This week is in many ways just like any other week here at campus. There is always a variety of things going on at all ages and across many different interests. For those regular readers of our newsletter, you are likely to have a real sense of what the campus is like and what is happening.
Looking ahead please note that on February 28th we will be having the next Farmers’ Market and the KCMC Service group is also planning that date for their next Blood Drive. While more details are coming, I ask that you mark this on your calendar. While updating the calendar please also add International Day as well on March 22nd. The Student Government and PTA will be getting details out, but if past events are any indication, you want to be here to sample the cultures and the food.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming Events
MYP News
If the walls of our school could talk, they’d be telling stories of curiosity, creativity, and collaboration this week! From “aha” moments in the classroom to hands-on experiments and artistic breakthroughs, our students have been busy making, exploring, and growing. The energy is infectious, the momentum unstoppable. Lots of things to share and lots to talk about. Enjoy this week’s selection!
M5 Visual Arts In their unit Appropriation vs. Appreciation, M5 students have been digging deep into the world of Picasso and trying to answer this question: did Picasso “steal” from Africa?
This image is one completed by our very own Nicole in M5. Isn’t it just beautiful?
M4 Visual Arts In Visual Arts, MYP 4 students are diving into the world of perspective drawing. They’ve been learning about one-point perspective, and this assignment represents their first graded effort in this technique. How impressive are these pieces?!
M3 Visual Arts In our M3 Art class we have been experimenting with ‘Found Objects’ and how they are manipulated in art to portray an entirely different visual. This week: groups of 3 students scoured the campus for ‘Found Objects’ to create model birds. The activity required the M3 class to use creativity and resourcing skills to produce a vast series of colourful, and unique birds. – Rhea
M5 Maths – Extended As our unit on models includes networks, students have the Instagram networks of their class. Their next task is to understand how Dijkstra’s algorithm helps figuring out the shortest route between 2 students in the network: how long would it take for a piece of information to move from one to the other. We hesitated if we should include Ms Farah, our MYP Coordinator, in the network! – Mr. Julien and the M5 class
M5 Ceremony Prep – Soon but not too Soon 🙂 I know it’s still February, but it’s never too early to start planning! We want to make this a memorable celebration for our M5 students, and your support will make all the difference.
This message is for all M5 parents/guardians—please take a moment to fill in the form regarding ceremony preparations and decorations. Your involvement will help us create something truly special!
MYP Dates to Remember
February 12th to16th – AISA GISS Conference
February 20th to 24th – Long Weekend
February 26th to 28th – M5 Mock Assessments
March 3rd to 7th – Book Week
March 8th & 9th – MYPX Setup
March 10th – MYPX (Personal Project Exhibition)
March 18th to 21st – M5 French Final Orals
April 2nd – M3 Science Fair
April 5th to 21st – Holiday
April 22nd – Classes Resume Q4
Have a wonderful week ahead! Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Residential Life
Dear UWCEA Community,
The past week saw vibrant activities and heartwarming moments organized by both our amazing students and dedicated staff. From adventurous Outdoor Pursuits (OP) trips and the captivating school production to the exciting visit from our Arusha friends and lively cooking lessons and competitions, there’s been no shortage of energy and enthusiasm!
A special shoutout to our Student Government for hosting the first movie night of the year in the newly renovated Makutano Lounge. The cozy atmosphere, delicious snacks, and great company made it a night to remember!
Looking ahead, we’ve got more exciting events to bring our community together:
Valentine’s Day Celebration: Share the love and show your appreciation! Whether it’s for a friend, teacher, or someone special, you can purchase a thoughtful gift to express your gratitude. Reach out to Rhea to make all the arrangements.
Lunar New Year Festivities: Join us on February 15th in Rafiki Hall as we welcome the Year of the Snake with joy, cultural performances, and delicious treats. Everyone is invited!
Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks! And please don’t forget to fill in the February break travel survey by February 10th.
