Arusha Campus News – 15 Dec 2017

Happy Hanukkah!

P3 are learning about traditions, rituals and artefacts. They got to celebrate Hanukkah this week by learning many different traditions they do, what they eat for traditional foods and the rituals they partake in to celebrate this wonderful holiday. Thank you to Edan, Karin, Amit and Tamar for showing us their family traditions of Hanukkah.

Arusha Swim Club (above) taking a breather from their training schedule and having a sit down!

Today’s assembly gave us a chance to look back on the highlights of 2017 and perhaps one of the most memorable was the most recent. The wonderful Wizard of Oz which was arranged by our very own team of Miss Arora, Ms Wilms, Mrs Simonsen, Mrs Stanford and Mr Dixon. One of our parents, Hagai, has made a collection of these photos for all of us at this link https://www.dropbox.com/sh/g4t8ofit1gt7swu/AABYZmZEClBL-yiEXmodIPdJa?dl=0

to which you are all welcome to navigate. Its not too late to order a CD of the show from another wonderful mum, in Paula who kindly filmed the show for us. Thank you Paula.

While I am on the subject of films allow me to direct you to two other  great films to come out of ISMAC in the last month. First a short prromotion of ISMAC by Ghaidaa Dakik at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O3aeTRl5WPc

And then another short film about the recent Plaster House trip to Tarangire sponsired by P6 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sVmzZx_uEPE

We hope you enjoy the footage and more importantly we hope that everyone has enjoyed 2017!

Have a very pleasant holiday and keep safe!

Phil

We have made it to the end: Semester One has finished and I think we are all ready for a well deserved rest.

The past week has been full of activities across the Primary and Secondary schools, with trips to the airport and Shanga to name but two. We have also continued our learning in the classroom: on the right you can see Edan (Tamar, Amit and Gal’s dad) explaining the festival of Hanukkah to EC and P3. This is just one example of the phenominal support we receive from parents, for which I would like to thank you all.

I would also like to extend my thanks to all the staff at ISM Arusha who make everything possible: the classroom and subject teachers, and assistants, who lead the students through their IB journey; and the support staff who make working at ISM such a pleasurable experience.

We now look forward to recharging batteries ready for 2018 and Semester Two; which no-doubt will also be packed with learning, excitement and challenge.

I wish everyone an excellent break and a very happy start to 2018.

Darren

Ibrahim fires up Jacek’s Cessna before heading off to Zanzibar!

On Tuesday 16 January ISM Arusha will host Student-Led Portfolio Conferences for M1-M5 students and parents. These conferences will take place for all MYP students and there will be no lessons scheduled for MYP on this day. Students will present Semester One work to their parents.

The aim is for students to articulate to their parents how well they have met the academic expectations of their subjects. Students will explain how they are assessed against the MYP criteria, parents will have the opportunity to ask questions and to better understand the process of assessment at ISM.

Could all MYP parents please email their child(ren)’s tutor at their @ismac.ac.tz address (firstname plus initial, eg. darrena) by Thursday 11 January at the latest, to arrange an appointment. 

These student-led conferences are a great opportunity for parents to share their child(ren)’s learning success. Please do not miss it. 

M1 class listens to Dr. Charles Foley’s (Wildlife Conservation Society and ISM parent) talk about elephants and elephant poaching.

Whilst I was visiting Arusha, I stumbled upon an amazing site named: Shanga (Shanga = beads in Kiswahili). Shanga is a place where being different is celebrated. Shanga employs people around Tanzania with all types of disabilities.

On top of carrying out such a good deed, all of Shanga’s products are made of recycled materials ranging from glass to oil. As said by our guide Paul (Who had a fantastic personality) “Recycling is an art”. Actually, their annual turnout of recycled materials is forty-eight tonnes! This is a very large number and that’s forty-eight tonnes less ‘trash’ that would end up in a landfill. A very positive impact regarding the environment.

One thing that warmed my heart is how open Shanga is to employ people. Actually, all of Shanga’s disabled employees were unemployed before learning about Shanga. It helps the people I met to earn a living and live a happy life with their disability. If you buy any products from the gift shop you’re helping Shanga employ and change the lives of marginalized skilled people.

My highlight of this magnificent tour was working with some of the talented workers to create beautiful pieces of jewelry. After I created my works of art I was able to buy and keep them. Apart from this as I explored through the gift shop I found a wonderful elephant plushie made out of an old men’s shirt. Who knew that something so cute could also be eco-friendly.

Overall Shanga is one of the few things that has restored my faith in humanity if you’re in Arusha I would highly recommend you pop in for a quick tour (it’s free). This site gets an 11/10 from me. Happy travels!

M5 students just completed a familiarization session to prepare for the on-screen examinations in May 2018 in English, Mathematics, Sciences, Individuals and Societies and Interdisciplinary learning. Every day this week, M5s conducted a two-hour on-screen exam in the IT Lab as a formative assessment. The aim of this formative exercise was to allow students to familiarize themselves with the format and content of on-screen examinations as well as with the IT tools required. Another practice session is planned for Semester 2 and past exams are also available to students if they want additional practice at home.

The ePortfolio units have also been introduced for Design, PHE, French, Music, Drama and Visual Arts. The ePortfolios willl be assessed throughout Quarter 3 and assessment dates are posted on ManageBac.

Having completed their Personal Project Product, the M5 students are now busy working on the Personal Project report. Their first draft is due after the holidays on January 29.

In Primary we are looking for oparents who may be interested in coaching Cricket and/or Field Hockey and/or Boys Football. If anyone knows of a parent or someone who might be interested or someone you might be able to encourage to help, please let me know or pass on my details.

Jessica Peterson jessicap@ismac.ac.tz

My name is Gabriel Kalamata. I have been teaching Piano and Music theory following the ABRSM curriculum from the UK at ISM- Arusha Campus since 2008.

Piano and Theory Students can take part of the ABRSM Exams where there are two theory Exams and One Practical Exam in a year.

The Schedule for Piano/Theory Lessons is as follows:

Day               Start Time          Finish Time

Tuesday         2:30pm               4:40 pm
Wednesday    2:00pm               4:30 pm
Thursday       2:30pm               4:30pm

Tuition Fee  is Tsh 20,000tsh per lesson for half an hour.

Parents who are interested to develop the talent of the children;

Contact Gabriel at : +255 753 341076
                 
                   Email: kalamata734@gmail.com.