Moshi Campus News – 12 March 2017

FAIRY TALE DREAM – PRIMARY PRODUCTION On Friday, 24th March at 2pm all the primary students will be entertaining you with their contemporary music and drama fairy tale show in Karibu Hall. Parents are invited to come and watch so please make a note of the date and time. The show includes all EC children, all P1 – P6 children, children from the Primary Clubs (Contemporary Music and Physical Theatre), plus the Pop Choir. We expect to finish by 3pm. We are looking forward to seeing you all there.

Our M3 students are now in their final preparation for the M3 Science Fair. The planning, data collection and analysis of data for a project you must chose yourself is no easy matter but as always, I have been really impressed with the experimental work the M3 students are doing. They will all present their work on Tuesday, 14th March in Karibu Hall and the show is open to parents (and students) from 10:35am to 12:35.
Please come along and enjoy the enthusiasm, demonstrations and explanations of the M3 students. Zoe McIvor (Dr Mac), MYP Science Teacher

Last week we formally opened the upgraded Social Centre in school. After having made some interior structural changes a few months ago, we now have completely new furniture designed to make the place a more comfortable and enjoyable place for our students to relax in their spare time. We have asked all our students to respect the new space and look after the room.

I know people are different, but to me it is still hot outside. The reason I bring this up is that studies suggest that heat affects the way we think and act. For our current D2 students this is something to remember as they are already in a stressful situation with the final month of IB coursework coming in. I wish them cool weather and level heads to get to the end.
On Tuesday, our M3 students will be having their Science Fair in Karibu Hall. I am sure they would be happy to have as many visitors as possible to this event.

Looking ahead, on Thursday March 23rd we will have a group of universities from the UK coming to talk with students and the following week we will have the Diploma Art Exhibition. Bob Cofer

We are coming to the end of the quarter. School closes on Friday, 31st March, and re-opens on Tuesday, 18th April. A reminder to parents who have not yet made travel arrangements for their children to do so, and send us the necessary details. The school provides free transport to/from Moshi and Kilimanjaro International Airport on closing and opening days. However, we are not able to offer transport to/from Arusha.
This weekend boarders went for supervised/unsupervised town trips as schedule. This was followed by football in the evening and a pool party after dinner. Primary had a birthday party for one of the primary boarders in the pool are in the afternoon, followed by a movie night in the evening.
Boarders engaged in a number of activities, on Saturday, including Primary boot camp, indoor games, Henna party, water polo and primary drama. The highlight of the evening was the Talent Night outside Karibu Hall, where different boarders showcased their musical skills. Sunday saw many boarders go to their respective places of worship. Primary boarders then had a Mindfulness session and football in Karibu Hall. There was capture the flag that involved students of all ages, and they had fun all round campus. Secondary girls later had a fun Spa Afternoon, the boys had a football match , while the primary boarders had a mud fight followed by swimming.
Two students had chicken pox last week, but are now doing better. They both left boarding for a while to avoid any re-infection. Rosemary Bango, (Head of Boarding)

     
We are very pleased to announce the ISM Scholars for 2017-18 and 2018-19 who will be studying for the IB Diploma on the Moshi Campus. From left to right:

Alfred Shauri and Cynthia Mchechu have won full ISM scholarships funded by ISM

Kennedy Boniface has won a full ISM scholarship funded from donations received through parents and alumni

Esther Mndeme has won an ISM/Make A Difference Now jointly funded scholarship.
Congratulations to all four scholars and we look forward to them joining ISM in August.

Last week I was privileged to get an opportunity to visit Kakuma refugee camp in northern Kenya. The camp is one of the biggest in the world and home to around 250,000 refugees from many different African countries including South Sudan and Somalia. ISM is in the process of establishing a scholarship programme in partnership with the Windle Trust to attract highly capable refugee children who would benefit from the IB diploma programme. In return, ISM will offer our teacher expertise to help train refugee teachers, both in the camps and through online teacher mentoring. Most of the refugee teachers have received no formal teacher training and many have no more than a high school leavers certificate.
During the visit I got an opportunity to lead teacher training sessions on classroom management and cooperative learning, which were appreciatively received. I further got a chance to visit one of the schools and observe the teachers in action. It was truly inspiring to work with the teachers at Kakuma; they have overcome so much adversity in their lives, yet still remain positive, energetic and highly motivated to learn and give back to their communities.
By solidifying the scholarship programme and partnership with the Windle Trust, it is my belief that the ISM community stands to gain tremendously on many different levels. In turn, we further substantiate our school philosophy by living the IB values of international mindedness and service to others. Gareth Jacobson, Head of Primary, Arusha Campus

