This week while we were recovering from Sports Weekend, we were getting ready for a whole host of other things as you can see below. Please note the Evening of the Arts this week and PYPx and primary conferences the next week.
While recovering, students were back into schoolwork as we head into the final stretch of the semester. Some of the PYP classes are starting new units, others are well underway, the P6 students are putting the finishing touches to their Exhibition and in MYP they are finishing unit assessments. For the D2 students this has been a push to complete IAs and other course work. Amongst all of this many of the students and staff went to the holiday fair on the Arusha campus.
Of course, as you saw in Anna’s email, this weekend also brough some travel surprises. As we continue to monitor these developments, we will keep you informed on changes from our end and ask that you keep us informed of any changes for your family as well.
Next weekend will be the last newsletter of the semester and student reports for Primary will come out the end of this week. For M1 to D1 the reports will come out the last week of the semester.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus
Upcoming
Dear all,
Our names are Ethan and Akil. Our exhibition is about a healthy diet and people’s access to food. Our action is a sugar challenge. A sugar challenge is eating no sugar for as long as you can. Could you give up sugar? You will be able to choose to take the challenge for 1-7 days. There will be sign-up sheets in the breezeway near Room 18. You are allowed to eat fruits but you can’t eat sugary stuff like soda, candy etc. Please sign up to see how you can do without sugar in your day.
Sincerely, Ethan and Akil
Ben’s Corner
I can only apologise if I am repeating what is mentioned elsewhere but I wanted to dedicate my corner today to say a massive thank you to the people who worked tirelessly over many months to make Sports Weekend #20 such a success. People always say you should never thank everyone involved in a large, community event because you run the risk of forgetting someone. So, if I do miss someone out, again, I apologise. However, I wanted to illustrate the scale of the work involved in organising such a gathering and say asante to:
the Coaches, not only for their work supporting their teams over the weekend but, moreso, for facilitating training and friendly matches over the months leading up to the event
the P.E. team for supporting sport for all, teamwork and promoting healthy choices
the Sports Managers for overseeing each sport, making sure fixtures started on time, recording the scores, accommodating changes and requests where possible and promoting sportsmanship throughout
the referees, for working relentlessly from Friday through to Sunday and encouraging a sense of fair play and camaraderie
the runners (most of whom were PYP students) for carrying the score slips for every single fixture, in every single sport, up to the scorers in the P.E. office
the scorers themselves for working without a break for the whole weekend, making sure every result was entered correctly, calculating league tables and fixtures and fielding ceaseless questions and queries
the cleaners for working around the clock, tidying up after us and long after we had all gone home
the catering staff who served hundreds and hundred of delicious meals over the weekend and, many of whom, slept in tents beside the Dining Hall to save on travel time across the days. Incredible
the medical staff who were on standby from start to finish, ready to help us with knocks and twists or to rehydrate and re-energise us when we were flagging in the relentless heat
the drivers who ferried us back and forth across Moshi and beyond and were on call if needed at all times
the facilities team who worked so hard in the run up to the event to make sure the pitches and courts were as match ready as they could be and, of course, who worked on patching up and fixing things all weekend…and then put the campus back together again
the Student Government for keeping us entertained on Friday night
the security team who kept us safe and kept vigil throughout the night
the communications team…and students…who took countless photos to capture the whole thing and shared them with the world
the food vendors, the stallholders, the vocal supporters and, of course, the 700+ students who participated!
A special thank you to the Moshi teachers and students who sacrificed their classroom spaces so that everyone had somewhere to sleep but, of course, were left to put everything back to ‘normal’ come Monday morning.
Lastly, to Mr. Gilbert, who masterminded the whole thing, organising and reorganising the schedule innumerable times in response to never ending requests, changes and unforeseen happenings. He maintained his composure, his patience and his grace throughout and I only hope it will be more straightforward for him next time around!
…remember, in sport as in life, sometimes you win and sometimes you learn.
Ben Morley – Deputy Head of Campus
Diploma News
On Monday last week the mentor time was devoted to activities run by one group for two other groups. We had sports, cooking and many others. The students seemed to enjoy this and we will continue this with the other groups running a session.
This week on Monday, the outgoing student government talked about what they had done and described the procedure for the election for the next group. The D1 students who wanted to stand for co-president have described why they want the role and been nominated by teachers and students. They will be giving speeches on Monday to the school community before voting happens.
