We have just wrapped up our IB/CIS/MSA virtual accreditation visit. This was a very new and interesting affair on both sides as there are very few schools that run all three accreditation groups across two campuses. This “visit” included 15 educators from around the world interacting with students, parents, teachers and other staff in about 120 zoom conversations. In this week they toured classes, activities and facilities on both campuses while holding virtual meetings to try and understand the school. I thank everyone who was involved. To the parents that took time to join in, we do appreciate it as we know there were some connection issues at times. I would particularly like to thank from this campus Alastair, Ben, Farah, Margaret, Mboka and Deborah who were so important in the document’s submission and in this week to making sure it all worked. The team will provide the written feedback in due course, but they did share some thoughts with us as they left. I would like to mention a couple of items they were most impressed with.
That the “Mission is alive” at the school and that we had an excellent ethos.
That the relationships they saw on campus were warm and genuine
The Outdoor Pursuits and other experiences that students had outside of class to learn like Week Without Walls and Project Week
The commitment that the staff had to the students across all aspects of the programs
The students in taking advantage of opportunities in service, leadership and other areas to improve the school and community
Once we get the final report, likely in 3 months, we will be able to share more with you.
Be sure to send Ms. Elisha, or your child’s teacher, a photo of when your child was aged 2 years old and get ready for Twos Day on 22/2/22!
Please see the Market information (note it is on Thursday this week), the Student Voice article, MUN and the Project Week summaries to see more about student involvement and leadership on campus and in the community.
Lastly, please remember there will be no classes on Friday 25th and Monday 28th February.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming
Ben’s Corner
A significant part of this week’s synchronised accreditation visit was the Learning Observations. Myself, Mr. Coldwell and Ms. Farah spent many hours, camera in hand, visiting various spaces across the school to showcase the learning that was happening all around. It was such a privilege.
Often, these newsletters focus on the big ticket occasions, the trips, performances and events. However, this week has really highlighted the incredible day-to-day experiences that our students are fortunate to be a part of. From erudite UN style debates in DP Geography to persuasive writing masterclasses in P5; from comfortable French speakers in P3/4 to compelling Swahili speakers in DP; from heartfelt, varied drama in M2 to complex, meaningful revelations in DP Biology…and everything in between. The list goes on and on. What really struck me was how confident and willing our students are sharing their learning, talking about the process and expanding on whatever they are exploring in class. I do not know about our visiting team but I, for one, was wholly impressed and wanted to say well done to all of them.
…and, as ever, countless other events were taking place at the same time. Bakesales, special deliveries, memorable dinners, dances, OP trips, CAS trips, sports fixtures, movie nights. UWCEA, I salute you.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
The week started with a “Big Picture” activity in mentor time. All students were given a small part of a picture and asked to make a larger copy of it. These will all be put together outside the old Art Room to create one big picture.
The D1 students have been hearing about the Extended Essay in different subjects and will now be thinking about the subjects they might want to write their essay in. They will pick two subjects and write about why they want to do their essay in that subject and what they might want to write about. They have a Google form to fill in by 8th March after which I will discuss these with teachers before announcing subject and supervisor allocations.
On Monday the D1 students will present to the M4, M5 and D2 students what they did in project week. I am looking forward to hearing the details of what they did.
For D2 it has been about mock results and submissions. The final TOK essay is due on Thursday 24th and then all the early submissions (TOK essay, HL essay, Extended Essay) should be in. Students will meet with their EE supervisors to have a Viva Voce and reflect on their learning journey. I have started uploading these to IB ready for external examiners to mark them. Next, they will be finalising the Internal Assessments which are marked by teachers and then moderated.
The dates and times for the final oral exams have been shared with the students. These take place from March 1st to March 9th.
All week some DP students have been involved in the virtual EAMUN conference. There are more details elsewhere but I would like to congratulate the students who won awards.
In addition, we had a virtual evaluation visit. Congratulations and thanks to all students who interacted with the visiting team.
Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator
East Africa MUN
This year marked the 40th Annual East Africa Model United Nations Conference (EAMUN) under the theme: Initiate, Innovate, Integrate. Due to the pandemic, the conference was held online. Regardless, students from all across East Africa were able to engage in meaningful discussions. The conference ran from 14th to 18th February with around 510 students from over 47 schools.
“Why MUN?” you might ask. Well, MUN provides a plethora of opportunities. It develops leadership skills through teamwork, research, as well as public speaking. Additionally, MUN is a unique way of learning about the world and the daily challenges faced through engaging in conversations with peers from different schools across East Africa.
We would like to congratulate the whole group on a successful completion of the conference, and give special mention to:
Jesse M, for best writer amongst Press Corps Jonathan C, for best delegate amongst Special Summit
Our students have utilised these opportunities and have had fun in the process, making it easier to learn and acquire necessary skills. As this year’s MUN team, we beseech you to seize this opportunity to be a part of a memorable experience and allow your voice to be heard about topics that interest you. Moreover, the diversity in the students and knowledge ability made this a great learning experience and enabled us to network, thus building connections and possibly life long friends.
“When you have a good idea, don’t be afraid to initiate it.” – Mrs Radhika Lee, a guest speaker at the conference.
Jesse M and Navya A – Press Corps EAMUN of 2022
Residential Life
A week of love, collaboration, and joy.
Thank you for an amazing start to the week with our residential dinner hosted by Kijana on Monday night. This night was filled with laughter, music, great food, and good entertainment. It is nights like these that make me really appreciate our student voice and unity.
The week continued with fundraising activities for TedX, preparation for football and touch tournaments, a weekend away learning about the sparkling elephant project, a Mauritian cooking experience and of course, our first Student Government activity hosted at Jack Fruit Café – Valentine’s dance.
What a special community we have that rings true to one of our guiding statements, ‘The happiness and well-being of our community.’
Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life
MYP News
MYP Success Stories Growth Mindset Episode #14 “Reflective thinking turns experience into insight.” – John C. Maxwell.
This has been one very long week for the MYP team (educators, learners and parents). At the end of this IBMYP evaluation journey, reflection is in order! To start with, it is wonderful to see how our MYP growth mindset is showing so evidently in our day to conversations, in our ability to respond to questions and above all in the way we are all approaching the learning journey at UWCEA. Having these long converstions with a team of IB educators who come from various parts of the world allowed us to celebrate our common understanding of international mindedness, diversity, teaching and learning and above all the love for life-long learning to make the world a better place.
Our students shared their learning experiences with confidence and happiness which is a great AHA moment for everyone in the MYP team. The links that were made to the real world in light of the academic jounrney are true indicators of the value of the programme in developing inquisitive and balanced indviduals who can solve problems, be proactive and identify the needs that are priorities to attend to. They demonstrated the aptitude they possess to be active decision makers with a positive initiative and long lasting determination.
Our MYP team of educators and parents shared their love for making a difference though sharing the teaching and learning journey and utmost concern for the wellbeing of our students. All this lends itself towards the MYP framework that focuses on the “child as a whole” and the need to elicit interest in larger concepts that fit the world in various contexts.
We have a lot to celebrate and my motto for this week is “together is good”. Our “together” creates memorable moments that are worth documenting.
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Sports Update
Netball This week, we hosted the Don Bosco Secondary School for netball friendly matches in the U15 and U19 age categories. We also hosted a municipality team on Thursday. These games are a great way to get in match shape for the NTSAA competitions coming up in a few weeks. Our teams showed improved technical and tactical abilities. A big thank you to the players and Ms. Maria Chauhan for coaching and organizing this event.
Hoops of Hope Charity Basketball Our U19 boys and girls basketball players traveled to the Arusha campus for the Hoops of Hope Charity Basketball Tournament last weekend. This student-led initiative helped to raise funds for good causes within the community. Our students exemplified the qualities of leadership, teamwork and sportsmanship playing against teams that are much older and more experienced. They left a positive impression on the coaches and players in attendance. Some coaches mentioned to me how impressed they were with our style of play. With more games scheduled in the coming weeks, our students and coaches have every reason to be proud and hopeful.
