Moshi Campus News – 7 Feb 2020

Over the last few days we have had the fortune to see a lot of the sun and the top of Kilimanjaro.  Maybe at long last the very extended rainy season has come to an end.

Around campus right now there is a bit of a buzz, and not just from the bees in the flowers.  There are several PYP camps this week and next; the Outdoor Pursuits program is running almost every weekend; we have student run secondary clubs and activities many days a week and the does not even mention the Primary Sports Weekend.  Following in the footsteps of the Secondary Sports Weekend in November this edition of the primary weekend is the largest to date.  As Mr Marsh mentions below we have 10 schools competing with over 300 students.  Good luck to all of them and I hope they have a fun weekend with great displays of teamwork and sportsmanship.

Looking at recent news reminds us that it is easy to spread germs in a confined space like a classroom. Please, when students are unwell, allow them to stay at home until they recover.  Rushing back can result in relapses or infect others.  Thank you.

Bob Cofer

The Eco Club this year have been striving to make UWCEA more environmentally friendly, and realized that the water fountains around camps were using more water than necessary, resulting in water waste.

We, (M4 and M5) want to take wasted water (from anywhere around campus – it will be clean) and use it for dunking water on volunteers. This is to raise money for faucets to put on water fountains as it will help with reducing the amount of water wasted. (The volunteers include both teachers and students who have signed up.)

If you want to pick a certain volunteer to have water DUNKED on, you must pay a certain amount of money depending on the size of the bucket.

Sizes of buckets available:

• Small: 2000 TZS
• Medium: 4000 TZS
• Large: 6000 TZS

In order to THROW a volunteer into the pool, you must pay a certain amount of money to get their name into the raffle that will be held on the day.

Perhaps, by taking action with this little project of ours, we could help make even the smallest difference.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact theodorab23@uwcea.org, priyab22@uwcea.org, or ananyam23@uwcea.org.

Come join us for this fun event, we look forward to seeing you on that Wednesday from 15:00-16:30 at the swimming pool.

Thank you,

M4-5’s of The Eco Club

On Saturday 8th February from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. the cancer prevention program PreVAcamp will take place at the KCMC. 

We offer free educational talks about cancer and screenings for cervix, breast, skin and prostate cancer. Join us and help to reduce the risk of cancer!

The play “The Wave” is a commentary on human nature and our desire to be a part of a “system,” as my character Laurie says. It has truly been a pleasure to work on this play with the wonderful cast and script. I can see the transformation as we continue to have rehearsals and as the production starts to come alive. I believe that anyone who watches this will cry and laugh all at the same time during this amazing play!

I would also like to thank our director, Mr. Coldwell, for all the time he has dedicated to helping shape this great production. I hope to see you out in the audience on the 5th and 6th of March!

Bridget Aman (Laurie)

Save Friday March 20th on your calendar.

Students and parents are starting to plan the International Fair for that day.  Watch this space for more details.

As I have written about here before, wellbeing, wellness and mindfulness are very much buzzwords across the world of education and beyond. Indeed, only this week, these ideas were unpacked and explored in Life Skills classes across the school.

Last week, myself and a number of my colleagues took part in a wellbeing webinar hosted by the Association of International Schools in Africa (AISA). The focus of the webinar was “Wellbeing in International Schools: Strategy, Engagement and Practice.” It was a fascinating conversation to be part of and it resonated very strongly with everyone involved. Part of the conversation centred around a shared definition of wellbeing, namely our ability to feel good and function effectively. We touched on the growing evidence out there that children who participate in social and emotional learning programmes demonstrate not only increased academic outcomes but, also, significantly improved social and emotional skills, attitudes and behaviours. It makes sense.

However, what I wanted to highlight here is a related area that is, perhaps, sometimes ignored. Teacher wellbeing. According to the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER) in the UK, teachers endure greater job related stress than other professionals. Elsewhere, a survey from the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) revealed that educators find their work “always” or “often” stressful 61% of the time, which is more than double the general population. Globally, the education sector is currently facing a recruitment and retention crisis. Many teachers feel overworked, under-appreciated and stressed.

I wanted to take this platform to let our UWCEA teachers know that they are valued. We are all very lucky to have such a dedicated, passionate and committed team of teachers. So, next week, with Valentines’ Day just around the corner, why not let a teacher or two know that you appreciate them?

Ben Morley

The focus for D2 students this week has remained the mock examinations. The written examinations finished on Tuesday and then students had orals exams for Language A. The hard work and commitment they showed last week continued this week. They celebrated the end of the written exams with a cake and also took time to thank the invigilators.
 
Some of the D1 students have headed off on an OP trip this morning and others are currently setting up Rafiki for the first cultural night where there will be presentations and food from Ethiopia, Mongolia and the Netherlands.

Margaret Brunt

This week we have MYP students heading to Arusha to visit the cultural center then another center of culture, the mall. Students have also been planning the activities for the Valentine’s weekend and we look forward to all the events.

