Moshi Campus News – 9 Dec 2013

The whole primary school and about 50 secondary students are now in the final preparation stages for our musical, I’d Do Anything For You based on Oliver. With rehearsals today, the final dress rehearsal is on Tuesday at 6:30pm (with lights and costumes) – EC will not be needed for the Tuesday rehearsal, all others will be needed. Performances are on
Wednesday 11th December at 7pm
Thursday 12th December at 7pm
in Karibu Hall. Tickets cost TSh 10,000/- for adults and TSh 2,000/- for students – these are available in reception but seats are limited, so please buy in advance. Extra ickets will only be sold at the door if seats are available.

Ever year our D1 students are challenged to build and race a raft along the school swimming pool – this is an exercise in team work and creativity. This year’s raft race will be on Tuesday morning at 9:15am at the swimming pool.

Congratulations to all sports teams who competed during the Sports Weekend. Some statistics from the weekend were as follows:

• Total students participating: 700
• Total visitors accommodated in school: 527
• Number of schools taking part: 12
• Number of different competitions: 15
• Number of medals won by ISM: 9 (2nd place)
• School winning most medals: Orkeeswa

The primary aquathlon on 30th November was a huge success as the children competed in their age groups in a swim – run – swim event. Many children ran all the way down to Karibu Hall and back for a final swim in the pool. Thank you to Ms Jann and Ms Annalee for organising this now traditional event!

Congratulations to all who took part in the Horse Show at the stables on 28th and 29th November and especially to the following:
Primary
Champion: Sil
Reserve: Aiden
Sportsman Award: Jonah
Secondary
Champion: Kimali
Reserve: Milou
Sportsman Award: Isaac M

Reports for all students will be issued on Thursday, 19th December. EC-D1 students will receive full semester reports; students in D2 will receive interim reports and will get full reports in March.
If you wish to receive a digital copy of your child’s report, please email Totty Aris on . Soft copies will be emailed out on 20th December.

There are some students for whom the fees for quarter two have not yet been fully paid – I am sorry that we cannot issue reports to students in this situation.
As usual, we will be holding parent-teacher conferences for parents of secondary students in Karibu Hall on Friday, 20th December from 10:35am to 12 noon. This is a ideal opportunity for parents to meet their child’s teachers and discuss any questions or issues with them. We ook forward to seeing you.

On Friday, 20th December, there will be a school assembly from 9:15am to 10:15am. We hope to see many parents at the assembly. Students are free to leave school from 10:15am. If you are booking flights for your child on 20th December, please do so very soon as flights are filling up for that day. Boarders need to return on 14th January, so why not book the return flight at the same time? Please send flight details to Rosemary Bango on as soon as possible.

The primary clubs letter will go home this week. Thank you to the parents who helped out in Q2 and the ones that have committed to the Q3 club programme. We will do our best to ensure that students get 2 or 3 clubs in the week. Please complete the child’s first choice and back-up choice on the form and return by this Thursday, 12th December. Your child’s final programme will come home with his/her report on Thursday 19th December.

Online sign-ups for secondary sports in semester two will take place this week from Wednesday. The link for sign-up will be posted in school on Tuesday. Sign-ups will take place using Google Drive. Once a student has signed up for a sport, they are making the commitment to participate fully for the whole semester (D2s for quarter 3 only); students will not normally be permitted to drop out of sports after they have committed themselves.

ACT tests (used for admission to US universities) are taking place in school on Saturday, 14th December. D2 students have already registered for these tests. The next ACT and SAT tests in Moshi are in June and will be for our D1 students.

Over the last month our Arusha Campus has been selecting able Tanzanian students to join ISM Arusha Campus on full scholarships to participate in the Middle Years Programme. We are happy to announce that our successful scholarship entrants are Mariam Issa Said (M4), Nice Jacob Mawala (M4), Dereck Amos (M3) and Francis Bradburn Gilbert (M2). They were chosen from amongst 120 applicants and will join ISMAc in January.

