Arusha Campus News – 5 Mar 2023

Hussein gazes out over the Serengeti Plains from the top of Nasera Rock on Plains Level 5 this week.

I think this is my favourite thing this year. Jo-Jo (left)and Leah (centre) retruned to yesterday’s swimming gala and formed an alumni team in the final relay – teaming up with Lulu (P5) and Zarine (M2)! Jo-Jo and Leah are legends!

The newsletter is rather full this week and I am rather weary after being lucky enough to walk across the southern Serengeti Plains, so I will keep it short and wish you a pleasant read and a super Sunday.

Phil

World Mother Tongue Day!

World Mother Tongue Day is celebrated on 21st February each year. We had great fun with stations organised by our D1 students and performances from across our school community including many dads! Thank you to everyone and especially Miss Coralie for a successful event.

Amanda, PYP Co-ordinator

World book day celebrations. The PYP had a fantastic day (see montage above) celebrating World Book Day. Students enjoyed the parade and had dressed up in amazing costumes. The D1’s came to read stories to our students. Some students read in Spanish and other languages. The classes each shared a story and decorated their door. A few teachers performed The Ugly Five! Finally the students enjoyed a scavenger hunt looking for objects related to books from all around the world. Happy World book day!

Miss Coralie is our Head of Residences on Arusha Campus and each week she invites the teachers on duty to design an exciting student activity. Last week I took a minibus with a group of keen students to sample the Tanzanite Experience. This is a museum charting the discovery of Tanzanite and explaining how it is produced. It was incredibly interesting evn if we struggled to buy any of the precious stones at the end of it! Instead, we popped in to the Peace Chinese Restaurant for a slap up Sunday dinner! (see image above)

P2’s  have been learning about the cycles of rocks. They enjoyed their trip to the Tanzanite experience where they learnt about the history of Tanzanite, it’s value and experienced going into a mine shaft and learnt about the role of different minerals in every uses

The anxious swimmers await starters orders on the blocks at Arusha Campus

This week Miss Caitrin has been working overtime to get the campus ready to host the Primary and Secondary NTSAA Swim Galas. I am pleased to report that Arusha Rhinos were champions in both galas. But well done to Caitrin and her fabulously hard working team around her. Both days were magnificently co-ordinated.

Awaiting the call up to race!

From our oldest competitors in Leah and Jo-Jo to our youngest. Here are Luna and Leia fresh after their swim!

I have mine, have you got yours! Roan van der Goot powers down the pool for the Rhinos sporting his purple swim cap!

As we expand our Swimming Team with the swimming club we continue to train as a school and we look forward to hosting out annual NTSAA Primary and Secondary Swimming Galas next week.

I already sent out a form for parents to order a UWCEA swim cap and I am attaching the link https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdqdlkBzedvOh1u-wSaDUHyNl2cd2MqpN4wNdb72rLFnnIdgQ/viewform

 in case you missed it. Please be aware that they are being made in the UK so it will take a few weeks to get them here.

Miss Caitrin, Head of PE

The M5 Class enjoyed a camel ride as part of their WWW trip two weeks ago.

Young learners often make connections naturally between different areas of knowledge in order to understand the world around them. Even though secondary education usefully organises learning into disciplinary compartments, our ever changing world also demands that education empowers people to integrate disciplines in new and creative ways. Complex challenges such as climate change or a refugee crisis require solutions developed across multiple disciplines. Interdisciplinary learning is therefore an authentic approach to problem solving that students will increasingly need.

In every MYP year, students engage in an interdisciplinary unit. Here we connect disciplines (subjects) to develop new understanding, create products or address real-world issues in ways that would have been unlikely through a single approach. At the Arusha campus, our interdisciplinary units are linked to the Week Without Walls trips. Such as, for example, the M2 unit Swahili Coast which brings together the subjects of Swahili and Individuals & Societies. In this unit, students explore the historical, geographical, language and cultural characteristics of the Tanga coast. Another example is the combined M3 Music and Swahili unit centred around enriching language acquisition and cultural understanding through the arts. Students engage in a series of workshops where they learn about Tanzanian music and dance before they get a chance to perform themselves.

