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- Arusha Campus News – 4 May 2024
UWC East Africa Arusha Campus Newsletter Saturday 4th May 2024
There are so many important events happening now and over the next few weeks – Diploma exams, PYP Exhibition, MAP Testing etc that I thought we should take a leaf out of Thouraiya, Lydia, Morly and Billie’s book and make time for marshmallows around the campfire!
Upcoming dates
Wed 8th May – 5pm PYP Exhibition
Fri 17th May – Arusha Diploma Graduation Ceremony
Sat 18th May – Moshi Diploma Graduation Ceremony
Fri 31st May – M5 Ceremony
Dear Parents
On Friday lunchtime we made a not altogether successful attempt to create the Tanzanian flag on the small playing field. See above! I think we needed more green and blue t-shirts!
The first newsletter in May is normally when I start to introduce the new teachers that will be joining us next year and we are starting this week by meeting Adam. Whilst that in itself is a cause for celebration, naturally, an incoming teacher usually means we are saying goodbye to an ‘old’ face. This year we will be wishing Miss Christy, Miss Nathalie, Miss Cassandra, Miss Angela, Miss Nangini, Mr Niels, Mr Olivier, Mr Juan and Miss Kaya, all the very best as they pursue a career away from Arusha Campus.
We are expecting several new families to join us in August and our email inbox has been busy with enquiries about new admissions. This is great news for our school. As I show parents around, I often speculate what exactly are the strengths of our school. The beautiful environment is a very important draw and of course we are lucky to have the most amazing facilities and residences. Perhaps the thing I am most proud of is that I can say we are a happy school. Students and staff and parents on the whole enjoy a level of harmony and mutual respect that I know from my experince can be lacking in other schools and work places. I remind myself of this quality of our school every day and hope that we can all consider what we can do as individuals to help preserve that feeling.
Have a great weekend.
Phil
Meet the new teachers: Adam Kendis, College Counselor
Adam is the Director of College Counseling at Santa Cruz Cooperative School in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He has more than 20 years experience as an educator on three continents at both public and private schools. After starting his career as a math teacher at a public high school in New York City, Adam found his professional calling when he had the opportunity to design and build a postsecondary support system for first generation college students at a school in Newark, NJ where he later became the director of the college counseling department. Adam has extensive experience in college counseling, helping students find their best fit options, and in postsecondary success counseling, helping students thrive in college. For the majority of his career, Adam has led school and district level efforts to build and refine both college counseling and postsecondary success programming with students from all socio-economic backgrounds. Adam is passionate about providing college and career counseling to students from under resourced communities and volunteers with a variety of organizations to do so. In 2011, Adam was one of 11 counselors in the US to receive The Counselors That Change Lives Award, given annually by the Colleges That Change Lives to recognize excellence in the profession and a student-centered approach to counseling.
Adam and his family are very excited to move to Arusha and to join the UWCEA family. Adam will be moving with his wife, Jennifer Epstein, and their two sons: Jesse who is 9 years old and Sam who is 6 years old.
PYP News
The PYP classes have been busy with their Class Camps in the last few weeks and the images above show P3/4 at Wildtracks.
P2 visited Amani Lodge, P3/4 camped at Wildtracks and P4/5 stayed at Snake Park. P1 and P6 have their overnight camps later this quarter. All of these camps offered independence, confidence and resilience. The benefits of camping show that outdoor experiences can make children more environmentally aware, help them manage stress, and reduce restlessness and boredom. Spending time outside promotes physical activity, survival skills and cognitive development. The classes put up their own tents, organised and made their beds, packed and looked after their own belongings and had a lot of fun! A huge thank you to all the teachers who went as it is a rewarding but exhausting experience!
Amanda, PYP Co-ordinator
P4/5 Visit Meserani Snake Park
Here are some photographs (above and below) from Miss Adele’s P4/5 camp last week at Meserani Snake Park learning about how living things adapt to challenges in their environment.
PYP Exhibition – Wednesday 8th May 2024
Art Exhibition at Schwari
Crucified Gods, Acrylic on canvas, 153 cm x 91.5 cm – Maria Martinez
On Tuesday evening, the wider Arusha communty were invited to an art exhibition at Schwari restaurant. It was an exhibition with a difference! The art on display was up for auction, with the highest bidder on the night being guarabteed to take ‘their’ art piece home with them. Except the bidding was open to our international parents too, thanks to Google Sheets and a live bidding process. Everyone had so much fun and congratulations must go to the organising team of Ella and Zoya (both D1) and indeed to the artists who donated their work for auction.
The money raised from the event was impressive. A whopping $1300 was raised and this money will go to our ongoing renewable energy project on campus.
For reasons to do with the IB examination assessment, I am not publishing work from our current D2 students. Instead pictured above is a piece from Maria (2023 graduate) and below from Jessica (M5).
Three marlins and a pillar, Acrylic paint on gypsum, 28 cm x 40 cm – Jessica Bowen
From the MYP
Pictured above are M5 celebrating their last day of MYP School!
Well done to all M1, M2 and M3 students who completed MAP tests over the last two weeks! Results will be shared with parents soon.
M5 students had their last week of classes. We wish them luck as they take their IBMYP on-screen exams in English, French, Humanities, (Extended) Maths, Sciences and Interdisciplinary over the next two weeks.
Anoek, MYP Co-ordinator
M3 look relieved to have finished their MAP tests for another year!
M5 let off a bit of steam on the basketball court!
Some M2 students have a nostalgic chill out in the PYP playground.
MYP Design
Ellen in M1 checks her creation against her notes.
