Moshi Campus News – 7 Nov 2015

Both primary and secondary students enjoyed a range of activities yesterday to belatedly celebrate Hallowe’en, including “Trunk or Treat”, a barbecue, visiting haunted houses and a dance. There are a few pictures here and more will come next week.

Many thanks to all who made both the Primary and Secondary Halloween events so much fun for our students; the hosts who kindly offered their homes for trick or treating, the student teachers, volunteers , parents and primary students who haunted Kishari house, the parents, teachers and students who decorated their cars for ‘trunk or treat’, parents who donated the sweets and delicious treats, the teachers, teaching assistants and students for helping to decorate classrooms and run the party games, the fortune teller for all her extraordinary glimpses into the future, the student council for arranging the pool party and disco , the boarding parents for supporting the trick or treating and the kitchen staff for catering for a large number of people at the BBQ. We thank you all for your hard work to support the school in this event.

On next Saturday, 14th November at 10am we shall be doing a presentation on the school at the Sea Cliff Hotel in Dar es Salaam. If you know of any families who may be interested in learning more about the school and/or are considering enrolling their children in ISM in 2016, please encourage them to attend. We will be very happy to meet any interested families in the morning at the 10am presentation. Myself, Keiron White, the Head of Boarding, Rosemary Bango, and the Head of Arusha Campus, Phil Bowen, will all be there. We would also be pleased to meet any family who would like an individual appointment on Saturday afternoon – please ask them to email me first on if they would like an appointment.

If you will be in Dar es Salaam this weekend, please join us for drinks and a chat. All current parents of ISM students are warmly invited to join us at The Sea Cliff Hotel in the Kaskazi Lounge at 6:30pm on Friday, 13th November. We hope to see many parents there and look forward to talking with you about the school and your children. Please confirm attendance by this Thursday on email at or by SMS on 0767 534766.

  Many of you may have seen the new ISM sign boards on the lamp posts on Selander Bridge in Dar es Salaam. This time we have opted to place sign in both English and Swahili. Selander Bridge is well known for its traffic jams, so you may have some time to read them!

Dear Parents,

FUNDRAISING INITIATIVE
As many of you will know, during the 2014/15 school year we worked with the United World Colleges (UWC) movement to see whether there was an opportunity to join their organisation. We were delighted to hear in late June that the UWC had been granted Initial Notification by the United World Colleges Movement. This is the first step in a three-part process of joining the movement that consists of 15 schools throughout the world which: ‘deliver a challenging and transformative educational experience to a diverse cross-section of students, inspiring them to create a more peaceful and sustainable future.’ (www.uwc.org)
The next step on our journey will be to work with a Task Force set up by the UWC International Office in London to explore whether both organizations feel that we would be a ‘good fit’. This work will take place throughout the 2015/16 school year and we look forward to welcoming members of the Task Force to ISM next February.
One of our challenges as we move forward towards Preliminary and Final Approval will be the need to obtain funds to support an increasing number of scholarships for a range of socio-economically diverse students from both within and outside Tanzania. To assist us with this area of our work, we have appointed an Alumni/Development Officer whose responsibilities will include:

• Creating closer links with our alumni
• Set up a Fundraising Office that will develop links with potential donors in the hope that an additional income stream can be provided to support an expansion to our current scholarship programme

Our first alumni newsletter for some time has now gone out to all ISM alumni whose email addresses are registered with us. Please read this month’s edition of Habari za Shule online at www.uwcea.org/habari1511.
If you know of any alumni who would like to add their email address to this mailing list or would like to contact our Alumni Development Offocer, please ask them to email Gemma on .



Oh, what a lovely bunch of coconuts!

This coming Wednesday, 11th November is the celebration of Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Light. It is celebrated in much of India and the date always depends on the lunar cycle. In India people dress up in new clothes on this day. We would like to ask students and teachers to dress in appropriate clothes on this day, e.g. Indian outfits, or something relating to light.

