Arusha Campus News – 24 May 2021

Arusha Campus Newsletter Sunday 23 May 2021

Congratulations to the Classes of 2021! Arusha above, and Moshi below!

Dear Parents

What a weekend! Friday’s IB Diploma Graduation was a resounding success. Our students looked resplendent in their beautiful dresses and handsome suits, Mr Tyler’s speech was fabulous and even Dr Marsden’s speech was short! Everything came together wonderfully and we have so many people to thank that I am not going to attemt to name them all by name. All that needs to be said was that it was a demonstration of collaborative success! The pictures punctuating this newsletter give you an insight into the day. 

On the following day we started all over again in Moshi and a graduation ceremony that was every bit as splendid as the first. Well done to Bob and his team for such a quality afternoon.

Read on in this newsletter to hear about a former pupil’s astounding success on Everest!

Plus lots more from Primary about their trips and camps.

Which leaves very little room for me to say anytrhing else….

Phil

She Did It!

As if the elation of graduating two full cohorts of students wasnt enough excitement for one weekend, we discovered late last night that Rawan Dakik, our former student, successfully summited Mt Everest. In doing so she became the first Tanzanian to summit the worlds highest mountain. What a message to our graduands…..no mountain is too high!

As I write, Rawan is making her way down from the summit, a journey fraught with challenges in itself. We wish her the very best and look forward to a full report in next week’s newsletter!

Legendary Lasses!

Every now and then legends are made and this year our five homegrown graduates pictured above (Lea, Udine, Hala, Ornela and Alma) kept that tradition going. 

You see Lea (far left) and Alma (far right) enrolled at the school when they were three years old and yesterday represented the end of a remarkable journey throughout the school. No less so for Udine (second from left) who joined the school when she was five. Of course we know these ladies have been inseparable ever since and as I watched them on stage on Friday I wondered how many sports weekends, OP trips, goals scored on the football pitches and netball courts in Moshi and Arusha, journeys in the Land Cruiser and so on that they had completed in their ISM/UWC lifetime.

Legends indeed and so now see if any readers can guess who is who in these old pics below! Sorry girls!

PYP News

I love being part of our primary school. There is always so much happening and there is so much more than just teaching! The P1/2 class had a sleepover in their classroom with a bike riding theme. The excitement was building all day and a birthday was celebrated too. The P6’s PYP Exhibition action ideas have been in full action this week. Kavish has organised basketball games at play time. Zarine gave a talk to P4/5 on Coral Gardening. The art group organised a fashion show, art competition and dance show during share time. What a fantastic way to end the week.

Do you have any old tyres that you no longer need? We are looking for RAV 4 sized tyres ( 225/65 R17, 235/55 R18 ) to construct a playground toy.

Amanda

Our P4/5 Trip by Carice and Helmina

DAY 1
At our camp, we went to Loiber Serit, which is next to Tarangire. On the way there we spotted many different animals such as giraffes, zebras and wildebeests. We estimated it would take 4 hours, but It actually took 6 hours instead. When we arrived, we set up camp and went to explore the campsite. Then, we hiked up the mountain and looked at the view. The view was incredible! It was stunning! We stayed up there for a while and then we went back down the mountain. BTW, the toilets were terrible! Anyway, then we went back to the main area to have a snack and drink. After that, we went to clean our tents for the tent inspection! Mr Phil inspected our tents and then we had free time. We also had time to practice our talent show acts! Then we had dinner and then we had Marshmallows and then we went to bed

DAY 2
The next morning, we had breakfast and then we headed out to the living wall project in the Maasai village. The living wall was created to reduce the conflict between humans and animals. The living wall is made out of trees. The Maasai use it to keep their cattle safe at night. After that, we went to the maasai school and we learned about how people funded them to create a school for the kids who don’t go to school. And finally, we went to the women’s empowerment center, which was called Mama Asali. At Mama Asali, they teach women how to farm bees and sell their honey. They also have a women’s only center to sell their jewelry and products. Then we drove back to camp and we had more time to practice for our talent show acts. Then we had a snack and drink. Then we had the second tent inspection. Once we were done with the tent inspection, we had dinner. After dinner, It was time for the talent show! We had so much fun! Then, the best part came, Roasting Marshmallows! After we ate our marshmallows, we headed off to bed.

DAY 3
On our last morning, we had breakfast and then packed. Once we were all packed up, we left. This time, it took 6 and a half hours. When we arrived at school, everyone was waiting for us! Once we got all our stuff, we thanked everyone!


Thank you so much Mr Phil, Miss Amanda, Mr Isaac, Mr Justin and Miss Esperance!
By Carice and Helmina

P1/2 Camp with Miss Shaheen

Congratulations P1s and P2s for an amazing overnight camp at school! As part of an inquiry into human made systems, both classes worked collaboratively together to create and understand different modes of transport. They created their own road signs for a bike course (complete with a roundabout) and earned Bicycle Safety Licenses. Well done, P1s and P2s for your determination, commitment and risk-taking!

M5 On-screen Exams

Congratulations to our M5 students who completed their on-screen examinations in I&S, Mathematics, English, Sciences, and Interdisciplinary on Friday. The results of M5 E-assessments will be published on August 1st. We wish them all the best in their next adventure.

