Moshi Campus News – 14 April 2013

Dear Parents,

The first week of the new quarter has got off to a great start and students have quickly got back into their school routines. Various tests and exams are already underway with many D1s taking ACT tests yesterday and the D2s now entering their last ever week of school classes before their final written diploma exams.

Tomorrow, Monday, 15th April at 5pm we shall be holding our annual Sports Banquet in the dining hall school to honour the best sporting students of the school year. Day students are welcome to attend and should buy a ticket (TSh 4500/-) from reception in the main office.

Formal D2 classes will end at 12:35 on Friday, 19th April. The D2 students then enter a study period until 1st May when they can prepare for their final examinations independently. Their teachers will be available during all regular class times to assist them as requested. From 22nd April, day students do not need to attend school (except when they have an examination) but are, of course, welcome on campus to study, consult with teachers or use sports facilities in the afternoons. Although most boarders usually remain in school to study in this period leading up to their final exams, some may choose to travel home to study; we request that parents of D2 boarders let the boarding parent know if their child will be travelling home.

Formal written diploma examinations begin on Thursday, 2nd May. Different students have different schedules depending on the subjects they are studying, but all will complete exams by Tuesday, 21st May. Boarders will usually travel home after their exams are completed; if they do elect to remain in school, all usual school rules and expectations will apply. Parents can download the diploma exams schedule at www.uwcea.org/dipexams.

All parents of D2 students are invited to our Graduation Dinner at a restaurant in Moshi on the evening of Friday, 24th May. The Graduation Ceremony will be held at 2pm on Saturday, 25th May and will be followed by a reception in the Director’s garden. D2 graduates will normally leave school after this event, although a small number may be participating in the outdoor pursuits trip to Uhuru Peak the following week.

From August 2013, ISM will be offering Mandarin Chinese for beginners as a course within our IB Diploma programme. This will be an online Standard Level course that students may follow, guided by a tutor online. It will become a part of our increasing number of online courses available which also include Spanish for beginners, and Psychology. It is the second new subject that we have added this school year as we have also expanded our diploma courses to include Music SL.

Congratulations to Diana Matabwa, a student in D2, who has been awarded a full scholarship covering all tuition and living expenses for four years at Michigan State University in the USA. This scholarship is funded by the Mastercard Foundation. Diana has declined a similar scholarship and place at Arizona State (USA) and at McGill University (Canada).

The pratical exams of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) will be held in school in Moshi on Monday, 6th May for those students who have already registered.

Congratulations to those Moshi Campus students who took ABRSM Theory exams in February – all passed successfully.

Our CAS Drama club (M1 – D1 students) has been working on a one-act play of “Us & Them”. This will be performed next week on Wednesday 17 April at 7pm in a black box type theatre on Karibu Hall stage. As space is minimal we can only seat 60 people, the cast members will be handing out free tickets to those interested in attending. CAS Drama will run its last session this Thursday 3-4pm, students are welcome to change over to another creative CAS after that if they wish.

A trip to the United African Alliance Cultural Centre (UAACC) and a water de-fluoridation plant is planned for the 22nd, 23rd and the 24th of April for M3 students from both campuses. During this trip there is a focus on the Arts and the students will be involved in a variety of Music, Drama and Visual Arts related activities that link in with the Areas of Interaction “Community & Environment” and their Developmental Workbooks.

The unit question for this quarter in the Arts is “How can the arts change a community?” A range of arts related activities and workshops are planned for the three days as well as service activities that tie in with the CAS programme. Students will be staying in dormitories and take meals at UAACC. On the first day, Monday, we plan to visit the de-fluoridation project which serves to help the local community.

UAACC also includes a Children’s home for infants to adolescents. We encourage each child to bring a donation of clothing and/or a kilo of maize flour, sugar or rice to the home. This would be greatly appreciated and connects to their CAS requirement as a service activity. We look forward to the trip and we will return to ISM Moshi on Wednesday the 24th of April (expecting to be back at school between 2-2.30pm).

We are now receiving many applications to join the school in the new school year and some classes are already fully subscribed with a waiting list! If you know of ay families planning to enrol their children, please ask them to submit applications soon.