Adnan Mackovic – Head of Residential Life
Diploma News
D1
Over the next few weeks, our Life skills students will be taking their learning out of the classroom with a special rotation of activities. These include cooking, car maintenance, swimming, plumbing, laundry and first aid. Thanks to our Life Skills teachers for organizing such practical and useful lessons.
D2
The D2s have primarily spent the week writing mock exams. It’s been a full week, sometimes with two or three exams in one day while other days have been much quieter. They will continue to write exams next week to give them a full experience of IB exams before their finals in April.
Catherine Dowie – Diploma Coordinator
MUN
As I write this, twelve students are taking part in the East African Model United Nations conference at the United Nations compound in Nairobi. Throughout the week, students have been representing Austria, Egypt and Germany in four different committees- Political, Economic, Human Rights and Ecology. They have been working together with students from all over Africa to vote through resolutions on a range of topics such as Femicide, Deforestation, Microloans, Modern Day Slavery and Reform of the UN itself. Students have represented themselves and the school incredibly well. More to follow in next week’s newsletter when we return.
Rachel Mahon
Outdoor Pursuits
The Peaks Adventure trip to Ngorongoro to Natron departed successfully with only one student sleeping through their alarm this week! As you can see from the photo, a large group of 22 students, 8 staff, 9 student teachers and 3 drivers are currently away hiking Mount Loolmalasin (3,682 MASL) to Lake Natron covering a distance of nearly 20 km each day.
Once back from the trip, there will be quick turn around for Mr Isaac and Mr Salimu who will be departing for Mount Kilimanjaro on the 17th February. This will be the second ascent of Kilimanjaro this academic year and students have been hard training for the challenge that lay ahead. Next week they will have meetings on summit gear, altitude sickness and final checks in preparation.
Finally, please be aware that the OP team has been reviewing our current trips and made the following changes:
Plains Exploration: Mkuru (7th – 9th March) is now open for sign up to all M5 – D2 students.
Peaks Adventure: Usambara (20th – 23rd March) is now open for sign up to all M5 – D2 students.
Mindfulness Discovery: Usawa Wellness (29th March) has now been added to the calendar. Please note this a day trip.
As always, parental permission is required for all students participating in OP trips and without this, students will be withdrawn if they have signed up. Any questions, please get in touch!
The OP Team
PYP News
Thank you to Ms. Natasha, Mr. Emmanuel and the P6 students for presenting in the primary gathering. Your Exhibition looks as if it is going to be superb – just under 7 weeks to go until the presentation on 26th March.
It feels as if we’ve been at school forever but the P2/3 class assures me that Wednesday of next week will be the 100th day of classes this school year. We will celebrate the day with a rotation of mixed groups that will carry out 100 exercises, build a structure with 100 pieces and make a necklace with 100 pieces of cereal. Ms. Tahera is baking us a chocolate cake so we have a lot to look forward to.
The afternoon clubs programme is going well. I have attached some photos of some of the clubs. We are so lucky to have staff, parents and community members who offer the children a rich and varied after school programme. Thank you to everyone who helps out.
On the afternoon of Friday, 14th February, there is a football tournament at Hope School. We plan to send a 9 and under boys’ team, an 11 and under boys’ team, and a mixed aged girls’ team (we don’t have enough girl players to field two teams.) All P3 – 6 children have been invited. Please sign your child up on Life. The children will leave campus at 1:30pm and will return at 4:30pm. We are looking for a female chaperone for the trip. Please email me if you would be happy to help out.
Tuesday, 18th February, will be our PYP Swim Gala. This will start at 8:30am and will finish before lunch. Please send your child with:
Swim suit
Goggles
Swim hat if your child uses one
Towel
House T-shirt
Flip flops/malapas/shoes to wear around the pool
Sunscreen – please do an initial application at home before your child comes to school
This week, we explored elephants. We read Elmer by David Mckee and enjoyed learning words such as Patchwork. Most people think elephants drink water through their trunks, but this is not true. Why don’t you ask the students how elephants drink water? We created a large version of Elmer, where everyone participated by decorating this part of the patchwork. We will share our work next week once we complete all the patches.
