Moshi Campus News – 10 Apr 15

Next Friday, 17th April we will be enjoying an International Fun Day outside Karibu Hall from 3pm to 7pm. There will be music, food and prizes to be won. Please join us for this community event that promises to be enjoyable for all!

If your child is arriving at Kilimanjaro by air and you would like the school to meet him/her and bring them to school, please let Rosemary Bango know immediately on . Transport from KIA costs $30 per student on this Sunday and $60 on other days.

In response to recent events, we have changed some security arrangements on the campus and have hired additional security guards. If you are questioned when coming on to campus, please understand that this is the security guard’s job and please help them in this, even if it delays you a bit. We have also asked the guards to search some vehicles entering and leaving the campus. Parents may find it easier to come on to the campus if you have a school-issued ID card. These are available for TSh 10,000/- per parent. Please contact the administrative PA, Grace Mkumbwa on to get a card issued; she will need your full name and a digital photograph. All secondary students have already been issued with school ID cards.

If your child will be leaving ISM at the end of this school year in June (or even if they might leave in December), could you plese let me know on as soon as possible? Even if you are not sure, please explain the circumstances so that we can take these into account. Although the final deadline for informing us of withdrawal (and not being liable for half a term’s fees in lieu of notice) is 6th May, it is very helpful if we can know earlier.
All places in secondary for the new school year are now taken and we have a waiting list of applicants who still wish to join. There do remain places available in some primary classes for the new school year.

The next Outdoor Pursuits (OP) trip will leave this week to climb Kilimanjaro via the Machame Route. Students will be away from 15th to 19th April.
There is also a trip to Little Meru from 1st May to 3rd May. Places are still available for students on this trip.

Our annual Sports Banquet will be held on Thursday, April 23rd in the dining hall. This is the event at which we honour our sports personalities of the year. Day students and parents are welcome to join us – tickets cost TSh 5000/- and can be obtained from Marika Farrell until 22nd April.

From Monday, 20th to Thursday, 23rd April, our students will be dressing a bit crazily in school as they celebrate a school spirit week. The dress choices are as follows:

• Monday, 20th April: Pyjama Day
• Tuesday, 21st April: Teacher and Student Swap
• Wednesday, 22nd April: Gender Swap
• Thursday, 23rd April: Class choice

Our D2 students are returning this quarter to just 2 weeks of formal classes and Friday, 24th April will be their last day ever of formal school classes. They then have a week of private study time before the exams begin. During the Study Week, day students may stay at home to study if they wish, or they may come to school to meet with teachers for advice. All D2 teachers will be available at the normal D2 class times and at pre-arranged alternative times to help students in their preparation. Boarders may remain in school and study in their bedrooms but, if they choose to do so, they will be expected to follow normal wake-up and curfew times, attend all meals, and meet regular school expectations. Boarders may also choose to return home for the study week – in this situation, we request that parents inform your child’s boarding parent of any travel plans well in advance.
Formal diploma exams begin on Monday, 4th May.

Most universities around the world will require some additional test scores from applicants and we advise D1 students to ensure that they take the necessary tests this quarter. These tests are as follows:
IELTS – to be held in Moshi on Saturday, 9th May. This English Language test is strongly recommended for all students applying for university who are not nationals of the UK, USA or Canada. (Students only applying to universities in the USA or Canada can opt for the TOEFL PBT instead). It will still be possible to accept new registrations up to Wednesday, 15th April
TOEFL PBT – to be held in Moshi on Saturday, 30th May. This English Language test should only be taken by students applying for the USA or Canada who have not taken IELTS and who are not nationals of the USA, UK, or Canada. Our internal registration deadline is 30th April.
SAT – to be held in Moshi on Saturday, 6th June. This test should be taken by all applicants to US universities except those registered for ACT tests (see below). Our internal registration deadline is 30th April.
ACT – to be held in Moshi on Saturday, 13th June. We strongly recommend that all applicants to US universities take this test. Our internal registration deadline is 30th April.
Students wishing to register must do so as soon as possible. Any needing assistance with credit card payments or bank transfers should contact Keiron White well before the registration deadline.