On Monday morning, our M3 students from both campuses will be going on the arts trip for their MYP interdisciplinary unit, “The arts can unify communities.” Through a range of workshops, the students will collaborate and understand how the arts are utilized and connected within a community.
We will be camping in Weru Weru until Wednesday afternoon, and the arts related workshops will, not only, be run by teachers from Moshi and Arusha campus this year, but also by dance teacher Tiana and our volunteer from Moshi Campus, Geerte. During the trip, there will be a focus on the process journal (which is used in all three of the MYP arts subjects) and the IB Learner Profile.
We are looking forward to this trip, as we have exciting new workshops planned in the arts disciplines that we will cover (Visual Arts, Drama, Music and Dance) and more news about the trip will follow!
On Wednesday the students will return to ISM for the end of the school day. CAS and/or Sports are on a voluntary basis that day.

The University of British Columbia (UBC) in Canada will be visiting school on Monday, 9th November and talking with our diploma students about entry to UBC and to Canadian universities in general.
We were disappointed that Alberta University was not able to visit us last week as their planned visit to Tanzania was cancelled.
ALU (African Leadership University) is planning a visit to Moshi on Wednesday, 11th November. This could be a different option for some of our students as their fees are in the region of $10,000 per year – much less than many universities in North America or Europe. You can learn more about ALU at www.alueducation.com.

We are pleased to have boarders back in school for the second quarter. A couple of them arrived on Saturday, 31st of October, and the majority returned to school on Sunday, 1st November. A handful have not resumed for personal reasons, but we expect them back before the end of the week. We thank all parents who made arrangements for smooth return of the boarders, by either bringing the boarders personally to school, making appropriate arrangements or sending flight details in good time. This helped the boarding team to settle them in so that they were ready for school on Monday.
Starting this quarter, the primary dorm assistant, Ms Madina has gone for further studies, and her role has been taken up by Ms Kimario.
A group of boarders have gone to Arusha on Saturday for a basketball and football tournament at St. Constantine’s International School. These events, Hallowe’en festivities, and other activities, will keep the boarders busy this weekend.

Admissions for the trip to Paris from March 16th to March 26th 2016 are still open for M4-D2 students currently studying French. The deadline for the first payment to secure a place on this trip is November 16th. Past that deadline, we will accept admissions from M4-D2 students not taking French.
Further details will be coming later on. Please contact me if you have any questions. Valérie Veillon ()

This week’s highlight was the class of 2015 ice cream celebration on Wednesday afternoon as it coincided with their submission of the 4,000 word Extended Essay which they began eight months ago. All D2s attended as it was really a celebration of the hard work and effort each/every one has exerted. With music and a banner – Congrats! Class of 2016 – a great moment!
This Monday, November 9th (Paper 1) and Tuesday Nov 10th (Paper 2), ten D2s will take their official IB Swahili B exams.
Parents of D1 and D2 parents should make plans to be in Moshi if possible for the end of the second quarter parent-teacher meeting on Friday December 18th. Earlier that day ISM’s wonderfully fun tradition of the D1 raft race will occur in the pool and we will have an end of quarter whole school assembly that day too. Also, do not forget to ensure that all DP students return on Tuesday January 12th so they are present for the start of school again on Wednesday January 13th. (The school calendar is attached to this newsletter and also available at www.uwcea.org/moshi-arusha/google-calendar).
All D1 students from both the ISM Arusha and Moshi campus will meet for several days of dynamic IB Theory of Knowledge facilitated discussions on November 23rd and 24th in the ISM Kishari House.
Engaging lessons, experienced teachers, analytical writing, challenging academic rigor, critical thinking, Theory of Knowledge these six aspects of DP student school life were in evidence again this week around the campus. ISM DP students receive a world-class education and in a location that is so beautiful. Moshi’s array of flowers in full bloom expecially the purple jacarandas, pleasantly warm late-Spring temperature and regularly visible snow-capped Kibo peak of Mt Kili reminded us of this reality.
The annual ISM Sports Weekend will occur on Friday Nov 27th to Sunday Nov 29th and DP students will join students from eight other schools around Tanzania for an array of athletic events. Join us that weekend if you can as that would enable you to see your son/daughter involved in sports competitions.
You are encouraged to peruse the recently released IB website for parents at: www.ibo.org/information-for-parents/.
Feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns regarding your son/daughter studying in our DP program. Rick Fitzpatrick – Diploma Coordinator

