International School Moshi Moshi Campus News - 8th August 2008
Dear Parents,
Welcome to the start of the new school year for 2008/09 and this first newsletter of the year. Newsletters will be sent to all parents by email on a regular basis throughout the year and will contain information about the school and news of upcoming events in primary, middle years, the IB diploma and in boarding. The newsletters from both campuses are also posted on the school website at www.ismoshi.org/ParentNews. If you would like me to send newsletters to an additional or alternative email address, please let me know by email on .
Letter from the CEO
Welcome back to the 2008-2009 school year at ISM. I hope all our families had a good break with their children and that the students are excited to get back to school to meet their friends and teachers. On Moshi Campus, our boarding houses are almost full and waiting lists are being established. The increased enrolment will present new challenges, but these are the ones we like to have. Our marketing focus this year will be on Arusha and I am sure the positive word of mouth from our parents there will have a similar effect to what we have seen in Moshi.
I want to welcome our new teachers who are joining us on both campuses:
In Moshi
Anne Haquebord - Physics and Mathematics
Emily Vient - ESL
Catherine Egglestone - Geography and MYP Humanities
Khari Lee - Music
Meike Hooglugt - Dutch (Meike will also teach Dutch on Arusha Campus)
Teresa Magheri - Primary Boarding Parent
Paul Taylor - History/Humanities Student Teacher
Anne Naudan - French Assistant
Kale Howard - IT Intern
In Arusha
Yolanda Romero - MYP English/Drama
Leigh MacRae - MYP Humanities
I am sure you will join me in welcoming all our new teachers who have chosen to join the ISM community in Moshi and Arusha. The Parents Association has organized two "meet the teacher" barbecues this month: In Arusha on Saturday, August 23rd on Arusha Campus In Moshi on Saturday, August 30th at TPC in Moshi.
The BBQs are informal picnics for parents and teachers where you bring your own food, refreshments and swimming costumes. Please mark these dates on your calendar.
I anticipate a year of consolidation for our International Baccalaureate curricula: PYP, MYP and Diploma. We have received feedback on our one year MYP report that allows us to focus on areas for improvement. This school year will see our first class of M5 students complete the entire MYP programme. Our diploma results continue to be strong, but we will be reflecting on the results from certain subject areas where there was a disconnect between predicted and actual grades.
Fee payments are now past due, but the accounts office can see several unidentified deposits into the school's accounts. It would be a great help if you could send the details of your fees transfer - date, amount, currency, which bank account paid to, etc - as soon as possible. Please send to . Otherwise, we will ask your indulgence if you receive a payment reminder and a surcharge invoice. As we mentioned last term, students who have not paid at least the first term's fees will not be allowed to join on the first day of classes.
We expect a very good year ahead at ISM and I look forward to meeting you in the coming weeks.
Best Regards,
Barry Sutherland Chief Executive Officer
Arrival of Boarders
We are expecting boarding students to arrive in school on Sunday, 10th August, preferably before 6pm. In particular we would like new boarding students to arrive by 3pm. All parents/guardians of new boarders are invited to a tea in the dining hall at 4pm to meet our Senior Boarding Parent, Sunita Somaiya; the CEO, Barry Sutherland; the Head of Secondary, Colin Beveridge; the Head of Primary, Rosi Uluiviti; and myself the Head of Campus, Keiron White.
The boarding students will have supper at 6pm after which we will have a general boarding meeting for the students and house meetings as part of the orientation to boarding.
Boarding House Allocations
As mentioned above, nearly all of our boarding places are now full and we are excited to be welcoming over 100 boarders to ISM this term. The primary students will be based in both Kimbilio and Kiota houses. Secondary girls are in Kijana and Kiongozi, and secondary boys are in Kipepeo, Kilele and Kivuli houses. As planned, all students are accommodated in double rooms. We expect to have some student guides in the car park on Sunday who will assist families and students to find their correct boarding house.
Start of Classes
Classes will begin at 7:30am on Monday, 11th August.and we would like students to try to arrive in plenty of time to find and get to the right classroom. Primary students will begin in their own classroom as usual. There will be lists posted in the car park, breezeway and outside the Head of Secondary's office indicating which rooms each secondary student should go to. If you are unsure, please ask for help. With 80 new students joining us this term, it will be busy but I expect that all should go smoothly! The first lesson of the day for all secondary students will be an extended tutor period during which time students will be given various pieces of information including their timetable. Regular classes will start later in the morning.
M1 and D1 Orientations
There will be a special programme of orientation on Monday for all M1 students who are new to the secondary school.
The D1 students, the vast majority of whom are new to Moshi Campus, will have a two-day orientation programme, which includes an introduction to the IB Diploma, meetings with teachers, and a discussion and final subject selection meeting with the Diploma Coordinator, Alastair Brandon.
Other new secondary students will be assisted in their orientation by members of their own tutor group and, if appropriate, by fellow boarders.
Primary Polo Shirts
We normally expect all primary students to wear an ISM polo shirt for classes. Unfortunately our new supplier has failed to deliver polo shirts for the start of the term and we may need to wait a week or so until the new shirts arrive. There are still a very small number of shirts available for sale in reception, but we will not require primary students to wear polo shirts until the new stock is available.
Lockers
Secondary day students will probably wish to have a locker in which to keep their books and other belongings. Locker keys will be available from the receptionist, Anita, in the main office. We ask students to pay a deposit of TSh 3000/- for the key which will be forfeited if the key is lost. Boarders and primary students do not need lockers.
Morning snack
We have a short mid-morning break from 10:15 to 10:35 every morning and during this time, boarders eat a snack available in the dining hall. Day students often bring a snack from home, but some also choose to join the boarders in the dining hall. To do so, they should buy a snack ticket from the receptionist in the main office which costs TSh 6000/- for all snacks for one week.
