Moshi Campus News – 19 Jan 2014

Semester 2 Sports begin on Monday January 20th. Students should already have signed up for their sports before the holiday break. Students will have 1 week to make any movements between teams, before the schedule is set for the semester (both Quarters 3-4 together).

We are looking forward to a full season ahead of new sports, practices, fitness, games and tournaments!

Go Leopards!

Music theory examinations set by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) will be held in school on Wednesday, 5th March. These exams are for any student who may be learning a musical instrument and wishes to obtain qualifications in music and range from beginners exams (grade 1) to a high level of music theory (grade 8). If you wish your child to register for these exams in March, please inform our music teacher, Susan Jacob [] by email immediately.

Welcome back to school and the start of 2014!
The M5s are currently focusing on finishing up their Personal Project this month, and we welcome you to join us for the Personal Project Exhibition, in Karibu Hall on Tuesday February 4th. The M5 class is very excited to show you their products, and discuss their process and reflection. It has been a big project for them over the school year and we encourage your support on Exhibition Day!
Regards,
Marika Farrell (MYP Coordinator)

We are very excited to be offering many OP trips this semester. The on-line registration was busy and we have many students signed up for trips. However, payments have NOT been made yet by most of the families. In order for us to plan and organize the upcoming trips, we need the numbers confirmed by having all payments completed.

Please be sure to speak with your son/daughter and ensure payment for ALL trips this semester is done by TUESDAY JANUARY 21st. If you have not paid by this time, you may lose the chance of participating, or trips may be cancelled altogether.

If you are interested in your son/daughter joining a trip, and have not yet completed the registration, please email me at , as some trips still have spaces available.
Usambara Mountains Trip: If your son/daughter will be going on the Usambara OP Trip (Level 2) from January 30th – February 2nd, he/she will need to attend the meeting on Tuesday January 21st at 10:15am in Room 19. Please help pass along this reminder.
The equipment list parent letter will be coming home on Tuesday. Please ensure that all equipment is of the proper material, and everything is brought in to show to Ms. Farrell and Mr. Foya on Tuesday January 28. It is very important that all students comply with the packing list.
If you have any questions regarding this trip, please email Ms. Farrell, as she is the Campus leader for this trip. ()

Thanks,
Isaac Foya (OP Coordinator)

MYP Technology will be going online this semester and located at https://goo.gl/ysHFtF this will allow better student collaboration but also importantly allow you to view and comment on your child’s progress.
To make this happen all MYP students will need to use a Google Drive account so they can manage access to their work. While there is no Tanzanian restriction, due to American law if your child is under 14 they cannot have their own Google account. So I would appreciate you talking with them about this and perhaps setting up a shared account with them. If you have any particular concerns about your child’s public profile or internet access, please contact me, Eric Barrows, on .

Every year students in P4, P5, P6, M1 and M3 take International Schools Assessment tests set by the Ausralian Council for Educational Research (ACER). We will be holding these tests in English and in Mathematics in February, but students in these classes will first take some practice (trial) tests in the week of 27th – 31st January. More details will be published next week.

