Moshi Campus News – 23 Nov 2014

We are now getting prepared for our major secondary Sports Weekend which will take place from Friday to Sunday, 28th to 30th November. During this weekend we will be hosting about 500 visiting students in the school and enjoying a range of sports including football, swimming, softball, ultimate frisbee, netball, rugby, basketball, volleyball and tennis. The schools visiting this year are ISM Arusha Campus, Braeburn Arusha, St Constantine’s Arusha, IST, Morogoro International School, Haven of Peace Academy, Orkeeswa School, and Isamilo Mwanza.
Events start at lunch time on Friday and continue well into Friday night. With a 7am start on both Saturday and Sunday mornings, the weekend is packed with events. The draft schedule is attached to this newsletter, although this may be subject to change. Parents and friends are very welcome to join us for some or all of the evets and to support our students.
With so many students sleeping in classrooms over the weekend, there will be additional security measures in place. The north and south gate entrances to the school will be closed and all entry/exit from the campus will be via the main gate. Boarders who are remaining on campus will not be allowed to sign out for town visits during this weekend.
On Saturday, 29th November from 9am to 2pm. the CAS Christmas Fair will also be held on campus as a part of the weekend’s events – see below. This will be an excellent opportunity for you to buy those much-needed Christmas presents!

A reminder that this year’s annual Christmas Craft Fair at ISM is scheduled for Saturday, 29th November 2014 between 9am and 2pm. We warmly welcome individuals and groups who would like to sell their crafts and products. Tables can be purchased for TSh 25,000/-. All money raised will go towards ISM’s many community service projects. Karibuni!

We look forward to seeing many parents at the PA Annual General Meeting which will be held at AMEG Lodge on Tuesday, 25th November at 6pm. The meeting is an opportunity for all parents of students on the Moshi Campus to hear from the Director on the current state of the School and our plans for the future, to learn what the Parents’ Association has achieved over the year, and to contribute your views in discussion. We very much hope that many parents will be able to attend.
Also on the agenda will be the election of two new committee members to replace those who will be standing down.

On Wednesday, 26th November, all our M4 and M5 students will travel to the UN International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) in Arusha. Whilst there, they will learn about the work of the tribunal over its history and will engage in discussion with the Prosecutor and with a witness.

Funny Money by Ray Cooney
Can you imagine what you would happen if you were to bump into some huge amount of money that you had never imagined of in your life? A range of options, isn’t it? You would be excused for funny mannerisms towards the sudden fortune. And you are not alone. Henry A. Perkins, a middle aged clerk is travelling back home in an underground train when he accidentally picks up the wrong briefcase one full of money. (Or is it that someone accidentally picked his and left this?) Henry assumes it is illicit cash and he decides to keep it. Knowing that the former owner must have his briefcase, he rushes home to book one way fares to Barcelona. He tells his confused wife to leave everything behind; if she doesn’t like Barcelona, they can go to Bali. In fact, they can buy Bali! The doorbell rings as they wait for their taxi. The police detective at the door thinks Henry was soliciting in the men’s room of the local pub actually, he was sitting in the loo counting the cash. The bell rings again. Another detective arrives thinking Henry is dead; a man with bullet holes in his head and Henry’s briefcase were found in the Thames. Henry’s inept attempts to extricate himself from this impossible situation lead to increasingly hysterical situations. This is the farce that will be our school play this year: Funny Money by Ray Cooney.

You are all invited to join us for this farce on 11th and 12th December.

