Moshi Campus News – 3 March 2013

Dear Parents,

Congratulations to all of Team ISM who took part in the Half Marathon or 5km Fun Run earlier today. It was fantastic to see so many blue shirts in the crowd. Special congratulations to all our primary boarders who all successfully completed 5km. And thanks to the staff, Parent Association members and student volunteers who helped so much to support the event. Please remember to get your sponsorship money in to the main office as soon as possible.

Our Model United Nations group returned from Nairobi yesterday after a week of demanding debate at the East African MUN. It will certainly have been a valuable experience for them all. P3/4 had an excellent camp on Wednesday night at Kahawa Shamba and returned full of excitement.

On Wednesday, 6th March we have the Science Fair where the M3 students will be showing the research projects they have been working on.

Science has become an increasingly important part of the society in the past few decades, and will continue to be of greater importance in the future. It is through the students of today and their wide interest in the scientific field that science will be used for the betterment of society. In an effort to encourage interest in science, M3 students have spent part of their science lessons carrying out individual scientific investigations into a topic of their choice and will display their investigations at the Science Fair which will take place in Karibu Hall on Wednesday 6th March, 2013. The Science Fair is an opportunity for students to explore the realms of science and enables them to use scientific method in their approach to investigation, and take part in organizing and displaying something they can call their own. Participation, not competition, is encouraged. The learning and the experience of working by oneself and with others to produce a project that a student has enjoyed and in which he/she has shown interest is the greatest prize that everyone will take home.

We would like to see as many parents as possible on Wednesday 6th – the fair will be from 2:30pm to 5:30pm. Please come and support our students!

The major Moshi Campus Soccer Sevens tournament will take place on Saturday, 9th March from 8am to 5pm. We are expecting a large number of teams of both girls and boys to participate and look forward to welcoming both local schools and teams from much further afield.

We will once again be offering two scholarships to exceptionally able Tanzanian students to join our diploma programme next August. Our final deadline for applications is Monday, 4th March. Applicants should be Tanzanian citizens who have completed national form four examinations and have obtained betwen 7 and 14 points in their examinations. Details are given at www.uwcea.org/scholarship.htm.

Registration for the ACT test in April and for the TOEFL test in May is closing on Monday. D1 students who need to register should do so very soon.

Having undertaken ISM presentations in both Dar es Salaam and Arusha, our next presentation is planned for Mwanza on Sunday, 17th March at 4pm in the Tillapia Hotel. If you know of any families in Mwanza who would be interested in learning more about ISM or meeting with us, please let them know of this date or ask them to contact me on keironw@uwcea.net.

Our Book Week is scheduled for 11th -15th March. We look forward to all our students, including our Secondary students participating in a range of activities including “come to school as a character” day, “drop everything and read” and buddy reading. Students have already started on the reading competition aiming to read 1000 pages in a month!

Our formal assessments for M4 & M5 will be held from the 15th March to 21st March. Students have been given the schedule of the exams and we have attached one with this newsletter (for M4/M5 parents only) so that parents can encourage students to plan and revise for these tests. These last two years in the Middle school are crucial as the students are trained to develop skills that will enable them to cope with the rigorous programme of the Diploma: managing time, devising strategies for learning content and being able to apply knowledge to answer questions are all vital skills students should have mastered by the time they reach the end of the secondary school, in our case the Diploma. At this point, I would like to request the support of parents and boarding parents to ensure that in the next few weeks students are encouraged and advised to make good use of their free time. Revision cannot be done only on the eve of the exams, they have to set a proper revision schedule if they want to get good grades in these exams. The marks they score will be included in the reports they receive at the end of this academic year. For the M5 students, these grades will be considered when we send their final grades to the IB and it is important that they do their best.

The proximity of the IB diploma exams – now only two months away – has captured the attention of D2 students. It is an intensive time for D2s. Each D2 full diploma student is involved these weeks in doing did a challenging 10-minute TOK presentation. Language oral exams are taking place.