Key dates for the rest of Q4
24-28 May: Work experience week
31 May: Diploma information session for M5 parents and students (2:40 pm)
1 -3 June: Diploma taster days
4 June: Work experience presentations to M4s
8 June: M5 Ceremony

Hamid

Our UWC East Africa Values

Value 4. An education in a global context that promotes an appreciation and understanding of multiple perspectives and interdependence of individuals, societies and environments.

The image above shows our students attempting to transport an 800kg ball of cement to a site off the East African coast where they hope it will form part of a reef re-construction project. I think this epitomises our Value No 4 and demonstrates our understanding of our interdependance with our host country’s coastal community and the environment there.

Eid Mubarak

Picture above, Hakim(South Sudan) and Alseny (Senegal) at the Mosque on Eid.

Since Tuesday, April 13th our Muslim colleagues in school have been fasting to commemorate the important month of Islamic religion, Ramadhan. Eid marks the end of fasting and the celebration of Eid-Ul- Fitr. It has been 30 days since they began fasting.

Ramadan in 2021.
To IBDP 2 students, it came along with their final IB examinations which are going to end next week in our school. Nevertheless, they fasted and worked so hard to prepare for their finals.
“It has been quite challenging since back home in the month of Ramadan, schools usually close. Having Ramadhan and classes as usual made me a better planner and we managed”, said Yassir, IBDP 1 student from Somalia.
The IBDP 2 commemorated this important month along with their finals and exam preparations with perseverance and commitment,
“It was a bit challenging, fasting and studying, but it all went well” Said Mariamu IBDP 2 student from Tanzania.
Eid celebrations on campus
The date of Eid was a bit controversial since it depends on the sight of the moon. Eid was celebrated on Friday and Saturday.
Some students went to the mosque for Eid prayers.
 
Eid-Ul-Fitr celebrations were closed by a presentation held in the Library annex prepared by the Muslims. The presentation illustrated Eid, celebration tradition in dierent parts of the world, baked goodies and a fun kahoot.
“It was fun, we ate, we played kahoot, In short we had a very enjoyable afternoon” commented Joan, IBDP1 student after attending the presentation.

By Rosalia Mwidege, May 14, 2021.

Water OP Level 5

The first ever Level 5 Water OP was completed by 4 enthusiastic eco warriors last weekend who have dedicated this year to learning how to dive and saving the coral reefs on Tanga’s north coast.

There efforts, and the efforts of the Coral Reef Service group, have been rewarded on this trip with the raft and mechanism working very well, the students were able to lift 800kg concrete artificial reef balls of the beach and float them out to deeper water and then gently lower them on the sea floor.

They have also loaded the coral nurseries with more coral and have observed the first coral growth on these nurseries, a huge success as it was only planted a month and a half ago.
  
On arrival they also had a surprise and had to do a “service”/recreational dive collecting a whale sound monitoring device from 18m under water so that recordings could be downloaded for the marine biologist in charge of the project. This coupled with amazing dives surrounded by huge schools of bait fish being rounded up and eaten by Giant Trevally fish and seeing a Giant Ray really made for an unforgettable trip.

Counselor Corner

Celebrations and Well-being

Another round of applause for our graduates and all of the people in their lives who have contributed to their achievements thus far in life. (Wild applause and standing ovation!) Taking time to pause and celebrate the successes along the way is an important aspect of maintaining mental health. We must all recognize that life is full of moments to be grateful for and enjoy to the fullest even in our toughest times. The more we make it a habit of celebrating along the way, the more we become able to build our reserves and persevere through the difficult times 2 get through this thing called life (Prince).

As we thrive through the month of May, we continue to highlight the fact that it is Mental Health Awareness Month. The theme this year is “You Are Not Alone,” and there are many resources available (US based) to help provide a better understanding of mental health issues and to learn how to help. Please take a look at the National Alliance on Mental Illness campaign via this link to learn more about the work being done to combat the stigma of mental illness:

https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month

On to the post secondary planning side, and the reality that as our graduates leave us, they are headed off in a multitude of directions. This leaves the current D1s in a position to begin thinking more clearly about what they want to have solidified about their future plans at this time next year. Recently, the Dean of Admissions from Georgia Tech shared an important message for parents who are supporting their children in their post-secondary planning process. Please take a moment to read through his message via the link below. It includes a snippet from the movie, “Remember the Titans,” which is based at the high school in the United States that I used to work at, and where my son graduated from. It always brings such pride, and a sense that anything is possible.

This week we had a few presentations about post-secondary options that were directed at our UWC community. It was great to see parents joining along with our students. This is such a critical time to learn more about the variety of post-secondary options available for our students, and it is wonderful to see parents getting involved in the process.

As we enjoy the fabulous festivities this weekend and ahead over the last month of school, we remind you that we have compiled resources that you can tap into if you are facing mental health or well-being challenges. The COVID-19 Counselor Resources contain many resources that we have organized to address some of the issues that members of our community have faced during the pandemic and beyond. If you have any additional resources you think we should consider, we would appreciate your willingness to share with us.

Celebrate and continue to persevere,

UWCEA School Counseling Team

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