Welcome back for the last bit of the year. As you can see below, we did not ease gently into the final term but rather tackled it head on. Please read through the newsletter to hear more about the MYP Personal Project Exhibition and the Final Day Events for our D2 students. Last night most of our Diploma students as well as some M5 students attended the Prom to enjoy a local band, dancing and each other’s company. They had the added benefit of weather/travel complications which extended the event.
Over the next two weeks in PYP then MYP we will be having the second set of MAP assessments in P4 to M3, these are not formal exams but rather tests that help us to track growth in language and math. The result details are another tool teachers use to provide more specific individualized instruction. The students’ results should be available mid to late May.
There are two public holidays coming up so please note there are no classes on Wednesday April 26th and Monday May 1st.
Glad to see everyone back on campus and have a great last part of the year. As you will see noted below there is a short Earth Day assembly on Monday.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming
Blood Drive Update
If you have donated blood on the 3rd of March, the results will be available in the school on the 25th of APRIL, from 11:00 till 15:00 at the HEALTH CENTRE.
The results will be only handed out to the person themself, please make sure to bring a form of verification that it is you.
We would like to remind, that in the previous blood drive, a total of 139 people attended the event, and the blood drive team collected 83 donations! Unfortunately, 56 were turned down, because of health problems, mainly low iron. However, we managed to get a numerical rapid hemoglobin test which will enable better analysis and results of the hemoglobin present in blood. Moreover, it is important to acknowledge that we got 6 O- type blood donations – the most donations from this type for any blood drive!
Thank you once again for all of you who came to donate!
KCMC CAS
24-Hour Run
Welcome back everybody! Don’t you feel like running after a relaxing break? Well, don’t worry, because our UWCEA 24 Hour Run event is getting closer each day! Grab your friends and create a team of up to 24 people, including members from across the school and the wider community…and don’t forget to save some spots for new students! The sign-up sheets are posted on the 24 HOUR RUN notice board outside Mr. Johnston’s office, where you can also find more information about the event.
Please look out for more information coming soon about how to sign up to share your musical tastes and talent at the event! If you would like to be a DJ for the 24 Hour Run, you’re very welcome to sign-up and entertain the crowd for your designated hour.
Please, please remember to share this exciting event with your family, friends, and the entire community. We need everyone’s help to make this fundraising event a success and to raise scholarship funds.
To donate to the UWCEA 24 Hour Run, you can visit the official donation page or M PESA 5656408 (I.S.M)
If you have any questions or would like to become a sponsor, please don’t hesitate to contact the school. Let’s spread the word and make this the best fundraising event of the year!
Teamwork makes the dream work!
THE 24 HOUR RUN TEAM
Ben’s Corner
The highlight of the week was Thursday’s M5 Personal Project Exhibition, “PPX.” The MYP Personal Project is a student-centred and age-appropriate practical exploration through a cycle of inquiry, action and reflection. Much like the PYPX in P6 and the Extended Essay in the DP, this long-term project is designed as an independent learning experience to help the students develop the attributes of the IB learner profile and consolidate their learning throughout the programme.
It provides them countless opportunities to practise and strengthen the ATL skills that they have (hopefully!) developed throughout their years in the MYP. The ultimate aim is to encourage and enable students to participate in a sustained, self-directed inquiry, generate creative new insights and develop deeper understandings through in-depth investigation.
Every one of our resplendent M5s effectively communicated their learning process and, rightly, showed great pride in their accomplishments. The personal nature of the projects was richly evident, and it was clear that students selected areas that genuinely interested them, from the unifying power of music to sickle cell disease, from the impact of addiction to reusable diapers, from psychology to sleep deprivation and everything in between.
Huge congratulations to everyone and thank you to all the supervisors who supported the students along the way and, of course, Ms. Farah, who put so, so much time, energy and heart into making it such a success. A special mention also to Mr. Ramy for all his tireless efforts in helping with the practical sides of things and helping make “Le Café 40” a reality.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
This has been a really enjoyable week. We started with a scavenger hunt in mentor time. The students were shown a clue to a location and then had to take a photo of their group there and go back and show their mentor before getting the next clue. Each group had a different starting point, so they didn’t all go to the same place. They all seemed to be enjoying it.
On Thursday the D2 students went out to a local café for a drink and cake during Life Skills to celebrate the end of the year. They came back for an exam briefing to go through the rules and procedures.