Visual Arts Candidate Record Books and studio art pieces for the show were just submitted. Science portfolios are nearly done. ITGS, Economics, History and Geography submissions by students are largely completed. All coursework will finish by the time we start our vacation on March 22nd. Reminder: please do not remove your DP child early [they need to be present on March 22ndr- as every lesson counts! D2 students are nearly finished their CAS requirement. Many D2 students have started the process of revising for exams. If it were not for CAS, (that helps balance out the pressure of these innumerable deadlines) D2 stress levels would be much higher! Parental support and encouragement of D2s at this time is an imperative.

The ISM DP team continues to do all we can and stress the motto, “Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance.” We also want to drive home the message that the the mock exam results experience means that D2s must move into full scale effort level in order to learn from and improve upon those late-January assessments. We will also highlight AGAIN the importance of a healthy lifestyle [sleep, exercise, proper nutrition and avoiding bad choices such as smoking] in the coming months. This week one DP teacher found that on school night this week most students got under six hours of sleep. Parental discussion around sleep patterns would also be smart given that research shows adolescents require eight hours of rest to be successful academically though naps are useful, it is likely better in one chunk at night.

This week plans moved along further for the Saturday May 25th ISM Diploma Program graduation ceremony. Parents will receive the formal invitation in the second half of April but please note that as is customary there will be a dinner (parents and D2 graduating student only) on Friday evening May 24th at a restaurant in Moshi – so reserve the date! We are planning for a wonderful set of events. Every Thursday afternoon these weeks D2 students gather briefly and plan for the music, speakers, theme, decorations for the graduation so it will be a grand celebration I assure you.

D2 parents were recently sent an email regarding the mock results of their son or daughter. Regular parent contact support, encouragement and a gentle nudging to work harder should serve to bolster our efforts at ISM to do the same.
Most D1 students continue to remain on track and as a class collectively their academic results are pleasing. The steady progress for many on the major 4,000-word Extended Essay is an example of this. A report by the EE supervisor indicating extensive research has been completed will be due after the two-week March/April break, so it is essential that D1 students set the groundwork now to meet that deadline.

Diploma students would do well to learn and follow the ‘The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People: Restoring the Character Ethic’ – the name of an exceptional book written in 1979 by Steven R. Covey and whose recent obituary provides a superb overview of his phenomenally successful approach wisdom. Read it at – www.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/business/stephen-r-covey-herald-of-good-habits-dies-at-79.html.

One day this week one-to-one meetings were conducted at the ISM Arusha campus with current M5s [and their parents] on their Diploma plans and most of those current students (as is the case for the ISM Moshi main campus M5s) will join the ISM DP class of 2015.

Feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Rick Fitzpatrick – (Diploma Coordinator)

Our small community of students have been very busy this week with all the work – academic and co-curricular. I was quite pleased with a lot of our students who stepped up to support their house during the swimming gala last Friday. This week, a lot of them took part in the Kili marathon and performed well.

Assessment week: last week, parents of our older students received a schedule of the coming assessment week for the M4s & M5s. We hope that the students are being encouraged to start planning their revision as this will be the key to their success in these assessments.

Homework: there have been many cases of students failing to do their homework. As I repeatedly pointed out: homework is an integral part of learning, it helps to consolidate the learning that has taken place in the classroom. This enables the students to see whether they have understood the topic or not and they can then plan to see their teachers. Can all parents and boarding parents please ensure that the homework diary is checked and signed? This is especially inportant for the younger students, as this will show that you are keeping track of the work. Sometimes, students complete their work at school but the time at home can be spent in reading over all the work they covered on that day. This will only enhance their learning and understanding.

CAS – this is part of the school requirements and some students still fail to understand that their attendance is important – it is just like being in class. Failure to attend any CAS activity results in detention on Friday. I am sorry to say that we have a lot of students who are not taking their responsibility as far as this part of the school curriculum is concerned. We hope to see an improvement soon.

As our students have so much to do these next weeks, I am dedicating this thought to them:
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”
Thomas A. Edison.

An excellent week to All!!
Jaimala Quinlan
MYP Coordinator

A big thanks
To Miss Katy who worked with Miss Jann in P3/4. We wish her every success in the future as she heads back to the United States.

