This week has been an excellent example of what it means to be here at UWC. The week started with students coming back from an OP trip. The D2 students spent the first few days finishing off their language orals. Wednesday was a big day as the MYP had the swim gala to celebrate their increased skills and the P6 welcomed their counterparts from Arusha for a PYPx final rehearsal. Wednesday also brough us the Holi event sponsored by many of our South Asian students. The turnout was intense, and everyone left in a kaleidoscope of colors.
Thursday evening was the big day for the P6 group. With parents from near and very far showing up, the students exhibited their learning well and have everything to be proud of. You can see more about this further down in the newsletter.
Friday students, staff and visitors showcased their talents at “Le Cabaret.” It was a great atmosphere with music, poetry, some unintended comedy and a wonderful example of the diversity of skills within the community. Today we have an example of brawn and brains with the Rugby exhibition and the chess tournament on campus. And if all of this is not enough tomorrow the D2 Art students will have their exhibition.
The picture here is from the “our Beautiful Campus” art competition. This and many more pictures are up on the display in PYP.
One last note to parents, you should have received an invite to sign up for primary and secondary conferences. Please see the directions as the system only accepts certain entries as noted in the email. We look forward to this opportunity for you to learn more about the education here at UWCEA Moshi.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming
Primary Student Voice
A reminder that the Primary Student Voice Disco is on Friday 24th March, from 4:00-6:00pm in Rafiki Hall. Tickets are on sale now from classroom teachers at a cost of 5,000 TSH…this includes a complimentary mocktail! There will be dancing, prizes and lots of fun. Dress “as fancy as you fancy.” A reminder that this event is only open to UWCEA Primary students.
We hope to see you there.
Ben’s Corner
The PYP Exhibition (PYPX) is always one of my favourite events of the year and Thursday evening did not disappoint. The individual inquiries were well-researched, thought provoking and, often, uniquely meaningful. The presentations were creative, engaging and personal. The boards looked fantastic, a visual journey across all the different elements of the process. There were props, photos, experiments, surveys, artwork, models and much more.
Above all, there was evidence of Action, students articulating how their PYPX inspired them to become agents of change.
On Wednesday, our P6 Arusha friends and their teachers made the journey to Moshi to watch our ‘dress rehearsal’ and left with nothing but words of praise and, hopefully, some inspiration for their own PYPX later in the year. On Thursday evening, there was a full house for the main event in Rafiki Hall…so much so that we ran out of chairs! It was standing room only. People had travelled from far and wide to be part of this special occasion, one mum even making a surprise journey from Japan to be here! Everyone enjoyed the wonderful collaborative performances and the Music, French and Swahili elements of PYPX, testament to the genuinely transdisciplinary nature of the event.
Moving to the classrooms, the presentations were warmly received by a genuinely appreciative and impressed audience. Each and every student demonstrated the attributes of the Learner Profile in such an authentic and meaningful way. P6, I hope you are feeling very proud of your achievements. I know that Mr. Hywel, Ms. Zitha, Ms. Lydia and your parents certainly are. We all are.
Of course, Thursday was the culmination of weeks of hard work, both inside and outside the classroom. A huge “well done” to all the mums and dads too for supporting and guiding the students through the process and a heartfelt thank you to all of the supporting adults who made this so special and such a celebration of learning at UWCEA. I know this week will live long in our collective memory.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Residential Life
A quick update in residential news as there is always so much happening and all the events in this newsletter are a testament to this. What is most pleasing in my eyes is to see our residential students engaged in all the activities mentioned in some form and I cannot express my gratitude to all the staff involved to officiate this.
This weekend is an opportunity for some stress to be released from our D2 students as many of the crucial deadlines have been met. We had a lovely evening on Friday at the Le Cabaret hosted by students in Rafiki hall and the dancing and Karaoke continued until curfew – this was such a joy to see.
Today we are hosting the first Northern Tanzanian Rugby Exhibition match vs Arusha for which many of our residential students and day students have been training hard. In addition, we will all be supporting Velyn with her wonderful personal project at Courage Café for our MYP students in the afternoon and our PYP students embark on their cycling adventure to Jackfruit café.
