Moshi Campus News – 5 Nov 2016

Dear Parents, What a fantastic primary swimming gala we have had this morning! Our swimmers performed wonderfully. Many thanks to Ryan Sulivan and to all the primary team who worked so hard to make this a success, as well as to our parents who gave so much support.
   

Every week continues to be very full here on the Moshi Campus. In addition to the primary swimming gala today, a number of our D2 students were taking SAT tests, football and basketball teams have travelled to Arusha to compete, and a group of our students is climbing to Mandara Hut in their first Outdoor Pursuits trip on Kilimanjaro. Last week we also had D2 students taking IB Swahili exams, and our EC and P1/2 classes had day trips to Machame and TPC respectively. The week ahead continues with more exams, a presentation in Dar es Salaam at the weekend (see below), another OP trip, this time to the Usambara Mountains, and more football and basketball matches. We will also be hosting many Arusha Campus students and external candidates for TOEFL tests next Saturday.
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Presentation: Dar es Salaam
We will be at the SeaCliff Hotel in Dar es Salaam next Saturday, 12th November at 10am to present on International School Moshi to prosective parents and families. If you know of any families who would be interested to learn more about ISM and to ask uestions about the school, please do encourage them to come to our presentation at the SeaCliff Hotel. All are welcome.
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Please join us for Drinks!
Before the presentation (above) in Dar, we would like to invite current parents to join myself, Keiron White, our Head of Boarding, Rosemary Bango, and our University & College Counsellor, Daryl Rustad, for drinks at the SeaCliff Hotel on Friday, 11th November from 6:30pm. This will simply be an informal gathering to meet and exchnge ideas, but you are welcome to ask questions of us. I hope to meet many parents from Dar at this event.
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Delicious Murder!
School Drama – Delicious Murder After a successfully staging ‘A Raisin in the Sun’ in a pilot student-led drama production last year, the team is back again this year with ‘Delicious Murder’. The play is an adaptation of Agatha Christie’s novel, ‘A Murder is Announced’. An announcement in the local paper states the time and place when a murder is to occur in Miss Blacklock’s Victorian house. The victim is not one of the house’s several occupants, but an unexpected and unknown visitor. What follows is a classic Christie puzzle of mixed motives, concealed identities, a second death, a determined Inspector grimly following the twists and turns, and Miss Marple on hand to provide the final solution at some risk to herself in a dramatic confrontation just before the final curtain.
‘Delicious Murder will be staged on the 17th and 18th November 2016, in Karibu Hall from 7:00p.m. Tickets go for Tshs. 2000 for children and Tshs. 5000 for adults. The production is fully led by the students, right from its conception, through to sourcing for the script, casting, rehearsal and technical management. This year’s team is co-led by Lydia Nickels and Lianne Duinmajer, both of whom, despite being busy with D2 preparation, have put aside extra time to ensure that this dream of establishing a tradition student-led drama celebration in the school. You are all welcome.
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Opera comes to Arusha
Next Friday, 11th November, ISM Arusha Campus will be hosting this opera performance. Tickets are available in advance from ISM Arusha Reception, or at the door on the night.
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Primary News
This week the P1-P6 classes have completed their second unit. They have finished different summative assessment tasks in each class. We always aim to have the students demonstrate their skills and learning using a variety of methods as they progress through the school. Many thanks to all the parents who came to Karibu Hall to interact with the P4/5 statues from Ancient Civilizations. Members of the school community were asked to press a button for each ‘statue’ which then came alive and answered their questions. What a creative way to demonstrate learning! I thought the students displayed excellent knowledge and independence. Well done!
This week the P1-P6 students have also been reflecting on their learning experiences throughout this six week inquiry. This is a useful way to consolidate understanding.
On Tuesday afternoon class teachers met with each of the primary specialist teachers to brainstorm ideas for unit 3. This sort of collaboration is vital to our quality teaching here at ISM.
On Wednesday the P1/2 class had a very successful field trip to TPC where they learned lots about sugar cane and sugar production. On Thursday the EC class had an equally enjoyable time interacting with farm animals at Machame. Thanks to Tiago’s Dad and Janieck’s mum for hosting us. Field trips are such a valuable way for our young learners to make meaningful connections and to reflect on what they have learned in class.
Well done to all the participants in the NTAA ISM Moshi Primary Swim Gala for their fantastic efforts on Saturday. It was a pleasure to host swimmers from ISM Arusha, St Constantine’s and Kennedy House. Thanks to Coach Ryan for organising and leading the event and to all the teachers and parents who helped.
Parents may have noticed the digging which has been taking place in our playground. We have now sourced the necessary materials to build our safe zone around the climbing frame and other play equipment making it safer for the children to play there. This will be like the safe zone which we built earlier under the swings.
Dates for your Diary:
  • Monday 14th November – What do the Arts Look Like at ISM? Presentation to parents in Room 15 (6.30pm)
  • Monday 28th November – Primary Sharing Assembly in Karibu Hall (7.40am)
  • Friday 2nd December – ISM PA Fashion Show (evening event)
    Kate Schermbrucker, (Head of Primary)
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    Secondary News
    Last week I mentioned the views of Kilimanjaro, this morning was very funny watching people driving into school while trying to stare at the fresh snow covering the top of the mountain. I can say that I have not seen so many people taking pictures of Kili since I arrived.
    Looking at this weekend we have a wide range of items for our secondary students. Some are academically focused on the IB Diploma November exams, some on sports with basketball and football at the Arusha campus and others on an OP trip to Mandara.
    Over the next week we have two sets of visitors, one from Alliance Française to combine Art and French on November 8th and University visitors from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Lafayette College on November 10th. There will also be a level 2 OP trip to Usambara also on November 10th.
    The following week our D1 students will meet up with their counterparts from Arusha to discuss TOK and CAS related items on November 14th and 15th. Over the last semester our student lead drama group has been working on a production that will be unveiled on November 17th and 18th. See the advertisement above for more details.

