Moshi Campus News – 1 Aug 2026

The start of the new school year is amazingly soon. Currently we are welcoming the new teachers to campus and in the next few days the D2 Orientation Crew will be here with the D1 students in less than a week.

Like always, the break is not a break on campus, there has been a lot of work completed. One major two-year project to replace the campus water pipes has been finished and the work on Kijana house is at the last stages. One project still in progress is the complete overhaul of the beloved Lorry. It is currently in Arusha, and we hope to see it back in a month.

Below you will see welcomes from different sections of campus and starting the end of the first week back we will get into the regular newsletter cycle. This is a good place to get information about what is happening on campus, but I also suggest bookmarking our campus calendar as that has the most up to date information. Between that and the main UWCEA calendar on the same page you can keep track of most events at school.

Best wishes for the new school year.
Bob Cofer – Head of Campus

Dear UWCEA Community,

The campus felt empty the last few weeks, but the quiet days are behind us. And now, all at once, it’s over: the gates are open, the suitcases are arriving, and that particular hum is back in the air. I’ve missed it more than I expected to.

Welcome back!
To those of you returning, you already know the shape of this place, the shortcut through the breezeway, the good corner of the library, the exact wrong time to show up at the dining hall. Settle in. Your spot has been here all along, waiting for you to fill it again.

To those of you arriving for the first time, welcome. I won’t pretend the first week is easy. New names, new corridors, a new country for many of you, all landing at once. You do not have to have it figured out by Friday. No one does, and anyone who looks like they do is bluffing. Find one person to sit with at dinner. Learn the way to your classes. Let the rest arrive on its own schedule. It will.

I’ve been thinking about what actually makes a year good, and I don’t think it’s the plans we make in these first bright weeks. It’s the small, unglamorous things: the person who notices you’ve gone quiet, the door held open, the willingness to say “I don’t understand this” out loud in a room full of people. That’s the real curriculum of a place like this. Everything else is scaffolding.

So this year, I’d ask one thing of all of us. Be a little braver with each other than feels comfortable. Ask the question. Sit with the new student. Assume good faith. Belonging here has never been something we stumbled into; it’s something we build, deliberately, and it falls to every one of us to keep building it.

To our students, the place is dull without you, and you know it. Bring the energy, the curiosity, and, within reason, the shenanigans.

To our staff, thank you for the quiet weeks of preparation no one sees, and the loud months of care that everyone feels.

To our families, thank you for trusting us again with the people you love most. We hold that carefully.

Here’s to a year worth remembering: the joy and the challenge, the growth and the plot twists, and all the ordinary days in between that turn out to matter more than we knew.

Welcome home.
Adnan Mackovic – Head of Student Life

Welcome back to the PYP. I hope everyone has had an enjoyable break. Please see below for a brief welcome from each of the primary school teachers. Our classes this year are as follows:

·        EC 1/2 – Ms. Manal, Ms. Dorcas and Ms. Durriyah

·        P1/2 – Ms. Mboka and Ms. Neema

·        P3/4 – Ms. Sarah and Ms. Zitha

·        P5 – Ms. Deborah and Ms. Catherine

·        P6 – Ms. Elisha and Mr. Emmanuel

Timetables will be shared during the first week back but there are some things you can do to start getting ready for the new semester. If your child does not have a pair of indoor shoes now is a good time to buy those. All PYP children should wear a UWCEA T-shirt to school and these are available from the Development Office which will open August 4th. All children will need a named, reusable water bottle (we discourage the use of single use plastic bottles on campus) and all children should bring a healthy snack (no junk food please) to school each day. We will have a Meet the Teacher night within the first couple of weeks of the semester – details to follow.  I’m adding some photos to the primary handbook and then that will be emailed to you which should answer most questions. If you have any urgent questions, please email me.

We look forward to seeing the children return to campus on Tuesday, 11th August at 7:30am. P1 – P6 children will finish classes at 1:10pm except for Friday when they finish at 12:30pm. EC1 children should be picked up at 11:20am apart from Friday when all children finish at 12:30pm. Normally the EC2 children have the option of staying later and Bob Cofer will shortly email EC2 families regarding that. However, for the first week back, EC2 children should also go home at 11:20. There will be no clubs for the first 2 weeks but if you are interested in offering a club for primary children (2:00 – 3:00pm on any day except Friday) please email me on deborahmills@uwcea.org.

Deborah Mills – Head of PYP

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful and restful holiday. I had a lovely vacation in Lebanon with my family and husband and have returned feeling refreshed and excited for the new school year.

I’ve already started preparing our classroom by creating engaging play-based learning stations that reflect my teaching philosophy. I can’t wait for our little learners to explore, discover, and grow together.

Welcome back! I’m looking forward to seeing your little ones again, hearing all their lovely new stories, and I’m especially excited to meet our new learners and get to know their unique personalities, interests, likes, and dislikes.

Here’s to a wonderful year filled with learning, laughter, and exciting adventures together!

Manal El Dawish

Happy New School Year!

I hope everyone has had a holiday full of adventure and some rest. I look forward to hearing all the holiday news from the children. Ms Neema and I had a restful break, and we are excited to start the new semester. I had the chance to forage for some new plants and propagate the older ones that I had. The picture I shared is of a Crassula muscosa that I am learning not to water too much.

We are going to kick off the week with back-to-school activities to get to know one another, rekindle friendships and set essential agreements. Our first unit sets the stage for the year. The central idea that we will begin exploring is the following: Working together helps people achieve goals.