My more formal note is a reminder about the April break leave and to please ensure that your child has communicated all their departure and arrival plans with me before Wednesday 23rd of March, so we can arrange transport and all the necessary logistics. Our PYP and MYP dorms will officially close on Saturday 1st of April and re-open on Sunday 16th of April. If your child is leaving prior to or after these dates, please note this will not be covered by the school. Our Diploma dorms will remain open but if your child is going to be traveling with peers, they need all their travel details to me by this same date, entered in life and approved by you in advance.
Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out.
Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life
MYP News
Individuals and Societies M1:
This is our third I&S unit: Ancient Civilizations. We have been having a lot of fun learning about civilizations of the past and how they still appear here and there in our day today. For our Summative Assessment, we are creating our own civilization and presenting it in a creative way. There are certain requirements we need to include in our civilization like the name, the location and geography, the time
period, the social structure, the government system, language, belief system, laws and justice and so on. Basically, we need to explore the characteristics of a civilization on our own based on what we have experienced in class.
My favorite part of creating a civilization is the freedom we have as we are able to present in any way we like to fit our liking. We can create models, make videos, create slideshows or even act out a whole play. This is definitely one of my favorite summative assessments we’ve ever had.
– Josephine K
Do We All Have an Alter Ego Vigilante?
For their summative assessment in Language and Literature, our M5 students are “producing text” by creating their own graphic novels. Inspired by the text they analyzed this quarter, Niqabi Ninja, students are busy choosing and creating their own alter ego character to fight social injustice in their hometowns. Students will incorporate their own analysis and exploration of themes, plot, characterization and conflict to apply to their own stories with the aid of visual elements such as color, layout, and typography, to create a compelling and coherent graphic narrative.
Personal Project:
For my personal project, I chose to focus on my native country, Tanzania and the reproductive rights that women have. What I’ve learned, and continue to study, is about the rights that women have, as well as how our country progressed before and after our independence. For my product goal, I created art works to convey and educate others about the subject, as well as to express myself since there is someone out there that agrees with me. I also have an event on March 18th as part of Women’s History Month. I want to help and educate individuals who aren’t well-versed on the subject, as well as give back to the community and support those who have been mistreated. This project has taught me that I need a set timetable for when I do something because without that, the next day’s work piles up and piles up, and that does not feel good! I’ve also learned that even though it’s called a “personal project”, it’s still really nice to get help and opinions from others so that you can improve what you initially start with!
– Velyn M
MYP Dates to Remember:
March 20th – e-Assessments Mocks
March 20th – Final M5 French Orals
March 25th – Criterion C Final Draft Due for M5 PP
March 27th – M5 PP Final Report Due with the Bibliography
March 30th – All M5 PP Elements to be submitted by 11:59 pm – Product/Report/ Process Journal
April 1st – 16th Easter/ Spring Break
April 17th – Final Tweaks for Design e-Portfolio (if needed)
April 20th – All internal assessments submitted to IB by MYPC
April 20th – Personal Project Exhibition
May 8th- 19th – MYP5 e-Assessments and End of Year Summative Assessments for M5
June 2nd – M5 Ceremony
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Diploma News
The majority of D2 students have now finished their orals in two languages. This will count for about 25% of their mark. They have been preparing for these over the last two years and there was a sense of achievement as they came out of the exam room. They have also finalised Extended Essays, TOK Essays, Higher Level Essays, Comparative Studies in Art, Research Projects in Theatre and the first portfolio in Music. These will all be submitted to IB and then marked by examiners all over the world.
The next task for D2 is the final CAS Interview. This is a chance for them to present about their CAS journey. They will talk about their experiences in each of the strands – Creativity, Activity and Service and their project. They will reflect on their learning and how they have met the learning outcomes.
On Wednesday a group of D1 and D2 students went to a Maths competition at Braeburn Arusha where the team came second, and Jonatan won first place and a scholarship to Strathmore University in Kenya. Also on Wednesday, a small group of DP students helped their houses by participating in the swimming gala.
On Thursday evening it was the P6 Exhibition presentation. It was good to see DP students there supporting the younger students and hearing that they have helped with surveys and interviews.
On Friday the Lit Club hosted “Le Cabaret” an evening of music and poetry. The talent shown by students was amazing with thought provoking poems and songs in many languages. A group from Simba’s Footprint Foundation, an NGO we work with for Service, performed and were very popular.
On Saturday and Sunday we are hosting the first UWCEA chess tournament with competitions for both primary and secondary students. Congratulations to the students who planned it. Next weekend a different group are planning a Model United Nations.