Well done to Ryker, Yara, and Leah, who received a leaf each this week for being Risk-takers.
Our primary gathering is soon approaching (7th of March), and we will begin our practices next week. Please ask your child what we will be doing from next week and encourage them along the way. They are all fearless, and we are looking forward to seeing them perform again.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
Water, water everywhere. This week we have been looking at the need for water conservation and the perils of water pollution. This has connected well to a focus on persuasive writing and the ability to express opinions in written form. Students made posters with suggestions about ways we can all conserve water.
We have enjoyed a focus on 2D and 3D shapes during Math. We went on a Shape Hunt one day to notice the many shapes around us on campus. Have you ever considered a marker as a cylinder or the point of a pencil as a cone? The class made great observations. We also had fun making shapes using rubber bands on peg boards. The class has begun badminton in PE which has been a fun challenge. As always, Coach T is guiding them in a way that makes everyone feel like they can participate and improve. Way to go, P2/3!
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
This week the P4/5 class started a new unit about human body systems. We began with a pre-assessment to find out what the children already knew on this topic and it turns out that they know a lot! Most of the children could tell me about the brain, the heart and the lungs but some were telling me about the oesophagus and the gall bladder! We have been watching some videos to learn the names of the component parts and the purpose of the circulatory, skeletal, respiratory and digestive systems. Next week we will do a similar introduction on the nervous, integumentary, immune and excretory systems. After that, the children will have enough information to make an educated choice about which system they wish to research further and present on. In maths we have started work on multiplication and future home learning will focus on times tables and division skills for the next few weeks. On Wednesday 12th February, we will celebrate the 100th day of school. On Friday 14th February, Ms. Megan (Mama Eliza) will visit the class to decorate Valentine’s cookies. Naomi celebrates her birthday today (Saturday) and Coy will celebrate on Monday – February looks like being a month for celebrations in P4/5!
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
This week, we revisited the P6 Ultimate Fan-Powered Circuit Car Challenge! At the end of last quarter, we held the championship race, but with some children away, we decided to run it again so everyone could participate. The challenge was linked to our Unit of Inquiry, How the World Works, where P6 explored circuits and energy transformation. The competition was just as exciting the second time around, with all entries showcasing impressive creativity and engineering skills! Congratulations to Milo for building the fastest car, and to Luana & Louise and Imanuel & Jack (joint entries) for their innovative designs, earning them the title of most creative cars.
On Friday, P6 did a great job of leading the Primary Gathering, where they shared their Central Ideas, explained their topic choices, and presented an iMovie about their PYPX Retreat. Most children also had the chance to meet with their PYPX mentors, which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Looking ahead, next week we’ll tackle long multiplication and division in Maths, continue our PYP Exhibition research, and celebrate 100 days of school.
Natasha Berri
Sustainability Committee
The sustainability committee gathered to plan for the year ahead, focusing on ways to make our campus and community eco-friendlier and more engaged in sustainable practices.
A huge thank you to the M1-3 Environmental Service group for their dedication to composting and recycling this week, helping reduce waste and enrich our soil. They have feedback for all of us, “please do not put food contaminated items in the recycling bins!” They have worked very hard cleaning up these unacceptably contaminated bins. Please respect our service groups and take the time to read the bin labels if you do not understand.
We were also introduced to this year’s Eco Reps, a group of students from the PYP section committed to leading their peers and community in sustainability efforts. We plan on sharing details about their mentorship program, which will provide them with the guidance and support needed throughout the year.
As we move forward, we encourage everyone in the UWCEA community to stay mindful of recycling, reducing waste, and working together to keep our campus clean and green. If you are unsure about the recycling system, please ask!
