a little rain must fall.” At the moment Longfellow’s words are true in the most literal sense. The much-needed rains now seem to be with us, and I hope everyone is prepared. We remind parents of primary students that indoor and outdoor shoes are best as we try and keep as much of the mud as we can outside. It also does not hurt to have a change of clothes in their bags should they get a bit muddy.
As Longfellow did say as well, “Behind the clouds is the sun still shining;” and I think our D2 students feel much the rain and the sun right now as they sit exams and contemplate graduation in two weeks. It is a cycle in the school that has students enter as strangers, live, study and play together and then depart, having built new relationships, only to have the next set of students to join.
As a school we are at that leaving and joining point. The new D1 students for next year now know which campus they are coming to and the current D1 students are starting to plan for their arrival. More information for everyone will come soon.
There are many events still happening in May and June so please read down below so you can get involved. Next week, for example, the M5 will be sharing their Personal Projects on Thursday and all are invited.
Bob Cofer
Garage Sale
The UWCEA Brownie Guides (Girl Scouts) will be organising a garage sale on Saturday, May 28th, from 10 am to 1pm.
If you are leaving Moshi in the near future this is an ideal opportunity for you to sell items you do not wish to take with you. It’s also a great place to pick up some bargains; toys, books, shoes, kitchenware and bedding, etc
You can support this event by hiring a table to sell your goods or by coming to buy from the stalls. Refreshments will be on sale throughout the morning. Tables must be paid for in advance at the main school office. The price for a table is 30,000 TSH.
Please see Deborah Mills, P5 teacher, (deborahmills@uwcea.org) if you have any questions about this event.
Condolences
It is with great sadness that I am writing to inform you that Rosi Uluiviti, former Head of Primary, died at the end of April. Rosi was a much-loved primary teacher and leader. Whilst I did not work with Rosi in Moshi, I had the pleasure of getting to know her well when she left Moshi to return home and work at International School Suva in Fiji. She spoke extremely fondly of her time in Tanzania and was very excited for me when she found out I was moving here.
Please take a moment to think about Rosi and keep her and her family in your thoughts and prayers.
Anna Marsden
Ben’s Corner
A short and, surprisingly, uneventful few days at UWCEA Moshi. I have spent most of the short week holed up in Rafiki Hall invigilating the D2 exams and I must commend our students for their exemplary conduct so far in the exam hall.
Across the globe, the debate continues about the purpose and value of exams, a topic that is revisited year on year, particularly during recent pandemic interruptions. As you all know, we are a proud IB World School and, so, are committed to assessing student work as direct evidence of achievement against the stated goals of the DP courses. The assessment procedures measure the extent to which students have mastered advanced academic skills in fulfilling these goals, for example through analysing and presenting information, evaluating and constructing arguments or solving problems creatively. At the same time, basic skills are also assessed, including retaining knowledge, understanding key concepts and applying standard methods.
Like them or loathe them, examinations form the basis of the assessment for most courses. This is because of their high levels of objectivity and reliability. They include essays, structured problems, short-response questions, data-response questions, text-response questions, case-study questions and, sometimes, multiple-choice questions.
For our D2s, it is hard to see beyond the next few weeks at the moment where their every waking hour is consumed by their exams. Of course, we encourage you to keep working hard over the coming days so that the papers you write are a true reflection of your best efforts but, remember, the outcome of any exam does not define your intelligence. Keep it up!
Ben Morley
Diploma News
The D2 examinations have continued this week with some students having examinations on the Eid holiday. All students have now started with Mathematics on Friday afternoon.
Hopefully you all received the graduation invitation and have filled in the form to indicate the number of tickets you require. Students will need to be here on Thursday 19th May in the afternoon and again on the morning of Friday 20th for rehearsals. On the evening of the 20th they have a dinner with the teachers before graduation itself on the 21st.