Then came Friday, which is one of my favourite days. We met after break and went through the final arrangements for the assembly. Photos were taken to show their college destinations. Then the D1s and staff joined us. We started with words of wisdom from Mr Cofer about change and then had a musical performance. The students who achieved excellent report grades then received their honour roll certificates and the students we feel best embrace all the learner profile attributes also received an award. There was a poem about embracing life and the “Most Likely to” awards. The college counsellor talked about their life after UWCEA and there were more awards. Then we had “Stand up if” with statements about OP trips, changing subjects and missing Moshi. Dr Marsden made some closing remarks about perseverance and then as has become a tradition we sang “Africa” by Toto the line “It’s going to take a lot to drag me away from you” seems very poignant and luckily although we sang “Bless the rains down in Africa” the rains held off for the next part.
After we sang, the rest of the school and some parents lined the way from K-Hall to the playground. Then the D2 students accompanied by a band walked through the line up to claps and cheers. There were posters with messages to each student distributed throughout the walk. The majority of the school then met in the playground for hugs, tears and more messages written on the posters. There was brief pool party with pizza and more “Most Likely to” awards. Finally on Friday evening there was the prom.
As D2 leave we start the process with M5. I will be talking to them about the Diploma and subject choices on Monday.
D1 Group 4 Project: Wednesday 7th June to Friday 9th June
D1 TOK Exhibition: Monday 12th June and Tuesday 13th June
D1 Last Day: Friday 16th June
Margaret Brunt – DP Coordinator
MYP News
The fourth quarter started off with wonderful positive energy from our MYP students who are already engaging in rather interesting learning experiences in their subjects like the Arts, Individuals and Societies, Sciences and English.
There is more to come about the latter that will be shared over the course of the quarter to showcase the learning!
M1- M4 The students were true IB learners this week and represented the values of our school so well by being caring and principled by helping their fellow students get ready for their exhibition.
They helped in every way and were truly team players. That is the spirit of “Ubuntu” demonstrated so well by the students who simply showed everyone that if they want to go far, they go together!
M5 Updates
Our M5 cohort did a wonderful job in their MYPX2023. We will share pictures of the event via email soon for parents and guardians who were unable to attend to be able to catch a glimpse of it all.
For those sitting for the MYP e-assessments, the French Oral tasks and Design e-portfolios have also been submitted to IB for external moderation.
MYP Dates to Remember:
May 1st-5th – MAP Tests Round 2 M1,M2, M3
May 8th-19th – MYP5 e-Assessments and End of Year Summative Assessments for M5
June 2nd – M5 Ceremony
June 8th – P6 Move up – Day Spent with M1
June 9th – P6 Parent Meet and Greet (MYP Welcome)
June 12th- 14th – Week of Giving Back (Previously Known as Focus Days- Details to come soon)
June 15th- Sports Day
June 15th- Reports issued
June 16th- Last Day of School
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Residential Life
Karibu Sana all.
What a pleasure it has been to welcome everyone back to our final quarter and an official special welcome to our two new students in M5, Kivuli. I hope we can mentor and guide you well, for you are surrounded by incredible peers and staff.
Much of what I want to say has been told below and above, but I do want to thank Balaz and Rebeka for hosting a wonderful cultural night on Tuesday. How special it was to learn about Hungary and again, it highlights our unique diversity and I was thrilled to see the attendance of staff and students of all ages growing in numbers.
It is, as always, busy and bustling on the residential front to say the least. As I write this, we are currently planning our implementation of mentoring programme, buddy systems, house compititions, and of course, the Prom. Whilst this may only be for M5 – D2, we have still planned a PYP snake park visit on Saturday and a movie night for M1 to M4 on Friday. There really is, something for all.
Lastly, it is quote surreal to think that I am currently compiling D2 departure leave, so please confirm this with me as soon as possible and on Monday, I will be sending out the Orientation Survey for our current D1’s interested in welcoming our new students in 2024.
Please refer to the calendar of both this year and next when booking travel in advance, or reach out to me should you have any questions.
Simon Johnston – Head of Residential Life
Student Government
The Activities Committee is excited to announce the beginning of Inter-House Activities.
Inter-House Events are of great importance to school life. Its function is to inculcate the spirit of healthy competition among students and encourage it within school. The Inter – House activities give all students the opportunity to participate in representative activities with the aim of raising self-esteem, developing self-confidence and giving opportunities for leadership and teamwork beyond those already available within UWCEA.
