Dear Parents,
As we come to the end of the first quarter, this next week will inevitably be a busy one. Primary students will join their parents and teachers in 3-way conferences on Thursday, secondary students will receive written reports on Thursday with their interim grades, and all of us look forward to the big fund-raising event on Friday afternoon. We hope to see many parents both at the secondary parent-teacher meetings on Friday, and at the events planned for Friday afternoon.
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Reports & Parent Meetings
Secondary reports will be issued on Thursday, 10th October at the end of the school day. D2 students will receive a full detailed report, whilst other classes will receive a one page interim report. If you would like a softcopy of your child’s report, then please email Totty Aris on
. Secondary parent meetings will be held on Friday, 11th October from 10:35am to 12 noon in Karibu Hall – all parents of secondary children are strongly encouraged to meet with teachers at this time if possible. Please can I remind all parents that reports cannot be issued to families if first quarter fees have not been fully paid and received.
Primary Three-way Conferences
On Thursday 10th October we will be holding Three-way Conferences in our Primary School. This is a chance for you, your child and his/her teacher to discuss their progress and goals so far this academic year. Each Three-way Conference is 15 minutes long. If you wish to discuss your child’s progress in greater detail than the 15 minutes allows, you are welcome to make an appointment to meet with the class teacher at a later date. Please note: There will be no formal classes or clubs for primary children on Thursday. Your child will come to school with you for the conference and will then go home with you. Letters went out this week to organise the times that are best for you to join your child on this special occasion, the specific time will be sent home with your child’s goal-setting sheet on Tuesday, 8th October.
Secondary classes take place as usual on Thursday. Separate activities will be organised for the primary boarders on Thursday.
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Boarders’ Travel
Boarders are free to leave school after assembly (finishing at 10:15am) on Friday, 11th October, although we hope that many parents of boarders will want to join us for the afternoon fundraising events. They should return to school before 6pm on Sunday, 27th October. Please send flight details to Rosemary Bango on
if you would like your child to be taken to or collected from Kilimanjaro or Moshi airports. We will invoice $30 per student for Kilimanjaro airport transport on 11th, 12th or 27th October – $60 per student on other dates – no charge for Moshi airport.
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Project Karibu Hall
Come one, Come all!!
WHEN: Friday October 11, 2013
FROM: 12.30PM TO 5.00PM (outside Karibu Hall)
12.30PM TO 6.30PM (cash bar at the Director’s garden)
We’re almost ready for our fundraising event for Karibu Hall and we’re looking forward to it!
We’re very grateful for the amazing prices we’ve received for our Silent Auction.
Thank you so much for all who generously contributed to the auction and the raffle which will be held throughout the event.
The afternoon will be filled with food and fun!
There will be stalls with food representing the different continents. Food will be sold. Food coupons can be purchased from the PA stand which will also be selling drinks, desserts and raffle tickets. The PA will be the only stand handling cash, we’ll work with coupons for everything on sale.
Every continent will be putting on one or more performances, lots of action!
There will be an entertainment tent for kids with D1 and D2 students running the activities.
If you would like to bring a dish for us to add to the continent of your choosing, please contact the representative for your continent:
Africa: Pinky (
) and Dina (
)
Asia: Lavanya (
)
Europe: Camilla (
)
America: Kacey (
)
* Raffle tickets can be bought from PA stand
Among the prizes: tulip water filters, masaai jewellery, Melinda’s lunch vouchers, Mr. Ron’s tennis lessons vouchers, homeopathy kili climbing kit and much more!
Look out for the list on October 11!
* Silent Auction with amazing prizes from:
Coastal Air (flights and nights ZNZ), Butiama Beach on Mafia Island, Dinner at Melinda’s (4pax), Perspectivity (2 consultancy days), Ameg lodge (gym membership), Tanzanian Journeys (family tent Lake Natron), Ras Kiroko (4 pax 2 nights), photo shoot by Eliza Deacon, Haircut Ali in Arusha, Cultural Heritage (tanzanite), Marangu Hotel, S.T.A.F.F. ltd (1 day customer service training), Serena Lodge Mountain Village, airline tickets to the Serengeti, The Arusha Hotel, Handmade Quilt, Lake Chala safari tented lodge, Kuku Nzito (bulldozer or excavator operating lesson), Nomadic Experiences, Milimani Lodge Arusha and more!!
