Arusha News – 30 Nov 2018

Its ALL gone! Yes, Monsieur Olivier cut off his golden locks in the name of raising money for people who have lost their hair through cancer treatment or through accidental burns! What a gesture!

Miss Alley and her fabulous dance troupe just before they went on stage this evening in the SCIS Dance Challenge! They were simply terrific!

I must apologise for the lack of newsletter last week. The weekend was so action packed at the Moshi Sports Weekend (see picture above) that I simply couldn’t find the opportunity to write it. As for the weekend itself, our students and staff excelled themselves and came back laden with trophies. However to count our victories would be missing the point. The spirit in which we played, the commitment to the team and our sportsmanship were absolutely delightful and made us all very proud of our school indeed. 800 students and 16 schools attended, and we finished 5th in the rankings which isn’t bad for the smallest school in the field and a campus of 150 odd students. See the results table later in this newsletter. A huge thank you to Robin Marsh on Moshi Campus for organising such a slick and professional event.

Earlier last week, our chess team took part in the Inter Schools Chess Tournament and came away with two champions in their categories – Divansh and Tristan (pictured below) together with Kilian, one of our star chess players.

Earlier today our junior swimmers took part in the NTAA Primary Swim Gala. Results are not quite out as I write this but a magnificemt showing from both campuses. Tomorrow we start all over again with the Secondary Gala. A big thank you to Mr Ratsakatika for organising and especially to Carolynn Fischer for her tireless work in preparing the race software. She has promised to be in school at 4am (!!) tomorrow to finish preparations for the secondary gala. What a lady!

Finally, A big hand for Monsieur Olivier and his magnificent fund raising gesture to shave his head to raise money for Plasterhouse kids and those who have had cancer treatment. Our thoughts are with him as his head hits the pillow this evening WITHOUT those comforting follicles. What a gentleman!

The two stories above remind us how lucky we are to be surrounded by such selfless people who give so much to our community. There are many other examples – our PTA, ground and housekeeping staff to name but a few.

Have a super weekend.

Phil

At this afternoon’s swimming gala the final race of the day saw ISM Arusha Campus pull off a remarkable comeback to win the final relay at the death, thanks in no small part to Gryffin’s amazing swim and win at the line. His teammates celebrate as he arrives!

Last week saw me travelling to southern Africa for a CIS accreditation team visit to another IB world school. Much like the visit Phil did to India in previous weeks, this visit was affirming for me when looking at what we do here at ISM Arusha. School visits are filled with ‘ah ha’ moments, both of familiarity: “oh you have power issues too”, and of difference: “wow your Service Learning programme and CAS students achieved that!” All these observations can then be brought back here and help us as a school to move forward, knowing what other similar schools are doing.

Returning to school on Monday, I was again amazed at the energy and commitment that our students display: achieving so much at sports weekend and then coming to school and ‘surviving’ a full day of lessons with such enthusiasm. Our students are ‘all rounders’, which is what the IB programmes aim to produce; holistic individuals who can adapt and thrive in varied environments, unfazed by change.

This week highlighted these skills, with rehearsals for the play in secondary, swimming preparations across primary and secondary, along with the fun and seriousness of a working week.

Our students are resilient, committed, talented and adaptable, but most of all fun to be around.

Have a great weekend,

Darren

This week, P2 students noticed a dripping tap and implored Mr Phil to do soemthing about it. Thankfully Fundi Emmanuel came to the rescue and taught us how to mend such a thing! Now it drips no more!

Two weekends ago, 8 students from M4 set out on their practice Bronze Duke of Edinburgh hike. They prepared their own maps, route cards and meals. They had to carry all their own equipment including tents, pans, clothing and food for the 2 days. The view from the top of the crater of Meru and Kilimanjaro was stunning on the Sunday morning. A big thank you to Mrs Bowen, Miss Caroline, Mr Dixon and Mr Emond for supporting the students.

On Monday we experienced the most wonderful life skills discussion  that was arranged by Rachel Musson, Director of Thoughtbox https://www.thoughtboxeducation.com Rachel devised a board game which was played in groups of students across the secondary school. It worked magnificently and the students were able to discuss real scenarios with each other and work collaboratively – D1’s with M1’s to share experiences and find solutions.

U19 Ultimate Frisbee – 1st Place (Champions)
U19 Netball – 2nd place
U15 Basketball – 2nd Place
U15 Volleyball – 3rd Place (reached semi finals)
U19 Football – 4th Place (reached semi finals)
U19 Volleyball – 4th Place (reached semi finals)
U15 Football – 4th Place (reached semi finals)
U15 Mixed Touch – 4th Place (reached semi finals)
Swimming – Caedmon and Avalon won individual races
U12 Cross Country – Siri 1st place
U12 Cross County – Jess 2nd place
U14 Tennis – Neel 1st place
U12 Tennis – Troy 3rd

We are delighted to announce that ISMAC will be hosting an International Schools Theatre Association (ISTA) festival from 10th-12th May, 2019. ISTA is a fantastic organisation which brings professional actors and directors to work with students over three days to create a final performance. Schools will be coming from all over the world. If your son/daughter is interested in drama and theatre, this is an opportunity which should not be missed!

Please see the website for more details: https://ista.co.uk/ There is also a video available, which gives more insight, here: https://vimeo.com/271338526

We are hosting a middle school festival which will be aimed at 10-14 year olds. The cost for participating students from our school will be approximately 600,000tsh, which includes all of the workshops, transportation to and from trips, and food, plus a t-shirt. We will also require students who take part to host two students from visiting schools. This will most likely be from 9th-12th May. During this time, some of their meals will be provided by school but some will need to be provided by their host families, as well as transportation to and from school for rehearsals (which your own child will also be attending).

We have 20-30 places available and these will be filled on a first come, first served basis. If you would like to register your child(ren), please email Miss Arora at amya@ismac.ac.tz .

We are so excited about this amazing opportunity!

The backstage crew would like to re-use old props and avoid purchasing new items for the Little Shop of Horrors production in December however we are having difficulty finding the following items:

Dentist’s chair  (an old fashioned, chunky, black recliner chair may work)
Cash register (old fashioned looking, not brightly coloured)
2 x flip-open phones (90s style)
Coat stand
Table top radio
Old plastic  flower vases
Plastic plant pots

Please contact Ms. Katrina on katrinas@ismac.ac.tz or drop your item(s) off at the EAL Room.

Thank you from the Backstage Crew