If you missed the fantastic Diploma Art Exhibition last quarter, you can see photos of all the exhibits at www.uwcea.org/dipart15.
Other sets of photos from last quarter which are available online are:

• Book Week: www.uwcea.org/bookweek15
• M5 Personal Projects: www.uwcea.org/m5pp
• Kilimanjaro Marathon: www.uwcea.org/marathon15
• OP Pare Mountains: www.uwcea.org/pare15

The P5/6 students took action by creating persuasive posters for Marlies Gabriel to take to a conference aimed at protecting Africa’s elephants. You may have seen the colour photocopies of these posters outside our classroom. Marlies is the mother of one of our students (Donyo) and feels passionately about these giants of Africa. This is what she had to say about the conference:
“I am just back from a successful exhibition show at the WELIOS Science Centre in Wels, Austria. The exhibition is called, Rediscover Elephants, and showcases the current and brutal plight of the survival of our elephants as well as the necessity for elephants to stay alive: for the economy, for the ecosystem and for our very own personal souls.
The city built their very own ‘Sparkling Elephant’, called ‘SATAO’ (Note: the Sparkling Elephant Project (SEP) was founded in Tanzania and is now in the process of being launched globally!) The SEP of Tanzania is called ‘Mwalimu’. The organisation with whom we (The Elephant Embassy, Tanzania) co-shared the exhibition in Wels, Austria is also called: SATAO – sustain the global ecology.
There were 32 information boards showcasing the plight and threat towards elephant conservation as well as the importance of keeping elephants safe and alive! Three of the information boards were covered with the striking and very informative posters made by P 5/6! This was an appeal by the students from ISM Moshi to the students of Wels to lend their support to protect the African elephant.
There are currently two requests for the show to go on tour to the Austrian National Parks and around the local schools. I will keep you posted on the tour of the ISM elephant awareness campaign posters of P5/6.”

Happy April from the Music Room!
First of all, I would like to thank all the parents and friends who joined us for our primary ‘Informance’ on Wednesday, March 25 in Karibu Hall. I hope that everyone enjoyed the evening and now understands a little more about what we do every week in primary music classes. Apologies for going a bit longer than planned; there always seems to be hiccups, no matter how much thought and planning go into an event. Thank you for your patience and attention and I do hope that you will join us in the future when we have other such events.
Now that we are entering the fourth quarter of the year, many secondary classes are bringing together knowledge that they have gained throughout the year to complete one final unit. D2 students are deep in preparations for their final assessment, a listening exam that consists of four questions: one on pieces of music they have been studying, and three on unknown pieces. Our M5 students are starting a song-writing unit, where they are taking their knowledge of specific musical genres and putting that together with knowledge of the elements of music and writing their own original song. Our M2 students will begin a melody-writing unit, as we just finished learning more about rhythms and now they are performed and notated.
Some classes are continuing on a musical journey that has already started. Our D1 students will continue to learn about music throughout time and over the world, and then put it into practice as they continue to work on their Musical Links Investigation paper. This is an independent assessment where they closely analyze and attempt to make links between two musical pieces from distinct genres or cultures. Our M3 students are continuing a journey around the world; after landing in Cuba last quarter, they will be headed to Indonesia this quarter.
Even though the end of the school year is quickly approaching, the music classes are not slowing down!