Two weeks ago, Brown Owl, Snowy Owl and Tawny Owl (the Brownie Girl Guide leaders) took 22 girls on a camping trip so they could gain their camping badge. We did lots of fun activities, which included supervising the brownies whilst they cooked and served their own dinner, making an animal out of leaves for the craft activity and playing new games. The girls even did their own washing up! We sang lots of campfire songs and had our campfire built by Mr. Applegate who also told us about fire safety whilst we happily toasted marshmallows. The girls also put their own tents up with the much appreciated help from some middle school boys.
In the morning, the girls cooked breakfast, and played more games and sang more songs. As the camping trip came to an end, 22 very tired girls put their tents down successfully and went home for I’m guessing a good sleep! We had lots of fun, and as Snowy Owl, I was super impressed with their behaviour, manners and enthusiasm. Very proud leader indeed!
Many thanks to Doris’s family for loaning us their amazing tepee for our meeting tent during the camping trip. They all helped to put it up before the event and arrived early the next morning to take it down. What a team!

M3 English take their ‘Teenage Matters’ unit outside for some role-plays.

We are in the process of organising another ISM fleece order to be ready in plenty of time for next winter. The fleeces are suitable for OP trips as well as keeping you warm in the winter and have a beautiful orange design against a black background. If you would like to purchase a fleece we are taking orders and payment in advance.

Adult Sizes (Small, Medium, Large, XL) cost 48,000/-;
Children’s sizes (6-7, 7-8, 9-11, 12-13, 14-15) are 40,000/-. Please place your order with Anita in the main office.

Last week in our Primary Gathering P1/2 sang the Continents song and as usual we celebrated birthdays and students received leaves for outstanding attitudes and learner profile attributes. In addition I showed them a fun, yet inspiring video about things we should all think about and say, you may like to watch this with your child. www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11785/20-things-we-should-say-more-often.html

The M5 students have completed their personal project products and their attention has turned to writing a written report documenting their personal project process, research, and findings. This comprehensive written report is an ambitious task, whilst the M5 students are working diligently. In an effort to “chunk” this task ISM’s ELA teacher, Ingrid Chavez, has been facilitating a report writing workshop for all M5 students on Thursday afternoons. During this interactive workshop, students become authors and editors as they write their reports “chunk-by-chunk” and provide feedback through peer-review. The M5s are to be commended for their work and we look forward to viewing their final reports in February.

Marking assessments and calculating the semester grades for all DP teachers has been a focus of our work this week. Meanwhile, D2 students have continued with their Theory of Knowledge presentations, English Language and Literature mock oral exams and a variety of other tests.
D1 students have also been deeply involved in preparing and taking tests and quizzes. The intense pressure/stress that DP students feel remains a solid preparation for the real world but it can take a toll on them. Frequent parental contact, regular (five days a week) exercise, 8-hours of sleep and a balanced diet with large quantities of water consumed daily all help DP students succeed.
A quick look at the great work happening in Biology with Mama Nkya gives you a sense of the curriculum. D1 Biology students have been exploring new topics in Biology that they had not studied before and have found the work quite challenging. In the first quarter they studied the ultra-structure of cells as seen under an electron microscope and were surprised to find out how intricate, unique and organized the little organelles inside the cells are. In the second quarter they have followed on with the study of bio-chemicals in cells including carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids. Practical work has been an integral part of the course and students have been learning and practicing the skills necessary for internal assessment in sciences. D2 have spent a good part of the semester on Genetics and Genetic Engineering and more recently on Evolution. These topics have generated interesting discussions to do with ethical issues ranging from genetic disorders, use of stem cells for cloning, genetically modified organisms and many other issues. The topics have also provided a good opportunity to bring ToK into the Biology class. On this Biology note here is an amazing article – www.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/opinion/the-secrets-inside-us.html.
The January 2014 D2 mock exam schedule will be disseminated imminently and D2s should continue their review work in advance of these important exams. D1 and D2 students should pause, relax and enjoy the upcoming 3-week break. However, parents are strongly encouraged to have students apply themselves and use the bulk of the holiday to revise and prepare. A top D1 student approached me and solicited an outline of upcoming readings in DP History as she planned to use her vacation to get ahead on upcoming syllabus topics. This type of approach should be emulated. The internal motivation aspect of the IB full diploma student is critical for success as the intensity of the academic demands are formidable. Parents may also during the break wish to assess where your child sits in this regard and take steps to encourage students to forge onward on this challenging IB DP journey.
Some DP teachers from our faculty attended the fantastic professional development program offered this weekend at the ISM Arusha campus.
We hope you have booked reservations to join us on Friday, December 20th for a whole-school assembly at 9:15 am followed by the parent-teacher meetings at 10:30am. I cannot overstate how essential it is that you as the parents dialogue with our DP educators/boarding team.
In the spirit of internationalism that surrounds herewith are four articles that in one way or another link to our educational program in the ISM DP. https://edition.cnn.com/2013/12/03/opinion/education-rankings-commentary-schleicher/ – Opinion: What Asian schools can teach the rest of the world https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/04/why-a-brisk-walk-is-better/ – Why a Brisk Walk Is Better www.people-press.org/2013/12/03/public-sees-u-s-power-declining-as-support-for-global-engagement-slips/ www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/magazine/a-lost-boy-grows-up.html
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick Diploma Programme Coordinator