Last week, M1’s presented their moodboard and descriptive writing to each other as part of their IDU. For WWW we visited the Hadzabe, Makonde, and Datoga tribes in Northern Tanzania. We learnt and listened to their stories which inspired the students to write their own stories in relation to a tribe they chose. They used their English skills to create an atmospheric piece of writing as well as their Visual arts skills to tell their stories. Every single moodboard was a joy to look at and explore. They did themselves, as well as myself and Miss Hilary, very proud. We will be putting their mood boards on display in the PA, please come take a look!
Miss Leah, MYP Design
DP Corner
The past few weeks have been extremely busy for both our D1 and D2 students!
Straight after our Spring break, the D1 completed their TOK exhibition (see image above), the first assessment of the Theory of Knowledge course.
The TOK exhibition is an internally marked (followed by moderation by the IB) individual task completed at the end of the first year of the DP. It involves students choosing 3 ‘objects’ and one of the 35 IA prompts to write a commentary to demonstrate how TOK concepts manifest in the real world. During the second year of the DP programme, the students will complete the second and final TOK assessment, the TOK essay.With the end of their first year fast approaching, the D1 already have a number of Internal Assessment drafts to complete, for example in sciences.
The IB uses both external and internal assessment in the DP. The internal assessment accounts for at least up to 20% of the final grade and include:
● oral work in languages
● fieldwork in geography
● laboratory work in the sciences
● investigations in mathematics
● artistic performances
It is important for the students to stick to the internal deadlines so they don’t get overwhelmed with their work.Meanwhile the D2 will soon be ending their IB journey. Graduation is just around the corner after two more weeks of exams (see image below). Next week is probably the busiest for the majority of them. We wish them all the best!
Nathalie, DP Co-ordinator
Outdoor Pursuits: Reefs Discovery
Last weekend, Miss Holloway and her Arusha students set off in the pouring rain for the long haul drive to the coast and Reefs Discovery. An eventful drive, the road was blocked and made impassable in several places due to floods and water on the road. Eventually they got through and arrived at the seaside at around 8pm!
In the Reefs programme, there are three core areas: developing swimming/snorkeling/diving skills; contributing to coral regeneration; practising coral monitoring (maintenance and collection of data).
The students develop sufficient water-related skills to eventually contribute to the Coral Reefs Regeneration Project in Tanga, in collaboration with Fish Eagle Point.
Water is an additional factor to consider when going on Reefs trips. The students are required to demonstrate their swimming ability prior to the trip (see fitness requirements).
The Reefs trips are weather dependent, and the activities are tide dependent. Schedules are adjusted continuously, so students are encouraged to show adaptability.
In groups, students rotate between various activities like mangroves and coral reefs snorkeling excursions, beach clean-ups, kayaking and paddle boarding, recreational dives, service dives, and more.
Everyone contributes to setting camp, cooking, washing dishes, and any camping-related chores.
Counselor’s Corner
Pursue Your Passions versus Talents???
Last Friday, I watched a panel discuss some of the challenges that young people are facing today, and when I heard the phrase, “Pursue your talents” it resonated with me. Scott Galloway a clinical professor of marketing at New York University Stern School of Business and author of the recently published book “The Algebra of Wealth: The Simple Formula for Success,” was sharing his thoughts on why many young people get caught in the trap of pursuing their passion, when they would experience more success in life by honing and developing their talents that will lead to a more fulfilling life. This message was reinforced when I was reading about a young woman who went to a university in the hopes of becoming a doctor because that was what she had dreamed about all her life. However, once she discovered that working around blood was not appealing to her, she began to explore her communication and technology skills in a manner that led to creating a brand new department at her institution focused on entrepreneurship and funding start ups.
Thinking back on the mesmerizing speech earlier this year by Dr. Jane Goodall about her journey to becoming the amazing anthropologist and primatologist she is known for today, I can not even begin to imagine what would have happened if her mother had not been so supportive of her curiosity and interest in learning about animals at a young age. Did she pursue her passions or develop her talents in a key area that led to a lifelong career?
On the other hand, over the years, I have heard too many students tell me that they were only pursuing a career because that is what their parents told them to do, or because it is the only way they will have a “good career.” If the young person has developed the skills for that profession, and has an interest in continuing their education in that field, more power to them. However, what about the young people who do not have the talent or desire for a field they feel pressured to pursue?
When I witnessed the joy and enthusiasm that Hunter and Vivek expressed during the D2 Post-Secondary Fair before the mid-semester break last month, and each time I talked with them about their professional pursuits, I found myself getting caught up in the excitement they each exude about their chosen path. I have also observed the time that they have put into developing their skills in their chosen careers, and the research they have done to know that their talents will be best utilized in these fields. Most importantly, their parents have been in their corner and encouraging them to enhance their skill set as they glean a clear picture of what is required to achieve success in their desired career. Sometimes passions and talents collide, and a young person is launched into the professional world prepared to thrive.
D1 Parent/Guardian Presentation Post-Secondary Planning Part II
Speaking of parents, we are ready for the second part of our presentation about ways parents and guardians can help prepare their child for global destinations. In this session, we will focus on some of the major application systems around the world that our students apply to, and key elements to be aware of in order to assist them through their process. This event will take place virtually on 22 May at 7:30 PM EAT, and the details to access the meeting will be sent to D1 Parents/Guardians. The information is also available on the UWCEA Careers website, where you will also find…
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”
16 May: Deadline to register for 1 June SAT in Moshi (https://www.uwcea.org/tests)
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**
Take care and enjoy exploring!
Cassandra Ford
College and Career Counselor
cassandraford@uwcea.org
Calendar
May
June