On Sunday we have the opening of the D2 Art Exhibition. The Standard Level students have at least 4 pieces of work and the Higher-Level Students have at least 8. In addition, they have to write about each piece and how they have decided to display them. The school community are invited to the opening or to view on Monday afternoon or Tuesday.
Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator
International Math Contest
This Wednesday five students from our school participated in the first International Math Contest organized and facilitated by Strathmore University. For this, they had to go to Braeburn International School in Arusha. The test included 20 challenging questions and lasted for 2 hours. The main prize was the scholarship to study at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya.
With first place among D2s, Jonatan won 40 million TZS of scholarship to study at Strathmore University but politely declined. The UWCEA Moshi campus won second place overall.
It was an interesting experience, where students could communicate and make friends with people from other schools in Tanzania. Since the test was based on questions from A-levels, it also was a great opportunity to prepare for exams.
Nina T
Seft-Taught Collaboration
This week the D1 self taught students collaborated with their D2 students and spoke about what is required of them during their paper 2 exam. The feedback received was that the students enjoy talking about their work in their own language.
Dunk a Teacher
Last Friday the Coral Reef Regeneration Project Service group held a ’Dunk a Teacher’ event at the school pool. Students could donate money to soak one of the twelve teachers who bravely volunteered. The money will be used to aid in the restoration of the coral reefs at Fish Eagle Point in Tanga. Our next visit to Fish Eagle Point is just around the corner where we will be able to carry out further work.
The Reefs Service Group
Sports Update
The Secondary Swimming Gala Inter-house competition was a great success! It was a pleasure to witness our students showcase their incredible swimming skills and demonstrate fantastic enthusiasm throughout the event.
The gala was kicked off by an amazing Individual Medley performance, followed by the Medley Relay where the students teamed up with their Houses to represent their groups. Each team preformed spectacularly well, and the Open Category had a unique performance where they combined the back and front strokes in a synchronized manner. It brought lots of joy and excitement to everyone watching, and we enjoyed watching the creativity on full display in sports.
The challenging Butterfly stroke was competed fiercely but with magnificent performance by the students. Breaststroke, Backstroke, and Freestyle were also very competitive and impressive. Finally, the event ended with a staff and student relay where Mr. Julien and Mr. Baden joined with incredible speed and performance, capping off a truly unforgettable day.
We greatly appreciate the support we received from our swimming community and parents, as well as Mr. Isaac, Mrs. Chrissy, Mrs. Sarah, Mrs. Debbie, and our previous D2 student, Maria for their remarkable contributions towards the event’s success. Their expertise and skillful coordination ensured the event ran smoothly in every aspect. We would also like to recognize Mr. Ally, Mr. Thadeus, Mr. Patrick, and Mrs Nadine for their hard work and dedication in preparing the students during the past eight weeks for the event. Lastly, we are immensely grateful to Coach Sabini for his tireless efforts in working with the students over the last 8 weeks to prepare them for this event. Through his collaborative approach and innovative ideas, which were complemented by the support of the PE teachers, the lessons were made engaging and enjoyable for the students. His extensive experience in leading similar events was invaluable in enabling us to plan and organize everything in advance.
Lastly, we kindly request everyone who uses the weightlifting gym equipment to kindly return them once they’re done using them. Our community has been growing, and we appreciate your cooperation in keeping the equipment organized and making it accessible for everyone.
Thank you once again for your continued support and participation in making our school events a success. We cannot wait to see you all at our next event!
Mostafa Rihan – Sports & Activities Coordinator
PYP News
Congratulations to the P6 class, Mr. Hywel, Ms. Zitha and Ms. Lydia, for the superb PYP Exhibition (PYPX) presentations on Thursday evening. This was a truly student led performance. The children selected their topics, conducted their research, planned their visits and interviews and devised their presentations. We are very proud of them. A display board on the breezeway near Ms. Mboka’s room is full of photos and tributes to all of the people who facilitated the event. Drivers, mentors, cleaners, specialist teachers – the list is a long one and it is not possible to mention everyone! Thank you to everyone who supported the children. We are very proud of them.
