Moshi Campus News – 23 May 2020

First off let me add my congratulations to the P6 students. I know that many were looking forward to the Exhibition.  I do not think this was quite what they expected when they left P5, but they have done a fantastic job of making it a memorable event to celebrate their learning.  You will see the links below to the special website and I encourage you to visit and comment on their work.  As of now there have been over 130 comments and I am sure they would love to here from more of you.  With any event like this there are a lot of people behind the scenes.  This PYPX would not have been possible without Ms Deborah, Mr White, Mr Morley, the mentors and of course the parents, thank you all for your work.

In the next two weeks we have two more virtual events, the first is our Graduation.  On Saturday May 30th we will have a video version of the D2 Graduation followed by a Zoom party to celebrate their achievement.  Discussions have started with the students about when we can follow this up with a face-to-face party as well.

The following week we will have the M5 Celebration online as well.  Mr Ochieng has provided details below.

I look forward to seeing all the D2 and M5 at these events.

Bob Cofer

We are almost at the end of Ramaddan and this of course means a time of celebration and Eid al Fitr. Eid al Fitr is the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal. It marks the end of Ramadan, which is a month of fasting and prayer. At the time of publishing this newsletter, the exact dates of this public holiday was not yet revealed but we expect there to be no classes on Monday.

This week, I would like to say an enormous CONGRATULATIONS to our P6 pioneers. Each and every student presented their PYP Exhibition (PYPX) via Zoom this week and, without exception, they did an incredible job.

As you might have guessed, this was the first “virtual” PYPX in the long history of the IB at UWCEA. The P6 students quickly overcame their initial disappointment to deliver well-researched, thought provoking and, often, uniquely meaningful and personal presentations. Of course, these presentations are the culmination of weeks of hard work, both at school and, more recently, at home. A huge “well done” to all the mums and dads too for supporting and guiding the students through the process…and a particularly heartfelt thank you to Ms Deborah for facilitating everything so diligently and generously from afar.

The audience was truly global as we welcomed participants from all over the world, including Australia, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Uganda, Sweden, South Africa, the UK, Singapore…and, of course, across Tanzania. On behalf of P6, thank you so much for taking part in this event and making it so special.

 

Each presentation included live and recorded elements and the highlight for many was the moment of appreciation at the end, when everyone was invited to unmute their mics, turn their cameras on and show the students their admiration for all their efforts. All presentations can be viewed on our fabulous, new, dedicated PYP Exhibition 2020 webpage, courtesy of Mr White. Here, you will also find the wonderful Music, French and Swahili elements of PYPX, testament to the genuinely transdisciplinary nature of the event.

I know that Ms Deborah, Ms Catherine and the P6 students (and their parents!) will have slept well after this. Be proud of your achievements. You have all demonstrated the attributes of the Learner Profile in such an authentic and meaningful way and I hope this week will live long in your collective memory.

Ben Morley

Invitations for our Virtual Graduation have been sent out. We will have this celebration on Saturday 30th May, it will start with a synchronous viewing of a pre-recorded ceremony and then move to a Zoom call for final goodbyes. The recording will be sent out to the community in the morning along with the Zoom invitation for the D2 students, their families and teachers.

For D1 students we carry on with distance learning. A reminder a summary of their work can be found here. They should be commended for their hard work and dedication and for keeping teachers informed when they have had difficulties. We will not be having exams this semester due to the current situation. However, reports will still be issued so students will be having summative assessments in all subjects, please keep us informed of any problems in advance if possible. Since this is a global problem both IB and Universities will be making allowances for this group of students.

During this time D1 students are encouraged to keep up with their CAS portfolios and to work on their Extended Essays.
Congratulations to the students who took part in Moshi’s Got Talent and to Peter K for the latest episode of Random Acts of Kindness. A link to this and other similar initiatives can be found here.

Margaret Brunt

Gearing up for the final four weeks of school, I hope you have been able to get into a routine, and are finding balance in your lives. If you are still seeking ways to maintain mental health and well-being during this time, I would like to refer you to this week’s edition of the Wellness Wednesday Weekly, with a slew of links including updates to the COVID-19 Counselor Resources due to Mental Health Awareness Week in the UK. Link to Wellness Wednesday Weekly for 20 May.

We continue to encourage our M5 and D1 students to spend time exploring their future career and college interests, and are grateful to the parents who responded to the invitation to establish a Parent Access account on our Maia Learning platform. I invite all M5/D1 parents to join the platform, and on Thursday, 28 May, at 5:30 PM EAT, I will be hosting a virtual session to walk parents through the platform via their new access. If you are a M5 or D1 parent and did not have a chance to respond to my survey requesting access, please email me directly at cassandraford@uwcea.org, and I can send you the link to access your child’s Maia Learning account. If you have access, and would like to join the session on Thursday, please complete the survey on this link by Thursday at 8:00 AM EAT, and I will send you an invitation to the event.