P3/4 Camp
This was a huge success. Children and teachers arrived back happy but exhausted. A big thanks to Miss Jann who put a lot of work into organising the camp.

New baby in the primary
Congratulations to Miss Catherine who delivered her baby girl last Sunday. She is still trying to think of a name for her girl starting with the letter J. Any suggestions?

St Constantine’s Swim Gala
This takes place on Saturday 16th March. If your child has been invited to attend they should have received their letter of invitation. Please complete the reply slips and send back as soon as possible.

Kili Marathon
Congratulations to all of our primary boarders and some of our day students who took part in the 5km fun run.

Cindy van den Heuvel
Head of Primary/PYP Coordinator

Early Childhood Preview

Ob Friday we very sadly said goodbye to Dahlia who has been a wonderful addition to our class. Hopefully she will be back next school year in P1. Today we welcomed Rohaise to our class on her 3rd birthday. We hope she will be very happy in EC. Happy Birthday Rohaise!

Unit of Inquiry
This week the students will begin their summative assessment, planning their story and how they want to share it with the class. This will take the next three weeks as we work with each child retelling and making up stories.

Literacy
We are preparing for book week that will take place the week beginning March 11th. The EC children will present what they have learnt during this unit in the assembly at 7.30am on March 11th. Parents are very welcome to attend. Next week we will be preparing for this assembly. Don’t forget that your child needs to be dressed as their favourite book character when they come to school that morning. Please see me if you need any help with costumes. We have plenty of fairy costumes!!!!
We will start work on decorating our classroom door and continue our story of the Hungry Caterpillar using pictures outside the classroom.

• EC2 – find out about the consonant digraph th (not covered last week)
• EC1 – we will be finding out about the sound w. Please bring something beginning with w.
• Independent writing/drawing for portfolio piece answering the question, “Who is your favourite story book character?”

Numeracy
We will continue with subtraction for a second week with EC2s while the EC1s sort a variety of different objects

• EC2 – What is subtraction? Taking away 1 from any number up to 10/20
• EC2 – Counting backwards using a number line
• EC2 – Using concrete materials to take away objects from 10 and say how many are left
• EC1 – participate in number rhymes and songs
• EC1 – explore number using concrete materials; counting objects with one to one correspondence, recognizing numbers, recording if appropriate
• EC1- sorting objects into sets; by colour, shape and other attributes

P1/2 Preview

What a spectacular end to our unit ‘Materials and Structures’! The children thoroughly enjoyed designing and making their boats and showed they had learned a lot from this unit. Trying out the boats in the school pool was tremendous fun.

Well done to any children who participated in the Kili Marathon!

Mathletics-I have put the children’s usernames and passwords in their yellow reading record books. The children can go on Mathletics at school and home if you have internet access.

Language focus for the week
Writing:
Recount of the weekend. Using the language of time. (At the weekend…Then I…Next I…Later…At the end). Using adjectives, (amazing, fantastic, wonderful, scary, huge…)

Write a reflection about your model boat. Eg, What went well? How could I improve my design? (Linked to UOI)
Dictionary work: Alphabetical order.
Handwriting: Patterns, writing numerals and a focus on the One Armed Robot family of letters (m, n, p, r, h, k, b) Some children are joining letters together.

Phonics:
1. CVCs (middle vowels) Focus on un and ut words.
2. Consonant Blends, ‘S’ blends, sc, sk, sp, st, sm ,sn, sw.
3. Introduce oy as in toys and oi as in point.

Maths focus for the week
Mental skills will focus on doubles and counting on and back. Also quick recall of the addition facts of 10 and 20. All children will learn about measures. Children will participate in a carousel of activities throughout the week related to weight, capacity and length.
Group 1:
Use language such as more or less, longer or shorter, heavier or lighter…to compare two or more quantities. Measure using non standard units.
Group 2:
Understand and use vocabulary related to length, mass and capacity. Estimate and measure using non standard and standard units(cm, m, litres, kg).

Unit of Inquiry
New Unit: Land Ahoy!
Central Idea: People interact with, use and value the natural environment in different ways.
Lines of Inquiry:
1. How land is used.
2. Local land use.
3. Actions that benefit and harm the local environment.

