Arusha Campus News – 17 Aug 2025

Just an hour or so ago, the first year IB Diploma students from both campuses returned from their Camp Craft weekend in Mkuru, on the northern slopes of Mt Meru.

Alba and Evangeline explore the new climbing wall in their smart pink t-shirts!

Welcome everyone to a new year at Arusha Campus. An especially warm invitation to all our new families to the school. An influx of around twenty five students in PYP and MYP and then of course around sixty new D1s means a lot of new faces. I will endeavour to send out this weekly newsletter to keep you up to date with the goings on in Arusha.

Today I returned from Mkuru Eco Camp in the arid land north of Mt Meru where we hosted over 160 students from both campuses on their Camp Craft trip. This outdoor pursuit is designed to introduce our senior students to our Outdoor Pursuits prgramme.  A hike and camp in the Tanzanian bush allows our new students to decide whether they would like to sign up for future trips.

Plenty of work has taken place on campus to get ready for the new year. The image above shows two excited girls trying out the new climbing wall in the EC playground which is just one of many improvements carried out by our Maintenance Team. In fact we have all been so pleased ith the efforts of our maintenance team led by the fantastic Mr Walter that the teachers decided to buy the team a cake to say thank you! Here they are pictured below receiving their cake!

Enjoy the week ahead!

Phil, Head of Campus

 

Pictured above, our Maintenenca Team. From left: Walter, Wilfred, Anna, Emmanuel and Ngosha

Each primary class linked up with another class to create buddies here we’re having lots and lots of fun with our buddies

Welcome to all the new and returning families. What a great first week back!

We will be having our parent information sessions as follows

NEC – Tuesday 26th August 8.00 – 8.30am
P1/2 – Thursday 21st August 2.00 – 2.30pm
P3 – Wednesday 20th August 8.00 – 8.30am
P4 – Tuesday 19th August 8.00 – 8.30am
P5 – Monday 18th August 8.00 – 8.30am
P6 – Thursday 21st August 8.00 – 8.30am

Other important dates are:
Tuesday 19th August 2.00 – 2.30 PYP CCA fair
Thursday 22nd August – PTA Welcome coffee
Friday 29th August – Teacher only day
Thursday 2nd October – Nursery – P2 Fun Sports Day
Friday 3rd October – Sport Days P3-6 Interhouse
Wednesday 8th October – 3 Way Conferences

We are looking forward to a fantastic year!

Mrs Amanda Bowen, Head of PYP

We were delighted to welcome all MYP students back to campus on Monday. Our MYP classes continue to grow, and we extend a particularly warm welcome to the students and families who are joining our community this year. With the growth of M5, we are excited to announce that we now have two sections in this year group!

Upcoming MYP parent events:
Families are invited to Meet the Secondary Mentors and Teachers on Wednesday 20 August from 3pm at the Rhino Tower. This is a great chance to put faces to names and learn more about the people guiding your child’s learning. This will be followed at 4pm by an info session for M5 parents about the eAssessments in the Library Annex.

On Friday 22 August from 7.45am, all MYP parents are warmly invited to join us for coffee and tea, connect with other parents, and learn more about the PTA’s role on our campus. On the same morning starting at 8.15am, there will be an information session about the transition from Primary School to MYP, as well as an overview of the MYP curriculum and assessment practices. This session is especially designed for M1 parents and for new families whose children have just joined MYP.

MYP mentors:
Students in M1–M5 meet with their mentor each morning and have two scheduled mentor lessons per week. Mentors play a key role in supporting students’ academic progress and socio-emotional wellbeing, and they are often the first point of contact for students and families.

M1 – Christabel Agit
M2 – Caitrin Trappe
M3 – Alli Abd-El-Rashid
M4 – Hilary King
M5 – Gift Tyea & Anoek van der Vinne

Best wishes for the year ahead

Ms Anoek van der Vinne, Head of MYP

Mr Adam’s D1 Mentor Group pictured above

Mentor Group is how secondary students begin each day—coming together as a small community before heading into classes. It’s a chance to check in with one another, share news and announcements, and start the morning on an upbeat note. In this time, students receive guidance and support from their mentor teacher and from their peers, while also learning school routines and building habits that help them succeed. It’s a simple daily ritual that keeps us connected, informed, and ready for the day ahead. Pictured above is is one of our D1 mentor groups during their first week of school. Their mentor is Mr Adam Kendis who is also our Student College Counselor. Look out for his bulletins each week to come!

Over the past two weeks, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming more than 115 students to our Bomas, representing over 60 countries. It’s always remarkable to see such a diverse group come together and form connections so quickly. Everyone seems to adapt very well to their new environment.

During their first week, the new D1 students participated in Orientation Week—a dynamic blend of fun activities and interactive workshops thoughtfully organized by our incredible Orientation Committee. Their academic journey officially began on Monday with the start of classes.

Ms Coralie Bouillaut, Head of Residential Life

For the last few years, we have run a wonderful Host Family Programme, connecting families from our communities with the Residential Students. We are incredibly grateful for the willingness and availability many of you have shown in the past and we would like to keep building on these strong foundations.

If you want to be a Host Family again or become one, please fill in this survey. The general expectation) is to “connect with the students at least once per school quarter (four times a year), may it be for a walk, a coffee/tea, a dinner, a day trip, a sleepover, or anything else that respects your availability.”

Coralie, Head of Residential Life