Students are also planning to start sharing their cultures and backgrounds on some Sunday evenings, we look forward to learning more about different parts of the world.

Please start thinking about the April holiday, while it is far away, preplanning for travel is very helpful for us.

Ian Horne

Mud.  Rain.  Hot days.  Cold Nights.  Uphill Rides.  Downhill slides.

That pretty much sums up our adventure this past weekend as we spent 3 days cycling on the lower slopes of Kilimanjaro.  Seven students from M1 to M3 successfully battled the elements to complete their level 2 cycling trip.  Our first night camping at Kahawa Shambani campsite was a welcome relief after a relatively short but grueling climb up hill, partially in the rain.

On day 2, we negotiated slick post-rain conditions as we negotiated up to 10cm of mud while maneuvering our bikes back down the slopes, before climbing the gradual slopes to Umbwe Secondary School.  Our night of camping was highlighted by the incredible hospitality of Head of School (and former ISM staff member) Mr. Eli along with his staff and students at this impressive campus, once the academic home of our very own Mr. Mustafa Maden.  Monday morning, we left our incredible perch below the mountain peak to journey back down the slopes to our Moshi campus, where dry conditions and warm showers were most welcome.  Thank you to the incredible team of staff and students that made this adventure another great OP experience!

M5 PP Exhibition and Reports Submission
The Personal Project Exhibition will be on Tuesday February 11. We request members of the community, particularly parents, to plan to attend.  Details have been mailed out this paast week.

Also note the M5 PP reports are now due on February 18.

M1 Trip (Lake Eyasi)
The M1 class has an interdisciplinary trip planned for February 17-20. This is a cross campus trip involving our Arusha campus and features both Integrated Humanities and Design subjects.

David Ochieng

This week we were fortunate to host human rights lawyer, Ms. Channa Samkalden, who shared the passion that drives her in the very challenging work she does on behalf of others. She talked about some of the cases she has litigated against large industries and countries when the rights have been violated, and in some cases, lives have been lost. She also described other atrocities that have transpired with long term lingering impacts. In addition, she talked about how she maintains her wellbeing in the midst of handling very difficult cases. This included the sense of responsibility she feels to improving the lives of others, and a desire to make a difference win or lose. Shedding a light on injustices in the world drives her and the people she works with to put forth effort fighting for others in order to ensure they are able to experience justice and the quality of life that they deserve.

Having Ms. Samkalden speak to our students was an example of what we are attempting to do through seeking community experts. Thanks to those of you who have already signed up. If you have not yet, please use the link below to add your name to our roster of professionals willing to come and share their expertise with our eager students. Link to sign up for Community Experts: https://forms.gle/RWtJuNtDkFpWo67P7

This week we also welcomed colleges and universities from across Canada who spoke with students from M5-D2 about an array of post-secondary opportunities that exist for them as they consider their professional interests. The representatives were very impressed with our students for the way they conducted themselves and the insightful questions they asked throughout the event. It is always a thrill to see our students exploring their future options and being so engaging with guests from around the world!

Cassandra Ford

On the 14th February the action kicks off with the Primary Sports Weekend to be held here at UWCEA Moshi.  We have 10 different schools competing from Arusha, Dar, Morogoro and Mombasa.  On Friday the 14th why not treat yourselves to some scintillating Touch Rugby action from 2pm to 6pm for Valentine’s Day. Action continues on Saturday the 15th with the soccer and swim meets starting off 7am and concluding at 4pm. There will be some snacks and drinks available for refreshment, so come along and support our primary students.

Our outdoor fitness area next to the pool is now complete.  Feel free to check it out. Parents and community members please come to talk to me in the design room beside the Duka if you would like instructions on how to use some/all of the equipment.

NOTE: this is a fitness area and is in no way suitable for children of primary age or below, parents please be informed and inform our dadas that under no circumstances may young children use this equipment.  MYP students under the age of 16 may only use this equipment under the supervision of an appropriate adult (PE teacher, approved club leader). Students 16 years and above may use this equipment whenever they are free but only after instruction from either Mr. Marsh, a PE teacher or approved club leader.  Thank you in advance for your support in keeping this area safe, and as a result, open to our community.

Coach Charles is offering free group lessons for Tennis for P3 and P4 students on Mondays at break time and for P5 and P6 students on Tuesday at break time. If your child is interested in this, then please contact Mr Marsh as there is a limit to the number of students who can take part. He is also running group lessons on Tuesday from 3-4pm and Saturday from 9.30am to 10.30am for TSH 10,000/sessions/participant. If your child would like private lessons they are available as well for TSH20,000 per session.  Please contact Charles on 0757606766 if you are interested in the group or private sessions.

Aproximately one month until the Kilimanjaro Marathon and our MYP students are midway through their training. If you are in Diploma and would like to take part, please contact Ms O’Brien ASAP jackieobrien@uwcea.org. If you are a parent who has a primary child wanting to take part in the 5km fun run please contact Mr. Marsh ASAP, robinmarsh@uwcea.org.