The objectives of our school Inter-House Events logically follow from the educational mission of UWC: citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, teamwork, respect, and health and welfare of all students.
So, with that said, get your house shirts and school spirit ready because our first events will start on May 5th 2023, scheduled for 13:30 and planned to end at 18:00. The event will include PYP, MYP and DP students in an epic battle of Football and Netball between Kibo, Mawenzi and Meru Houses.
We look forward to seeing you on the playing Field.
Best of Luck,
The Activities Committee
Sports Update
Dear UWCEA Community,
As we welcome the final quarter of the school year, we are excited to announce the start of our Primary and Secondary Clubs which will begin on Monday, April 24th. We hope that our students’ involvement in these clubs will help them develop new skills, interests and foster community within our school.
As part of this quarter’s calendar, we have several NTSAA tournaments to look forward to. Below is a schedule outline for all of the upcoming events:
May 6th: U15 and Open Netball – UWCEA Arusha Campus
May 13th: Cross Country
May 20th: Touch Rugby – Mix U15, and Open – SCIS Campus
May 23rd: U9, U11 Touch Rugby – Moshi Campus
June 6th: U9 Netball – Kennedy House
June 10th: U11, U13 Netball – Kennedy House
Stay tuned for more updates on exciting events and achievements happening throughout the quarter.
Mostafa Rihan – Activities & Sports Coordinator
Outdoor Pursuits
This weekend a group of adventurous students are at Fish eagle point discovering the beauty of the Indian Ocean in our Reefs Level 1 OP trip. For many of these students this will be a first-time experience of ocean exploring. They are experiencing snorkeling, open water swimming, paddle boarding, seafood and so much more. We are looking forward to hearing about their trip on their return.
And here on campus we have a group of cyclists getting ready for their Rides Level 3 OP trip. Checking tyres, chains, cables and cycling in and around campus to ensure everything is ready for the Rides trip next Friday.
We are finding it hard to believe that our year of OP adventure calendar is coming to an end. We can count the remaining OP trips on one hand. It is a really bittersweet moment that our 30+ OP Trip calendar has only 4 adventurous trips left.
Rides L3: Umbwe to TPC: 29 April – 1 May Plains L4: Maramboi: 13 May – 17 May MYP Mindfulness: 13 May – 14 May Reefs L2: Open Waters Activities: 3 June – 6 June
See you in the bush.
Baden Dowie – Experiential Learning Coordinator
PYP News
The PYP children enjoyed looking at the M5 Personal Projects on Thursday (see photos). It was a very informative and entertaining event. Congratulations M5 – it seems no time at all since many of you were in the PYP, those 5 years have gone fast!
Next week the P4-5 classes will take the online MAP assessments. These will provide useful information as to the next steps for each child to move forward. There’s no need to do anything special to prepare for the MAP assessments – a good night’s sleep, a nutritious breakfast and a healthy snack are the only preparations that are necessary.
After school clubs will start for PYP next week and Saturday football club will start on April 29th. Many thanks to everyone who runs a club and provides our students with such a varied after school programme. Monday is an Earth Day assembly. This will take place in Karibu Hall at 10:30am. The PYP children will not be presenting on stage but you are still very welcome to attend. Tuesday is a spirit day, with the theme, “Dress in a school uniform.” This is an optional, fun event, designed to create school spirit. Wednesday is Union Day and there will be no classes due to the public holiday. On Friday we will have a PE themed Primary Gathering. The venue will depend on the weather but at the moment we are assuming it will take place on the grass near to the toadstools.
The rains are in full force so our campus can get quite muddy. Please make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes to keep the mud out of the classrooms. This past week, Coach Sabini allowed the children to either swim or to do PE on the field. Please continue to send in your child’s swim kit on swimming days (even if it is raining at the time you leave home) and also send in a pair of running shoes – that way your child will be prepared for all eventualities. A future date to note on your calendars – Friday, 5th May, will be a sports afternoon with different matches taking place. More details will follow but this sounds like a fun event – thank you to the PE department for everything you do to keep the PYP children active and happy.
Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator
EC/P1 Class
Welcome back to school. From our shared holiday news, we can see that you all had a well-rested break.
This week, the children took time to complete their farms. Fences have gone up, ducks are in their pond, hay has been placed near the cows and goats, and little plasticine figurines have been added. We have had review discussions of what we learned last quarter and what they would like to share with you.