There is never a quiet week in PYP. On Saturday, several PYP children took part in the chess tournament. Thank you to the D2 organisers for giving the younger students in the school the opportunity to participate. Next week, after the excitement of the PYPX, we turn our attention to the Student Led Conferences (SLCs). This is a chance for children to share work they are proud of with those whose opinion and praise counts the most (you, the parents). The SLCs provide an opportunity for the children to identify their strengths and also those areas which they still need to develop. The child reflects in their own words on how far they’ve come and where they still need to learn and the parents are active listeners, giving positive feedback and thinking of how they can best support the child. The experience is intended to boost the child’s self confidence and motivation to succeed. Please look for the email from Meet The Teacher in your inboxes so that you can schedule an appointment. The children are looking forward to sharing their learning with you.
On Friday, 24th March EC/P1 will present the primary gathering in the space behind their classroom. Friday is also the PYP school disco 4 – 6pm in Rafiki. Tickets are 5000 Tshillings from your child’s teacher.
This coming week is the final week for after school clubs. Saturday football will take place on 25th March. More information about clubs on offer for Quarter 4, and the starting date, will be shared by Mostafa Rihan. We are always on the lookout for people to offer clubs for PYP so if you are interested please email mostafarihan@uwcea.org
Dates for your diary (please keep checking the calendar as dates may change):
Thursday, 23rd March – PYP Student Led Conferences
Friday, 24th March – PYP disco 4 – 6pm.
Friday, 31st March – Classes end (normal finishing time)
Monday, 17th April – Classes start.
Wednesday, 26th April – Union Day holiday
Monday, 1st May – Workers’ Day holiday
Friday, 26th May – PYP Gathering of Gratitude – more details to follow
Tuesday, 6th June – Semester 2 Sports Celebration (whole school)
Wednesday, 7th June – PYP Fun Sports Day
Friday, 16th June – Classes end
Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator
EC/P1 Class
EC/P1 would like to congratulate P6s on their excellent exhibition work. They thoroughly enjoyed learning from them. In this week’s picture, you can see P1s listening to the infrastructure group. For one of their actions, they came to class to teach the children how to cross the road. One EC2 child has asked me to ask Sabine to come and tell us more about snakes. Thank you P6s!
Thursday are student-led conferences so please remember that you will need to come with your child or children. You will be completing a round of activities with your child/ren so that they can show you what they have been learning. Be prepared to sweat a little as some of the activities will be on the field.
As you know from our email, our class gathering was postponed. It will be this coming Friday, the 24th of March. Please come along to support the children. If you are not able to, ask a parent to film the event for you. The children are excited about performing for you.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
Another busy week in P2/3! We loved seeing the P6 Exhibitions and our class talked a lot with each other about topics they would like to do one day. We’ve been measuring lots in Math- the photo is off our Measurement Cities.
We are looking forward to starting our new unit next week- JOBS! This unit will give us many opportunities to think about people in our community.
The central idea is:
People carry out various roles which support the function of a community
Lines of Inquiry:
Different types of jobs
Training, preparation and responsibilities of various jobs
How jobs affect communities
I think it will be great to have guest speakers come to talk about their careers, but we’ll wait until after the April break.
There are 2 exciting events next week- Primary Student-Led Conferences and the Primary Disco! Let me know if you’re having any issues with signing up for a time to come on Thursday with your child. It’s a really nice time together. Don’t forget to send in money (5,000 Tsh) with your child for the Disco on Friday afternoon.
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
On Tuesday, we enjoyed eating our winning book door prize – a delicious chocolate cake baked by our kitchen team. The weather was hot so we made mocktails with fresh oranges, mint, lemon and raspberries and sat outside in the sunshine enjoying the fruits of our labours! The rest of the week was much busier! We visited the PYPX dress rehearsal and were very impressed by the amount of work carried out by the P6 students. The children have started organising their portfolios, ready to share their work with you next week. We will be sharing a few maths games and also an activity connected to our healthy body systems unit so wear shoes that are good for jogging on the spot. In class we have been considering healthy and unhealthy choices for our bodies. We have looked at the effects of smoking and have also started learning “What constitutes a balanced diet.” Please remember to send the sleep diaries back to school on Monday as we will be working with that data. As I write, Milo, Tiago, Jack, Tendai and Joe are participating in the PYP chess tournament. One fifth of the class! Good luck, boys and have fun.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
PYPX 2023 is done.