The lines of inquiry to guide us will be:

·        Ways people work together and their roles in a group

·        How working together helps us achieve goals

·        How we share and use things when working together

As you can see, this unit will unite the class and lay the foundation for how we will work together for the rest of the year.

Please look out for an email from me before the 11th highlighting the specialist lessons we will have for the week.

Mboka Mwasongwe

Welcome to P3/4 where we’re back to learn more! I hope the break was restful and everyone is ready for the new start.  I look forward to a quarter full of excitement and getting to know each one of your families. My family and I travelled to New Zealand over the break and enjoyed lots of rain, wind,  sunshine and ice cream! We kick the school year off with the topic:  Who We Are. We will investigate who we are, how we have changed over time, and how the environment around us supports and impacts these changes. Looking forward to a fun filled first quarter.

Sarah Vrontamitis

Welcome to P5! 

I spent the holiday catching up with family and friends. The photo shows me visiting Stonehenge in the UK with my oldest son. If your children did something fun or interesting over the break, please email me a photo at deborahmills@uwcea.org and I will share the pictures with the children during the first week back. I hope everyone is excited about coming back to school. Ms. Catherine and I are looking forward to a happy and productive year with everyone. The first week back will be spent settling in, setting essential agreements, focussing on the Learner Profile attributes and reconnecting with friends and making new ones.

Deborah Mills

Welcome to P6!

I hope everyone had a great holiday, had plenty of time to relax, and is feeling refreshed and ready to get back into the swing of things.

Over the break, I swapped the Tanzanian bush for a slightly more urban jungle and enjoyed some time away before heading back to Moshi and getting ready for the new school year.

During the first week, parents will receive a survey, a P6 information letter, our class timetable and the Programme of Inquiry (POI). This should give you all the information you need to know about what to expect in P6 this year.

I’m looking forward to welcoming our new P6 students and getting the year started!

Elisha Jaffer

Karibuni! Welcome to a new academic year at UWCEA. As we begin another exciting year together, we are looking forward to welcoming our new D1 students and seeing our returning D2s. A new school year brings fresh opportunities, new challenges and, of course, plenty of questions—and we look forward to supporting everyone as they settle into the year ahead.

First, we would like to congratulate the Class of 2026 on their excellent results. We are incredibly proud of all that they achieved during their time at UWCEA and wish them every success as they begin the next stage of their journeys. Hongera!

To our new D1 students: we know that beginning the Diploma Programme can feel both exciting and a little apprehensive. There is a great deal to learn, new expectations to understand and many new experiences ahead. They are encouraged to ask questions, seek support, stay curious, and give themselves time to grow into the programme. Pole pole—slowly, slowly!

D1 timetables will be available soon and can be accessed through our learning platform, Learn. We recognise that students may need time to understand their subject choices and how their timetables fit together, so there will be some opportunity to make changes during the first few weeks. We will also hold a Subject Fair, led by our teachers, during orientation where students can learn more about their courses, ask questions and make informed decisions.

To our D2 students: welcome back! This is a big semester for these students and the semester will feel shorter than usual as we aim to complete and issue D2 semester reports in early November. This timing is intentional: it aligns well with university applications and allows universities to receive more up-to-date information about their academic progress.

The year ahead will be busy, but it will also bring opportunities to learn, contribute, lead and celebrate. We encourage everyone to look after one another, ask for help when needed and make the most of the many experiences that UWCEA has to offer.

We wish all our students, families and staff a positive and successful year ahead.

Catherine Dowie – Head of Diploma

Welcome Back!
I hope you all had a wonderful, restful summer and found time to relax, recharge, and make special memories with family and friends.

I certainly did! I spent my summer back home in Beirut, enjoying time with family and (perhaps a little too much!) delicious Lebanese food. I even became a tourist in my own country and visited Kfarhim Grotto, a hidden cave in the Chouf mountains that I somehow never knew existed. It was a lovely reminder that no matter how well we think we know a place, there is always something new waiting to be discovered. I have a feeling this school year will be much the same!

For those of you who know me, I can’t wait to welcome you back for another exciting year together. And for those who are joining our community for the first time, my name is Farah Fawaz, and I am the Head of the Middle Years Programme (MYP) at UWCEA Moshi Campus.

Originally from Lebanon, I am about to begin my sixth year at UWCEA Moshi, a place that has truly become my second home. One of the things I love most about the start of a new school year is the excitement that comes with new faces, new friendships, fresh opportunities, and the chance for every student to grow in ways they never imagined.

To our returning families, welcome back! And to our new students, parents, and guardians, welcome to our wonderful MYP community. We are delighted to have you with us and can’t wait to get to know you.

As we begin the year, here are a few helpful reminders:

·        Life and Learn remains our main platform for assignments, announcements, feedback, and day-to-day communication.

·        You should have received an email with suggested stationery and back-to-school guidance to help students start the year well prepared.

·        Our MYP Handbook is an excellent resource for both new and returning families, and I encourage you to take some time to read or revisit it.

·        Finally, don’t forget to check the MYP Newsletter each week! It will be your go-to place for important dates, celebrations, classroom highlights, programme updates, and everything happening across the MYP.

Here’s to a year filled with curiosity, growth, meaningful learning, and plenty of memorable moments. I am so excited to begin another journey with you all.

MYP Dates to Remember

·        August 11th – First Day of Classes at 7:30 am

·        August 11th to August 13th – MYP Orientation (All Students)

Farah Fawaz – Head of MYP