On Thursday, 23rd March we will be welcoming five UK universities to the school to present to our M5 and D1 students. The universities attending are the universities of Kent, Portsmouth, Coventry, Hertfordshire and Central Lancashire. This will be a good opportunity for our students to learn more about UK admissions and expectations. The fair will start at 2:30pm in Karibu Hall.

HOME OF THE LEOPARDS This past Saturday March 4th our Leopard teams were supposed to be back in action for the 3rd and final round of the NTAA tournament, but due to rain the games were cancelled. The NTAA are trying to re-schedule these games, so please keep posted to this site for more details. This Saturday March 10th our Under 19 Boys Basketball team participated in the “A Town Thrown Down” Basketball Tournament along with ISMAC and 3 other local schools.
Below you can find a screen shot of the Rugby and Swimming Team pages along with the website links. As we get these sites up and running it will be great for our coaches, students and community to get information about Leopard teams at a touch of a button.

https://ismrugbyrugbyleague.teamapp.com
https://ismmoshivarsityswimteam.teamapp.com
House Competition Congratulations to Curry FC, who were crowned Champions of the ISM Indoor Football Tournament yesterday after a thrilling 4-3 victory over The Goat.
Click here for information and the sign-up form: www.uwcea.org/sportsign
This past Tuesday, March 7th was the Secondary Swim Gala, and what a great event it was. Lots of house spirit was on display as many Secondary School students jumped into the pool and showed off their swimming skills. It was an extremely close competition with Mawenzi House beating Meru House by only 20 points – 1936 to 1916, with Kibo House in 3rd place. Points were awarded for house colors/shirts, registered swimmers in events, and of course the swimming as well. There will be two more house competitions and Meru House is the overall leader.
A quick note from Coach Greg, March Madness is coming up and will take place on Tuesday March 28th and Thursday March 30th. For more details regarding the event, please speak with Coach Greg.
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)

We are gearing up for two important, upcoming competitions: next weekend, the annual St. Constantine’s Primary and Secondary Swim Gala in Arusha, and in two weeks, the ISK Invitational Swim Gala.
For next weekend, students must return a field trip permission form to Coach Ryan by Monday 13 March 2017 to secure your spot on the team. Boarding parents will sign for each boarder. A healthy lunch should be prepared for the journey, and kindly remember that soda, sugary snacks, and candy is not permitted and will be confiscated if brought on the bus. The primary bus will leave on Saturday 18 March at 0520 for warm-ups begin at 0730. We hope to return at 3pm. See the letter for parents for more information.
The secondary team (including Ashraf) will leave on Sat 18 March at 0800. A healthy lunch and permission forms are required for day students (as above), and boarders will have lunch prepared for them and permission forms signed by boarding parents. Secondary swimmers should return by 6pm.
Parents who would like their swimmer to attend the ISK Invitational Swim Gala in Nairobi must deposit US$260 into the ISM Swim Trip account no later than Thursday 16 March 2017. This competition is by invitation only.
For more information on swim competitions, check the website and download Team App on your iPhone or Android device: https://ismmoshivarsityswimteam.teamapp.com Ryan Sullivan, Swim Coach
Message from Parents of ISM swimmers: In the last few years, Ryan Sullivan has set up a great swimming program for the ISM children and it has brought forward some great swimmers. As Ryan Sullivan will be leaving ISM next school year, some parents want to look into the possibility to continue the swimming program for their children. There is already contact with a coach from South Africa who is willing to coach our children at ISM. As parents we will have to sit together and discuss whether and how we can contribute to this opportunity. A good coach will be able to take our children to several swimming competitions, even on a National and International level.
Please come to our parents’ meeting at the swimming pool on Wednesday the 15th of March at 3pm. If you have questions or you can’t come but would like to be informed, please contact Christine Brandsma: 0756730125 or email: . Christine Brandsma, Parent