An interdisciplinary exam also forms part of the M5 eAssessment. Each exam session brings together two different MYP subjects to explore real-world challenges.

Anoek, MYP Co-ordinator

M4 Biology students investigated the relationship between exercise and heart rate this week (image above) in order to better understand homeostasis.

Career Exploration is underway in M4 and M5

Greetings from Honk Kong (right) where I am attending the Hong Kong University Counsellor Taster Fly-in, where I will get to connect with other UWC Counselors as we learn more about this institution (UWC) and the surrounding community. The career journey is underway for our M4 and M5 students as they join the IB Diploma Students in accessing our college and career platform Maia Learning. We are in the beginning stages, but the students are already exploring the assessments and career resources available to them. Parents of M4 and M5 students are welcome to have access, and emails have been sent from Maia Learning to invite parents to join who have an email address in the system. If you have not received an email yet, please feel free to contact me at cassandraford@uwcea.org to gain access.

Also, if you would like to learn more about Maia Learning, please feel free to explore these resources:

Maia Learning website: https://www.maialearning.com
Overview of Maia Learning video: https://vimeo.com/449477120/51addff880
Career Exploration via Maia Learning video: https://vimeo.com/481003323/1dc703a3df

There will be much more information coming your way this month about career exploration as we prepare for the UWC East Africa Careers Symposium: Developing 21st Century Skills on 29 & 30 March. Thank you so much to those members of our community who have volunteered to participate in this event. Your expertise is greatly appreciated. If you have not had a chance to sign up yet and are interested, please feel free to contact me and I will include you in our event planning.

UPCOMING College and University Events

3-10 March: I will be out of the country on a Counselor visit to Hong Kong University (www.hku.hk/)
6 March: 8:00-9:00 PM EAT Esade (Spain) -UWC Scholarships Online Info Session for students (Link to register: esade-recruitment-events.secure.force.com/events/targetX_eventsb__events#/esr?eid=a175J00000BY3yHQAT)
11 March: 7:30-12:30 AM EAT SAT in Moshi (See uwcea.org/tests for more information)
13 March: 5:00-6:00 PM EAT College of Idaho UWC Student Panel virtual presentation (Link to register: apply.collegeofidaho.edu/register/form?id=7e622993-1e25-4811-b7bd-50384c1607d0)
19 March: 8PM-1AM EAT NACAC International virtual fair (Registration link: www.nacacattend.org/23VirtualMar19)
21 March: 2-5 PM EAT University of Chicago in person visit
21 March: 1-4 PM EAT CIS University Exploration Day – Africa (Registration link: cis.swoogo.com/africa2023)
23 March: 7:30-8:30 PM EAT D1 Parent/Guardian Presentation: Preparing for the College Application Process
29 March: 7:30-9:00 PM EAT 21st Century Skills symposium – virtual program
30 March: 7:30-10:00 AM EAT 21 Century Skills symposium – Arusha campus

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Cassandra Ford
College and Career Counselor
cassandraford@uwcea.org

The Plains Level 5 hikers amble past a herd of inquisitive giraffe in Angata Kiti on the Serengeti Plains this week.

A group of 17 students accompanied Mr Phil, Mr Isack, Miss Jessica, Mr Morley and Miss Christy as we walked from Olduvai Gorge approximately 70 kilometers to the Ol Karien Gorge (pictured below)

The Peaks Level 4 crew rest for a photo in Empakaai Crater

Mr Khalid led a team of intrepid hikers who walked from the Ngorongoro Crater Highlands via Tanzania’s 3rd highest peak Loolmalasin (3682m) down to Lake Natron. This trek took four days to accomplish but everyone made it and has a story to tell!