In between these two weeks we had sports weekend. As always this was an amazing experience, and it was good to see so many diploma students taking part or supporting their peers.
The D1 students have been having assessments in preparation for reports which will be issued in the second week in December. It is important they realise that these are a snapshot of their performance and reflect the whole semester. For many of them, the move to the IB style of assessments was a challenge, as was being examined in English. These grades reflect what has been achieved this semester not what we believe they are capable of achieving and should be viewed through that lens.
For D2 the TOK essay has been a focus along with Internal Assessments in Biology and Business Management being submitted. It has been a stressful few weeks but the D2 students are working well. We have moved the Extended Essay final deadline to next semester which will hopefully ease some of their tension. Next week we start the mock orals in English and the following week in French, Spanish and Swahili. It is important students report to Rafiki Hall on time in order to have time to prepare. Students need to plan for the upcoming break – they have IAs to work on, essays to write, work to finish and revision. However, it is so important that they take time to relax, without that the next semester will be hard.
Margaret Brunt – Diploma Coordinator
Blood Drive
On Friday the blood drive run by the KCMC CAS group and the hospital ran a very great blood drive with a sort of festive atmosphere. This drive was the most successful one yet with 121 donors from the campus and community. These donations were very appreciated. Our next drive will be in 2022 so look for more information then.
House Competition
Cook off of East African Food! (Only for M4 to D2)
On Tuesday 29th November there will be a cook off to show what you know about cooking East African food. You will have to try and impress the judges. Only 4 chefs per house allowed in the kitchen. Meet in the student kitchen at 2:30 PM.
Sign up on the form shared with you this week. Check your email!
MYP News
MYP Success Stories Growth Mindset Episode #6
“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” Malcolm Gladwell
Today’s MYP segment is dedicated to the “aha moments” that our learners arrived at on their own as part of their learning journey and self-directed discovery. What is success? Or better yet, how have we grown to define success in terms of teaching, learning and education. The community (learners, educators, parents) has always learned to define success by the usual elements that have been passed down generations and been part of every educational curriculum that exists: being able to provide knowledge and understanding to learners, guiding them through learning, achieving commendable standards, doing well on assessments, establishing some form of rank or standard based on a final mathematical equation.
As part of our MYP learning journey this semester, and through shifting our mindsets, we have managed to redefine success. Success, according to many of our MYP learners who are approaching this with an inquisitive and reflective open mind, is:
a process of learning and not a learning product
a series of successful failure attempts
a dynamic level of achievement that only gets better
a series of questions about the how and not the what or why
an equal opportunity for everyone
an individual story unique to every learner
This is great news! The MYP team is now collaboratively aiming to pave the pathway to success through curiosity, sociability, resilience, self-awareness, integrity, resourcefulness, creativity and empathy. This is definitely an ideal benchmark for success in education.
Some Specific MYP Updates:
We are starting to work on interdisciplinary units that will shine in our next quarter. IDUs are a wonderful learning experience for MYP students to see how their subjects fit together and how concepts are transferable in various contexts as well as that skills have multiple uses
Service Learning in M1, M2 and M3 are focused on Physical Education, Mathematics and Arts this time around in order to solve some of our major community needs.
M5’s personal project is moving along, and your support is highly appreciated in this journey. Please take a look at the timeline beside
The semester is almost over, so we have a busy week ahead, but busy just means that we will have more stories to tell!
Farah Fawaz – MYP Coordinator
Residential Life
This week in residential life offered us opportunities to expand our student voice, leadership, and integration of all year levels.
To this regard, I am excited to announce that students in our Diploma dorms have elected representatives to be the direct line of communication with their house parents and myself. These committees as such are based on the philosophy that empowers students to enact change. It is not a forum for complaints, but a forum to explore possibilities, delegate responsibilities, take ownership of their actions and implement positive change both physically and environmentally. Students have already met with their house parents and on Monday we will hold our first meeting where we will schedule timelines for uplifting our dorms and creating a more inclusive home away from home.
