Moshi Campus News – 30 May 2020

I have just come from the Graduation Celebration online.  Congratulations to all of our graduates, you have not had the easiest of years, but you have done a magnificent job of getting through it all. As you move forward, best of luck in everything you try and don’t forget us here in Moshi after this is through.

While I realize this was not the celebration that everyone was thinking of last August when the year started, I think it was a fantastic substitute in this situation.  Thank you to everyone that had a hand in putting this together, particularly Ms Brunt who was the driving force behind it all. We are looking forward to seeing you here at UWCEA again one day. I know conversations are taking place about the possibility of a face to face celebration at a later date. Until then, know that we are thinking of you and that we are proud of our class of 2020 and the resilience you have shown.

On Friday June 5th, the M5 Ceremony will take place.  Details to be sent out soon.

Next week we will be having a MYP Virtual Parents’ Coffee as well as a DP one. The following week we will have a PYP one.  Please look for invites via email.

The PYPX website has had over 2700 pages views so far.  If you have not been to the site and seen the work from P6 students on both campuses, please go to here and have a look.

Bob Cofer

This week, Dr Marieke and friends delivered the Primary KCMC Dream Team’s donations to the KCMC community. The delivery included letters of encouragement and support (in English and Swahili), pictures and paintings, games, arts and crafts, gifts, snacks and so on.

The delivery was so warmly received. The patients, doctors and nurses in the ICU ward were particularly touched by the Swahili wishes and one nurse even shared, “at last, someone is thinking about us.”

It is important to remember that, while we are all consumed in our world of online learning, people are still out there putting themselves on the line to help others and, of course, that people are suffering.

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give” Churchill

Ben Morley

As you can see the house competition is not settled yet for the year.  The next two events could decide who is the winner for this year so make sure you sign up and get involved.

For any questions or any submissions email me at robinmarsh@uwcea.org.

Robin Marsh

The big news for this week is the D2 graduation. As you all know this has had to be done virtually, however it is still a celebration of their momentous journey. I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of the class of 2020 all the best for the future and remind them they always be will alumni of International School Moshi and United World College East Africa. This will be the start of the next stage in their journey and we hope they will hold fond memories of their time here. They are always welcome to come back and visit and we will organise a physical celebration of their journey next year.

The D1 students have continued with the online learning. In many subjects there have been summative assessments as reports are due soon. These assessments have not been the formal written exams we have normally done but have been in a variety of different formats. We recognize the final exams for most subjects are written and we are considering how we can facilitate practice with these.

In many subjects, students have started working on their Internal Assessments and should also be working on their Extended Essays, this is something they will need to continue with over the summer break.

Margaret Brunt

Once again, another week/month has come to a close, and we are now preparing for the final three weeks of school. With that dose of reality, I hope that you have had a chance to read through this week’s Wellness Wednesday Weekly (especially the excellent breathing video).  While our recognition of Mindful May is coming to a close, we hope that you will continue to explore strategies in order to maintain your ability to stay present and embrace, then manage intense emotions when they arise.

Although it would be wonderful to only remain in the present moment, there are things that we need to plan in order to create a smooth transition to life after UWCEA. As we celebrate our Moshi graduates this weekend, we are excited about the future they are stepping into, but know that there was a lot of work that went into making plans a reality. I can’t stress the importance of using the long holiday to explore interests, careers, and institutions of higher learning that may provide the optimal experience for our current students. Many D1 students have created their Post-Secondary Plans via Google Slides where they explored their career and college options. M5 students have been participating in virtual presentations and taking assessment on Maia Learning in order to learn more about careers that they may pursue.

This week we enjoyed a wonderful presentation by three UWC Davis Scholar Partner Institutions: Brown University; University of Pennsylvania; and Yale University. Prior to meeting with students, the three experienced admissions specialists met with teachers to discuss the application process at highly selective US institutions and writing effective letters of recommendation. These sessions were very personal and informative, which provided insight into the holistic review in the college application process that requires a very systemic approach for potential candidates. Although we will not have as many presentations over the last weeks of school, there are still tremendous opportunities coming this weekend and, in the weeks ahead.

(Courtesy of Yale University, UWCEA virtual presentation 26 May 2020)

Please take a careful look at the upcoming post-secondary planning events, especially the Cialfo Virtual International Fair this weekend and next week’s College Greenlight Block Party on 3 & 4 June. I have included links to some events, but encourage all M5/D1 parents to email me to receive Parent Access to your child’s Maia Learning account. I enjoyed providing training on Thursday to parents who have already requested training, and recorded the event to share with other parents as you receive access to the platform.

Upcoming College/University events

Wishing you a wonderful week ahead, and I remain available to support university planning and to address socio-emotional concerns issues as they arise throughout our school community.

Take care and persevere,

Cassandra Ford

Distance Learning in the MYP
In about two weeks, the semester will end. What began like a temporary closure of school, metamorphosed into weeks and gathered momentum to cover a whole term. Talking to most of the MYP students, they would wish to be in school. They are missing their friends and teachers, their service activities and sports. On the other hand, they have sampled a plethora of technological platforms and tools that will prove handy as they navigate through their life journey.

It has been a whole new experience for all of us; parents, teachers and students. We are thankful to all for hard work despite any setbacks.  Kindly note that we always listen to your feedback and you can reach out to myp_co@uwcea.org in case you have questions.