Next Thursday, we welcome you to come in the morning at 7:40 am to our mini EC/P1 farm exhibition. We will set up tables for each child where you can visit and ask them questions about their work. We have welcomed other children from P2 all the way to P6. It is going to be a fun time as the children share their work with you.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
We had a wonderful jump back into our routine this week as we kicked off Q4! We completed our look at measurement by studying grams and kilograms. The class loved using the balance scales to measure classroom objects and we took our own measurements of height and weight as well. We will start a study of telling time next week.
Also next week will have a big focus on the Primary Postal System that our class is operating as part of our unit on Jobs. We spent time creating post office boxes for each primary class and sewing delivery bags. The System will be in full operation from Thursday until the following Friday. Everyone from P1 to P6 has been given a pen pal to help ensure that all students get mail. (The plan is to exchange some drawings with EC students but we didn’t want them to have expectations for writing letters!)
As happy as we are for the rainy season, it does affect what students need to bring to school. Please can you send different shoes for outdoor play and for indoor use? On Tuesday, please send in a swim kit and running shoes because the weather can affect which sort of PE is held. If your child is particularly prone to getting muddy at break, sending in a change of clothes is welcome.
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
We had an enjoyable first week of the quarter. Everyone shared their migration interview and we realised that in all cases the person had migrated due to an opportunity i.e. a migration for positive reasons. Next week we will think about the push and pull factors involved in migration. Our maths focus was length and perimeter (see photo). Next week, we will look at area. In language the children practiced using speech marks. We also wrote letters to friends in other classes as part of Ms. Kacey’s PYP wide project on community jobs. Making chocolate nests with eggs was lots of fun, as was clapping out the D2 students after their final assembly. Next week we will do MAP assessments – see the PYP newsletter for further information about these. Tuesday is a “school uniform” themed dress up day and Wednesday will be a public holiday. The children will bring home a letter on Monday regarding our camp 4th – 5th May so please note those dates on your calendar.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
We have reached the last quarter of the P6 children’s last year in PYP – it’s going to be a busy few weeks but we’ll take it in our stride! In this quarter we will spend time getting the children ready for their transition to MYP. In the coming weeks, the M1 students will do presentations for P6: showing them timetables, talking about the Outdoor Pursuits program etc. Towards the end of the quarter, they will spend a day with/ as M1 students to see what is ahead of them. All of this is to demystify the transition so that by June they feel relaxed with what’s coming. Talking of changes, we’ll also deal with the physical and mental changes of adolescence this quarter. We’ll also complete our current unit on Ancient Civilisations: we will look at governmental systems as a sub topic of this. There is camping and sleepovers, sports tournaments and fun days all to be squeezed in! Next week the children will take online assessments (MAP testing) to measure their learning growth and these results will be shared with you before the end of the quarter. The photo shows a chocolate nest that they each prepared in the student kitchen this week: I don’t think many of them arrived home?
Hywel Davies
More Events
From an Alumni
Actually it was shared by her father but he sent it to me this week and I thought I would share it with our wider community and it is a great rememberance of our past, but also I think our current students could really relate after this year.
Ode to TANESCO
How timely are thy power cuts, Their constance faileth not To strike at some “convenient” hour As if by fiendish plot!
With geo coursework piled quite high Last night, I could have sworn ‘Twas thy conniving, spiteful aim To keep me up till morn!
My oil-burning lamp was low, My matches all were spent, And so with great reluctance To the dining hall I went.
I reached the great blue wooden doors And paused with deep chagrin. The roar of voices filled my ears – Confusion reigned within!
Imagining Macartney’s wrath And my horrific fate If, on the morrow, I turned in My geo homework late,
I shuddered with despair and dread, And vowed I’d rather die Than sit through class tomorrow Under his condemning eye!
So through the night I toiled away With coffee cups piled high, A Mars Bar and a Coke or two (My energy supply).
And when at last the cock crew twice I paused to take a breath, Deciding IB2 must be The one thing worse than death.
Then, as I wrote the final word, Exhausted, pale and dirty, Just hoping I might get an hour Of sleep by 7:30,
With perfect timing (I could swear ‘Twas done by some conspiring), TANESCO turned the power on Just as I was retiring!
So here I sit, a nervous wreck, Describing this to you, Because we all know who’s to blame If I fail IB2.