Fees invoices for the new school year are now being sent out – the due date for the first payment is 1st July.

If your children will be leaving ISM at the end of this school year, please let me know this as soon as possible by sending me an email. If you are uncertain, it is helpful to know that you are unsure and what the influencing factors may be. Please do not just assume that we are aware of this. Of course, I hope that nobody will need to write as we would much prefer to welcome your children back again next year!

Please note that Friday, 26th April is Union Day, and that Wednesday, 1st May is Workers’ Day. There will be no classes in school on these two public holidays.

With only a couple of months to go before the cold weather, we are planning to order some ISM Fleeces. All children’s sizes will cost TSh 40,000/- and adult sizes cost TSh 48,000/-. Orders with full payment need to be made to Anita in reception by this Thursday, April 18th. If you are not in Moshi, please send M-Pesa to 0767534766 and also send an email or text message to us to verify receipt – please add TSh 1,000/- for M-Pesa charges. Parents of day students can check out the samples in the main office.

The school has 8Gb USB memeory sticks available for sale at TSh 16,000/- each. These are available from reception.

We also have ISM swimming caps available for sale at TSh 10,000/- each. A “must buy” for the students representing ISM later this quarter in swimming! Please purchase these from Anita in reception.

“Internationalism” is central to all three IB programs and in a fundamental way to the DP. Attuned to the changes in today’s global environment particularly as it affects our students who will likely become Tanzania’s future leaders, ISM is pleased to share some news related to the growth of our course offerings. For the 2013-2014 academic year DP students may enroll in the Mandarin Chinese Ab Initio (Beginner) course on-line through Pamoja Education to fulfill their Group 2 (Language Acquisition) course requirements.

D2 students have completed their second to last week of lessons. After April 19th they will be on study leave until the IB DP exams commence on May 2nd. During this time D2 students who opt to remain on campus (traditionally most opt to do so) should use this period to tap into DP teachers’ knowledge by dropping in on DP teachers to seek extra help to supplement their own study prep. D2 students will receive this Univ. of Leicester exam prep web link as it sets out some keys to success on exams – www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/healthy-living-for-students/preparation-for-exams.

D2s held another planning meeting (and singing practice) associated with the upcoming Graduation Weekend. Reminder to D2 parents: the May 24th 6:30 P.M. Graduation Dinner for Graduates and their parents that will be held at AMEG lodge off Lema Road. Other family members may attend besides parents at a cost of Tsh 20,000 per person. The Saturday May 25th afternoon graduation will be open to all guests of graduates and thereafter there will be a reception with live music in the Director’s Garden.

The first week after the break saw a resumption of the serious academic work ethic among many D1 students – which is great to see! Stimulating in-class discussions and well-prepared homework assignments this week demonstrate that many D1 students grasp the critical need to keep abreast of their academic responsibilities. Plans have been finalized and D1 exams will start the week of May 13th. Meanwhile, D1 students continue progressing on their Extended Essay research and writing.

DP Theory of Knowledge (TOK) classes have finished for D2 students and D1s forge onward for another year with that tremendous eye-opening course – a core element of the IB Diploma. The varied responses in the media and in the corridors of ISM Moshi to the news of the recent death of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher demonstrate a key element of TOK – how ‘knowledge claims’ can differ greatly. Our D2s submitted for external marking their formal 1,200-1,600 word TOK essay – one of which (not unrelated to the above info on the “Iron Lady’s” death) was: ‘In what ways may disagreement aid the pursuit of knowledge in the natural and human sciences?’.

The intensity of DP academic work requires balance and a sharp thinking mind. The role of physical activity in boosting academic abilities is explored and confirmed in this article entitled, “How Exercise Could Lead to a Better Brain” at www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html. The link between exercise and memory is also highlighted in this article well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/04/10/how-exercise-may-boost-the-brain/.

As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns.
Sincerely,
Rick Fitzpatrick – (Diploma Coordinator)
rickf@uwcea.net

Our students have all returned full of enthusiasm and have had a very busy week. This term is going to be full of interesting events that will enable them to further develop their skills both academic and social.

