This next week of the year is always one of the most difficult on campus. Graduation is a celebration, but it is also a time to say goodbye. For our D2 students that joined us in August 2022, Tanzania and in particular Moshi, has been their adopted home and many will have developed strong ties to the community and each other. For some of our students, they have been with us for much longer, from ISM through UWC and the connections will run much deeper. I will just say that the community here will miss you as much as you miss us.
Oddly this week is also a time of new beginnings. This upcoming week the incoming D1 students for August 2024 will receive their letters letting them know which campus they will be joining. This starts a spirited time of emails, online meetings and other communication in preparation for their arrival in less than 3 months.
This past week had plenty happening as will our week ahead so please read below to see more about campus life.
I have also included just below of a picture shared with me from the pool area about 35 years ago. Some things change, but some stay the same.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming Events
Ben’s Corner
After my newsletter entry last Friday, I was delighted to discover the perfect example of through-school student collaboration this week but, perhaps, not as you might imagine! This week, Alice, from P6, visited the D1 Business Management class to present her research into Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a motivational theory in psychology comprising a five-tier model of human needs, often depicted as hierarchical levels within a pyramid.
Alice walked and talked the group through the different levels of the pyramid, referencing both an online presentation and an explanatory poster. She spoke with great confidence and fielded questions from the group, responding with real composure and genuine insight when put on the spot. She even invited the D1s to complete a quiz at the end to make sure everyone was keeping up!
So, if one of the advantages of through schools is the opportunity for students to share their knowledge, understanding and experience across the different programmes, maybe we need to be mindful that this transfer can go from Primary upwards and not only the other way around.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
The exams for D2 are in full swing now. Some students have now finished with English on Friday, but some still have 3 subjects to go. They continue to work hard, and it is good to see people taking full use of the time available. Packages of papers go off to the UK with DHL every day to be scanned and then sent to examiners all over the world. The results will be available in July.
We are starting to prepare for graduation which will take place on Saturday 18th May. An invitation was sent to parents this week and students are able to collect the physical tickets from me. We will start with photographs at 1:00 pm and then ask people to enter K-hall at 2:00 pm. You must have a ticket to go in.
I haven’t seen much of D1 this week, but you can see some of their activities below and in other parts of the newsletter. They are getting to the end of the year and are preparing for the end of year exams. Our students who do courses through Pamoja have already started their exams.
Important Dates
Friday 17th May – Last D2 Exam
Saturday 18th May – D2 Graduation
27th May to 31st May – D1 End of Year exams
5th to 7th June – D1 Collaborative Science Project (compulsory IB component)
10th to 11th June – D1 TOK Exhibition (compulsory IB assessment task)
Friday 14th June – End of Semester Friday 14th June
Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator
On Saturday, the D1 History class toured historic sites around Moshi, investigating colonial systems of control and the effects of the colonial era. In the process, students visited the Mangi Meli Museum in Old Moshi, the Kidia Lutheran mission, the 1912 train station, the German boma, and the Commonwealth Cemetery.
The D1 Global Politics hosted Dr. Channa Samkalden this week. Channa is a Dutch human rights lawyer, whose cases involving Shell Oil and Nigeria were particularly relevant to the course content in Global Politics. Channa spoke to the students about her personal journey to becoming a renowned lawyer, her desire as a young person to make a difference, and the complexities of international law.
Residential Life
Dear UWCEA Community,
This week, a reminder goes out to M5 students and parents to fill out the departure form by May 20th.
Here we are at the end of another week, this time marked by the commencement of the M5 eAssessments. When we sit and wait for an exam to end, it becomes natural to find ourselves reflecting while anticipating and wondering about how the students performed on their exams.
I found an opportunity to ponder on the idea of change this week. It’s a theme that seems to grow with each passing year in the MYP. It is a concept fostered deeply within our program’s ethos. Change, we’re reminded, isn’t just inevitable; it’s necessary. It is a principle that echoes and resonates with our educational framework. This week was a gentle reminder of the perpetual evolution inherent in the journey of education. It emphasizes the essence of growth and progress, highlighting the transformative power that comes with every experience, lesson, and challenge encountered along the way.
It is important to remember that change brings opportunities. It helps us adapt, think creatively, and find new ways forward. Embracing change with courage allows us to grow individually and together as a community. I am always proud of our MYP students, I witness them embracing change as opportunities for learning, growth, and new experiences. I witness them changing!
M5 eAssessments Continue The schedule for M5 eAssessments is as follows:
M5 Ceremony RSVP Please click on this link to RSVP to the M5 Ceremony on May 24th, 2024.