Our MYP’s have initiated the same programme and are considering service ideas to integrate our primary boarders more holistically into residential life. As such, they are discovering different avenues where they can add value to our campus through more activities, engagement and mindfulness. All of which are important attributes and character strengths to learn at their age. One successful initiative is our Diploma mentoring programme which has been entirely student led and driven. Many of our D1 and D2 students are now studying in our MYP dorms each evening, modelling correct study techniques, answering questions and mentoring their peers. Modeste has added her thoughts below:
‘I am Modeste from Rwanda, and I am a D2 student at UWCEA Moshi campus. From the experience, I got in the International Baccalaureate diploma program (IBDP) I found self-management skills to be very essential to success. However, this is not something you can wake up and start doing, but it is achieved through practicing it. This is the reason why I got the idea of starting a service. In this program, Diploma students spend their quiet time quietly and focus on their school works in both girls’ and boys’ MYP residence houses from 7:45 pm to 9:00 pm, in addition, if any MYP student is struggling with homework, he/she can ask the diploma students on duty for help. The mission of this program is to help MYP students to learn how to use their quiet time smartly and efficiently. We believe that this program will assist them to be prepared for the diploma program in the coming years. So far Thirty diploma students have signed for this program. We will finish our first week doing this program this Sunday, it has been an exciting experience!’
Simon Johnson – Head of Residential Life
Sports Update
Sports weekend
Our annual Sports Weekend ended on a good note on Sunday. Our students performed extremely well in all of the events we entered in. Most of all, the teamwork and fair play exhibited by all participants is something that we can all be proud of.
The final detailed results can be found here. Congratulations to all the participants and staff who helped run the event.
Semester 1 sports celebration
Our semester 1 sports celebration is an opportunity for us to celebrate the sporting achievements of our students. The event is scheduled for this Tuesday (see poster.) Activities will be cancelled on Tuesday to enable students to attend the event.
Gilbert Kaburu Sports and Activities Coordinator
Outdoor Pursuits
Now that Sports Weekend is done, some normality can return to campus and we can reflect on the great Level 2 Plains trip and the Level 3 Peaks trip to Mt Hanang. Both trips were very successful with the Moshi Campus students leading the way in physical ability and camp etiquette. All reports were of committed, helpful and wonderful students on both trips.
Here is what one of our D1s had to say about Hanang.
27 Diploma students set off from Moshi last Thursday to climb the 3420m high Mt Hanang in the Manyara region.
We slept Thursday night, at the Arusha campus and set off on Friday morning at 6am to Katesh. It was a long drive but a stop off at the salt lakes with a view of Hanang from behind definitely made it worth it. Some of us tried the salt which left a bad taste, but the surroundings of flamingos and stretching plains up to the base of the mountain were so refreshing, you soon forgot. We camped that night at the base of the mountain with hyenas howling throughout the night. There was a bonfire under the stars, but it was an early night for an early start the next morning. We packed up our tents and began the hike at 7am on Saturday.
The walk was steep and by midday the sun was incredibly hot. Plenty of water and sunscreen was needed. The last few hours were gruelling, and relieved is an understatement for how all of us were feeling when we reached the campsite at 3000m. We camped on a ridge with sweeping views over the surrounding landscape but by nightfall a strong wind had come up. Not that it stopped Mr Johnston and I from watching the rugby match (Ireland-29 New Zealand 20 for the record). We rose early the following morning to watch the sunrise as we summited Hanang. It was spectacular, the world below became nothing but white cloud. It is something none of us will soon forget. But after this weekend, I’m not sure I have ever come down a mountain as quick. We were all so dirty and tired and we were all dying to go home at this point. The 7 hour bus ride showed this, with every student curled up asleep on top of one another. It truly was a great trip and although I’m still not sure I’ve caught up on sleep, roll on Level 4.
Anna D1
Note: We have postponed the cycle level 2 trip due to the busy schedule and tiredness of most students and staff after an action-packed semester. This trip will be run in January.
Keep an eye out, the sign ups for next semester will come out soon. Please discuss with your parents/students before registering for any trips. The new cancelation policy will also be sent out with the sign up document please read it carefully.
Robin Marsh – Experiential Learning Coordinator
PYP News
As the semester is drawing to a close, we have a couple of events which will be the highlight of the quarter.
On Monday the 29th, there will be a whole school assembly at 10:30am in Karibu Hall. Primary will be performing a song and a few children will be sharing their highlight of the year.
On Friday, there will be two events happening. The first one is not to be missed! At 7:40am, we will be having the PYP sharing assembly where every child will be involved in some presentations from EC all the way to P6.