Terms and conditions apply.
British Stand at Karibu Hall Fundraiser 11th October
We will be offering a tea stand at the Fundraiser and need British food offerings. If you are willing to make a batch of scones, a sponge cake or anything else quintessentially British (with a royal theme) then please contact Annalee or Totty.
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Assemblies
Last week we had a diverse assembly. We chose to mark the atrocity in Nairobi when sadly so many people were hurt or died, with a minute’s silence. We also celebrated the success of our wonderful swimming team at the Arusha School’s Swimming Competition where the whole team performed very well indeed and came home with many medals. Our new student council took their oath and we look forward to those standing for the Executive committee to present their persuasive speeches next week in the Secondary assembly. In addition the M4s shared with us what their research in West Kili showed them.
This week is the final assembly of Quarter 1 where at 09.30 on Friday we will celebrate some of our successes this quarter. Following the assembly as normal we will have our secondary parent/teacher consultations at 10.35. We look forward to seeing many of our parents who will be coming to talk to teachers from 10.35-12.00. Please note that classes start again on Monday, 28th October at 7:30am.
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Primary Clubs
This week the Q1 clubs will finish on Tuesday 8th October.
We look forward to a new range of club options in the second quarter although some will continue. Woodwork was very popular in Q1 but has a limited amount of spaces due to health and safety, so please if your child has already done it in Q1, encourage them to choose another club. The form for choosing clubs went home with all students on Friday 4th October, attached is a softcopy. Thank you to the parents who volunteered to help as this means that children get to do more than one or two clubs per week.
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Basketball Courts
Work began last week on resurfacing our outdoor basketball and netball courts. Half of the hard court area is now closed off for this resurfacing and we will temporarily need to use the tennis courts for basketball and netball as well. Apoogies for any inconveience that this may cause users. It is planned that the first stage of this work will be completed by late November.
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Sports: From the Leopards’ Den
LOOK WHAT’S ON THIS WEEK!
Monday October 7th (top pitch at 4:30pm) – Senior Boys Soccer Team challenge the Staff.
Tuesday October 8th (bottom pitch at 4:30pm) – Junior Girls Soccer Team and Senior Girls Soccer Team challenge the Karanga Girls at 7-a-side. Please feel free to come and cheer on the girls in their very first matches of the year. The junior girls in particular are a very new team and will be greatly helped by some vociferous support.
Wednesday October 9th (outdoor courts at 4:30pm) – The Girls Netball Team are taking on the VETA Girls Team.
Come on out and support our teams!
ULTIMATE GAME
Every Tuesday about twelve students have participated in Ultimate Frisbee, a sport that sounds easy but is in fact quite tough. We have worked on playing the game; playing defence and offence, scoring and (accurately) throwing the disc. Coached by two excellent Ultimate players, Coach Isaac and Coach Applegate, we have all improved. Two weeks ago we played a game against the Kil Killars Ultimate Team. It was a tough game, as the other team was more skilled than we were. We did score though! We will continue to train throughout the second quarter and play during sports weekend aiming for the prize as Ultimate Champions.
Felicity Aris, player
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National Swimming Championships
ISM MOSHI REPRESENTS AT THE TANZANIAN NATIONAL OPEN SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS
A group of about 15 ISM Moshi swimmers travelled to Arusha last weekend to compete in the two-day Tanzania National Open Swimming Championships. This event – held annually – is the only international-standard swimming competition in Tanzania, and offered an opportunity for ISM swimmers to see how they measure up against other swimmers countrywide. Considering the early season timing (hence not much chance to train), Moshi turned in a fine performance with a total of 3 gold, 8 silver and 9 bronze medals. The competition featured the usual sprint events, as well as longer, international-standard races such as the 400m freestyle open-age group swim – a challenging race of 16 lengths in which ISM’s Fred Aris got 3rd place. In addition to showcasing ISM’s swimming talent, the competition also highlighted areas where our swimmers need to improve in order to compete even more successfully in the future. Accordingly, we will be offering the opportunity for additional practices and targeted stroke and turn clinics. The ISM Water Leopards want to especially thank the Arusha families who hosted them, Mr Bob Horton for acting as the official chaperone for the entire weekend and Ms Marika Farrell for securing ISM a placing in the competition.