On Saturday, November 28th 2015 there will be a CAS Christmas Craft Fair at ISM. We warmly welcome local artisans to table and sell their goods and keen shoppers to come have a look for gifts and goodies. Tables are for sale on a sliding scale and must be reserved through the front office prior to November 25th. All proceeds from the sale of tables will support the school’s community service projects and partnerships with local schools (i.e. building classrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms). Please contact Ingrid Chavez via e-mail with questions on .

Please remember that Tuesday, 17th November will be a “late start day”. On that day classes for all students will begin at 10:35am. This is to allow teachers to meet to continue and finalise the school’s self-study which is an important step in our accreditation process. This is the last late-start day scheduled for this school year.
Please note that Early Childhood children may opt to remain in class until 13:05 on this day.

There are a large number of Outdoor Pursuits trips this quarter. Students have already signed up for the various trips and paid the fees. Now we wish them much success:

• 7 – 8 Nov: Mandara Hut (Level 1). First hut on Kilimanjaro
• 14-15 Nov: Pare Mountains (Level 1b). A weekend’s trek and camping in the Pares.
• 19-22 Nov: Mawenzi Hut (Level 3). An opportunity to walk at altitude on Kilimanjaro
• 3 – 6 Dec: Usambara Mountains (Level 1b). An extended trek in some beautiful mountains
• 10-13 Dec: Mawenzi Hut (Level 3). A second chance to take this trip.

Our Varsity Team has made an emphatic return to the pool, building upon our accumulated fitness from the first quarter to break into new territory in terms of mileage and test sets.
This month is a big one for our program, both Primary and Secondary. We host ISM Arusha Campus on Saturday, 21st November 2015 (Primary and Secondary), and then a week later, we host our Secondary Sports Weekend.
We have designed a meet structure that relies on swimming parents to volunteer in different capacities. A Google Document will be circulated, and a paper sign-up sheet will be posted outside Coach Sullivan’s classroom. Parents, please sign-up to bring food, or volunteer your time at one of the stations. Arusha parents were so generous when they hosted us in September. We want to return the favor. Some of the volunteer positions we have would ideally be filled by parents willing to help on both weekends. This way, we can practice on the first weekend so that things can run smoothly on Sports Weekend. These include:

• Computer Data Entry x 1
• Announcer & Music x 1
• Clerk of the Course & Marshaling x 2 (organizing rows of swimmers)
• Starter x 1
• Head Timer x 1
• Head Judge + Officials x 3

Seven ISM Secondary Students (M4 – Lucy; M5 – Kimali, Akshita and Shawn; D1 – Abdoulaye, Max and Mahdi) have organized the first annual ISM Mt. Kilimanjaro Nature Photo Contest. If you have a great photo(s), submit it online at www.uwcea.org/kilifoto.
The criteria are as follows:

1. Each photo submitted must be in its original form and be of a Kili landscape. This includes anywhere on the mountain from Kibo Peak to Shanty Town and everything in between. In sum, it should principally be of a natural landscape somewhere on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro. It may include a person but he/she should not figure prominently as the emphasis is on the Kili nature landscape! TPC is beyond the mountain slopes obviously. 2. No more than three submissions per person. 3. The photos may be in color or black/white. 4. No editing of the photo(s) is allowed prior to submission. 5. The deadline for submission of photos has been extended to Thursday, November 19th.