Upcoming events
TALISS Invitational Swim Meet 2022 on the 26th and 27th of February
NTSAA U13 Basketball Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday March 5th
HOPAC U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tour to Moshi on Saturday March 5th
NTSAA U15/U19 Netball Tournament at Arusha campus on Saturday March 5th
NTSAA Primary Swimming Gala at UWCEA Arusha on Friday March 11th
NTSAA Secondary Swimming Gala at UWCEA Arusha on Saturday March 12th
NTSAA U19/U15 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at Braeburn on Saturday 19th March
Blue Sand U19 Boys and Girls Basketball Tournament at St. Jude on Saturday March 26th
Gilbert Kaburu – Sports & Activities Coordinator
Outdoor Pursuits
Our second double header weekend of the semester was another success, albeit a little damp at times. Our Level 3 Plains successfully completed their weekend away with some animal sights and surviving a hailstorm, though rumour has it some of the Arusha tents were not so lucky. South Pare Level 1 similarly started off the weekend in the rain with a big down pour the first day but thankfully the weather cleared up and they all had a successful trip. A big thank you to the teachers who braved the elements to take our students out on these trips. Here is what the students had to say:
Plains L3
All OP trips are exciting and challenging but this one was special. This is because on our first night we got hit by one of the worst storms even the local Maasai had never seen such a storm. At about midday Mr Isack from Arusha told us that his watch was beeping because it was a storm alert and it had sensed a change in atmospheric pressure. We all thought that it was a joke because the sky was clear, and by the time we reached the camp everybody had forgotten about the storm alert. However, when we were cooking dinner, it started to rain lightly, then more and more rain came down and then it started to hail. At first it was fun to run around trying to catch one to eat the ice. When the hail increased in size it hurt, so people hurried to their tents or to the bus to seek shelter. The storm raged on and there were strong winds. A lot of tents fell including Mr Isack’s. A lot of equipment got wet but on the next day we put everything to dry, and the OP trip was still very enjoyable, and we saw various landscapes and some animals like jackals and zebras. Malo M3
Peaks L1/1B South Pare
My experience climbing South Pare is definitely one to remember. We left on Friday morning, a little bit later than expected, which resulted in us being unable to hike on Friday. Instead, and fortunately, we were shown around the town where we were staying. Learning about the history of the town and getting to know the Arushans at the same time was truly a wonderful experience! On Saturday we woke up early enough that we could watch the beautiful sunrise! But after that it was time to start hiking. The hike itself was a short but fun hike. During this hike, the sun was incredibly hot which meant that a lot of water and sunscreen was needed. On Sunday we were woken up at 5:15 to pack our tent, and due to the rain the night before this was a bit of a struggle, but we all managed and arrived back on campus at around 12:00. What I enjoyed most was learning about the Pare history and getting to know the Arushans a little bit better. Overall, I loved the trip, and I can’t wait until the next level! Nina D1
This weekend we had to delay our level 3 Rides trip. They were to be taking on the steeps of Kilimanjaro foothills and speeding down toward Maji Moto springs but the rain made the leaders concerned about the conditions of the descents and safety. We will reschedule so we can still run our first level 4 Rides trip through Arusha National Park, very exciting!
Robin Marsh – Experiential Learning Coordinator
PYP News
We were very proud of the PYP children this week. They were great ambassadors for UWCEA during the lessons that were videoed for the “visiting” accreditation team. Many thanks to the PYP Student Voice who arranged a fun movie night on Friday, assisted by Ms. Elisha and Mr. Morley. Next week will be a 4 day week as the long weekend is approaching. During our book week at the end of March we will have a “Get Caught Reading” display of photos of the children reading in interesting places. Next weekend might be the ideal time to take a picture of your child reading a book somewhere a little bit different! Our new playground is taking shape – we are all looking forward to the day when we can use it. Be sure to send Ms. Elisha or your child’s teacher a photo of when your child was aged 2 years old and get ready for Twos Day on 22/2/22!