I had no idea Moshi would contain so many talented Muay Thai fighters. As a soon to be teacher and Muay Thai instructor back home in Norway, it warmed my heart to see how the students took to the art of the eight limbs. They showed great respect to each other through sportsmanship and performing the traditional Wai Khru dance prior to their assessment test. Overall the students demonstrated improvement through Muay Thai techniques, self-defense, and were tested outside of their comfort zones. There was never a lack of enthusiasm, curiosity and positive attitudes during my six-week stay.
The final assessment was a blast to put together, but it would never have been possible without the help from my teacher mentor Ms. Farrell and the helping staff of ISM. The other faculty members and primary students were an amazing audience rooting for their respective corners. This helped create an amazing atmosphere to give the students the feeling and pressures of going into the ring.
It was my honor to teach the M3 and M4 students, including the after school CAS class. If any of the students are ever in Kristiansand, Norway they will have to make an obligatory visit to Oksa Muay Thai and show of their newfound skills.
Here are some photos of our classes at work. Brandon Moen (student teacher at ISM last quarter)

Dear Parents,
We have had a wonderful quarter with many exciting activities like sports day, fair in Arusha, swimming galas, our primary lunch at El Rancho and our Easter special dinner. I would like to use this opportunity to reach out to you for your kind support of initiatives we have taken on in primary boarding.
1. Language – Please reinforce our language policy by discouraging children using any sort of foul language. I have realized they are often exposed to this sort of language by watching inappropriate programs on TV.
2. Healthy eating and living – We have been learning to make healthy choices which include eating right and exercising by having more outdoor activities like football, hide and seek and playing other games.
3. Responsible use of digital media – Please kindly monitor your child’s use of any/all electronics that includes internet usage and also helping them make appropriate choices like watching age appropriate movies and music videos.
4. Extra pocket money – From time to time our children take part in many weekend excursions e.g. field trips, swimming galas and other social outings. Please kindly send an extra 100,000/- which will be ready and available when these happen.
5. School essentials – Please ensure your child has a school bag, swimming bag for wet clothes, water bottle, hat, appropriate shoes (sports shoes, sandals, flip flops, dress shoes) and comfortable shorts for daily wear at school for both boys and girls. You may have them tailored in different colours if you prefer.
Thank you very much for your continued support. I hope you had a restful break and Happy Easter and I am looking forward to welcoming your children back this weekend. Yours, Randeep.

All parents should be aware of their child’s allocations for clubs in quarter 4. If not, please see your child’s class teacher or email them. Some clubs are now full. All clubs will start on Tuesday, 14th April. Parents of day students: please ensure your child is picked up promptly at 3pm. If they are staying at school during the lunch break, they should have a packed lunch or a lunch ticket for the dining room.

High demand based on our outstanding reputation, beautiful grounds, experienced faculty and caring team means that we now have a full class for the ISM Moshi campus DP effective August 2015. Like 1,300 IB schools worldwide and to better manage our DP, we will be starting to use managebac.com in the next couple of months.
‘Internationalism’ is central to all three IB programs but particularly 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 2015-2016 academic year DP students may enroll in the French ab initio (beginner) course on-line through Pamoja Education (www.pamojaeducation.com/parents) to fulfill their Group 2 (Language Acquisition) course requirements.
D2 students commence on April 13th their last two full weeks of lessons. After April 24th they will be on study leave until the IB DP exams commence on May 4th (and they continue until Friday May 22nd). During the study week (April 27th to May 1st) 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 may wish to use this Univ. of Leicester exam prep web link as it sets out some keys to success on exams – www.uwcea.org/dip78.
D2s recently held another planning meeting (and singing practice) associated with the upcoming Graduation Weekend. Reminder to D2 parents: the May 22nd 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 27,000 per person. The Saturday, May 23rd afternoon graduation will be open to all guests of graduates and thereafter there will be a reception in the Director’s Garden.
As noted earlier, ISM is hugely fortunate that the May 2015 graduation speaker will be Dr. Siva Kumari, the International Baccaleureate Organization’s Director General whose interview on pages 14-15 of last month’s IB World magazine addresses the matter of the IBO’s strategy globally for the next five years and that you can read at: www.uwcea.org/dip79.
Plans have been finalized and D1 exams will start on Monday May 25th and continue for six school days and be concluded on Monday June 1st. Meanwhile, D1 students continue progressing on their Extended Essay research and writing. A reminder that parents play a huge role in encouraging their son/daughter in the DP to complete this challenging 4,000 word independent research project whose first full draft is due in September and the final version in the first week of November. Should you wish to learn more about the EE use this excellent site – research.uwcsea.edu.sg/ee.
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. Our D2s recently submitted for external marking their formal 1,200-1,600-word TOK essay. Read about the May 2015 TOK essay titles at: www.uwcea.org/dip80.
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.uwcea.org/dip81. The link between exercise and memory is also highlighted in this article www.uwcea.org/dip82.
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns. Sincerely, Rick Fitzpatrick – DP Coordinator