Most ISM DP students are gearing up for a wonderful action-packed several days next weekend with Sports Weekend. Make a quick trip to ISM and come see your son or daughter competing with teams from all around Tanzania in next weekend (from Friday afternoon Nov 28th to Sunday afternoon Nov 30th).
D1 full diploma students have another critical benchmark to meet as we approach grade report time for the second quarter of the 2014-2015 school year. As per the ISM Diploma retention policy, “At the end of the second quarter, all full diploma students will be expected to have a minimum of 22 points (obtained by adding the reported achievement grades from their six subjects excluding ToK and EE). Any student achieving fewer than 22 points at this stage (or achieving fewer than 11 HL points) will be required to undertake a reduced programme with either fewer subjects or with fewer higher levels in consultation with the Diploma Programme Coordinator. Students with 22 to 24 points (or will 11 or 12 HL points) will be warned that they may need to reduce their programme of study if they do not receive more than 23 points (and more than 11 HL points) in the end of year D1 examinations.”
The seven school days of D2 mock exams will start on January 16th, that is the Friday after the holiday break. These will continue until Monday, January 26th. It is imperative that all DP students return on time and are present on the first day of classes on Wednesday January 14th.
D1 students recently received a basic overview of the Extended Essay, a requirement of the ISM full diploma program, and a full presentation of this will take place in early March. It would be smart for parents to dialogue with their son or daughter during the school holiday about what subject areas and topics would be of particular interest for them. This 4,000-word research paper will be a major endeavor that D1 students.
D2 students recently received an e-link to their ‘D2 Deadlines’ document and this upcoming week (like most at this time of year) these assignments are due: November 23th – English Lit HL Written Assignment (Draft), November 28th – French B SL/HL Written Assignment (Draft) and the Math SL Exploration (Draft) as well as the Economics Commentary 2 (Final). D2 parents would do a great service for their children by asking their son/daughter for a copy of the D2 deadlines sheet and following with them the series of deadlines.
Given the rigors of their academic work, a balanced lifestyle with good personal habits is essential. Regular exercise (not just once or twice a week for their CAS activity!) along with healthy eating habits, the consumption of copious amounts of water and eight hours of sleep each night are critical aspects of the life of a successful IB DP student. Remind your son or daughter about these please.
It is pleasing to learn that many DP parents are planning on making the journey to campus for the Wednesday Dec 17th parent-teacher consultations. Remember in planning for the December break to NOT remove DP students early. At 8am that morning of Dec 17th we will have the traditional and tremendously fun D1 raft race in the ISM pool that you will not want to miss if you will be around.
ISM is an IB World School and one can learn more about the IB at www.ibo.org.
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick – DP Coordinator

Unit of Inquiry Last week the children enjoyed a collaborative experience with the P5/6 students when they went on an ISM safari to look for birds and animals that live on our campus. It was a wonderful and rich experience for both classes. (see photographs accompanying this newsletter) Many thanks to Ms Kate and P5/6 for organizing this experience for our youngest students.
This week we will be inquiring into farm animals and the roles and responsibilities of a farmer. We will read both fiction and non-fiction books about farm animals and make some comparisons with wild animals.
Literacy The children are enjoying role play in our class vet’s surgery. They can act out the roles of vet, nurse, receptionist and customer. This role play also enables the children to write for real purposes such as writing customers names in the appointment book or filling out a health card. When children write for a purpose and know who the audience is they get more of a sense of what writing is for and why it is important. You can model write for your child at home and show them why you write, such as making a shopping list or a ‘to do’ list or even typing an email. Remember to always model write using lower case letters not capitals. If you have any of the following to make the experience of role play in the Vet’s surgery more meaningful please send them into school;

• Bandages
• Pet carriers
• Small blankets
• Any Soft toy animals
• Brushes
• Water bowls
• Collars and leads

Information for Parents Just a reminder that we are hoping to see you all at the Sharing Assembly on Monday. We will meet at 7:40 or so in Karibu Hall. Our class will be singing a song and sharing a little of what we have learned in our Homes unit.
I believe that last week I had the wrong date for the school drama performance. It will be on December 15th at 6:30 pm. Our class will be performing a German Christmas song. To make it look a little more German, I would like the children to dress in a winter hat, scarf, and mittens. Of course, those items are a little diffi-cult to come by here, but if you have any of those items please send them in. Thanks for your help.
The pictures shown here are from our trip to the boarding house for Kiswahili class. The children were on a hunt for different items, and they were labeling them in Kiswahili.
Literacy Focus for the Week We will of course continue to read in our reading groups this week. Thank you for continuing to read with your child every day at home. P1 children will work on letter sounds this week, and P2 children will work on “sc” and “sk” words.
Maths Focus for the Week In Maths we will focus recognizing and constructing patterns. We will extend it this week to number patterns.
Unit of Inquiry Thanks have sending in your child’s favorite book. The children are very excited, and we are having fun looking at the variety of books that have been sent in. This week we will be focusing on characters. We will be reading traditional fairy tales, and then we will focus on looking at the story from the perspective of the different characters in the story.
What to Bring to School: Children need a hat for playtime and a healthful snack every day.
Timetable Monday: Library (we will choose new books) Wednesday: PE (wear PE shoes and a house T shirt) Thursday:Swimming (please send swimwear)