Unit of Inquiry Last week we inquired using our sense of touch. The children explored a variety of materials with their hands and feet and thought about words to describe how they felt. They sorted materials into hard, soft, bumpy, smooth and rough. For an art project the children made feely pictures which we will display outside the classroom for people to touch and enjoy the different textures.
Learning engagements next week to allow inquiry into touch will include

• Feely bag games
• Finger painting activities
• Hot/cold activities
• Trays available with a variety of textures to feel; jelly, foam, lentils, shredded paper, cooked pasta
• Chocolate pudding to make, feel and eat!
• Seal lock bags filled with different textures to feel; toothpaste, rice, sand, lotion, sugar

Oliver – The Musical It will be a very busy week with the play coming up. Rehearsals and Performance Details: Monday 9th December 9.30-10.30am. Then again 2-4pm. Tuesday 10th December FINAL dress rehearsal: Be at school for 6.15pm. PERFORMANCES Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th evening. Be at school for 6.15pm.
Unit of Inquiry – Going Places Central Idea: People move around the world for different reasons. We will continue to discuss short and longer journeys. We will talk about different modes of transport. We will talk about places we have lived in and visited on holiday.
Art We will continue our theme on rubbings. We will begin to look at Tinga Tinga paintings.
Language focus for the week Write a recount of your weekend. Some children will be encouraged to use the language of time. (First, Next, Then, After that, The next day…) Describing words Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and One Armed Robot Letters (bhkprnm) Contractions – I am = I’m, you are = you’re Phonics: Group 1 – Learn about consonant blends (sl, gl, pl) Group 2 -ew as in screw.
Maths focus for the week Mental skills will include counting on and back. From any number. Fast recall of addition and subtraction facts – 6, 7, 10 and 20. Count in 2s, 5s and 10s. Fast recall of doubles. We will continue data handling and create some simple tables and graphs. Children will also learn about time. They will begin to read o’clock. Some children will read time to the half an hour on clocks.
What to bring to school: Everyday: A hat for playtime, a healthy snack, water bottle and reading folder.
Timetable: Monday

PUBLIC HOLIDAY – no classes – there are play rehearsals Tuesday

New spellings and homework pack issued.

New reading books issued

Swimming (swimming costume, towel, flip flops/crocs, swim aids such as floaters if necessary. Goggles and sun cream are optional.) Thursday

Library (Bring library books in your special library bag to return and then choose new ones)