To introduce this unit we will walk around school campus and look at how the land is used in different ways. Children can also talk about their house and garden. Some children may grow fruit and vegetables. We will look at pictures of how land is used in different ways. We will begin to learn how to draw simple maps and plans and start with drawing a plan of a classroom.

Art – Collage made of natural materials (continued from previous week)

What to bring to school:
A hat for playtime and a healthy snack. (No hat, no play!)

Timetable:
Monday
New reading books and homework pack issued.
Tuesday
Swimming (swimming costume, towel, flip flops, sun cream, swim aids such as arm bands if required)
Library (bring library bags ready to return books and choose new ones)
Thursday
New reading books issued
Friday
PE
Spelling Test (Hand in yellow homework pack)

P3/4 Preview

Class camp was a huge success. The children absolutely loved the experience and learnt so much – not only about what we have been studying, but also about themselves. Hopefully by next week, I will have some photos of the Kahawa Shamba Camp and the field trip to TPC on the web site.

Congratulations to Fraser, Sil, Willem, Theo, Ashraf, Lucas, Noga and Emily, who have been selected as members of the ISM Swimming Team to compete at the inter-schools gala at St. Constantine’s on March 16.

This is what our learning in class will look like this week:
UOI – “Production and Consumption”
We will complete and present our summative assessment power points and complete our reflections on camp and the unit in general. Our new unit on exploration will be introduced.

Writing – We will be looking at the difference between fact and opinion and writing some factual articles.
Spelling Groups 1) CVC words -in -ix and -is (e.g. pin, six, his), 2) words ending in -ave (cave), -ell (shell), -ive (dive) 3) words ending in -est or -en which have double consonants ensuring that the vowel says its name and not its sound (e.g. bitten, reddest) 4) words ending in -que as in antique.
Language/grammar – past and present tense.

Maths – P3 Fractions. Learning the term and notation for 1/3. Identifying halves, thirds and quarters. Identifying and naming fraction parts that have numerators greater than 1 (e.g. 2/3, 3/4 etc…) Finding thirds and quarters of sets. Time – o’clock and half-hours.
Tables 2x, 5x, 10x 11x 3x, 4x. Basic facts up to 10/20 (+ and -).
P4 Fractions. identifying equivalent fraction parts. Using fraction notation to record equivalencies (e.g. 3/6 = ½). Using mixed numbers to represent quantities greater than 1. Using representations to combine fractions to equal other fractions (e.g. 1/2 = 1/3 + 1/6). Time – o’clock, half-hours, quarter hours.
Tables – 2x, 3x, 4 x, 5x, 6x, 10x , 11x, 12x . Basic facts up to 20 (+ and -).

REMINDERS:
Every day: Hats and polo shirts/t- shirts
Zip bags, homework folders, reading books and reading logs
Healthy snack for break time
MONDAY
Spelling test – Last week’s words which we did not have time to do last Friday
Homework – Reading, spelling, Maths and Language sheets. Some of the students may need help to read the comprehension passage, so please assist with this if necessary.
P.E. – wear house t-shirts, shorts and trainers.
THURSDAY
Library – Remember books and book bags
Swimming costumes and towels for P.E.
FRIDAY
Spelling test – this week’s words.

Looking forward to another great week together
Miss Jann

P5 Preview

The P5/6 class will be divided sometime on Monday and the 9 P5 students will be setting up their classroom in Miss Cindy’s office.

Here is what we hope to achieve in the coming week:
Unit of Inquiry (UoI)
We shall be starting a new unit on Healthy Choices. Our central idea is Our health is affected by the choices we make. We shall be looking into the components of health, our body systems, and how our choices affect our health. If any parent would like to come and talk about healthy choices they make, we’d love to have you as a guest speaker.

Maths
We shall be starting with data collection, handling, surveys and probability and chance. There will be homework set on Mathletics that you can do at home, but remember you’ll need your password, username and the internet.

Language
We are going to focus on writing narratives and using the authoring cycle to write amazing stories.
Miss Cindy