In English last week the children have been reading and following instructions. They have recognised lots of bossy verbs and precise, clear language. In Maths they have used pictures and physical objects to aid their understanding of multiplication and division, and how the two operations are related. Some of the children have used 3 digit numbers in their workings.
Our new unit is on the theme of “How the world works”, with the central idea: “Understanding the way materials behave and interact, determines how people use them”. The children have been tuning in their thoughts on materials, describing qualities and known uses.
Language Focus for This Week: Instructional language. We will be following instructions to get from one place to another, and making our own instructions, using maps and diagrams.
Maths Focus for This Week: Problem solving that will involve multiplication and division.
Unit of Inquiry: Properties of materials. Getting to grips with the language used to describe scientific material properties, and testing material properties out using simple experiments.
Please Remember that: Monday: PE and homework folders sent home. Thursday: Swimming and library day. Friday: All homework folders to be handed in. Spelling test day.

Information for Parents Students began the week by watching our public service announcements. Everyone enjoyed seeing themselves on the big screen! We have been tuning into our unit on poetry and songs. The central idea is: We can connect to others and express our thoughts and feelings through poetry and songs. Students have enjoyed reading a “poem of the day” and listening to some music to see how it affects us. We are also looking forward to performing our reader’s theater in the school assembly on Monday. We hope you can be there to see what we have been learning about.
Language focus for the week We continue our study of figurative language through learning about personification and onomatopoeia. The students did very well with learning their vocabulary words last week, focusing on the prefix pre-. Next week we will study words that begin with post-. Most students are finishing their chapter books for reading groups this week and will have some homework that goes along with it. We will also look at how to preview books to see if they are something that we want to read.
Maths focus for the week We are going to take a beak from our measurement unit to review division strategies since many of the children are having a difficult time with this skill. We will practise measuring and converting length to various units towards the end of the week.
Unit of Inquiry Next week we will begin finding out more about poetry by watching some video interviews with famous children’s literature poets. We will listen to some of the poems and begin to discuss what we think they are trying to tell us. Students will listen to some music and draw pictures that show how the music makes them feel, or what images the music creates for us.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Tuesday: PE (Wear PE shoes and house shirt) Thursday: Swimming (bring swimming kit) Library (bring books)

Last week the students have been excitedly carrying out actions at home and at school. In the PYP it is believed that education must extend beyond the intellectual to include not only socially responsible attitudes, but also thoughtful and appropriate action. This does not need to be on a grand scale. Successful inquiry should lead to the students wishing to make a difference to their environment or community. Currently they are keen on picking up litter as they have learned about how beautiful and unique the Earth is in our previous unit.
A highlight of our week was assisting the Early Childhood students with their unit about animals. They showed maturity and responsibility as they each lead one or two 3-5 year olds around the school campus for their ISM Safari. They observed and identified the animals such as ants, beetles, horses, monkeys, birds etc. The EC pupils drew a picture of each animal and the P5/6 students wrote down their names. They also asked the younger ones questions such as, what is it called? What noise does it make? How many legs does it have? Who is responsible for it? I was impressed with how caring and nurturing they were towards our youngest pupils.
The P5/6 students have also been ‘tuning in’ to the new unit through a series of stimulating thinking routines, such as Think, Puzzle, Explore and Topic, Word, Phrase, Problem. Parents who wish to learn more about thinking routines may want to take a look at this film: https://vimeo.com/108000553.
Unit of Inquiry: Transdisciplinary Theme: How we organise ourselves Central Idea: Systems of exchange serve the needs of the community
Maths focus: Solving money problems | understanding currencies
English focus: Layout and structure of formal and informal letters
Monday: Primary Assembly | Homework will be set for the week | Library session Wednesday: Swimming session (please bring swimming costume, towel, flip flops and goggles) Friday: Homework due in | sport lesson
What to bring everyday: Please bring a bottle of water to keep on the desk. A healthy snack for break times. A hat for break times, lunchtimes and sport lessons.

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