Please note there will be no classes on Friday 25th and Monday 28th February.
We at Student Voice hope you liked the bags of luv’ that we created for you for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is a day to make everyone feel special, and we wanted to let all the PYP children know how special they are.
Thank you to everyone who came to the Student Voice Movie Night on Friday. We hope you enjoyed the movie we watched.
Our next celebration is Two’s Day which will take place on Tuesday 22nd Feb 2022. Check out the dressing up options in our advert, and please send a picture of you at age 2 to Ms Elisha at elishajaffer@uwcea.org before Monday so that Student Voice can put together a fun display!
EC/P1 Class
Last week and this week, we have been taking advantage of the rains. The children have collected pebbles and small rocks. They placed these into plastic bottles to make musical instruments. Linking this to what they are learning in music, they will be creating their own musical beats. Following a rhythm with drums and shakers helps us become more coordinated. They will continue their explorations next week.
P1s were exploring 3D shapes this week. They will be making some of these in the coming week using playdough as well as lollipop sticks. Their wood shapes have completely dried. Next week, Mr.Marsh will help them sand them down.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2 Class
There’s been an exponential decrease in attendance in class this week. I hope all the children are recovering from their colds and come back ready to tackle the short week coming up. The highlight of this week has been using fractions to cut up and roast potatoes. This aligned with our math unit on fractions, as well as tackled the ‘er’ sound we have worked on by allowing students to taste and see the herb rosemary. Students have used doubling to create Valentine’s Day cards for their families, and spent Valentine’s Day thinking about why they love the Earth. We are looking forward to next week when we get a new student in class. Gerrit will hopefully joining our class on Wednesday. I know the students are excited to meet him. Please remember that next week, and the week after are both short weeks with next Friday, and the following Monday being off.
Elisha Jaffer
P3/4 Class
Grids, graphing and great explorers! It was a busy week in P3/4. We took a look at the journeys and impact of Columbus and Ibn Battuta. We learned about plotting points on a coordinate grid and started a study of maps. Feel free to send in examples of maps if you have any for us to check out.
We are looking forward to Twos Day and the class is excited about the fun options for dressing up. Please do get the photos to me of your children when they were 2-years old.
We’re also looking forward to the French class birthday party on Wednesday. Let me know if you have any questions. It has been a busy term so far. I think we are all looking forward to the upcoming long weekend!
Kacey Buckley
P5 Class
This week the P5 children published their persuasive writing. The letters are so good I imagine many of the families will be heading to the pet shop over the weekend to purchase pet hyenas, pythons, lions etc. Our focus has now shifted from using our voice to persuade to using our voice to entertain. The children have written scripts for a puppet show and made simple puppets. We hope to perform the shows for a younger class next week. We will also be working on poetry. In maths we will focus on calculating volume.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
This week we finished off our energy unit of inquiry. We enjoyed role-playing as an electricity circuit with Miss Jackie. The children also presented to the class about an energy source they had researched, as seen in the picture below. They did a good job. We’ve continued our class novel of “Clockwork”; the tension is building and the children are engaging well.
Next week, we are starting our new topic of “Early civilisations have shaped how the world is today”. We will focus on the ancient civilisation of Benin in West Africa. The children will have a new home learning task for the whole topic. They can choose one task to do a week and this can support the work they do in class: hopefully they can enjoy doing it too.
Thank you to those parents who’ve sent in photos of your children aged 2 for Twos Day- they’re very cute! There’s still time to email to me / the school. I hope we get as many as possible: it’ll make for an interesting display board!
Hywel Davies
Project Week
Below is a sample of the projects the D1 students worked on during project week.
Human Animal Interactions
A better understanding of the relationship between local people and animals in the forest attached to the Arusha national park; this was the goal of our project week trip. Here in Usa River we focused on interviewing locals with the purpose of understanding the history of the forest, and how the animals and the people cohabit with one another
For approximately 4 days, our group took off to explore the massive forest surrounding us and the maize field close by. What we learned from the guards at the maize field was that the elephants living in the national park often wander into the maize field to eat. These fields are close to the village meaning that the houses and infrastructures, at times, are destroyed by the elephants that pass by.