The children did really well. Seeing them all sharing their learning journeys so effectively at the end means our goal was achieved. Here are some of their thoughts on it, looking back: “Happy”, Simreet. “A learning experience”, Jane. “Best”, Mariam. “Nerve racking”, Gus. “Interesting”, Greener. “Tiring”, Caleb. “Crazy”, Colin. “Amazing”, Alayna & Mahi. “Relieved”, Angad. “Cool”, Declan. “Good”, Kayleb. “Wonderful,” Mussa. “Good experience,” Agha. “Fantastic”, Kudzai. “Great”, Anaȉs. “Long”, Leon. “Exciting”, Sabine. “Scary”, Sena. “Proud of myself”, Ida. “Jaw-dropping”, Ms Lydia. “Overwhelming”, Ms Zitha. “ Caring, sharing, hut making, snake-escaping, ladoo tasting, challenge facing, board breaking, dogtreat making, tree planting, Indian dancing, exploding, joking and thought provoking”. Well done, P6.
Many thanks to all mentors, helpers and audience members – especially those who travelled to see it.
Hywel Davies
From the Counselors
D1 Parent Meeting-College Overview Session
D1 parents, please join the college counselors from both campuses to learn more about how to help your student with various aspects of the college process. We will cover the Expectations and Guidelines form, testing information, summer preparation, and many other topics. No RSVP is needed.
This is the first in a two-part series of meetings we will hold for parents. The second meeting will go into specifics about the application processes for commonly applied countries. The meeting will happen in May.
Career Symposium
On Wednesday, March 29th from 7:30-9 pm, please join us for our annual Career Symposium that is focused on Building 21st Century Skills. This event is targeted to help with career development and exploration for M5 and D1 students but other students and parents are welcomed to join our evening sessions by using the zoom link.
The origins of our Experiential Learning and Outdoor Pursuits program comes from outdoor adventures of our staff and community. It is well designed, and the team has carefully created this program to invite students of all abilities, experiences and whatever their outdoor interest. The aim is to have something for everyone, something to match all levels of challenge. The triumph our students get of living a few nights outdoors, cooking meals outside, climbing hills and enjoying panoramic views helps shift their perspective. These outdoor experiences help rejuvenate and ignite our appreciation for the modern comforts we so often forget, those simple things called: “warm shower and comfortable bed.”
Here are some students’ thoughts on last weekend’s Longido Trip. Enjoy!
Baden Dowie – Experiential Learning Coordinator
-Michael L: One of the challenges that I had experienced on this o.p trip to Longido was that when hiking down the mountain I had some slight knee issues, this is because it is more arduous going down a mountain than climbing up. My kneecaps had the extra job of constantly braking so as to slow me down.
Some of the highlights of this trip were that we got electricity and plenty of running water at the base camp to shower and do other things. These are considered luxuries compared with other o.p trips that can be more based in the wilderness. We also spotted some giraffes on the way there and had spectacular views from the mountain top of the Namangan border town and the Kenyan landscape.
-Kilel K: Honestly our first campsite was amazing. We were next to the mountain and next to a very vibrant community because we were welcome to their music and songs. The steepness and altitude of climbing Longido was challenging but it was a fun and enjoyable experience to climb Longido.
-Manzi M: Climbing up the hill was fun. It was enjoyable, we kept a slow and steady pace but had to put a lot of energy in to get to the top.
A really big challenge was the descent, coming down the mountain was faster than going up, it was so challenging it killed my thighs. Oh, and the view was really nice as we got to the top you could see the entire region, A really nice view.
-Jordan K: Firstly I think being level 1B is a tempting idea, I thought it was going to be an introduction to peaks trip. I found that it was not an easy mountain at all for a Level 1B peaks experience. So level 1 is an intro not a hard one. It was a confusing part. I felt this trip would better be called a level 2B.
The trip was very exhausting, waking up at 5am which I wasn’t ready for. But the fact of an early start to avoid the heat was worth it. The pace was slow and steady, I was encouraged to be in the front to be the pace setter. I was exhausted and didn’t get time to rest but the breaks and the water refill stations were incredibly rejuvenating. The mountain was very steep, and we really realized how steep it was on the way down. I didn’t go up the steel steps because my legs were dead and didn’t want to move anymore. So I enjoyed the incredible view from the mountain view at that point.
On the descent I loved the coolness and breeze I got under the trees at the midpoint of the mountain. I was very encouraged by my fellow hikers who helped me to keep going even when my legs were hurting. I like the campsite and lodge area where we slept because it was a fun experience and I like the people around me.