M1 & M2 students are now well settled in the programme and have performed well – I would like to remind them of the need for being organized and prepared for the classes. These skills will help them improve performance.

M3: I would like to thank the parents of our M3 students for the prompt return of the form for their subject choices for the next academic year. If you have not returned the form yet, please do so as soon as possible as we are now looking at our time table for the next year.
Some clarifications about what you would expect in M4: So far the students have been doing all subjects: some integrated such as Sciences and Humanities. They have also been doing all the three languages we offer. This was to give them the possibility of making good choices for later. They have also been doing all the arts subjects but now they require only two arts subjects. In order to better prepare them for the MYP and later for the Diploma, the Sciences in M4 will be taught as separate subjects that is Biology, Chemistry and Physics. The Humanities will be Geography and History. The aim is to give them exposure to the particular traits of each of these subjects and enable them to make informed choices for the diploma at a later stage. As for the languages, we encourage all students to have a Language A (which could be Swahili and English). They could also do English B and Swahili A if they are not very fluent in English. However we do encourage the students to develop their language skills especially in English as this is the language of instruction of the school. All students should have a Language A and a Language B or they could do 2 language A in order to qualify for the MYP certificate at the end of M5. These changes will be challenging for some of our students but they will get all the support they need in order for them to cope.

M4: this term, I will carry out a Personal Project workshop for the students where they will be given further induction to this important activity. I will also have a meeting with the parents in order to explain what the personal project is all about and how they could be of assistance to their children. A letter will be sent at a later stage.

M5: this is another busy term for our M5 students. In one of my newsletters, I mentioned the “M5 work experience” and asked if any parents who felt that they could host one or two students in their company to come forward. I would like to thank Mrs Dawood who has been the only parent who responded to my request. This is not mandatory but any assistance would be highly appreciated. I will send a letter soon regarding this important event.

As we get busy for another interesting week, I leave you all with this quote:
“Self-discipline, high self esteem, self motivation and hard work are essential in order to succeed in life.” (Anonymous”

A great week to all!
Jaimala Quinlan (MYP Coordinator)

Welcome back! I trust everybody had an awesome break and managed to relax a little. The fourth quarter traditionally races by in a flash. The main highlight is the P6 Exhibition which premiers on Thursday 16th May at 6.30pm. On Friday the Easter Bunny dropped off some Easter eggs, a bit belated but it was because his Easter bunny car got stuck in the mud and he found it slow-going to hop here in his gumboots.

Afternoon Clubs
These start on Monday. Please remember that all children attending the Martial Arts Club need to pay TSh 20,000/- up front. We would like to thank the parents who have volunteered to help us to run clubs. We are looking into adding an African Drumming Club and will let you know when we have sorted out the details.

P6 Exhibition Parents Info Evening: This will be held in Room 6 (Mr Scott’s room) at 6.30pm on Wednesday 17th April. We encourage all P6 parents to attend as P6 students will be introducing their Exhibition topics and central ideas. Other parents are also welcome to attend to find out more about how the Exhibition works.

Early Childhood Preview

Unit of Inquiry
Central Idea: Light and sound are essential resources
Lines of Inquiry:

• The sources of light and sound
• How we use light and sound
• How light and sound are connected to us

Teacher questions:

• Where does light come from?
• How do we use light?
• Why is light important to living things?
• How do we use sound?
• Where does sound come from?
• Why is sound important to living things?

Last week we found out what the students already know about light. We made an investigation dark room where they used different light sources for hands on activities. Please check your child’s communication book for a note about what to bring to school on Monday. This week we will begin to answer the questions, ‘Where does light come from?’ and ‘How do we use light?’ We will look at pictures of light sources and use a thinking tool called “I see, I think, I wonder.” Children will sort pictures of light sources and non-light sources to show their understanding.