    One last note, our Secondary Sports weekend will be in 3 weeks, please place this on your calendar. Bob Cofer, (Head of Secondary)
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    Parents’ Night – The Arts at ISM
    On Monday, November 14th from 6:30pm to 7:30pm we will be hosting a parent night. The Arts and Design take on many forms here at ISM and this is your opportunity to come and learn more about these programs and ask any questions you might have. Ian Horne, our Visual Arts Teacher, Mary Pantlin, our Music Teacher, George Juma, our Drama Teacher and Anil Jootna, our Design Teacher will each be talking about their subject area within the school. And of course, we will be highlighting how the arts are incorporated into our primary program.
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    Sports News

    HOME OF THE LEOPARDS
    The 16th edition of this great sporting tradition at ISM is fast approaching and will be held on Friday November 25th to Sunday November 27th. The following schools will be competing in a variety of sports being played throughout the weekend.

    ISM (Moshi)
    ISM (Arusha)
    IST
    MIS
    AISS
    HOPAC
    ST. CONSTANTINE’S
    ORKEESWA
    FEZA INT’L SCHOOL

    Students will be competing in the following sports: Badminton, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Netball, Swimming, Rugby, Tennis, Volleyball and Ultimate.
    Due to the size and scope of this event the ISM Sports Department is looking for volunteers who can help with the following: Food stalls, Christmas Craft Fair stalls, Scorekeeping, Timekeeping, Officiating, Swim Gala Helpers, and Cross Country Marshals
    We are also looking for sponsors for the event, those people, shops, companies that are willing to donate their help, expertise, supplies or money to help make the event a success. If you are interested in helping out or sponsoring and require further information, please contact Scott Hibbard, ISM Head of Sport at
    Please click this link for Sports Weekend Information and sport schedules: www.uwcea.org/wp-content/docs/archive_documents/spweekend.pdf. Please note these schedules are subject to change. Keep watching this space for more information!
    Sporting News The next scheduled event for the ISM U15 Basketball and U19 Football teams is on November 5th at ISMAC; also happening will be the Primary School Swim Gala at ISM. Please look for game and gala reports along with photos in future newsletters.
    You can find the rest of the Season One Game Schedule from the NTAA at www.uwcea.org/leopards.
    House News Unfortunately we were unable to celebrate the Athletics Day medalists this past week, so on Monday November 7th during Assembly period in Karibu Hall there will be the Athletics Day Awards Ceremony.
    There are the following events that Houses can participate in the following events: NTAA Logo Competition, House Quiz, and the ISM Fashion Show. Please see Mr Hibbard for more details.
    Activities As always the ISM Sports Department wants to advertise three excellent after-school activities, so please find below information regarding swimming, tennis and horseback riding.
    Swimming lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced with Coach Sabini. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact Coach Sabini in person.
    Tennis Lessons for beginners, intermediate and advanced players with Coach Charles. Those students and parents who are interested in arranging lessons are kindly requested to contact him at 0757606766.
    Horse riding is also available and those interested need to contact Mr Priva at 0758053280 for more information regarding times, prices and requirements.
    As the year progresses please keep up with all the info, news, and sports reports by reading the Moshi Campus News.
    Go Leopards Scott Hibbard, (Head of Sport and Physical Education)
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    Tennis Tournament
    ISM Community – Adult Tennis Tournament Results (last Sunday). The winners were:
  • Women’s Champion – Bethany (KCMC)
  • Women’s Runner-up – Aimee (ISM parent)
  • Men’s Champion – Leon (ISM parent)
  • Men’s Runner up – Jasmijn (ISM parent)
    Thank you again to Coach Charles, Coach Maria and Coach Fitzpatrick for their help in organizing this event in which over twenty ISM Community members adults participated on a lovely and warm day.
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    Mombasa Swimming
    Dear Swimmers and Parents, Last weekend, 14 of our best Varsity swimmers traveled over rough roads through Tsavo Game Reserve to the sun-drenched beaches of Mombasa, for the Kenyan Short Course National Championships at Oshwald Academy Pool.
    Competition featured many of Kenya’s national team members – those swimmers who represent the nation at major championships like World Juniors and World Championships. From dawn until dusk, our swimmers battled the relentless heat to achieve many of their lifetime best performances. Every one of our swimmers showed impressive preparation for the competition, coming off of a week of loading (8 workouts with the UK swim clinic) and then reducing that work to 4 workouts to feel rested and ready for peak performance.