M1 Theatre No one knew what was happening on Monday after lunch. All we saw were the M1 students transform into acrobats, living statues, magicians, fortune tellers, actors, dancers and more. Ladies and gentlemen, behold your “Street Art” performers!
Our M1 students explored how performing artists use representation and play to convey messages, challenge perceptions and engage audiences. They were really fun to watch. Thank you, Mr. Ramy, and M1!
M2 English In English, the M2s continued to work on their unit on graphic novels and they had the opportunity to listen to Zhiyi, a D1 student from China. He gave them valuable insight into the importance of the Monkey king, what it means to be an ABC in Chinese culture and how it feels when we stereotype Chinese people. This links closely to the Graphic novel we are studying called The American Born Chinese. It is important for us to understand that stories are a reflection of the real world, and our words and actions have the power to both hurt and uplift people around us. Thank you Mrs. Dowie, Zhiyi and M2!
M1 I&S M1 have been studying ancient civilizations and this week looked at folk tales from different places. We were lucky to have two D1 students come and tell stories from their countries- David told a creation myth from Mexico and Alexandros told the Greek tale of Icarus. Students chose their own story, created a script and acted it out on Friday. Thank you, Ms. Rachel, and M1!
MYP Dates to Remember:
May 10th-17th – MYP e-Assessments
May 20th to 23rd – M5 Workshops
May 24th – M5 Ceremony
June 10th to 13th – M1-M4 Week of Giving Back
June 14th – Last day of Classes
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Sports Update
Leopards on the Move!
Congratulations to the U19 and U16 netball teams for advancing to the NTSAA crossover championship. Both teams played hard and looked organized out on the court this last weekend in St. Judes. The championship will be June 8. Good luck girls.
Also, last weekend the U16 touch rugby showed their talents. This team had been practicing all year with the U19, they even participated in sports weekend in the u19 age category. So, this weekend it really was easy to see how much they had improved. They won 2 games by more than 10 tries and then accepted a challenge from an older team from St. Judes and played hard to a 0-2 loss.
Looking at primary the U11 netball team will travel to Kennedy house on May 18. Thank you to all the students that have showed interest throughout the PYP. Keep practicing guys and girls. An email will be sent out about this.
Primary touch rugby has 2 more practices before their tournament on May 21. I was able to watch them practice this last Monday. They are really starting to understand the game and make plays. Even the younger students are improving at holding the line for a solid defense.
Coach Pickell
PYP News
P6 will be going camping near Lake Manyara on Thursday of next week. They will be visiting the African Galleria and will have the chance to see some Benin Bronzes which will link with their unit on ancient civilisations from Semester 1. Thank you to Mama Devraaj for facilitating this visit. The EC/P1 class day camp will take place on 22nd May. The P2 class will have an overnight camp on the 23rd. The P3 children will have their camp the following week (30th May). Details will be shared by class teachers.
Friday 17th we will not have our normal Primary Gathering. Instead, the sustainability committee will be visiting the classrooms to work with each class individually and discuss the correct use of the recycling, compost and waste bins that are on the breezeway and in the playground.
MAP results for P4-6 will be shared via email on Friday, 17th May.
On Saturday, 18th May the U11 netball team will be going to Kennedy House. Coach Pickell has shared the sign up details on Life.
Please note that on Thursday, 30th May, the PYP children will be celebrating our traditional Gathering of Gratitude. We will start by thanking those adults that help and care for us. Ms. Jamie will then lead us in a singalong. Refreshments will be served at the end. All parents and carers are welcome to attend – more details will be shared nearer the time. Please note that the P3 children will be leaving for their camp after this gathering so they will still be able to participate.
Be sure to read Ben Morley and Ms. Natasha’s newsletters which include(s) information about Alice (P6) visiting two Diploma classrooms this week to share her PYPX research. In the primary school we are often fortunate to be able to learn from the secondary school students but this is a lovely example of the circumstances being reversed.
Deborah Mills – PYP Coordinator
EC/P1 Class
We read Josh and the Whoo Whoo by David Bedford. It was about a little bunny named Josh who had five brothers and six boisterous sisters. Josh loved peace and quiet and found his sibling’s noises quite challenging. Fortunately, he found one noise that he loved and that was of a steam train. This story sparked a discussion about trains so we created them. Most were steam engines but one was an electric one. They all traveled all over the world as some went underground, some through deserts, and some through a city. Some carried only cargo and some passengers Our trains are up on the board to see.
We are gearing up for our annual day camp. This will take place on the 22nd of May. Please mark the date and details will be sent to you as we come closer to the time.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2/3 Class
It was a productive week in P2/3. A highlight was finishing James and the Giant Peach! We loved the book and will be watching the movie in small bits over the upcoming week.