Robin Marsh

Early this week, the primary team enjoyed going around each others’ classes and hearing about the different learning experiences the children are having. The P5s are asking great questions while the P1/2s made some amazing butterfly life cycles created from playdough. The 1/2 also presented a very entertaining presentation during Primary Gathering today. Well done 🙂 Next week Primary will be preparing for the Primary Sports Weekend. We hope to see many parents come in, to support the children.

The P6 students were visited by Bridget from D1 this week and have been inspired to help her raise funds to support koalas threatened by the bush fires in Australia. They have come up with some great ideas which they will develop further next week and share with you. If the children bring a small amount of money to school over sports weekend they can help raise the necessary funds. 

Next Friday there is also aa spirt day for Valentine’s Day.  Students are encouraged to wear Red, Pink or White.

Cathy Wambua-Saha

We’ve conducted a blind taste-test and the children are beginning to understand that our senses often work in combination with each other:

“It was easy to use my sense of smell to taste the food”

“It was difficult because I can’t see the food”

“I used my taste buds”

“It’s too hard to taste until you see”

Owain Evans

Thank you to all the parents who came to watch our primary gathering. The children enjoyed themselves immensely. We will now be moving fully into our next unit.

We will be looking into how weather influences the location of living things. We will begin by looking at the world in general, maps and globes as we begin to explore this idea of weather. If you would like to share your experience with extreme weather using pictures or slides, please feel free to come and do so.

We are done exploring subtraction for now and as we move into global issues, we will be learning how to tell the time. Please encourage your child to wear a watch for this time. A digital watch will be good, but our main focus will be on reading the time using the analogue clock. P1s will learn how to read the time to the hour and half past. P2s will look at quarter past/to and to five-minute intervals when they are ready.

Mboka Mwasongwe

It’s 9:15pm on Thursday as I write this newsletter article. Lights out was about 45 minutes ago, so naturally everyone’s got the urge to use the bathroom now.

It’s been an exciting day for us. We have learnt so much going to the railway and actually seeing a train there, visiting the desolate ground that is the Moshi dump, being introduced to some very cool trucks at the Bhamra Workshop, and finally crunching numbers and being mesmerized by a tiller at TPC during Mr. de Chasteneuf’s sugar plantation safari. For those of you who haven’t seen the tiller, it is a cool piece of machinery that brings about great inspiration for a water or amusement park. Ciara, Gus and I have had extensive conversations about how we can rope Mr. Marsh into helping us design one over the pool.

I am assuming we’ll all be rather bleary eyed tomorrow as we head to Rocktronic to learn about the importance of roads in Tanzania.

We’d like to thank Mr. Saleem, Ms. Durriyah, the Bhamra family, Mr. de Chasteneuf, Mr. Hardy, Ms. Maria and Mr. Prajesh Chauhan for making our camping trip an awesome experience.

Here’s hoping we aren’t chased by any geese before we head out in the morning.

Elisha Jaffer

The P4 students had a blast during their slumber party to celebrate Zoe who leaving us to head back to the Netherlands. Thank you, parents, for allowing them a night away from home. Next week on Tuesday, we are planning our end of unit presentations. Parents are welcome to come and view what the children have done for their culture unit. We will begin the sharing at 7:45 a.m. for about an hour and then move to our regular day. We will also be going for our yearly camp, to Marginpar Farm in Machame on the 12th and 13th of February.

I wish you all a lovely weekend and to Zoe and her family, have a safe trip back home. 🙂

Cathy Wambua-Saha

In the P5 class this week we were exploring our unit by looking into the systems of the human body. The central theme, body systems are interconnected to support life, has prompted them to make posters in small groups about a system. The lines of inquiry are allowing the class to look into choices they make daily, and the benefits or consequences they may have on their health. This week for home learning students were asked to log their activity and diet. I was impressed by the healthy food choices and activities chosen to work the cardiovascular system.

We are saying goodbye to a visiting classmate today, and wish her well. We hope she returns for a visit. We celebrated finishing a book by comparing it to the movie. The class and I were both shocked with how different the story in the movie was compared to the book. To accompany the movie, the class enjoyed trail mix made out of fractions.

Sarah Brummel

Our PYP Exhibition retreat to Arusha campus was a big success. The children worked hard on getting to grips with the meaning of the theme “Who We Are,” and what constitutes action. They also had a pool party, a campfire, watched a movie and played some great games. Thank you to Ms. Carmen on Arusha for organizing this event. In class we have looked at video adverts and identified the techniques being used to persuade us to buy the product. Tugging at our heartstrings, humour, celebrity endorsements, catchy music – we can spot them all! The children have started creating their own packaging for a product and next week we will make an advert using Animoto. Albe, from D1, will also work with us on making a video. We will spend a lot of time next week identifying good topics to inquire into for the Exhibition.

Deborah Mills