Arusha Campus News – 18 Sep 2022

The epic 24 hour run kicks off on Friday afternoon

It was wonderful to see both our campuses come together for the 24 hour run in Arusha this weekend. I was asked at the end to share some words of inspiration – I confess to being lost (or too exhausted!) for words but who can fail to be inspired by the collective spirit of community that four hundred plus runners generate in beautiful surroundings. Bravo everyone!

This week’s newsletter is populated with some of the most remarkable photos that I have seen in a long time. Many of you will receive our weekly newsletter on distant shores and I can only imagine what you must think when you read the weekly bulletin and look at what we have been up to in the last seven days. I scarcely believe it myself as I put together the contributions that are sent to me by students and teachers. Simply breathtaking, and so I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to our OP organisers who are Mr Olivier, Mr Baden, Mr Isack, Mr Isaac and Mr Salim. We all so appreciate your work which is tireless and yet brings so much enjoyment to so many. ASANTENI SANA!

Enjoy your weekend.

Phil

Dear Parents and Guardians,

Welcome to all new and returning parents and guardians from us here at UWCEA Arusha Campus PTA! Now that school has reopened, PTA is back and refreshed, ready to hear your ideas, comments and concerns.
We would like to inform you of the upcoming PTA AGM

Date: September 20th  2022
Time: 8am
Venue: UWCEA Arusha Campus – Canteen
Agenda:  Reports / Accounts / Election of Executive Members – Chairperson, Vice Chair, Secretary, Treasurer and Board Representative.

As all parents and guardians are members of the school PTA, you are encouraged to attend and participate in the meeting, it is a perfect way of finding out what the executive team have been up to and also what plans have been suggested for the coming year.
All executive positions are open to election for the coming year. Anyone interested in becoming a member, or if you wish to nominate a person, are advised to submit a nomination before 15th September, 2022 by email to arushapta@uwcea.org / philbowen@uwcea.org

Look forward to meeting you all soon.

Arusha Campus PTA

PYP Share time this week included a superb drumming display from P4/5

This week I came across an article which I found interesting and I thought it was worth sharing with you.

8 FIGHTS WORTH PICKING WITH YOUR KIDS:

Parenting is hard.  Parents have to choose their battles.  Here are 8 fights worth picking with your kids:

The Reading Fight:
Make your kids read. Because reading is tied to everything from cognitive development to the ability to focus. Make your kids read now.

The Outside Fight:
Make your kids go outside.  The natural world teaches us things.  Plus, outside there’s sunshine, fresh air, and exercise waiting for them.  Most importantly, nature is full of things in short supply in our world: Discovery, wonder, peace, joy.

The Work Fight:
Make your kids work.  I’m saddened by how many parents don’t require their kids to lift a finger at home.  There are priceless life principles you can only learn with a mop in your hand.  Let sweat be their teacher.

The Meal Fight:
Make your kids eat as a family.  Our lives are a blur of incessant activity.  Meals together are a physical pause to recover a truth so easily sacrificed at the altar of busyness.  Nothing’s more important than family.

The Boredom Fight:
Make your kids live with boredom.  Don’t show a DVD on each car ride.  Kids need unscheduled time.  And, odd as it sounds, boredom is a skill.  It’s hard as a parent to deal with the assault of boredom complaints.  But if you give in and fill up their time with external stimuli, you’ll raise an activity addict.  Make them learn how to be.

The “Me First” Fight:
Make your kids go last.  Not every time for everything.  But enough to remember that the world doesn’t revolve around them.  Take the smallest piece.  Give up the remote.  Do someone else’s chores.  Get their least favorite choice.  They won’t like it, but they need it.

The Awkward Conversation Fight:
Make your kids have uncomfortable conversations with you.  Sex, dating, body image, values…Your kids will roll their eyes and resist.  You will stumble and stutter.  They need and want your perspective, lessons learned, and wisdom.

The Limitation Fight:
Learning to live within limits is a valuable life skill. In fact, many adult problems arise from an inability to accept them.  Screen time limits, dietary limits, activity limits, and schedule limits are all good.

As a parent, you have to pick your battles.  They’re not easy, but they’re worth the fight.

FInally, some dates for the Diary:

Wednesday 28th September 8.00 – 8.30am – Parent Workshop – What is the PYP?
Thursday 29th September 8.15 – 10.00 – Nursery, EC1, EC2, P1 and P2 Fun Sports Day
Friday 30th September 8.00 – 10.00 – P3, P4, P5, P6 Inter House Sports Day
Wednesday 5th October All day – PYP 3 Way Conferences

Amanda

P4/5 learned about Passover traditions from Jesse and Jessie. They made a traditional Passover plate of food describing what each dish symbolized.

P6 engaged in some fun art activities this week with Mr Ali and Miss Sarah. Here is Ellen (pictured above) sketching trees in charcoal and water soluble graphite

Mr Ali, P6 Teacher

In the image above, the victorious Meru MYP and DP climbers celebrate at the summit.