For D1 students the preparation should have started for the End of Year Examinations which take place from Monday 30th May to Friday 3rd June. In the following week they will take part in the Group 4 project. This is a chance for students to see the connections between the science subjects while they try and bust myths. The last week they will participate in the TOK exhibition and then have a chance to make plans for the holiday. All of these are essential parts of the diploma and so students need to remain in school until Friday 17th June.
Margaret Brunt
Graduation Dinner for D2 Parents only – Saturday evening 21 May
A small group of D2 day student parents are planning to meet up and celebrate with each other the graduation of their children on Saturday 21 May at Jackfruit Cafe. For those interested in joining in – you must be a parent of a D2 student graduating on this memorable day! – please kindly contact Marlies Gabriel at marlies@theafricanembassy.de for further information or, Debbie Bachmann on Whatsapp +255757558744. To keep the costs down, we are planning to ask Jackfruit Cafe to prepare a set menu which is easier for them to serve if our numbers turn out to be larger than 15. We hope you can join us all and we look forward to meeting you!
Residential Life
I want to keep this update short and focus on one of our key guiding statements: “An education in a global context that promotes an appreciation and understanding of multiple perspectives and interdependence of individuals, societies and environments.” This value rings true at the moment as our residential houses are now immersed in study. Whether they are D2 students sitting examinations or D1’s beginning formatives, summatives or internal assessments, the academic focus is the priority and respecting one another in these stressful times is of the utmost importance.
In our MYP dorms, the focus also shifts to academics and contribution. In New Zealand we say Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei – Seek the treasure you value most dearly: if you bow your head, let it be to a lofty mountain. Fittingly beneath Kilimanjaro, this was the context of our MYP meeting on Tuesday night. The aforementioned saying is about aiming high or for what is truly valuable; but it’s real message is to be persistent and not to let obstacles stop you from reaching your goal. To reach these goals our younger students are realising that to do so, they need to reach out, accept assistance and in turn, contribute to others and their aspirations.
Whilst this weekend brings more study, we also have the opportunity for our younger MYP and D1 students to go to Arusha on Sunday for a day out at the cinema. Quite fittingly and in theme of my write-up, our PYP boarders prepare for the penultimate semi-formal dinner this coming Friday where they will farewell our D2 residential students with support from our Peer Supporters. It is their moment to show gratitude to their eldest of their peers and I am very much looking forward to their speeches and performances – for in Africa we say, ‘If you want to know the end, look at the beginning.’
Simon Johnston
MYP News
More and More MYP Growth Mindset Episode #22 “Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” – Emerson
Today’s message is all about celebrating our M5s Personal Project journey. The students worked hard for several months to complete their reports and products.
Their predicted grades and selected samples have been submitted to the IB, and it is time to join in a culminating activity through which they will share their experiences with everyone.
This is an open invitation to parents, guardians and anyone who would like to attend and celebrate this wonderful success story!
We can’t wait to see you there!
Farah Fawaz
Outdoor Pursuits
And we are off. Last weekend we had the Reefs Level 1 trip where students were immersed in many aquatic activities and service. This trip is designed to familiarise students with activities in the sea, getting used to the salt water, snorkelling skills, dive communication techniques and how the Reefs trips run. Here is what one student thought.
The hours before dawn on Thursday the 28th were for most like any other day. For some however, they were preparing a trip to start their adventures to the bottom of the Indian Ocean. A beach holiday, we thought, revelling in the idea of spending four days at Fish Eagle Point. Oh, how we were wrong.
I can’t say “it’s not a Beach Holiday”, because that would quote Mr. Marsh, but it definitely was a lot of work, and a great experience. Every day we would do two activities of fun and service to support ourselves and the environment at Fish Eagle Point. We made the beach and the Ocean a better place by ‘removing’ both Urchins and Trash, while climbing our way through rockpools and mangroves. In between we snorkelled a lot, canoed and paddle boarded, disassembled a raft, and cooked our own food. All in all, it was extremely enjoyable.
For anyone considering coming to the Reefs trips, all I can say is “Do it!” because they are definitely worthwhile.