In the evening, from 4pm onwards, we will have the Afternoon of the Arts. There will be performances, food, crafts and drink stalls, face painting and more. Our PYP students will be presenting (If we have enough who will be attending) as well as two of our P6s, Jonathan and Kaisaar, who are performing as part of their PYP Exhibition.
Friday, 3rd will be the last day for PYP after school clubs.
The following dates are for your calendar:
Monday, 6th December – Parent Teacher Conferences – a sign up link will be emailed to you.
Tuesday, 7th December – The P6 class will present their PYP Exhibition.
Wednesday, 8th December – last day of classes. 1:10pm finish time.
Student Voice’s first Family Feud was a success. We had a great turn out and it was played in good friendly and fair spirits. The winning team won by 2.5 points. We were so proud of them, that everyone was declared a winner (in true primary school spirit). Thank you PYP for turning up. We hope more of you turn up next time!
EC/P1 Class
P1s were introduced to subtraction and they have been busy learning different ways to subtract numbers. They have used little teddy bears, their fingers and number lines. Next week, they will be putting it all together by looking at fact families.
Some ECs have been learning how to add or find out how many we have altogether. They have done so by counting all items as a group or counting on from one group. This can be tricky and it needs practice. Please keep asking these questions with familiar things at home.
On Monday, look out for a mini project in your child’s folder. We will be sending this out for everyone to do in their own capacity. Some will need your help and some can do the project on their own. This will be our last sent home work of the quarter.
Do plan to attend the Friday sharing assembly. The children will be sharing a little song with you. Some will have speaking parts and these will be sent home to practice.
Mboka Mwasongwe
P2 Class
P2 has wrapped up their 2nd unit of the year, even though our action and community model building continues. Last week found us in the Student Kitchen working on ornaments for our action.
We’ve begun thinking about different modes of transport this week and I’ll be sending more information out on this new unit in the upcoming week. It should be a fascinating unit, we’ve already discussed what our project will be for it, and are going to explore different modes of transport and see what we can fill in for our project each week. As we wrap up this semester, please keep an eye on the email sent to you this week with what dates to look out for!
Elisha Jaffer
P3/4 Class
I am so grateful for this class! We had a lot of fun this week looking at the different traditions of Harvest Festivals around the world. The kids had fun decorating their passports that reflected the various countries that we “visited.” We are also taking this time as an opportunity to work on geography. The next week and a half will allow us to look at Hannukah, a range of Christmas traditions, and family rituals. Please let me know if you’d like to send anything in to augment our study (books, crafts, treats!).
It is a busy week with the optional gathering on Monday afternoon to say good-bye to the Renjus. We hope that you will all be able to come Friday morning to the Sharing Assembly! It will be a wonderful celebration of all that the Primary has done this semester.
Kacey Buckley
P5 Class
We have started our new unit of inquiry.
Central idea: Body systems are interconnected to support life.
Lines of Inquiry:
Interconnected nature of our body systems
Consequences of choices people make for their body systems
Connection between the choices we make and healthy body systems
We have been watching videos about the different body systems to get an overview before the children decide which ones they want to research in depth. In PE Coach T has been working with the children in considering their breathing rate and pulse rate before and after exercise. Our Keith Haring inspired art is on display on the breezeway and is sure to inspire all observers to keep fit!
A highlight of the week was our visit to see Simon Mtuy’s stingless bees. It was a fascinating experience – we learned so much and the honey was delicious! Many thanks to Simon for hosting us and the secondary school Bee Club for inviting us to accompany them on the trip. Next week the children will be busy rehearsing for our Sharing Gathering at 7:30am on Friday 3rd December and the Afternoon of the Arts at 4:00pm on the same day. We hope you will be able to attend one or both of these events.
Deborah Mills
P6 Class
This week focused on wrapping up the work part of the exhibition so that next week they can focus on preparing their presentations to share with everyone on the 7th of December and online. I am impressed by many of the choices they chose to show the knowledge gained through research and interviews. I am equally impressed by the actions they have chosen to share their learning with the community. I think you will be just as impressed when you see their presentations. Our last trips also took place this week leading some students up to Mweka to learn about art and wildlife and others to restaurants in Moshi to learn about East African food. While one student visited a nearby school and had a sports lesson for girls.
A big thank you to all the parents who contributed food or ingredients for the class to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast. They shared what they are thankful for and enjoyed a delicious meal that was prepared and cooked by them. The pilau and mashed potatoes were a big hit!