Literacy

• Writing about night/day pictures. What do you see at night? What do you do at night? What do you see during the day? What do you do during the day?
• EC1 – investigate the letter sound j. Please help your child to find something beginning with j to bring into school. We will make jelly and do jigsaws!
• EC2 – word building CVC and CCVC words with emphasis on the short vowel sound e
• Develop fine motor skills and letter formation for all children at their own level

Numeracy

• Continue with language of time; night, day, morning, afternoon, before, after.
• Capacity; EC1-developing an understanding of the vocabulary, full and empty.
• Capacity EC2- using direct comparison when measuring, saying which containers in the water tray hold the most and least and being able to recognize half full/empty

Other important information

• There will be swimming on Thursday until further notice. Please send swimming bags every Thursday. It would be very helpful if you could blow up your armbands/floaties in advance as this takes a very long time with so many children in the class.
• If there is a group working in our outside classroom area just before home time please wait outside the EC area until we have gone inside to say goodbye before coming through the gate. It can be a little chaotic at this time and we need to tidy up and say our goodbyes before the children go home. Many thanks for your understanding.

P1/2 Preview

The children worked hard in their first week back after the holidays, well done!
Swimming
Another reminder that we will keep swimming on the timetable and decide each Tuesday if it warm enough to swim. So please remember to bring swimming things on Tuesday!

Language focus for the week
Writing:
Recount of the weekend. Using the language of time. (First…Then I…Next I…Later…At the end). Using adjectives, (amazing, fantastic, wonderful, scary, huge…)
Continue to write sentence captions to match different types of land use. (Linked to UOI)
Handwriting: Patterns, writing numerals and a focus on the One Armed Robot family (rbnhmkp) Some children are joining letters together.

Phonics:
1. CVCs (middle vowels) Focus: in, it, id, ig, ick, ill, im and ip words.
2. Long vowel: ay as in play and ai as in rain.
3. Introduce Magic e words: a-e as in cake.

Maths focus for the week
Mental skills will focus on counting in 10s. Doubles, near doubles and counting on and back. Also saying 10 more/less and 1 more/less than any 2 digit number.
All children will learn about place value (hundreds, tens and units) and ordering numbers.
Group 1:
Know what each digit in a two digit number represents. Compare numbers and say which is more or less. Combine tens and ones to make two digit numbers. Partition two digit numbers into 10s and 1s. Say 1 more and 10 more than a number.
Group 2:
Know what each digit in a two and three digit number represents. Read, write and order numbers to 1000. Begin to understand multiplication as repeated addition and division as sharing. Use symbols to write calculations.

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.
We will continue to make a book about different types of land use.

Art – Leafy Prints

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

Timetable:
Monday
New reading books and homework packs including spellings issued.
Tuesday
Library (New books can be chosen if there are no overdue books)
Swimming (swimming costume, towel, flip flops, sun cream, swim aids such as arm bands if required)
Thursday
New reading books issued
Friday
PE
Spelling Test (Hand in yellow homework pack)

P3/4 Preview

We had a great start to the new term and the children have settled quickly into their learning programmes and routines.
This is what our learning in class will look like this week:
UOI – “Exploration”
Central Idea: People explore their world; their methods and reasons are constantly changing.
Lines of Inquiry: Who explorers are
        How people explore
        Why people explore
        Consequences of exploration
We will finish our inquiry into Christopher Columbus – who he was, how he explored, why he explored and the consequences of his exploration. The children will also work in groups to investigate the journeys of other famous explorers like Scott and Amundsen, James Cook etc… They will work together to produce posters of what they discover.

Writing – the difference between fact and opinion will remain our focus as we write some factual information about explorers.

Spelling Groups 1) CVC words -ug and -ub(e.g. hug, cub), 2) words ending in -ase (case), -eep (creep), -ain (pain), -ile (smile) 3) words ending in -ey as in donkey 4) words containing “wh” as in when and who. Language/grammar – past, present and future tense.

Cursive writing – Nelson script. Letters with exit flicks that are in the first set – a, c, d, e, h, i, k, l, m, n, t, u.

Maths – P3 Assessment on direction and coordinates. Time – half-hours and quarter hours (digital and analogue).
Tables 2x, 5x, 10x 11x 3x, 4x. Basic facts up to 10/20 (+ and -).
P4 Assessment on direction and coordinates. Decimals. Converting fractions to decimals.
Tables – 2x, 3x, 4 x, 5x, 6x, 10x , 11x, 12x . Basic facts up to 20 (+ and -).