We’ve kicked off our new unit, Economics.
The central idea is: Economic activity relies on systems of production, exchange and consumption of goods and services.
The lines of inquiry are:
The role of supply and demand
The consumption of goods and services
Our responsibility as consumers
It may seem that these concepts are too difficult for our class, but it is remarkable how much we will be able to consider and explain during this unit. In our first days of thinking about money and the difference between needs and wants, the students have already contributed many thoughts and questions. I encourage you to talk about these ideas with your children as you go about normal life.
Please, please remember to send in clothes to accommodate the weather this week. Extra shoes and socks are helpful, particularly on Thursday when we have outdoor PE. Of course, we hope to swim on Tuesday. P2 parents, you will receive a permission slip and letter about the overnight camping trip on May 23rd. P3 parents, yours will be sent home the following week about the camping trip on May 30th.
Kacey Buckley
P4/5 Class
Due to the Diploma exams taking place in Rafiki it is not possible for us to use Karibu Hall for indoor PE at the moment – we don’t want to distract the examinees with too much noise. When the weather is dry our PE lessons have been taking place outside. However, the grass is often still wet and the children end up with wet shoes and socks. Please consider keeping a change of dry footwear in your child’s bag.
On Tuesday, we visited Arusha campus to look at the PYP Exhibition. It was a very hands on experience with lots of games for us to play. Many of the P5s are already looking forward to their own Exhibition next year.
The children have completed their posters of their chosen skyscrapers. This week we talked about scale and the class made paper outlines of their skyscrapers with a scale of 1cm on paper representing 10 metres in real life. In maths we focused on multiplying and dividing by 10, 100 and 1000 to facilitate our scale work.
On Friday the class visited St. Margaret’s church. Coy Buckley (Baba Louise) told us some of the history of the church and explained the purpose of the different parts of the building are used. It was very interesting as there were 3 churches in the compound and we were able to walk through 100 years of history.
Next week we plan to visit the railway station on Tuesday. Permission slips have been sent home. We will be back on campus before lunch and the children will be able to attend their Tuesday clubs as normal. The children will miss their swimming lesson on that Tuesday and this class has been rescheduled and will take place on Wednesday instead (weather permitting).
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
What a busy week we’ve had! On Tuesday, we travelled to Arusha campus to attend their PYP Exhibition. Then, on Friday, we visited St. Margaret’s Church for a field trip related to our current Unit of Inquiry. We are grateful to Mr. Coy Buckley who was an awesome guide. We also focused on key vocabulary related to the Abrahamic religions in Spelling and worked on Fractions in Maths.
I would like to give a special mention to Alice this week. She was invited to speak to the D1 Business Maths classes about Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Alice researched this as part of her PYPX topic on Child Labor. Even though speaking to two classes of 17-year-olds might seem daunting, Alice took it all in her stride and spoke confidently and enthusiastically. We are very proud of her efforts, and our photo this week shows Alice during her presentation.
Next week is going to be very exciting because we are going to Haven Nature campsite for our overnight camp. We will leave at 8 am on Thursday, May 16th, and return at 4:30 pm on Friday, May 17th. A packing list and permission form have been sent home. At this stage, the weather looks good, so we are thinking positively and planning for a great trip under the canvas.
Natasha Berri
From the Counselors
Money Matters A big (and stressful) issue this admission cycle has been the rising cost of tertiary education. However, this has been offset on our campus by the tremendous amounts of grants and scholarships our students have been offered. With the new admissions cycle already underway for our D1 students, this recent blog about how to prepare for the financial realities of paying for college/university may provide some key insights for families as you prepare for the not too distant future….
If you would like to hear more about how to prepare, we invite D1 parents and guardians to mark your calendar and join us on 22 May for the second part of our post-secondary planning presentation. Also, take a moment to consider these other upcoming events…
Upcoming College and University Events
15 May: 4:45-6:00 PM EAT 15 on the 15th returns with a “Hot Admissions Topic”
and a virtual fair with 13 Davis UWC Scholar Partners & 2 UWC “friends”
*NEW* 21 May: 7:30-8:30 PM EAT Admissions Talk Tuesdays (1st Topic: Writing a Strong Application Essay). Join us for a special session with a Davis UWC Scholar Partner Admissions specialist as they share information about the application process. (More Tuesday topics coming soon)
22 May: 7:30-8:30 PM EAT D1 Guardian/Parent Presentation: Post-Secondary Planning Part II: A World of Possibilities (Understanding international admissions)
**Many more events (and resources) are on the UWCEA Careers website, as well as individual institution websites/social media**