Thank you to the M1 parents who joined on Wednesday to learn more about their children’s MYP journey. Last month, M5 families were invited to an info session to learn more about the M5 eAssessments, Personal Project and Service as Action. Throughout the school year, parents of different year groups will be invited to relevant info sessions about  their child’s MYP journey. M4-5 families stay tuned for a meeting in Q2 about the UWCEA High School Diploma and the transition to our Diploma Programme.

Our M5 students are currently working on their Personal Project (PP) under the guidance of Ms Alina, our PP coordinator. The Personal Project provides students with the opportunity to undertake an independent exploration into an area of personal interest. PP examples from recent years involved learning about and presenting different art techniques, developing a dance choreography and building a motor bike. The M5 students are currently developing their individual learning and product goals and are expected to meet regularly with their teacher supervisors. The project provides a great opportunity for students to produce a truly personal and often creative product and to demonstrate a consolidation of their learning in the MYP while strengthening the skills they have developed. We are already looking forward to the Personal Project exhibition that will take place towards the end of this school year!

Anoek

The DP physicists had fun this week (above) looking at how laser diffraction could be made visible using a smoke machine.

Following the 24 Hour Run, Avinash and Irem in D2, hosted a Model United Nations training session (see image above)  for students from some of the schools invited to attend the MUN conference hosted by UWCEA, Arusha Campus next weekend! The MUN committee has been working hard preparing the conference, which will have 5 different committees running for 2 full days!

The Security Council
The African Union
The World Health Organisation
The Economic and Social Council
The Social, Humanitarian and Cultural committee

The conference will kick off on Friday at 2pm and end on Sunday at 3pm.

Stay tuned!

Nathalie

The UWCEA MUN Executive Committee invites youth 15+ to register for Arusha Campus’ first Model United Nations Conference. Please visit: https://forms.gle/9MqtzmYrDD2FmArz8 to register and UWCEA MUN Website for more information.

This week one of our students, Emmanuel Msoka, was invited to attend the United Nations Transforming Education Summit 2022 in New York.

The Transforming Education Summit is being convened in response to a global crisis in education – one of equity and inclusion, quality and relevance. Often slow and unseen, this crisis is having a devastating impact on the futures of children and youth worldwide. The Summit provides a unique opportunity to elevate education to the top of the global political agenda and to mobilize action, ambition, solidarity and solutions to recover pandemic-related learning losses and sow the seeds to transform education in a rapidly changing world.

Emmanuel will give us a full run down of his exploits at the event in a forthcoming newsletter. In the meantime we are all so very proud of him in his ambassadorial role at this prestigious conference.

 

Whilst the 24 hour run was in full swing, our staff football team made the short journey across town to Arusha Meru School to particpate in the Memorial Football Tournament for Nice Mawalla, one of our former students who died tragically three weeks ago. Well done boys for making the semi- finals and losing narrowly on a penalty shootout.

The intrepid Mt Meru hikers negotiate the famous Fig Tree Arch on their way down the mountain (above). 

We did it! We, a group of DP and MYP students from both campuses made it to the top of Mount Meru, the fifth highest mountain on the African continent. The bus left early at 5:45am on Saturday September 3, to head to Meru national park. After some problems with the paperwork and a final nap in the bus, our hike through the stunning landscape could start. Luckily, the steep climbs of the first two days were facilitated by our fascination for the constantly changing environment, the observation of wild animals as well as friendly conversations with teachers and students. Eventually, after having reached the top of little Meru in the afternoon, the final ascent commenced at 11pm on Sunday. The next 6 hours would be a physical and mental struggle, but eventually each and everyone of us was rewarded with a beautiful sunrise on the summit. Having mastered that challenge successfully, we continued our trip down, with a total descent of 3000m in altitude on the same day. The trip was topped off with a shower in a beautiful waterfall and some impressive scenery of giraffe and buffalo herds. Overall, it was an amazing experience that imprinted us in many ways, bringing us closer to ourselves and Tanzania’s natural beauty.

Annabell Lackner, D2

The column of hikers in the North Pare mountains (see image above) make their way to camp in this opening episode of their outdoor pursuits journey. Level 1b is the starting level for Diploma students, many of whom have never slept under canvas before. Where better to wake up than in a spot that overlooks the scene pictured below!

Breathe: one step at a time. Your lungs fill with the night breeze, your light guides the way, and your friends give you the remaining motivation you need. An inspiring thought emerged from our journey: “One step at a time. You are almost there. Just keep going.” It is impressive how the human body can handle glimpses of what dreamers would call possible.

It was not easy! However, the summit, the memories, the laughs, and the countless reminders of the importance and beauty of nature made every step worth it. I see you every day from our campus, Mt. Meru, but it was nice to meet you in person.

Odette Castillo Pinto, D2