Sabini Temba, Swim Coach
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Inter-House Athletics
We can also look forward to the campus Inter-House Athletics tournament which will take place on Thursday, 31st October immediately after the break. Kibo, Mawenzi and Meru houses will be competing to win out on the day.
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School Musical
Our School Production “I’d do anything for you” (based on the musical: Oliver) is now in full swing. Our volunteer, Louise has arrived and she is doing a grand job of choreographing the songs. Meanwhile Ms Jacobs has been busy with the band, preparing them. Soon we will need to get costumes made, therefore we will have a meeting for any parents interested in helping. Ideally, we will have a parent rep. for each class who will liaise with the other parents about the costume. Some parents have already come forward; we will have a meeting this Tuesday, 8th October at 7.45 in Totty Aris’ office, if you would like to attend to chat through ideas – all welcome!
The show itself is 11th & 12th December!
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MYP Scholarships
ISM Arusha Campus is very pleased to announce up to four FULL scholarships available to students in M2 to M4 from next January. We are currently inviting academically able Tanzanian students currently studying in national curriculum schools to apply for 100% tuition scholarships in our Arusha Campus. If you know of any child who may be able to benefit from this opportunity, please go to www.ismoshi.org/mypscholarship for more details and an application form. Applications will close on 31st October.
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IB Diploma in Arusha
I am sure you will all have read in the Director’s letter of our decision to start teaching the International Baccalaureate Biploma Programme on our Arusha Campus from August 2014, as we also continue to build numbers and the diploma programme on the Moshi Campus. This will offer many students joining D1 next year the option of a day campus in Arusha or a day/boarding campus in Moshi on which to study. With our nearly 40 years experience of the IB Diploma (as ISM was the first IB school in the continent) we are confident of offering a great programme on both campuses.
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ABRSM Exams
A few students will be taking the music theory examinations of the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM) on Wednesday, 9th October. We wish them all the best.
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D2: TOEFL test
D2 students who wish to take the TOEFL paper-based test in school on 16th November must complete their registration by Wednesday, 9th October.
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ISM Calendar 2014/15
The school calendar for the year 2014/15 has now been published and is available to download in PDF format from www.ismoshi.org/moshi-arusha/calendar/.
The ISM calendar is available on Google Calendar and is regularly updated there. You can synchronise your Android phone, iPhone, Windows or other device to this, by searching for the ISM Public Calendar at address intsmoshi@googlemail.com and adding it to your device. (Please do not use this address for emails).
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Boarders’ Dinner
The boarding students are celebrating the end of the first quarter with a dinner and dance this evening, Sunday, 6th October.
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Security
Please note that since August, ISM has been liaising closely with a professional security consultant with the aim of reviewing and developing our procedures in response to various emergencies. In light of recent incidents, this need to continuously review procedures is even more obvious. We hope to be able to implement changes once the review is complete.
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South Gate
For security reasons we do not normally allow students, parents or visitors to use the small south gate (between Kisanduku and the Kichala Health Centre) to enter or leave school. However there are a few families who live immediately south of the school campus. If you do live here near to the school and would like your child to use the South Gate, we will issue him/her with a special ID card permitting them to use the gate to enter school before 7:30am and to leave school at the end of classes or clubs/CAS activities. The gate may not be used at other times, nor may it be used by visitors or boarding students. Children using the south gate must carry their ID card with them (replacements of lost ID cards cost TSh 10,000/-). Those without ID cards will not be allowed through.
Please email Keiron White on
if your child needs to use this gate and you wish him/her to receive an appropriate ID card.
Unlike the main gate, a watchman is not on duty at the south gate itself at all times and it may be necessary to wait for a watchman to come before your child can enter or leave.
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Fees Reminder
I would like to remind all families paying fees by instalments that the fees for the 2nd quarter were due to have been received by us before last week – 1st October 2013. If you have not remembered to arrange the payment, please do so as soon as possible.
There are a few families who have not yet completed pament of fees for the first quarter. If you are in this position, your child will not receive their first quarter report and will not be permitted to return for classes on 28th October.
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Headlice
We are still having reports of headlice at school. Please take the opportunity of the October break to check your child’s hair throughly.