    My favorite moment of the trip was when we were watching the relays on Saturday night, under the pool lights because the sun had set long ago, as our teams earned two bronze medals to end what was an incredible day. The team should be praised for their cohesiveness, dedication, and for exemplifying what it means to be internationally minded. They truly experienced the life of an athlete, traveling long distances, having to be patient while waiting for their races, returning to the hotel in time to eat and then sleep, and leaving a place without ever having left the pool or hotel.
    Workouts continue Mon-Thur AM, and Sat AM (0800).
    Upcoming Events CANA Championships – Kigali, Rwanda – athletes already selected by TSA (Moshi – 4) Secondary Sports Weekend – Fri 25 Nov – Sun 27 Nov – Moshi Ryan Sullivan
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    Diploma Updates
    Update:
    • The dozen D2 students taking the Nov 2016 official IB exams in Swahili B and Akrikaans Literature have taken their Paper 1 and their Paper 2 exam will be taken on Monday.
    • D2 students submitted their extended essays following nearly nine months of work.
    • DP teachers post homework assignments and results of assessments on Managebac. Be sure to check your DP child’s ManageBac info regularly to stay abreast of their progress. Teachers will not be giving more than two summative assessments per day for DP students.
    • D2 Visual Art students of Mr Ian Horne can be seen preparing creative works of art from the multitude of cardboard received recently from UK annual the container delivery. D2 History students dialogue in a think-pair-share exercise as part of their study of the era of Sino-US Cold War rapprochement.
    Upcoming key events: Nov 9th – Economics Commentary #2 (final) / Nov 11th Dutch B (mock orals) Dec 16th – last day of school for semester 1/parent-teacher conference (10:30-noon) Jan 16th – first day of school for semester 2
    Weblinks:
  • On lessons learned in losing – www.nytimes.com/2008/09/15/health/healthspecial2/15essay.html
  • On parental involvement and student achievement – www.hfrp.org/publications-resources/browse-our-publications/parental-involvement-and-student-achievement-a-meta-analysis
  • On how to boost Memory: Study, Wait, Then Exercise – https://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/07/28/muscle-mnemonics
  • On the lack of sleep – www.ozy.com/immodest-proposal/there-should-be-paid-time-off-for-naps/67144
  • On skills in adulthood – www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/us/us-adults-fare-poorly-in-a-study-of-skills.html
    Rick Fitzpatrick, (Diploma Coordinator):
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    Early Childhood Preview
    Many thanks to Gelske and Janieck for hosting the class at their home on Thursday. The children enjoyed the first hand experience of interacting with goats and hens (brushing the goats, watching them being milked, collecting eggs from the hen houses and watching the behaviour of both animals) They also explored the garden for other living creatures and saw a variety of birds and their nests as well as evidence of moles. The trip gave the children another perspective on domestic animals; those that are companions such as dogs and cats and others that provide food for people such as goats and hens. We will continue to inquire into farm animals next week to find out more about the interactions between them and humans; how we help them and what they provide for us. Gelske also helped us to focus on animal habitats and throughout this unit the children will be finding out about a variety of animals and their habitats and making a huge piece of art to represent these. Many thanks to Isaac Foya for coming to talk to the children today about the living creatures that live on Mount Kilimanjaro. These creatures will be added to our artwork next week. Another focus next week will be finding out about living creatures on the ISM campus. Isaac Foya and the P6s will accompany us on an ISM safari on Monday morning. Please make sure your child is wearing wellington boots or shoes in case of mud.
    Literacy
    • Reflection on field trip.
    • Continue with the ‘Dear Zoo’ books. These stories are really helping the children focus on the difference between wild animals and pets.
    • Continue with the animal dictionary
    • Play animal lotto and animal pairs games
    • Reading fiction and non-fiction books about animals. Using non-fiction for research.
    • EC1 will find out about the sound r made by Red Robot and v made by Vicky Violet
    • EC2 will work on the short vowel sound u as in run, bun and fun as well as all middle vowel sounds in CVC words
    • All EC2s now have access to Raz kids reading online. Please let me know if you need any help setting this up for your child.
    Numeracy
  • Continue to sort and classify animals
  • Graph favourite pets
  • Continue with simple addition and subtraction using animals stories
  • Count animals and match groups of toy animals to numerals concentrating on one to one correspondence and vocabulary such as bigger than, smaller than, more than, less than, the same as
  • Positional language; above, below, under, next to, in front of, etc