Last week was an exciting one for primary students who signed up for the indoor football tournament. Ten teams of 5 players and two subs registered, three boys and two girls playing 5-on-5 in K-Hall. Tensions were high, but the atmosphere was friendly as the P3-4 and the P5-6 students competed on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. Games start at 1:30pm sharp. Players should wear the team’s colors on game day.
Results were as follows: Invisibles – 0 – 3 – Super Strikers – Player of the Game – Nuno Thunderers – 0 – 1 – Green Coconuts – Player of the Game – Gurtej Meru P3-4 – 2 – 2 – White Shadow – Player of the Game – Ray Yellow Bananas – 2 – 3 – Mawenzi #1 P3-4 – Player of the Game – Scarlett
Next Week’s Matches – 130pm-140pm & 140pm-150pm Wednesday – Thunderers v Super Strikers & The Invisibles v Green Coconuts Thursday – Captain Kibo v Mawenzi #2 P3-4 & Meru P3-4 v Yellow Bananas
Next week, there will be no swimming during P2-3, P4-5 PE classes so that we can use the time to catch-up with our striking and fielding unit. Please ensure you have sports kits for those days.
We are currently arranging tournaments and friendly matches for basketball and football. There are two other schools in the NTAA who offer primary basketball, Braeburn and St. Constantine’s, and Coach Ryan emailed them both to ask about arranging a tournament. Stay tuned!
Upcoming Dates Saturday 18 March 2017 – St. Constantine’s swim meet – Primary Bus @ 0520 Thursday 23 March – Sunday 26 March – Nairobi Swim Gala – selected swimmers only Tuesday 28 March 2017 – Primary Basketball at Moshi – to be confirmed Monday 10 April – Monday 17 April – April Swim Camp – Moshi/ Arusha – advanced swimmers – 10+ years
For more information on swim competitions, check the website and download Team App on your iPhone or Android device: https://ismmoshivarsityswimteam.teamapp.com

Update:

The Head of Campus, Head of Secondary and DP Coordinator met with D2s to discuss the recent string of D2 academic dishonesty cases. The DPC emailed D2s highlighting that: “As you may know, your D2 class has had a string of recent serious academic dishonesty cases. Other D2 class of 2017 essential IB coursework will be submitted in the coming days/weeks. Be reminded that each of you signed the ISM Academic Honesty Policy when you joined our DP. One of the core Learner Profile principles is PRINCIPLED. I will write the next sentence and another later in this paragraph in capital letters. ALL ISM DP COURSEWORK MUST ACCORD WITH THE ACADEMIC HONESTY POLICY. Consequences are harsh for mistakes. Plan your work. Organize yourself. Do not get stuck with last minute pressures associated with procrastination-inducing rushed work on deadlines. This creates an all too common problematic adolescent schoolwork reality wherein the push to get things submitted fast, poor judgement reigns and academic dishonesty-oriented choices are made. Certainly use others’ academic work but please always cite properly, use the excellent simple ISM referencing guide.”

Parents of students enrolled in online courses should have received an email from Pamoja Education and a message on how to log on and track your son/daughter’s online course progress.

D1 parents are reminded of the Diploma Progression Policy which states: “At the end of the third 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.”

M5 students are reflecting on their course selections and meeting with the DPC as they look to commence D1 in August 2017.

IB DP students celebrated the wonderful array of recent university admittances that D2s received with this group photo and then another celebratory photo of D2s tutor with Fatema Bhimani following her admittance hours before to Harvard University.
Upcoming Events:

REPEAT MESSAGE – The importance of at least one DP parent attending the end of quarter parent-teacher meeting (March 31st) cannot be overstated. Try to find a way to attend! Moreover, ensure that your child does not leave until that afternoon and that he/she returns for the 7:35am start of quarter 4 on Wed April 19th.

The 3-week annual IB DP exams will occur from Mon May 1st to Fri May 19th.