Jonatan D1
Coming up
Plains Level 4 – Saturday 7th May to Tuesday 10th May Reefs Level 5 – Saturday 14th May to Wednesday 18th May
Robin Marsh
Sports Update
Please mark your calendars for the following events:
Friday 20th May- PYP Football Tournament at UWCEAM: 1.30 – 4.30pm
The weekend of Fri 3rd/Fri 4th June- U15 Boys & Girls Basketball Tournament at UWCEAM
For any inquiries about sports and activities, please let me know.
Gilbert Kaburu
PYP News
We are back to a full week of school and classes have lots of inquiry activities planned.
A gentle reminder to send in indoor shoes and light jumpers as the weather can change mid-day very quickly.
This Friday, there will be a primary gathering run by Mr. Morley behind the P2 and P3/4 classrooms. You are welcome to attend.
Be sure to read the letters about pollution by the P2 class on the breezeway between the P5 classroom and Room 17. Well done P2 for some very persuasive writing.
Deborah Mills & Mboka Mwasongwe
EC/P1 Class
Story telling is an ancient form of art. As we move from exploring emotions, we will be using our imagination to create stories. Make sure to check your seesaw accounts as we will be posting these stories on seesaw these coming two weeks.
Story telling does not need a book. Would you like to come and share a story with the children? We would love to have any of you come in and share a story with a whole lot of expressions and a few pictures. You might even like to have a puppet or two. Please let us know so that we can accommodate you.
It is still a ways away but please put it in your calendar. We will have our annual day camp on the 3rd of June. As we get closer to the time, we will share the details with you.
Just a reminder that if you have not sent a change of clothes to school, please do. The days are muddy and accidents do happen.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2 Class
P2 has spent this week graphing their personal usage of water at home. They have analyzed the data and thought about what would happen to our water usage should a drought occur. Next week we will begin our new unit of inquiry which will largely be focused on art. Please look out for the last unit letter of the year! We will have a regular weekly schedule as of next week, please don’t forget that we have swimming on Mondays.
P2 would also like to welcome Kateryna who joined our class on Friday. We’re so happy to have her in our class and to have a third female in our gang!
Elisha Jaffer
P3/4 Class
It was a strange week for us all with the two-day break yet we managed to fit in lots! We needed to push off the wrap-up of this fabulous unit by a few days in order for students to create their booklets and dioramas. Our classroom was a busy workshop for a couple of hours on Friday as students transformed cardboard boxes into mini habitats. We invite all parents to come on Wednesday at 12:40 for the Endangered Animal Expo!
Otherwise, the week ahead should be a return to normal- home learning and Library books will be sent on Monday, Tuesday- PE Swim, and Thursday- PE. It will be nice to have a full week again!
Kacey Buckley
P5 Class
The P5 children enjoyed a short but productive week. They created pictures in the style of Hokusai’s “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” and these are displayed on the breezeway. They made earthquake proof structures from marshmallows and cocktail sticks and tested them on a tray of jelly. They investigated the movement of tectonic plates on magma using cards and shaving foam. On Friday the children started constructing volcanoes using plaster. We will continue with this activity next week.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
It’s been a short, split week with the Eid holiday in the middle. For home learning, the children did a reading comprehension activity with our class novel, Mortal Engines. This allows us to push on with our reading as, like a traction city in the novel, we push on towards our target (of finishing the novel this term!) We also looked at contractions in English and practised switching between formal and informal English. In maths, we concluded our work on angles and shapes. The children were encouraged to estimate the angle before they attempted any questions as this cuts down on errors using protractors. We worked towards our goal of independent learners in art: the children paired up and sat back to back, they got half a picture each and had to describe the other half. It’s a challenging activity but, showing good communication, it was completed well. In our unit of inquiry, we researched some less well known world leaders and shared facts we found.The weather has turned a little cooler and damper: it’s a good idea for children to leave a hoody or sweater in class in case they need it. Finally, it was Zoe’s last day today: it’s been lovely having her in class, all the best for your return to the Netherlands.
