga huts to Celtic Roundhouses- finding a surprising amount of similarities across the continents. Continuing our topic work we’ll look at Benin art work next week. In maths, we continued working on averages: mean, median, mode and range; and we’ll move onto probability next. Look out for the book week activities email coming out soon.

Tuesday is the PYP swim gala. Please ensure the children wear house shirts and bring swim kit, water bottles and sunscreen.

Hywel Davies