REMINDERS:
Miss Catherine and her baby daughter are going to be visiting us on Wednesday 17 April. The children are welcome to bring a small gift if they would like to.
ISM book bags and caps are now available for sale in the office.
Every day:
Hats and polo shirts/t- shirts
Zip bags, home-school note books, reading books and reading
Logs
Healthy snack for break time

MONDAY
Homework – spelling, reading and maths and language sheets sent home.
P.E. – wear house t-shirts, shorts and trainers.
THURSDAY
Library – bring book bags and books
P.E. – bring swimming gear
FRIDAY
Spelling test
Homework – due in

Miss Jann

P5 Preview

We have hit the ground running this week, diving into Fractions and touring the school to do a “Recycling Health Check”. We have identified some problems which we are finding solutions for.

Homework
This past week Maths homework was put on Mathletics. Please let your child use the internet to complete their tasks.

Spelling
We’ll learn how to spell words to do with recycling on Monday. The spelling test will be on Friday.

Language and IT
The past week we worked in pairs or groups of three to plan a children’s book which will teach P1/2s about recycling. This will be in the style of ‘Michael Recycle’ which was read to the class as an example. We have started to write and illustrate our books during our IT periods. Each student is responsible for creating three pages of the book. This week we hope to complete our books and read them to the P1/2 Class.

Mathematics
After learning the Golden Rule of Fractions the past week, we were able to find equivalent fractions and simplify fractions. We will be learning how to compare fractions, find common denominators and do ‘of’ sums. Please ask your child to recite the Golden Rule to you.

Unit of Inquiry
We will continue to analyse our ‘Health Check’ of the school and conduct research to find solutions to the problems we identified. Students will draw up a letter to the head of campus outlying the areas that need attention and offering potential solutions. We are going to get paper-making frames made and will attempt to make our own paper from recycled paper.

Future Art Project
We shall be working in groups to make crazy hats out of recycled products. Please could you send in empty cereal boxes or other used items that can be used to make a crazy hat. This week we will stock up on recycled materials so that we can start the design process the following week.

P6 Preview

Hello P6 parents! I hope you all enjoyed a relaxing and rewarding Spring break with your children. It seems a long time since I last wrote to you before the camp to Lake Chala. That trip went extremely well and was thoroughly enjoyed by staff and children alike. We were lucky not to see much rain and also not to lose any children! I want to thank Jayanthi Ganesh in particular for giving up one day to come and teach the children yoga during our activity rotation at Lake Chala. Immediately after the camp I went to a workshop in Kuala Lumpur so sadly was not present for the student-led conference day.

This week has seen the students focusing almost exclusively on their exhibition projects. Next Wednesday evening you are invited to my classroom where the P6 students and I would like to inform you of our exhibition’s theme and their own paired inquiries which focus on different issues associated with that theme. It will also be an opportunity for you to better understand just how you can assist your child with this exciting and in-depth project.

UOI – Exhibition Unit
Central Idea: Seven billion people requires us to confront the threats to our health, environment and society.
The children will begin their first full week of research directed by myself and their appointed staff mentor. They will begin to think about people, places or organizations in the community which they could visit to conduct interviews or gather evidence on how their issue effects people in and around Moshi. It may be that you are asked by your children for support with such visits over the next two to three weeks.

Reading, Writing and Drama
Reading, writing, viewing and presentation skills will all be much used over the next few weeks as the children look for evidence and information to support their inquiry.

Maths
This last week we began to look at fractions and acquired methods to simplify fractions, recognize equivalent fractions and to add simple fractions and fractions with different denominators. Early next week we will concentrate on improper fractions and mixed numbers. Following that the children will learn how to order fractions according to size. Finally, before we begin to make connections with decimals and percentages they will learn to subtract and to multiply fractions.

P.E. – Swimming remains on Thursday and Karibu Hall based activities will provide the essence of Friday’s P.E. lesson.

Library – is on Tuesday. Please remind the children to bring back books for exchange/renewal.