Also, I invite parents of all secondary students to explore this excellent resource (in English and Spanish) to assist with the college planning process (mainly US based). This process involves all parties (student, parent, counselor, teachers, etc.) having a better sense of everything that is involved in a successful application process, and documents such as this provide essential information to parents to help you better understand your role. Please review the College Greenlight Parent Kit via this link to begin your journey to helping your child prepare for the post secondary planning process ahead. 

This week we hosted a couple of special virtual university of presentations with the University of Chicago (Monday) and University of Southern California (Thursday). We are so grateful to the Admissions specialists from these institutions and others who are interested in our students, and still want to meet with them even under these circumstances. More to come, so please stay tuned.

Finally, below is the list of upcoming college and university related events. I want to draw your attention to a few key items:

1. This weekend and next week there is a HUGE International college and university fair that is free to all attendees. The times are not great because it is based out of East Asia, but many of the events will be recorded, and if you register you will receive the link to watch at a more convenient time. They are already at over 20,000 regisrants, and sessions are filling fast! Cialfo Online International College/University Fair.

2. On Tuesday, we will have a special session for our community by experienced Admissions specialists from Brown University on University of Pennsylvania. This will be a valuable session for parents and students interested in high selective institutions in the US, and I encourage you to participate.

3. On Thursday at 4:30 PM EAT the new University and Socio-emotional Counselor for the Arusha Campus and I will host a virtual Meet and Greet. If you are interested in participating, please email me at cassandraford@uwcea.org, and I will send you an invitation link to the meeting that morning.

4. There is so much more to explore, please see the constantly growing list of upcoming virtual events below, and be sure your child is logging into the College Visits section of their Maia Learning account to view the Details to join the events.

Cassandra Ford

Distance Learning in the MYP
Good job to the students for keeping up with their distance learning work. Many of the parents have applauded the level of commitment that teachers have put in to make learning possible despite the social restrictions in place the world over. From the school side, we wish to commend the parents for facilitating the logistics to make this historical moment bear educational fruits. Students will for ever grow with this experience etched in their minds eons to come. We salute the parents/guardians for their resilience and patience. For more enquiries and/or clarifications on distance learning, please contact myp_co@uwcea.org.

M5 Final Lap with Classes
The distance lessons for M5 come to a conclusion next Friday May 29. They will spend the coming week winding up studies in the various subjects they take. Their grades for the year in each subject are with us and parents can look at them Managebac over the course of next week. Their End of Year reports will be released on Thursday June 4. We thank their teachers for preparing them well for the Diploma not forgetting the parents for their support.

M5 Project Week
As from Monday June 1 to Thursday June 4 the M5 students will be finishing their research on their chosen careers.  They have a framework of questions to guide them in this exercise.  We request parents to facilitate this exciting research. This support includes helping to arrange for interviews with people currently blazing the trail in the students’ chosen careers and any other logistical support they will need. They will prepare presentations of their research findings in form of video recordings.

M5 Online Ceremony
On June 5 in the afternoon, the M5 students will have a Zoom Virtual Ceremony to celebrate the end of MYP. Due to time restrictions on Zoom, we plan to do a pre-recorded video and release it at 12 noon on that day for synchronized viewing across the school community, well-wishers and friends. We shall then meet on Zoom at exactly 2:00pm for a brief virtual toast. While some of the M5 students are sprucing up their speeches, others are busy capturing the salient and memorable events of the year. The whole class is currently engaged in one thing or the other as they bid farewell to MYP.  The invitation can be seen above and the Zoom link will be provided later.

David Ochieng

This has been the most awesome week this quarter and a moment I have been waiting for all academic year. I, like everyone else, didn’t expect the PYP Exhibition to presented virtually. I have to say that despite the challenges, it went exceptionally well and even after regular school starts, it would be great to have this recorded Zoom component as a memento.

I am so proud of all the P6 students for pulling it off so smoothly. A huge congratulations to Ms. Deborah, Ms. Catherine, P6 parents, mentors and all the people that supported the P6s through this journey.

Through reading the news from other teachers, I see that the children are making the best of their home learning experiences and staying positive. It was so beautiful to watch the Moshi talent show.
The Student Voice has a Primary Gathering lined up for us next Friday. Thank you Ms. Elisha and the Student Voice for putting this together.