Lunch for Day Students
The secondary students have a lunch break from 12:35 to 13:20; primary students from 13:05 to 14:00. All boarders eat lunch in the dining hall. There are a number of options for day students who may either bring a packed lunch from home, may buy rolls in the school shop (duka), or may eat a full meal in the dining hall with the boarders. Those day students wishing to eat in the dining hall should buy a meal ticket from the receptionist in the main office at a cost of TSh 3,200/- and hand this to staff when going into the dining hall.
Karibu Hall Stage
During the holidays, a stage has been built on the eastern side of Karibu Hall. The extension is now almost complete and will be a great asset for our drama programme.
Lema Road Speed Bumps
We are very pleased that the Moshi Municipal Council has now placed four speed bumps at different points on Lema Road leading to the school. We have been requesting these for some time and hope that they will help to slow traffic in this area which has many schools and numerous children walking along the road.
French Assistant
We are very pleased to welcome Anne Naudan who will be assisting in secondary French classes in Moshi Campus this school year. With a wide range of language abilities in a number of classes, we feel that this will do much to ensure that each student's needs are better addressed.
Student Teacher
Paul Taylor is joining us this term from the University of Northern Iowa where he is completing his teacher training programme. He will be teaching in the M2 and M3 World Studies classes and also in the M5 History class, working under the direction and advice of the class teachers.
Dutch Classes
Welcome to Meike Hooglugt who has joined ISM this year to teach Dutch on both campuses. Meike is working with the NTC group established by Dutch parents in the two towns. In Moshi she will be teaching primary students from 13:30 to 15:00 on Mondays and Tuesdays. Secondary students will be on the same days from 15:00 to 16:30. Dutch classes will begin on Monday, 11th August.
Music Lessons
Any students who would like to take individual music lessons should speak with our new Music teacher, Khari Lee, as early as possible next week. He will then determine a schedule trying to match up the students' and teachers' availability. Lessons will cost TSh 9000/- per half hour. Once the schedule is determined, parents will be invoiced for all lessons this term based on our estimate of the number of lessons. If more or fewer lesons are actually taught by the end of term, a credit or debit adjustment will be made on the fees account.
We are always seeking music teachers who would be willing to give a few hours to teach some students and, as Moshi is a relatively small town, we are very dependant upon parental and other local support for the music programme. If you play an instrument and might have a few hours available, please do let Khari Lee know.
SAT classes
The school is a center for the US SAT (Scholastic Achievement Tests), the results of which are required by most colleges and universities in North America for student admission. We therefore very strongly recommend that any student who may be considering undertaking further studies in North America should take these tests. Our advice is for students in D1 to take the tests in May with an option of a re-take in November. Students in D2 who have not yet taken the tests or whose score is not high enough should aim to take the tests again in November.
Careful preparation is key to a high score on these tests and the school provides special preparation classes which will be scheduled on a Thursday afternoon this term. In 2008/09 we will require all D2 students to join these SAT preparation classes in term one unless we have previously been advised by their parents that they do not need to take school-based preparation. From November 2008 until May 2009 we will require all D1 students to join the SAT preparation classes unless we have previously been advised by their parents that they do not need to take school-based preparation. Our hope is that by encouraging students to give a higher priority to test preparation, we can assist them to boost scores.
If your child is in D2 and you do not wish him/her to take SAT preparation classes, please email Colin Beveridge (Head of Secondary) on to advise him of this.
PSAT classes
One way of preparing for the SAT is to take a PSAT (preliminary SAT) test. This term we will be providing PSAT classes for all students in M5 on Monday afternoons. All M5 students will be expected to attend unless Colin Beveridge (Head of Secondary) has received an email from the student's parents clarifying that you do not wish your child to take part in these classes. The classes will only run from August until the test which will be held on Wednesday, 15th October.
Swimming Pool
Parents are welcome to use the school's swimming pool during weekends and school holidays as well as during the term time when the pool is not used for student activities. Opening times are posted outside the pool. Before using the pool, please purchase a swimming card from the main office. Costs are as follows:
Parents of ISM students
Others
Annual Family Card
80,000/-
240,000/-
Monthly Family Card
12,000/-
36,000/-
Annual Adult Card
40,000/-
120,000/-
Monthly Adult Card
6,000/-
18,000/-
In order to ensure better security on the campus and improved procedures for collecting funds, it is no longer possible to purchase daily swimming tickets at the pool. All guests will therefore need to purchase a monthly ticket from the main office.
Campus Security
We have now added to security on the Moshi Campus by installing some fixed and some mobile "panic" buttons to summon assistance from a security company in the event of need. Although we anticipate that this is unlikely to be necessary, it does provide us all with peace of mind that this service is available.
School Fees
Most parents will have received invoices indicating that fees for the first term of this school year were due for payment on 1st July 2008. Fees which were not received by that due date have now been surcharged and you may also receive a surcharge invoice. If there were special circumstances which prevented payment of the fees on time, we may be able to waive the surcharge on this occasion, but only if the first term fees are received by the first day of school.
IB Diploma Results
Last year's D2 students received their IB Diploma results in early July. This year 91% of our diploma students were successful in obtaining a full IB Diploma. Further details on the results are available at www.ismoshi.org/dip_result.
IGCSE results
The results of the IGCSE examinations which our S5 students took last term are expected to be available on Monday, 11th August. New students who took IGCSE exams elsewhere should also make arrangements to ensure that their results are sent to us at ISM.
This newsletter has been sent to you from International School Moshi. Please advise me on if your email address changes or if you would like me to add another email address to this mailing list.