    Please could you make sure your child has a spare pair of shoes at school for muddy days when they need to change into indoor shoes.
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    P1/2 Preview
    We had such an amazing week!
    Our trip to TPC was a great success. We would like to thank Mr Yann (Tiago’s father from EC) for showing us around and teaching us so many fascinating things about sugar canes.
    We’ve learnt so much about canes!
    Maths focus of the week. In maths the children have investigated symmetry by observing flowers on campus. They have each drawn and coloured their own flower with at least one line of symmetry. We have glued these all onto a display poster, showing our symmetrical flower garden. Next week we will investigate number patterns.
    Unit of Inquiry: How the world works. Central idea: Understanding how and why living things thrive can help us connect with nature. This week the children have worked on their Posters as part of the Summative Assessment. They were also brainstorming ideas about how to incorporate the key concepts, such as Change, Form, Causation and Connection into their work. The projects look very impressive reflecting a good understanding of the unit.
    Phonics focus of the week. This week we played lots of sounding out and blending games to build stronger reading and writing skills. We have practised handwriting by forming all the learnt sounds properly. I’m very proud of everybody’s beautiful and neat work.
    What to bring to school every day:
  • Now that it rains more often we are trying to get into the habit of using our indoor shoes. Please make sure your child has a pair at school.
  • A hat, a water bottle and a healthy snack. Some children still did not bring their hats this week. The rule is: No hat, no play, no fun. Can you please check every day that your child has a hat so they don’t miss the fun.
    The Week Ahead: Monday:Swimming – please bring: trunk/costume, towel, swimming cap (for long hair), flip flops (the concrete by the pool can get very hot), sun lotion, and a plastic bag for the wet kit.
    Homework goes home. Tuesday: Library Thursday: PE lesson Friday: Homework due in. Please make sure the spelling books are returned because our Spelling Test is on Friday. ‘Show and Tell’ for group 2.
    Thank you for your co-operation! Have a great week ahead! Ms Andrea, P1/2 Teacher
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    P2/3 Preview
    What a great end to our second unit. The children have been expressing themselves in many ways to present their summative assessment. The final product has been wonderful.
    Last week in class: The children have become real problem solvers and finding different ways to solve a variety of problems. They have compiled their own Poetry Anthologies and have looked at aspects that make a good comprehensible anthology (all about the author, dedication, contents page). The children are becoming more confident at telling the time. Some can tell the time in intervals of five minutes’ others on the hour and half past.
    The Week Ahead in class: Unit of Inquiry: This week the children will be starting our third unit: Central idea – Family provides an insight into cultural and personal identity Line of inquiry – Perception of home The children will be sharing their understanding of the central idea and what home means to them.
    Writing: The class will be starting a new unit on non-fiction writing. They will be brain storming things that they are experts in and using their knowledge to create a book. They will be using graphic organizers to show their ideas and to help them when organizing their work.
    Math: We will introduce measurement, and will first be looking at non-standard and then moving onto using centimeters accurately. We will continue to look at the relationship between numbers and adding to check the correct answer of a subtraction equation ie 20-16=4, 16+4=20.
    Reading: This week the children will be looking at inferring and what it means to infer when reading. For children to move up to higher levels in reading. This is a skill that they must be able to do to fully comprehend. The children will be using both their schema (what they know and the text) to help them infer. The children will also be introduced to writing about their reading (thoughts, wonders, questions). This is a great way for them to stop and think about what they are reading.
    The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework Tuesday: Library and Swimming (costume, towel, pool shoes) – Please send in a plastic bag so that your child can put their wet things in after. Wednesday: P3 French Thursday: P3 French Friday: PE (sport shoes and comfortable clothes – no jeans) Homework book returned.
    Useful websites:
  • www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/maths
  • www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/literacy
    Please can you make sure that your child completes all the homework that has been set. They should also be recording it in their yellow homework books as neatly as they can. Thank you – Have a nice weekend Clare Hibbard P2/3
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    P4/5 Preview
     