D2 Grad weekend events: a) Decoration of Karibu Hall (parents/D2s) – Fri May 19th – 9am-noon;
b) Grad Fri evening dinner at AMEG Lodge in Moshi at 6:30pm;
c) Grad Ceremony – Sat May 20th with arrival at 2:00 for a 2:30pm start;
d) Tea in the Director’s Garden 4:30-6:30pm.
Weblinks: On Academic Honesty | IBO Competition Winner (Film/Animation) – www.youtube.com/watch?v=VwWR-6qNi-U!
On internationalism (hallmark of the IB DP) these e-links were shared with students: 1. World Press Photo – Annual Awards for the best photos in the last year (various categories) www.worldpressphoto.org/collection/photo/2017
2. AFRICA Why 20 Million People Are on Brink of Famine in a ‘World of Plenty’ www.nytimes.com/2017/02/22/world/africa/why-20-million-people-are-on-brink-of-famine-in-a-world-of-plenty.html
3. Pulitzer Prizes – Journalism/2016 (the Pulitzer Prizes for 2017 will be announced on April 10, 2017) www.pulitzer.org/prize-winners-by-year/2016
4. Nobel Peace Prize – 2016 -The Nobel Peace Prize 2016 was awarded to (Colombian President) Juan Manuel Santos “for his resolute efforts to bring the country’s civil war to an end”. www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2016
Rick Fitzpatrick, (Diploma Coordinator):

Unit of Inquiry Last week the children inquired into the difference between ‘living and non-living’ so that we could move forward into our inquiry into ‘how light and dark affects the behavior of living things.’ The children brainstormed nocturnal animals and we started looking at non-fiction books to find out more. This week the children will carry out some experiments with plant growth and also start some group inquiries into nocturnal animals to find out why these animals are more active at night and sleep during the day.
Literacy

EC1 will find out about the letter sound y made by Yellow Yoyo man

EC2 will find out about the digraph sound th.

The writing will continue about different light sources as well as what the children see out of their windows at night and during the day.

Portfolio assessments are ongoing

Reading stories about Nocturnal animals (We would love to read any stories you may have at home so please send into class)
Numeracy

Capacity activities in the water and sand

Portfolio assessments

Number games (your child will show you some of the games they play at school at the two-way portfolio conferences at the end of this quarter)
We will start our dance rehearsals for the Primary production: Fairy Tale Dream, which will be held on March 24th at 2pm. Please keep this afternoon free to attend the production.

As parents of P1/2 children will already have heard, Ms Andrea will be leaving ISM this week for personal reasons. We hope to bring a full P1/P2 preview in next week’s newsletter.

Dear Parents, Well done to Joshua, Tanya and Kamili for receiving green leaves this week.
Thank you to those of you who have sent in indoor shoes with your child. It helps keep our classroom and new rug clean. Please make sure your child has a pair of indoor shoes for next week.
As you may be aware, there is an indoor football tournament for P2/3 every Thursday @1:30pm. The children have already signed up for their respective house teams. It started this week and we had a good turnout. Next week children will need to come to school in their house T-shirts ready to take part.
Tuesday P2/3 will have PE, NOT swimming, (just this week). Clubs will be the same if your child has swimming.
This Week in class: The children have been working independently on their non-fiction posters. They have chosen an area that they are an expert in and looked at the aspects of an informative non-fiction poster. The class have been working on addition with re-grouping. We have looked at different strategies they can use to solve them correctly. We have looked at “g, h, t” spelling pattern and others have been working on their individual spelling work. Our unit of inquiry has gotten off to a good start. The children are extremely curious and have carried out some science experiments.
The Week Ahead in class Unit of Inquiry This week we will be continuing with our new unit and unpacking it further. We will be looking at the following line of inquiry: How the world works Central idea: Life on earth is directly related to how the solar system works. Our lines of inquiry: How day and night are caused, and Connections between night and day cycles of living things.
Reading: The children will be working closely with their reading buddy and learning from each other. They will be working on helping each other and sharing different reading strategies.
Writing: Non-fiction writing will continue to be our focus. We will be looking at completing our posters and sharing them with others. We will also be starting to put together our own non-fiction class book.
Math: Addition with re-grouping will be a focus this week. Some children will be working on two digit numbers and other three digits. We will also be looking at a variety of strategies that the class can use to solve them accurately. Regrouping poem: In the ones – adds up to 9 everything’s fine, 10 or more take the extra next door (in the tens).
The Week Ahead: Monday: Homework, Indoor shoes need to be in school Tuesday: PE and Library Wednesday: P3 French Thursday: P3 French, INDOOR FOOTBALL @1:30 (house T-shirt) Friday: PE. Please return completed homework.
Useful websites: To help develop spelling www.kidsspell.com www.spellingtraining.com, (this one is very good as you can focus on different spelling patterns) Have a great weekend Clare Hibbard P2/3