We are excited to announce the upcoming chess tournament on the 18th and 19th of March! Open to all students, parents and staff members, this chess competition will be an unforgettable experience. It is a fantastic opportunity to showcase your chess skills and compete against others, with unique activities to make chess more fun than ever. Whether you’re a seasoned chess player or just starting out, this tournament has something for everyone.

For DP students and staff from Arusha Campus, we are offering accommodation and food at Moshi Campus. PYP and MYP students and parents will be required to find their own accommodation.
If enough students from primary sign up, we will be offering a separate primary section within the tournament.

To sign up for the tournament, please use the following link:
https://forms.gle/fJ1LvDaSum4V5pWY7

For any questions, feel free to email us at jonatanc23@uwcea.org

Don’t miss the opportunity to be in the biggest chess tournament this school has ever seen. We look forward to seeing you on the 18th and 19th of March!

Juan Carlos, Kasparas & Jonatan

REMINDER – Career Expert Volunteers Needed

UWC East Africa Careers Symposium: Building 21st Century Skills

On the Arusha campus, the events will include:

Virtual Sessions – 29 March
7:30-9:00 PM EAT

In-Person Arusha Sessions – 30 March
7:30-10:00 AM EAT

If you would be willing to share your expertise with future leaders regarding the skills needed to pursue their career interests, please use this link to sign up as a volunteer: https://forms.gle/uhnwVmniaqUXdiDd8

Your input is being sought by the Council of International Schools (CIS – who completed an accreditation review of our school last year). They would like to hear from you about the transition process your child is about to embark on as they leave secondary school and move onto college/university. They are seeking to understand how schools, universities and parents can best support international school students as they move from secondary school to university.

Link to survey (available in multiple languages): https://survey.cois.org/s3/CIS-Summit-Working-Group-Survey-International-Student-Transitions-for-parents

Please complete this survey by 15 March 2023. It will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Last Friday, in celebration of Black History Month, the school hosted a trivia night. There were seven teams competing in a setting that was both competitive and fun. As event organizers, it touched our hearts to see individuals not only enjoying themselves but also gaining an appreciation for Black and African culture. We recognize the significance and potency of history, and that one can be excluded, silenced, or marginalized if its past is not taught or known. The purpose of the trivia night was to raise awareness about Black people, their past and present hardships, their achievements, and most importantly, their history. We attempted to cover numerous categories, including history, music, black figures, sports, etc.

Ultimately, it was so much fun, and I would like to thank everyone who came. I’m sure we all learned a great deal from this evening. In addition, we would like to thank Ms. Coralie for her assistance in organizing the event and Ms. Cassandra for attending.

Amza and the Trivia night organization team

Your input is being sought by the Council of International Schools (CIS – who completed an accreditation review of our school last year). They would like to hear from you about the transition process your child is about to embark on as they leave secondary school and move onto college/university. They are seeking to understand how schools, universities and parents can best support international school students as they move from secondary school to university.

Link to survey (available in multiple languages): https://survey.cois.org/s3/CIS-Summit-Working-Group-Survey-International-Student-Transitions-for-parents

Please complete this survey by 15 March 2023. It will take you approximately 10 minutes to complete.

UPCOMING College and University Events

16 February: What Every Student Should Know About Picking a Major or Career Path webinar @ 6:00 PM CT/3:00 AM EAT (Link to register and receive recording: https://shorturl.at/efiTY)

24 February: Deadline to register for 11 March SAT (in Moshi. See uwcea.org/tests for more information)
19 March: 9PM-2AM EAT NACAC International virtual fair
21 March: 2-5 PM EAT University of Chicago in person visit
21 March: 1-4 PM EAT CIS University Exploration Day – Africa (Registration link: cis.swoogo.com/africa2023)
29 March: 7:30-9:00 PM EAT 21st Century Skills symposium – virtual program
30 March: 7:30-10:00 AM EAT 21 Century Skills symposium – Arusha campus

Enjoy a wonderful weekend!

Cassandra Ford
College and Career Counselor
cassandraford@uwcea.org