D2 students started their mock examinations this week and will continue through till January 28th. The punctuality and determination of the class of 2014 is good to see. They realize how pivotal these exams for they know it is the only simulated practice exam session and it will be a key benchmark. D2 teachers meanwhile are preparing lessons, invigilating exams and marking exams. By mid-February exam results will be emailed to parents of D2 students.
D1s demonstrated real engagement and focus in their studies following their restful vacation. On this Monday D1 full-diploma students will receive a lengthy, detailed Extended Essay (EE) overview presentation. Some have started the process of considering possible topics in which they will write this 4,000-word independent and self-directed academic research project that should be completed by August 2014.
Some D2 students are involved in finalizing their university applications.
CAS activities are now up and running again for 2nd Semester. As a Diploma requirement it is essential that all our D1 & D2 students complete a Creative, Action (Sport) and a Service commitment every semester. All of our students are now signed up with a range of activities from running ballet sessions for the primary students, cycling adventures or learning how to ride, to teaching our local staff IT skills. We have always been very pleased with the positive attitude that ISM students have towards their CAS that takes place Monday to Thursday afternoons or, in some cases, on the weekend.
ISM’s Model United Nations Club has been busy with intensive debating skill practice along with international affairs research as they prepare for their participation in the late-February East African Model United Nations conference to be held in Nairobi.
A high number of ISM IB DP students appear not to be getting a full night’s sleep and this lifestyle choice appears to be highly problematic as noted in this article – www.nytimes.com/2014/01/12/opinion/sunday/goodnight-sleep-clean.html
A May 2013 ISM IB DP graduate wrote this week – “My first semester [at university] was great! Honestly, the IB has had a huge impact on my performance at university. I don’t think I would be able to handle university without having gone through IB. I am truly grateful for all the knowledge and help that you and all the teachers at ISM have given me. I heard about the D2s and how well they’re doing which makes us proud of knowing that ISM is still doing its best at making sure their students get an excellent education.”
The link between exercise and learning is well-known and clearly described in this article – www.nytimes.com/2012/04/22/magazine/how-exercise-could-lead-to-a-better-brain.html.
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick Diploma Programme Coordinator

We had an enjoyable first week back, getting to know the new students, celebrating a birthday and beginning to think about our new unit of inquiry. To all new parents and returning parents, please try to read the newsletter every week as it contains important information about what your child is doing at school and how you can help. I believe that partnership with parents is very important and children make better connections if they realize that there is a link between what they learn in school and what they do and talk about at home. The Primary years programme believes that “learning takes place best when it is connected to what is genuinely a component of the world around the students.” We aim to provide students with learning experiences that are relevant, engaging, challenging and significant and we would be very grateful for anything you can do to help inspire them too. Please encourage them to be curious, ask questions, explore and interact with their environment physically, socially and intellectually.
Unit of Inquiry Our central idea is, ‘All living things go through a process of change.’ Our Lines of inquiry are:

Identifying living things

Life cycles

How living things change over their life time

Developmental stages of various living things
Our teacher questions that will guide the inquiry are;

How do we know that something is living?

What is a life cycle?

How do living things change as they grow?

What are the developmental stages of living things?
The Primary years programme strives to develop internationally minded children and during this unit we will be looking for children who are caring, reflective and risk takers. We hope that they will become more curious and learn to cooperate better. This week we will look at the central idea and think about the important word “living”. In order to inquire into living things the children need a solid understanding of what living means. PLEASE SEND A TOY INTO SCHOOL WITH YOUR CHILD NEXT WEEK to help us inquire into living and non living things. We will sort living and non-living objects and hopefully start to plant seeds that we can watch grow.
Literacy Much of our oral language work will be talking about our central idea. Some children will be ready to write labels when we sort living and non-living. We will start growth journals and write/draw about what we see as things grow. Letterland – for the new parents we teach our letter sounds using a scheme called Letterland. Some information about Letterland came home in the folder this week. We try to introduce at least 2 new letters a week. This week we will find out about v made by the character Vicky Violet and x made by Fix it Max. For those children that know all their sounds we will be word building, attempting CVC words as well as encouraging children to write independently using the sounds they hear in words. For the younger children we introduce the letterland character and its sound, tell stories about letterland and sometimes focus our art work on the letter of the week.
Numeracy We will begin work on measurement this week. I will measure the children’s height now and at the end of the unit to see how we grow and change. We will also measuring objects in the class as well as learn the vocabulary of measurement; longest, shortest, tallest, etc. I am also assessing the new children’s number ability so that I can group the class accordingly. Number work continues throughout each and every day at the individual child’s level.
Other things to remember

Please return library books every Tuesday and Friday (for new parents the timetable is on the inside of your blue contact book)

Swimming is every Monday. Please send a swimming bag with towel, swimsuit, floaties/armbands (already blown up if possible please), suncream if you wish us to apply it and crocs or flipflops to wear to the pool

PE is on Friday and children should wear appropriate PE shoes, shorts and their House T-shirt.