    The P4/5 students impressed us all at their wonderful Legacy celebration on Thursday. They inspired the other students and even some parents and teachers to find out more about ancient civilizations.

    This newsletter article is a tribute to their hardwork and showcases the lovely costumes that the students and parents worked hard to make. It has been a busy last few weeks with halloween, divali and the legacy celebration. I appreciate the support of the parents and all those that took the time to listen to their children practice and encouraged them throughout the unit of inquiry.
     
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    P5 Preview
    This week the children have been busy working on their Unit of Inquiry summative assessments. They researched the use of a natural resource of their choice. Then working individually or in groups they took on the role of someone who uses that resource and argued why they should be allowed to do so and why they were in conflict with other group members. They included lots of relevant information and did a good job of arguing the pros and cons of human use of and relationship with natural resources. I will send a copy of your child’s summative assessment home in the red folder next week.Today the children shared their ideas for carrying out action regarding the unit outside of the classroom. It was great to hear about posters to encourage people to turn off the lights, meat free meals, water hippos being placed in toilet cisterns, buckets collecting water in showers. Our children are learning how to share and conserve our planet’s resources. We plan to finish this unit on Monday with a trip to the local river to see how people in Moshi make use of natural resources. The children must wear shoes that are good for walking ,such as sneakers, because the terrain is uneven.
    Mr. Marvin has been leading the maths activities this week. He has been working with the children on the topic of volume and capacity. The children are developing their estimation skills and have also been using formula (length x width x height) to work out the volume of rectangular prisms.
    Next week we will start our new Unit of Inquiry. Central Idea: Media empowers people to create, extend and challenge our perception of the world. Lines of Inquiry
  • Forms of media and their role.
  • How persuasion influences the way we see the world.
  • The power of visual communication.
  • How our creativity can influence others. We will start by considering the different forms of media and familiarizing ourselves with some of the new vocabulary that we will encounter in this unit. As a tuning in activity we will look at some advertisements and see the power of visual communication.
    Monday: I.T, Library and trip to the the River Karanga (please remind your child to wear appropriate shoes for walking) Tuesday: P.E., French and Music Wednesday: Swahili Thursday: French, I.T. Friday: Swahili, Swimming and Music. Some P5 students will be MCs at the Primary Gathering.
    Deborah Mills, (P5 Teacher)
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    P6 Preview
    The students in P6 have worked exceptionally well towards their information booklets on natural resources. The quality of their work was so good, their research very extensive and they made a good effort to cite their information sources. It was also good practice for them to learn about Google Drive where they saved their work and could access their work from home. The P6s have also created some fantastic marble art on pods and seeds. It was an enjoyable week.
    In the coming week we start our new unit of Inquiry. Our Central Idea is; “Media empowers people to create, extend and challenge our perception of the world.”

    Unit of Inquiry Our lines of Inquiry are
  • Forms of media
  • How persuasion influences the way we see the world
  • The power of visual communication
  • How creativity influences others I would like to invite any parents who are experts in the field of media to come in as a guest speaker or if there are media stations that you think would be great for the children to visit as an extension of their learning do let me know through email.
    Math – we are going to do a stand-alone unit on measuring angles in degrees. Students will learn the names of different angles as well as estimate and measure them.
    Language Arts – to start the new unit we will look at ways we communicate under different forms of media and how language can be used for different purposes and for different audiences.
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    IN THIS ISSUE
    Dar Presentation
    Dar Invitation
    Delicious Murder
    Opera in Arusha
    Primary News
    Secondary News
    The Arts in ISM
    Sports News
    Tennis
    Swimming
    Diploma Update
    Primary Previews
    CONTACT US International School Moshi
    PO Box 733
    Moshi, Tanzania
    Tel: +255 27 2755005
    Fax: +255 736 605320
    Email:

    Mobile:
    +255 767 534766
    NOTES This newsletter has been sent to you from International School Moshi. if your email address changes or if you would like me to add another email address to this mailing list.

    Keiron White
    Head of Moshi Campus

    International School Moshi provides a world-class education through a challenging international curriculum in a dynamic environment. We are committed to developing balanced global citizens who are empowered to act responsibly in a complex world.
    Do you know of somebody who would like to receive this newsletter, or is there an extra email address you would like me to send it to?
    Email me, Keiron White, on to tell me. This newsletter published by International School Moshi (Moshi Campus) © 2016