I hope you had a wonderful break. This week we will begin our new unit under the transdisciplinary theme of ‘How the world works’ The Central Idea is ‘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

Information for Parents I trust everyone had a nice holiday. I enjoyed watching the children show their portfolios. They were very proud to show their work, and it is nice to see the progress they have made this year. Now we enter the fourth quarter. Please help your child get back into the routine of school this week. A positive attitude toward reading at home and homework will make a big difference in the way that your child ends this school year.
Literacy Focus for the Week This week we will focus on word families and rhyming words. This helps children develop better spelling skills as well. We will also continue to read in our reading groups.
Maths Focus for the Week We will continue working with money this week. We will learn about several different currencies around the world. Then we will set up a shop and do some shopping with pretend Tanzanian shillings.
Unit of Inquiry We will continue learning about the natural environment of Tanzania this week. We will focus on which products are made from which natural resources.
What to Bring to School Children need a hat for playtime and a healthful snack every day.
Timetable Monday: Library (return your books) Wednesday: PE (please send proper shoes and house shirt) Thursday: Swimming (please send swimwear) Friday: Show and Tell

P3 spent the final week of Q3 completing work, reflecting on their trip to Kahawa Shamba and updating their portfolios for their Student-Led Conference. We completed the book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and watched the film version on the final morning. It has been a very busy quarter, and we realized whilst reflecting that we have covered and learnt a lot.
This quarter we continue our unit on Production and Consumption for another two weeks. The students will choose a product on which to base their summative assessment. They will be researching the primary resources needed and processes involved during manufacture. In English the students will be looking at how products are advertised, whilst in Maths we focus on finding and ordering fractions (half and quarter) of shapes and numbers.
What to bring to school Hat , Water-bottle , Communication book (everyday please).
Timetable Monday: PE. Homework will be set. Thursday: Swimming and Library Friday: Homework due in. Spelling and multiplication facts test.

P6 – PYP Exhibition – Week 5 The final week of the Quarter was very busy, with lots to pack in. On the Monday the children attended the Diploma Students’ Art Gallery in Karibu Hall to help gather ideas for how to present their Exhibition work later next month. They also had great fun at Primary Sports Day; which was a nice break from the intensity of the Exhibition work.
However the Exhibition work continued apace. Each group is now working quite independently. They have ‘scrum meetings’ each week to think about what they’ve already achieved and where to go next. Many have already met with experts, including members of the school community, who have answered their questions. Some are planning relevant field trips and organising them by sending emails or making their own phone calls. A couple of groups have been into other primary classes and taught the younger children skills or raised awareness of their issue. Each student has also started an action plan to ensure they complete everything they wish to by the end of April, when Exhibition ends. For many of the children this has included a plan to gather information in the holiday, e.g. through observations, interviews or trips. Although it’s a challenge we are enjoying the buzz of Exhibition, which will only increase as we get closer to the presentations. I would like to thank all parents who have been supporting us through the Exhibition Journey.
We finished the Quarter with parents joining us to help celebrate the students’ learning via the Music Informance and Student Led Conferences. Thank you everyone who attended. We hope this gave you a better understanding of the wide variety of learning going on at school.

Exhibition Presentation Dates: To students – 28th April. To parents – 29th April.
Monday: Homework set | Library session Wednesday: Swimming session Friday: Sport lesson | Homework due in | International Day Fair starts at 3pm

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