M5 Final Lap
Friday May 29 was the M5 students’ last day of lessons. We congratulate them for holding on resiliently until the end. This cohort was composed, focused and determined despite the setbacks that were on their path. Some of them prepared very well for the onscreen exams that never took off; work experiences that never materialized and a physical graduation that proved a mirage. They never lost hope and we didn’t either. Congratulations to them all!
In the coming week, from Monday June 1 to Thursday June 4 they will be finishing their research on their chosen careers and then make online presentations. They have a framework of questions to guide them through this exercise. 

M5 Virtual Ceremony
On June 5 in the afternoon, the M5 students will have a Virtual Ceremony to celebrate the end of MYP. We plan to stream a pre-recorded video and do a virtual toast at the tail end of the event.  Please wait for details in the coming week as preparations are in top gear.

David Ochieng

The week has been very productive and the P4s and P5s shared wonderfully during their Summative Assessment. It was also really great to watch Primary gathering and celebrate the learning as a community.

Primary Inter-house Competition
In Primary, we are looking forward to Interhouse Competitions that the children will be able to do remotely. Thanks to Mr. Marsh, the children will be able to collect points for their respective houses (Meru, Kibo and Mawenzi).

The first activity is a craft/creativity competition where students will need to create a Leopard out of natural items found in the garden or recycled materials.

The second activity is an attempt to run an online chess competition using a program in which students can play each other online but monitored by Mr. Marsh. More information has been shared above.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

We began the week with some mapwork. Using books, wall maps and online map resources we were able to trace Mr. Owain’s journey from Moshi to Hambleton via Dar Es Salaam and London. The children chose to show their understanding in a variety of creative ways, marking on maps, recording what they found out in video and picture format and even producing a board game to show the start and end points of a journey. The children went on to take their own journeys in the local environment, collecting various objects along the way and ordering them into a ‘journey stick’. We took some further journeys through stories using Winnie the Pooh and looked at some of the famous artwork within the books. This led to activities about colour and colour mixing through producing a colour wheel and finding out a little more about warm and cool colours. Parth had a birthday this week and we all celebrated our second Primary Gathering online.

Owain Evans

Family is very important to us all. It forms part of our identities. One way to ensure that we do not lose our personal knowledge is to document our histories. This is the reason why the project we have embarked on is so important. 

As the children (and you) spend another week adding pages to the family book, think about people that you want your child to remember or stories that you were told when you were small. Pass these on to them and let them record them in their books. Remember, it is also optional to record the stories orally so do not let anything limit your ‘impartations’. 

This coming week, we will continue with our measurement investigations. We will look at how we measure weights and liquids. This can be limiting with us all endeavouring to stay at home but I hope we all have access to something we can use to measure the weights of items such as a small kitchen scale or a human weighing scale. If not, then we will create our own balances.

Mboka Mwasongwe

This week, P3 students conducted an experiment to familiarize themselves with gravity. We learnt that in space because of a vacuum, objects would fall at the same time from a height irrespective of their size and weight. The students checked to see if the same happened on Earth.

Students have begun planning their Science Fiction stories that are set on the planet that they researched last week. You can watch the planet presentation videos at this link. There were fantastic presentation created with some excellent 3D paper mache planets.

Please note that the last batch of physical packages will be available for collection from the front gate between 10am and 12pm on Monday 1st June 2020.

Elisha Jaffer

We have had a fantastic week where the P4s gave their all to their Summative Assessments. I am so proud of all of you for exhibiting such great research, thinking, and self-management skills. Thank you also to all the parents for making it possible for the children to present. I was very impressed with the authenticity of the projects. Josephine, for taking the initiative to start a club and website to support the Black Rhino. Jasmijn shared her experience when she interviewed a Sea Turtle expert which shows the level of commitment she has in her work. Nadia with the Northern Hairy Nosed Wombat shared so many interesting facts including this being the animal that made cubic poo. All of the P4s did amazing!
Next week we will start our new unit on Systems. It will be short and it will be a great way to reflect on the systems we have put in place as we went through remote learning.

I will have packs ready for the parents to pick from 10 a.m. at the car park. Kindly remember to bring me the other pack from the previous 2 weeks. We will continue with long multiplication in word problem form and will also review fractions with like and unlike denominators.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

Well, they have done it again. I am beyond impressed with the hard work and commitment that the P5 class put into this week. Not only did we have our normal zooms with math and teacher time, they also joined on to support their classmates present their summative slideshows. During book club time they amazed me with their brilliant storytelling. They each read their narratives aloud to the group. Both recordings are available to listen to on our Seesaw page. If you have not visited in a while, it is time to go on and see how amazing the P5 class is doing with their work.

Due to all these accomplishments, and compliments flooding in from all around, it looks like a rock party may be on the schedule for next week. We experimented today with sharing a movie from my computer via zoom, and it works! We also discovered that we can share you tube for an at home dance party. Another suggestion was a tour of their personal rooms. This is a great opportunity for them to tidy their rooms! Other regular choices are art, DEAR time, and outside play. On this day, they will not do any other schoolwork.

Sarah Brummel

I have been so impressed with the P6 class for concentrating on the assigned tasks and submitting work on Seesaw this week. Other teachers whose classes have finished the Exhibition had warned me about, “Senioritis,” whereby the children feel they are “done” with school  now that the Exhibition is out of the way and just mark time until they reach the end of the school year. Our P6 class is made of stronger stuff! The children have been investigating length, area and perimeter and have started inquiring into puberty. This last unit of inquiry will require a lot of support from parents and I am very grateful for that. The children finally made their adverts for the cereal boxes they created back in Quarter 3 and have done a super job. Enjoy the weekend, P6 students and families. You should all be proud of yourselves for the commitment you have shown this week.

Deborah Mills