We were excited to have two visitors this week to help us explore our unit of inquiry. We learned first hand about living through natural disasters when Mr.Cofer visited. Also, Tavari’s dad introduced us to the career of risk management and showed us how he identifies risk at TPC. We learned that by spreading the risk and with good communication companies (and individuals) can minimize the effect of natural disasters.
In English we have been looking at creation myths and how they were/are used to explain natural disasters and we will continue this into next week. We have been looking at adverbs of frequency in our word work and this is also helping us in Math as we are exploring the concept of probability. Next week we will begin to mine some data to examine the impact of natural disasters. We will also in this unit look at shape and how it impacts designers and architects in building resilient structures.
Please feel free to work through any videos and activities in the last unit’s Blendspace and begin to work through this unit’s one with your child. Continue to review times tables with your child as we will be assessing our progress at the end of next week. Julie Bowen, (P4/5 Class Teacher)

Cecilia celebrated her birthday this week. Many happy returns Cecilia.
Our Unit of Inquiry, “Governmental systems and decisions can promote or deny equal opportunities and social justice,” has got off to a good start. The children have researched the features of different forms of government (monarchy, dictatorship, democracy etc.) and are becoming more confident when using this vocabulary. We have made a poster explaining the issues that we will be inquiring into during this unit which is displayed in the breezeway. For homework the children inquired into the forms of government in their home countries and shared that information with their classmates. We also considered why government is necessary and the things that governments are responsible for (army, road maintenance, border control etc.) and where the money for providing these services comes from (taxes!) Next week we will carry out role plays so we can experience what life might be like under different forms of government. The children will also consider their personal freedoms (who decides what they eat, what they wear, what time they go to bed.)
In Language we have started looking at poetry. We have played some word games and will continue to work on this area next week. Our long term goal is to write some poetry to express things that we feel deeply about (human rights, social justice) which will link well with our Unit of Inquiry. In Art the children will start planning a graffiti activity linked to self expression.
This week in Maths we have been focusing on multiplication. The children have completed some assessments and will set themselves goals to work on for next week. Those children that are proficient at multiplication will work on problem solving skills.
The children will bring home some Swahili homework in the homework packet this week.
Dates for your diary: Friday, 24th March – 2pm Primary Years Production – Fairy Tale Dream Thursday, 30th March – Student Led Portfolio Sharing Conferences
The week ahead: Monday – library, I.T. and new homework packet goes home including Swahili homework. Tuesday – P.E. French, Music Wednesday – Swahili Thursday – I.T. and French Friday – Swimming, Swahili and Music. Please return your homework packet to school. Deborah Mills, (P5 Teacher)

The students presented beautifully on both assemblies (In Karibu Hall on Monday and in the Friday Gathering). It was great practice for them as they will be presenting in the PYP Exhibition to the community this coming May.
The Exhibition groups have been working on the finding out stage of their inquiry and have began going to members within the community as well as using resources within the school to gather information. This week two different groups interviewed people who are connected to their issue. The Gamers Going Green (Joshua, Gurtej and Brian) interviewed Mr. Saha (Ms Cathy’s husband), who loves gaming and is very knowledgeable in this area. This group was well prepared for the interview and found a great deal of information. We also had the Litter Less Lords, going into Moshi Town to interview Mr. Matata, a local artist who shared more about his trade and how he incorporates recycled materials into his work. The group took great initiative to plan the trip through Jonah’s mum, Sarah.
In the coming week, the students will continue finding out more information and sorting it using various graphic organizers o paper as well as through I.T. We encourage the parents to come in and share their expertise or even help to organize trips to places they can get more information. Ms Cathy.

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