New class reading books will be issued. Friday

Spelling Test

We certainly have an exciting week ahead! There are no classes on Monday but don’t forget that we have musical rehearsal on Monday afternoon. We would like for ALL primary students to arrive by 1:45 and again on Tuesday evening at 6:30 for the final rehearsal. Come and see your children sing on Wednesday and/or Thursday night. The musical will begin at 7:00 but all children are expected to arrive at 6:15. If you would like to take your child home after the P2/3 performance, you are allowed but please let me know so I can help you to noiselessly find you child and exit without disturbing others. Due to the short week and the long nights, our homework this week will be light.
Unit of Inquiry – Central Idea: Images and ideas from our imagination can be expressed in many ways. We will enjoy exploring Dance this week as a means of expressing an idea. We will make flip books while discussing how cartoons are made. Students will explain the hybrid creatures they made last week out of clay. We will act out some fairy tales in small groups.
Maths – Both groups will begin a study of fractions this week. P2 did very well with using the ‘Counting On’ strategy for subtracting double digit numbers. Students will be quizzed on the proper spelling on number words this week. (i.e. one, thirteen, forty-five, etc)
Language – During our Imagine story writing, children will be taught to storyboard their stories before beginning to write. This will give them the skill of thinking through their story before they begin rather than the free-flow style that their writing follows now. We will continue our study of contractions.
The Spelling chunk of the week is -unk.
Our Timetable: Tuesday: Library books may be exchanged. Homework folders will be sent home. Dress Rehearsal at 6:30. Wednesday: PE, remember to wear your sneakers and a hat and bring your water bottle. Musical begins at 7, students need to arrive at 6:15. Thursday: Swimming, bring your suit and a towel. Musical begins at 7, students need to arrive at 6:15. Thursday: Reading books swapped out, bring your Reading Log as well Friday: Spelling test and return completed homework

Well done to all the students who competed in the Primary Aquathlon last weekend.
A reminder that there will be no afternoon clubs for the rest of this term, because of the “Oliver” Production. There is no school on Monday as it is a public holiday, but there will be a rehearsal on Monday afternoon from 2.00pm – 3.00pm. If you have not already done so, please send the pyjamas your child will be wearing in “Oliver” to school in a bag with their name on it by Tuesday at the latest.
This is what our learning in class will look like this week: UOI Unit 3 – How we Express Ourselves – “Setting the Stage”. Central Idea – The arts are an avenue for creative expression. Lines of inquiry – Aspects of the arts         Creative expression through the arts         The role of art in society So far in this unit, the children have made collage papers which we used to create collage pictures after the style of Eric Carle. We have also been trying to introduce the children to a range of activities, which they attempted to classify under the 4 different disciplines of visual art, music, dance and drama. Miss Louise gave us some excellent instruction and we had a lot of fun learning some different dance styles and we have been viewing some interesting video clips of the performing arts and discussing what the artists are trying to express and convey. On Wednesday we will be going on a class trip to the Culture and Heritage Centre in Arusha, where we will be able to view a range of visual art. In IT we will continue creating power points on an aspect of the arts and in English we will be expressing ourselves through different types of writing. Of course the school production of “Oliver” will tie in beautifully with drama, music, dance and art, as we have on-going practices and rehearsals and then the two shows.
Maths – Miss Jann’s Group Understanding and recognising fractions. Miss Debbie’s Group Fractions
Language Poetry – Cinquains. Narrative writing. Similes and metaphors Reading comprehension using a play. Spelling – group 1 “o” as in one and “o” as in who e.g once, whose group 2 -ear that sounds like “air” e.g. bear, pear group 3 consonant blends sw, tw and cr e.g. swing, twig, crab
REMINDERS Every day: School T-shirts hats, zip bags (reading book, reading log, spelling book). A healthy snack. Collection – Thank you for all the donations so far. Please continue to send plastic bottle tops (any colour) and polystyrene trays to school for an art project that I have in mind. Monday: No Classes No homework this week, except for spelling and reading because of the public holiday and the Oliver Production. Oliver rehearsal in Karibu Hall. 2.00 – 3.00pm Tuesday: Dress rehearsal for “Oliver” – 6.30pm. Please arrive by 6:15pm Wednesday: Class trip to The Cultural Heritage Centre in Arusha. If you have not already done so, please return consent forms by Tuesday 10 December at the latest. Please be at school by 7.15am, as we plan to leave at 7.30am. We should be back by 1.30pm. Please send a morning snack and drink and a packed lunch. All children are to wear ISM T-shirts. Oliver Production Thursday: Library. Please remember library bags and books that are due back for return/renewal. Times tables test. Oliver Production Friday: Spelling test Swimming – remember towel, costume, goggles (if you use them), sun screen.
Looking forward to another great week together, Miss Jann

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