I would like to wish all the Muslim members of our community, Eid Mubarak, and wish you all a lovely weekend.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

Thank you to everyone who joined us on Zoom this week to watch the P6 Exhibition presentations. The children presented to an audience that included viewers from Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Reuben got the ball rolling on Monday with a fine presentation about the Maasai and Hadzabe tribes and Raymond delivered a triumphant conclusion on Friday with a presentation on poaching. In between we heard about orphanages, deforestation, wildlife on campus, the treatment of domestic animals, technology, street children and air pollution. The children were clear and confident presenters, secure in the knowledge that their thorough research over the last 2 months would stand them in good stead during the question and answer session. Many thanks to Madame Pearl, Ms. Linda and Ms. Mary for the wonderful French, Kiswahili and Music presentations. Recordings of all of these presentations can be seen on our website https://pyp.uwcea.org – the children would be delighted if you visited the website and left them a comment. Particular thanks to Mr. White for the many hours spent creating the website, Ms. Elisha for offering technical support with Google Slides, Zoom and QR codes and to Mr. Morley for his help with sharing the presentations on Zoom last week. Thank you to the mentors for advising and encouraging the children. Mums and dads, none of it could have happened without your help. Enjoy your weekend P6, Ms. Catherine and I are so proud of you!

Deborah Mills

The P5 students had an exciting week tuning into the PYPx. I was happy to see them attend the exhibition talks. They received good advice from the P6 class on how to be successful next year.

Next week, they are going to practice similar skills by sharing their slideshows online. We will be meeting Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday at 1:30 to hear people present and take questions. One of the students and I practiced yesterday, so we feel it can be done! I emailed everyone a document where it shows their time. Please encourage them to practice reading their slideshow aloud before we meet next week.

During book clubs next week, they will be reading their narratives aloud to practice with voice as a storyteller. We also decided to have a P5 talent show at the end of this unit. Everyone will get a choice to create a performance that focuses on the VOICE- poetry, skits, speeches, singing, and comedy are all welcome.

Sarah Brummel

I am sure you will all join me in congratulating the P6s on their amazing journey and very successful PYP Exhibition presentation. It was great that some of you managed to log into their Zoom presentations to support them. The P4 students have been working so hard this week on their Summative Assessment on some of the sheets they got. I look forward to the presentations next week.

I was so excited to hear from Ms. Carolyn from Sheredes Primary in the UK. who shared some letters that her students had written to our P4s. I have managed to send some on to Seesaw and will be sending the rest. Watch that space to find your letter as there is one for each P4 student. Next week it will be Eid, so we will have our presentations on Wednesday and Thursday. I wish you all a lovely weekend and to Kaisaar and your family, Eid Mubarak!

Cathy Wambua-Saha

One of the advantages of virtual learning is the versatility of places you can work from. A student in our class demonstrated their commitment by submitting work from an airport, and a hotel room, amidst their travel back home. A big shout out to Ciara and Ms. Jackie for their dedication to learning.

This week students in P3 have been working on practicing their multiplication, with an emphasis on memorizing multiplication facts; as well as being introduced to fractions. The students have also been researching a planet of their choice. Student presentations will be added onto a Youtube channel soon and shared with the community.

Next week, students are going to be working on planning and drafting their Science Fiction stories which will be set on the planet they have researched.

One of the topics we’ve debated over during our Zoom chats has been the moral implications of humankind moving to Mars and other planets. WE’D be the aliens…what implications would that have?

Elisha Jaffer

What an amazing past week for the P6s. I am sure that you all enjoyed their presentations as much as I did. Thank you to all who watched them and still managed to complete all the work and post on seesaw.

Thank you for all who helped us interview family members. It was so informative to hear some of your stories and because they form part of our lives, I am sure that they will remain with you throughout your lives. This coming week, we will be embarking on a two week project that will also be our summative assessment project. Please look out for it in your email Monday morning.

The children enjoyed their interactive math project this past week. You can see Luana’s block graph in the picture. I encourage all parents to go to seesaw and view all the other graphs shared by the students. They are amazing. We will have another one this coming week and it will involve them measuring different members of the family or even pets. It is going to be fun.

For our reading, we will move on the look at two other story elements, problem and solution.

Mboka Mwasongwe

This week was really quite varied and extremely busy in terms of our activities. We covered a few of the more ‘standalone’ components of our curriculum as well as continuing with our unit work and participating in the fabulous student voice ‘Healthy Foods’ Day.

The children have now progressed to more advanced Yoga and Mindfulness techniques keeping them flexible and strong on several levels. Through our daily stories we embarked on hands-on life-skills activities such as washing our own clothes (and writing the instructions) and producing our own craft clocks to tell the time to o’clock and half past. We used a poem by T.H Palmer to think about perseverance, grit and resilience, found out about the world record in paper aeroplanes and went on to produce our own based on instructions. We used shadow puppets as an artistic way to tell a story and made our own sundials to tell the time.

Thanks to Miss Elisha and the student council for this week’s healthy food day, and congratulations to P6 and Mis Debbie for completing their exhibitions.

Owain Evans