Primary Years Programme: What does inquiry look like?
Inquiry is the process initiated by the students or the teacher that moves the students from their current level of understanding to a new and deeper level of understanding. This can mean:

• Exploring, wondering and questioning
• Experimenting and playing with possibilities
• Making connections between previous learning and current learning
• Making predictions and acting purposefully to see what happens
• Collecting data and reporting findings
• Clarifying existing ideas and reappraising perceptions of events
• Deepening understanding through the application of a concept
• Making and testing theories
• Researching and seeking information
• Taking and defending a position
• Solving problems in a variety of ways.

If you wish to learn more about the International Baccalaureate (IB) and the three programmes (PYP, MYP, Diploma), please do have a look at the new IB website at www.ibo.org/information-for-parents/.

Last week we tuned into our new unit of inquiry under the transdisciplinary theme ‘Who we are.’ The central idea is, ‘We use our senses to explore and discover the world around us.’ We made popcorn and used all the senses whilst doing so. The children also had a chance to explore a variety of objects using their senses. Next week they will sort these objects in different ways.
This week we will inquire into our sense of hearing. If you have any interesting sound sources at home that we can use for our inquiry please send into school on Monday (toys that make sounds, musical instruments or even homemade sound sources which would be encouraging your child to take action at home!) We will also play sound lotto and other sound games and think about how our sense of hearing keeps us safe.
Literacy This week’s story focus will be ‘Polar bear, polar bear what do you hear?’ The class will make their own Powerpoint story based on this book after exploring sounds in the school environment. EC1s will explore the sounds made by Uppy umbrella and Bouncy Ben. EC2s will read their online books, play sight word bingo and other word games. They will also work on the sound sh.
The children will be developing their language skills through the unit of inquiry as they think of words to describe a variety of sounds. If your child has English as a second language you can support them at home by encouraging them to describe sounds in their Mother tongue.
Numeracy As last week was shorter than expected we didn’t manage to go on a ‘hunt the pattern’ walk around campus so we will continue with our pattern focus for one more week. The children enjoyed making patterns in playdough last week with a range of materials they found in the classroom. Number work will focus on simple addition using a number line.
Don’t forget to check out our new google community page which you have been invited to join. Please let me know if you didn’t receive an invite or can’t access the page.
Swimming for EC1 will be on Monday and EC2 on Friday. Library books should be returned on Tuesday and Thursday.

Information for Parents Thanks for making the Hallowe’en night a special event. Thank you to all of the parents who helped organize the event. I was in Berlin, but it sounds like the children all had a great time.
Language focus for the week This week both of the groups will be focusing on writing again. The Group 1 chil-dren will continue to work on writing complete sentences, and the Group 2 children will write paragraphs.
Maths focus for the week The Group 1 children will work on adding doubles this week, while the Group 2 children will learn about rounding to the nearest 10.
Unit of Inquiry This week we will start to connect why plants are important to us. We will also learn about the planting cycle.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.

Timetable: Monday PE (wear PE shoes) Tuesday Library (please send your books in the library bag) Friday Swimming (please send swimsuit, goggles, and towel)

Despite the unexpected four day week the children had a busy and varied week. In Unit of Inquiry lessons they worked in groups to design and create their own pulleys; experimenting with types of ropes and weights, hanging them from various heights and using different degrees of mechanical advantage etc. We also spent a lesson exploring the ISM vehicles. Mr Materu, ISM’s Head Driver, showed us the engine of the pickup and explained what the various parts are for. The children asked him lots of well thought out questions.
This week we welcomed Kaira Duhn to our classroom. She is a student teacher from Germany. She led the students in two art and craft lessons. The children created inventive bat and pumpkin decorations for our Halloween celebrations on Friday afternoon.
On Friday we also enjoyed a talk from Philip Ashby, Tavari’s father. He told us more about the different groups of people who live in Tanzania – relating to our previous unit of inquiry. We thank him for giving up his time in order to visit us.
If your child has not yet brought in a pair of indoor shoes, please send in a pair on Monday. They will be asked to wear these on muddy days so that we can keep the classroom clean.
Unit Focus: Transdisciplinary Theme: How the world works Central Idea: We use simple machines to make work easier
On Monday we will visit the newly opened weight room on campus and learn about the different exercise machines. We will identify the six simple machines that have been combined to help create these.
This week the students will begin work on their summative assessment task. They will design their own machine to show their understanding of the work covered in this unit.
Mathematics Focus: The inverse relationship between addition and subtraction.
English Focus: Instructional texts and written reflections
What to bring to school every day: A hat, water bottle, a pair of indoor shoes and a healthy snack.
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework will be set | swimming lesson Tuesday: Library session Wednesday: Diwali (Festival of Lights) – students can dress up Thursday: PE lesson | Kennedy House Swim Gala for invited students Friday: Homework due in
Kate Schermbrucker – P2/3 Teacher and PYP Coordinator