Every child should have a hat and spare set of clothes and shoes at school.
Many thanks and please do not hesitate to see me if you have any questions. Enjoy your weekend Annalee

PE and Swimming Just a reminder, PE is on Mondays. We will begin a new unit on gymnastics this quarter. Swimming is on Tuesdays.
New Unit of Inquiry: Everything has a Place Theme – How we organise ourselves Central Idea – People live and work together in communities. Lines of Inquiry: 1. Organisation of communities 2. Roles and responsibilities 3. Similarities and differences between communities We will begin this unit pulling apart the central idea and discuss what a community is.
Language focus for the week Write a recount of the weekend. Children will be encouraged to use the language of time. (First, Next, Then, After that, The next day…) Sentence and word level work will also focus on descriptive language. Write a simple story with a familiar setting. Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and One Armed Robot Family (bhkpmnr) Phonics – Group 1: Words beginning with br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr. Group 2: a-e as in cake, revise ai as in rain and ay as in play.
Maths focus for the week Mental skills will focus on counting in 2s, 5s and 10s. Quick recall of addition facts of 5, 6, 10 and 20. All children will learn about place value (tens and units) and ordering numbers.
Art We will describe and paint in the style of Tinga Tinga.
What to bring to school: Every day: A hat for playtime, a healthy snack, water bottle and reading folder. Timetable: Monday

New reading books and spelling lists will be issued.

PE (wear your house T shirt and shorts for gymnastics) Tuesday

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 had a nice start to the new term last week. We welcomed Mateo and Jesmin and they are a wonderful addition to our fantastic class. Immanuel will be with us for a few more days this week while his family is considering a move to Moshi later in the year.
We will introduce our new Unit, Simple Machines, with two experiments. Our Central Idea: We use simple machines to make work easier.
Language – Students will learn how to properly record the facts about an experiment using the Scientific Method. We will also read non-fiction texts looking for information. The spelling chunk of the week is -ice.
Math – We will wrap up on fractions this week and begin to study measurement. This focus will support our assignments that involve recording data from experiments.
Our schedule is back to normal this week: Monday: Library, please bring your books and bag. Homework sent home. Wednesday: PE, remember to wear your sneakers and a hat and bring your water bottle. Thursday: Swimming, bring your suit and a towel. Reading books swapped out, bring your Reading Log as well. Friday: Spelling test and return completed homework.

The first week got off to a very smooth start. We welcomed Mandi, a new P4 girl to our class, as well as Miss Maggie, a volunteer teacher, who will be spending some time in our room over the next 6 months.
This is what our learning in class will look like this week: UOI Unit 4 – Where We Are in Place and Time – Biomes Central Idea – There are a wide variety of environments on our planet made up of living and non-living elements. Lines of inquiry – Types of biomes         Location of different biomes         Interactions of living and non-living things         Human responsibility to share resources with other living things         Preservation of natural environments We will start inquiring into one specific Biome (the rain forest) in terms of its location and what it is like.
Maths – Miss Jann’s Group – We will finish off learning about improper fractions and mixed numbers. We will learn how to find fractions of a group and solve story problems involving fractions. We will start to learn how to add fractions. Miss Debbie’s Group – identifying fractions. Finding a fraction of a group. Halves and doubles.
Language – Factual writing about the rain forest Completing our anthologies from last term Spelling – group 1 words that end in -eous or us e.g. hideous, cactus group 2 – magic -ed as an ending e.g. fad- fade- faded (the vowel changes from saying its sound to saying its name) group 3 – Consonant blends spl, squ, str e.g. splash, square, straw
Reminders Every day: School t-shirts or polo shirts, zip bags (reading book, reading log, spelling book all need to come to school each day), a healthy snack for break time. Monday: Whole school assembly Homework handed out – spelling, reading, Maths, language Wednesday: P.E. Please wear house/school t-shirt and shorts or tights (no jeans, skirts or dresses). No need for trainers, as we will be barefoot in the hall for gymnastics. Thursday: Library. Please remember library bags and any books that are due back for return/renewal. Friday: Hand in homework Spelling test Swimming – please remember costumes, towels and sunscreen and goggles if your child uses them. Class Camp – our annual class camp is scheduled to take place towards the end of February. More information will follow shortly.
Looking forward to a great week together. Miss Jann

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