With the incredible support and help from our supervisor Mr. Cofer, this trip was an amazing experience. Another very huge thank you to Ms. Debbie Bachman for making this trip possible on such short notice, providing us with a backup plan and warmly welcoming us to her lodge, “African View Lodge”
– Felice and Paola
Diversity Project
Our group had the honorary chance to participate in the first project week in UWCEA. The experience was both riveting and strenuous. We managed to record a vast number of people from all over the world and got the chance to discuss with them about their UWC experience; how it influences their culture and belief systems. However, as a group we also faced a number of challenges, mainly in the editing arena, where the team had to cut and add voice recordings and match them to the videos. Additionally, project week allowed us to exercise our skills such as IT and acting. Overall, as a group we managed to create a video that sheds light on the diversity of the school and how the acceptance of each others cultures has allowed us to flourish as a school.
Tendo
Campus Tour
Project week has been a challenge for all of us, but definitely a pleasant and exciting one. From planning the list of locations to writing the script to trying to film between the times when it rained to editing the video itself, the working process allowed each of us to test our skills as well as develop them. It is fascinating to see how all the members of our team, despite all of our differences and mild conflicts, cooperated with each other in order to bring a quality product to the school. Every member of the team possessed a certain set of skills which they applied over the course of the project week effectively. We are very glad that we had this wonderful opportunity to make a difference in this school and are very excited to share our product!
Maria
Purification Cult
The Purification Cult project changed function right in the middle of the planning process, but this did not stop my team and I from having a great time learning about environmental sustainability at TPC. We first wanted to work with them on their wetland project which consisted of making ponds to clean the effluent water from the factory to be able to reuse it. However, we came to the realization that it would be a more fruitful and nurturing week if we worked on multiple environmental sustainability project. Fortunately, Sanne, the project manager at TPC and an ISM alumnus, had a great itinerary planned for us. On Monday, we were introduced to the different environmental projects they have going on so that we could know which projects interested us the most. We talked about the science behind them and what they would want to gain from those projects. The following day, we grazed the cows, put chipped woods in their bomas, removed invasive plants from the cow’s grazing area so that it would not hinder plantation. During the week, we also worked in a plant nursery where we identified the plants with the help of books and worked on making labels and a growing conditions booklet for the plant nursery in the aim that it would help people successfully grow their plants. We also had the opportunity to visit Namalok Nature Reserve where we were introduced to wildlife management and the work of rangers. For the last day, we volunteered for their afforestation project which consisted of growing the vegetables that the community consumed. We picked up chilies from the fields and removed the invasive plants to allow the vegetables to grow without hindrance. Overall, it was a productive week where we were able to learn about environmental sustainability projects by getting our hands dirty. We also had a great time interacting with the local community as we were often working by their sides. Although language was sometimes a barrier, we overcame it and made the most out of this amazing experience.
Yeldy
Pangani Beach Cleanup
Our adventure started on an early Monday morning. We were helping each other pack our items on the bus. Meanwhile, we started our ride to Pangani. The views were stunning, especially when we arrived at the Tanga region and we were able to see big mountains covered by tropical and green vegetation. After a long 8 hour drive, we arrived at the school’s Kiraha House in Pangani.
In the following days, we collected trash and we were faced with a huge amount of plastic bottles. One of our biggest challenges was the heat. To overcome this we had to collect the trash only during the morning and sunsets. In our free time, we were able to read and enjoy the beach.
One of our aims during the trip was to explore the local area. We did one visit to Pangani town and we went to Maziwi Island. It is a piece of sand surrounded by an amazing coral reef located about 8 kilometres southeast of Pangani. There we were able to snorkel and have an extraordinary experience! Our high moment was probably when we saw a sea snake, it was gorgeous!
On our ride back to Moshi, we were extremely tired. We had to wake up at 4:30 am and experience another 8 hour-long trip. We were glad we were back but also inspired by our actions and experiences.