The week went by pretty fast, as students have been very busy all through.
This week we explored 2-D shapes and created more abstract and regular shapes out of the basic shapes. The children’s creativity was amazing. We learned some new vocabulary and clarified our understandings in our units of inquiry and in Math. In Language the students used thesauruses to find synonyms and will continue to apply this skill in their writing.
Unit of inquiry – In the coming week, P4 will be working on their Summative Assessment and they will need a range of different materials to set up experiments related to their learning.
Math – Next week, some of the P4s will be reviewing subtraction with regrouping and we will all be exploring 3-D shapes. They will be using their measuring skills to construct the shapes.
Language Arts – The P4s will continue using synonyms to improve their vocabulary however they will also be creating shape poems. They will use adjectives, synonyms, punctuation and other parts of speech they have learned. They will also use expression to recite their poetry.
Polite reminders:

• Due to on and off rains, I am requesting parents to send indoor shoes that your child can use in class.
• Students need to bring a letter from home excusing them from Swimming or P.E.
• The Diwali festival will run over 5 days with the celebrations being marked on Wednesday, 11th November. All children are welcome to dress up in colorful clothing on this day. We wish all the Hindus a wonderful Diwali!

Information for Parents The P5 students have been hard at work preparing for their performance of Blance and Cook’s, “Dinomir le géant cherche un ami”. We are planning a dress rehearsal for next Thur 12 Nov 2015. This will involve organizing props, costumes, or make-up, depending on what each group has decided they have access to at home. We are asking parents, guardians or boarding parents to help by deciding what may be appropriate to bring to the school on Thursday for the play, and then packing it on Thursday. Please lend only what you are comfortable sharing.
Language focus for the week Students have been working hard on their personal narratives. They should finish these up next week and share them with the rest of the class. Students are continuing to read their chapter books for reading groups. We will be increasing the amount that we read each week now so that we can finish them before the end of the quarter.
Maths focus for the week After working on mean, mode, and median all week we will be moving on to some graphing activities. Students will be using statistics from natural disasters to create bar graphs. We will also be working on how to analyze bar graphs to gain information.
Unit of Inquiry We have a good start on our summative assessment projects. Next week students will be researching the main causes and effects of their natural disasters, as well as examining the impact that a natural disaster can have on people and the environment.
What to bring to school: A hat for playtime and a healthful snack.
Timetable: Monday PE (wear PE shoes and a house T-shirt) Thursday Swimming (bring swim kit) Friday Library (bring books to return or renew)

We have had a busy start to the quarter. The students have returned to school with a positive attitude, and I have already seen some of them make real efforts to work on their goals.
In Unit we have focused on finding out about the United Nations and what they do. The students had a creative session designing a new helmet for UN Peacekeepers, as we felt the usual blue one was a bit boring. They worked in their House teams to make Halloween crafts with which to decorate the corridor for Friday’s event. In the IT suite we continue to read news articles and make notes on current conflicts. In English the students have listened to music and planned a short story based on what they heard. Their story plans include their main character reflecting on past memories, which are either peaceful or a conflict and so the characters emotions vary. In maths we have investigated different units of time. The students made calendars for November and December, and used them to answer questions. I hope that they will continue using them at home. We also looked at how minutes and hours are represented on different clock-types, and thought about how our daily events connect to time.

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