Please note that headlice is NOT a sign of bad hygiene or dirty hair but often bad luck! See www.patient.co.uk/health/head-lice-and-nits for further advice on how to treat this annoying infestation.
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Diploma News
A parent of a May 2013 graduate dropped in to collect his daughter’s IB official graduation document. He thanked me and requested I convey his appreciation (which I have done) to all his daughter’s teachers. “Moshi really helped my daughter. She learned so much and really grew in her two years here. I am so appreciative. This is why the word I hear in Arusha (where he lives) is so positive about the Diploma Program at Moshi.” I hear these types of positive comments with some regularity.
Recently an ISM DP graduate wrote to indicate that the caring, committed team (from janitors to teachers to administration) created a wonderful environment in which he thrived. Daily I see this dedication and willingness of my DP colleagues to ‘go the extra mile’ to help our DP students succeed but one incident this week exemplified this perfectly.
An unnamed ISM DP student needed to make a course change. Taking that step was clearly in the student’s best interests though it would mean extra time on the part of the teachers. The two experienced DP teachers – Alastair Brandon and Nainkwa Mvungi – agreed wholeheartedly demonstrating their unselfish willingness to help the particular student do their best. Believe me this type of incident is typical and it may be part of the reason our program is growing so much.
Our ten D2 students slated to take their Swahili B exams on the afternoon of November 15th undertook a series of practice tests this week as part of their preparation for the IB exams.
We look forward to seeing (we hope) nearly all DP parents at the October 11th morning assembly (9:30am start) followed by the incredibly important parent-teacher meetings.
DP students eagerly await the release on Thursday October 10th of the reports for the first academic quarter of 2013-2014. D2 students will receive a full report with narrative sections prepared by each teacher. D1 students will receive a report that lists the grade itself and the full report for D1s will come in December 2013.
We expect further success from the new IB Director who has a wealth of experience as an educational leader globally. Read more at:
www.ibo.org/announcements/2013/international_baccalaureate_ chooses_new_director_general.cfm
ISM was the FIRST IB Diploma Program on the African continent. This month’s edition of IB world celebrates that milestone and what has happened since. Read the issue of IB World – Celebrating 45 years of IB Education http://issuu.com/internationalbaccalaureate/docs/ibo_sep2013_uk_web
Writing my narrative reports this week for quarter one, I frequently made reference to the crux of this article: “Paying Attention, Persistence are Keys to Academic Success” – See more at:
www.educationnews.org/parenting/paying-attention- persistence-are-keys-to-academic-success
We teach our students ‘internationalism’ in all three IB programs – PYP, MYP and DP – and the reality of how fortunate our students are to attend this school is underscored when you review the global stats on poverty in www.nytimes.com/2013/09/29/opinion/sunday/kristof-a-way-of-life-is-ending-thank-goodness.html
Not surprisingly, UN Secretary-General Ban Key Moon recently addressed an issue that is at the heart of why the IB DP was created 45 years ago. “United Nations Calls For More Investment in Education to Build Peace” at:
www.educationnews.org/international-uk/united-nations-calls-for-more-investment-in-education-to-build-peace/
Teaching styles vary in the ISM IB DP as elsewhere. The story of this one teacher resonates and applies to our faculty in terms of the dedication to students I can assure you. Read “Why Tough Teachers Get Good Results” at http://online.wsj.com/article/ SB10001424052702304213904579095303368899132.html
The Times of London recently published the list of the world’s top universities at: www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/news/world-university-rankings-2013-2014-london-outruns-uk-regions/2007862.article
As usual feel free to email or call with any questions/concerns.
Sincerely,
Rick Fitzpatrick
Diploma Programme Coordinator
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Early Childhood Preview
Dear Parents,
Many thanks for your contribution to Spirit Day on Friday. Please see the photograph of our Letterland characters above! It is obvious that the children are enjoying learning about letters through the Letterland scheme and all of them have developed their knowledge of letter sounds over the first semester. This week we will find out more about Uppy umbrella and the short vowel sound u. Each week we review all the letter sounds introduced so far through games, puzzles and other literacy activities. It is important that the children see the plain letters without the character picture so that they can distinguish between the sound that the letter makes and the name of the character who makes the sound.
This week we will finish our reflections on the present unit of inquiry. The children will also choose two pieces of artwork for their portfolio and explain why they have chosen this piece. Reflection is a major part of the primary years programme and it is important that children have many chances to reflect on their work. The younger they start practising this the easier they will find it!
Also this week;
Make stick puppets and perform puppet shows (not completed last week)
Word build using short u sound
Design umbrellas
Our next unit of inquiry starts immediately after the October break. The central idea is; We use our senses to explore and discover the world around us.
The lines of inquiry are:
The five senses
How we use our senses
How our senses work together
How our senses keep us safe
Some information on language next quarter
Oral language will be developed through exploring senses using a variety of materials provided. The children will be encouraged to ask and answer questions as they explore and experiment using their senses. We will be reading non-fiction books to inquire into senses and children will develop more of an understanding of the difference between fiction and non-fiction.
Mathematics next quarter
Children will;
Sort real-life objects into sets according to what sense they are connected with.
Collect and record data about senses.
Weigh and measure in cooking activities.
Count, read, write, order and estimate, use the vocabulary of more and less, develop understanding of conservation of number through manipulative play, discuss what numbers are used for and identify numbers in the environment.
Inquire into pattern
Other reminders
There will be swimming on Monday. Please send your child to school with a swimming bag containing a swimming costume, towel, crocs or flip flops, floaties/arm bands already blown up and sun cream if you would like us to put it on your child.
There will be no school on Thursday. This is a three way conference day. You will receive your appointment time early next week as well as the goal setting sheet. I look forward to meeting with you and your child/ren to celebrate their achievements and discuss their goals.
On Friday there will be an end of semester assembly in Karibu hall at 9.30am. You are very welcome to attend. After the assembly you are free to take your child home, or they can return to the classroom with me until 11.15 as normal.
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P1/2 Preview
Information for Parents
We are about to begin the last week of the quarter. It is such a pleasure teaching this class. The children have flourished and been so enthusiastic about learning. Thank you parents for your support. Happy holidays everyone.
Three Way Conferences (Thursday 10th October)
There will be no formal classes on Thursday 10th October. I have received most letters back from parents indicating times they are available to come for conferences. If you have not returned the slip, you must return on Monday as all primary teachers will be allocating times for the conferences. You will receive your allocated time slot by Tuesday 8th October. Each conference will be 15 minutes long.
Last Day of School (Friday 11th October)
As usual there will be a whole school assembly at 09:30 that all parents are welcome to attend. Primary children are allowed to go home after the assembly at 10.15. Primary children can stay at school until 12 midday and be supervised in the classrooms if parents need to attend the secondary teacher conferences.
Library Books
All library books need to be returned by Tuesday 8th October.
Homework Packs and Reading Books
There will be no homework packs in the last week. All reading books will be collected in on Monday. No more reading books will be issued until after the holiday.
Unit of Inquiry – Seeds and Plants
Central Idea: There are certain conditions that are necessary for plants to grow.
We had an amazing trip to Oasis Young Plants nursery last Thursday. A HUGE thank you to the owners, Christine and Rene Kleinveld, who were so generous with their time and effort. The children learnt so much about plants! They thoroughly enjoyed exploring the greenhouses and even had a go at planting some cuttings themselves. They were given some small plants as a gift from Christine, I will send them home with the children next Wednesday. I took some photos of the trip which I will put on as a slideshow in the classroom at 1 o’clock on Monday afternoon if any parents want to come in and view the pictures with their children. We will continue to focus on the first line of inquiry and look at different types of plants. We will consider strange plants, plants we eat and poisonous plants. We will also set up some simple experiments to look at how plants suck water up the roots and stem. We will go onto the second line of inquiry and look at how plants change over time.
Swimming
We had our first swimming lesson last Tuesday. It was a great success!
Art
We observed and sketched a wide variety of plants on the trip. We will continue to study the artist Georgia O’Keefe who was famous for beautiful close up paintings of flowers. We will look at some of her paintings then draw and paint some flowers close up.
Language focus for the week
Write a recount of the trip. (This will be an assessed piece of writing to look at progress)
Storywriting: Retell a well known story, The Little Red Hen.
Handwriting: Patterns, own name, numerals and Zig Zag Monster letters. (V, W, X, Z)
Phonics: Group 1 – Continue sh, ch and th. Group 2 – Learn about words with the spelling pattern ai as in rain and ay as in play.
Maths focus for