International School Moshi Moshi Campus News - 13th September 2008
Dear Parents,
Last night's Quiz Night in the dining hall was successful and this weekend a large group of students (and teachers) are taking part in the Outdoor Pursuits trip to the Pare Mountains. The M5 Leadership Symposium on Thursday and Friday last week also went very well as did the Library Night last Wednesday. The campus is very busy! Please let me know on if you would like to add another email address to this circulation list.
Tennis Tournament
I am sorry to tell you that the tennis tournament planned for this weekend has been postponed until Saturday, November 8th, 2008. That gives students, teachers, and parents plenty of time to practise, and no excuses to miss it! A reminder will be sent out again in early November.
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Inter-House Sports - Thursday 18th September
This sports day will take place from 7:35am to lunch (with classes and activities as normal in the afternoon). All secondary students are expected to participate. If, for a medical reason, they cannot take part they should come to see me and they will be allocated a job for the morning. Students should:
Check the notice boards by room 30 to confirm which house they are in and start signing up for the events they want to compete in.
Read the scoring standards which are also on display. You get 10 pts for your house if you achieve the gold standard, 6pts for the silver, 3pts for the bronze and 1pt for participating, but not managing to reach the bronze standard.
Parents are welcome to come and support the students.
Inter-School Athletics
Moshi Campus will be participating in this event to be held on ISM Arusha Campus on Saturday, 27th September with a variety of teams from schools in Arusha. Students who wish to take part should sign up on the sheet outside room 30 to be considered for selection.
Sports Equipment Needed
For several years, groups of ISM diploma students have been involved in coaching rugby to local school students and boys from Mkombozi Street Centre. 10 boys from Mkombozi have just been selected to travel to the UK in October to represent Tanzania in the Tullow Oil touraid Cup. These boys have virtually no sports clothes suitable for playing in Europe at this time of year. If you have old football boots, trainers or items of clothing that you child has outgrown and that you are willing to donate to the boys from Mkombozi, can you please brings these items to Mr Wiggins.
Kindergarten Assembly
Last week P1/2 shared some of their learning experiences from their inquiry into different types of homes. We certainly will not be lacking in story tellers, actors and dancers in the future. This week KG will be leading the assembly on Friday, 19th September.
Hard Labour Trip
Next weekend - 19th-21st September, many of our IB Diploma students will be engaged in "Hard Labour". Although this term may mean different things in different cultures, within ISM the Hard Labour trips have proved very popular as groups of students have worked in schools in the region to help them build extra classrooms or facilities. Hard Labour is an integral part of our Community Service programme.
SAT and TOEFL Registration
Students in D2 who are planning to study in the USA will probably need strong SAT scores to enable them to enter a good university. If they did not take SAT tests last school year or if their scores were lower than they should be, we recommend taking the SAT test again on November 1st. Registration forms are completed online and paid for by credit card. If you do not have a credit card available and your child needs help to pay after registering, please contact Keiron White before 17th September.
Similarly many D2 students may want to take TOEFL tests in November. The registration deadline for these is 1st October - please contact Keiron White before 24th September if help is needed to arrange payment.
Idd el Fittr
At the end of the Islamic Holy month of Ramadan, there are two days of national holiday to celebrate the event. The dates of this holiday will not be announced until the night immediately before the holiday (when the moon has been sighted) which has caused some difficulties for some families. This year ISM has planned to celebrate the Idd on Thursday and Friday, 2nd and 3rd October. Therefore there WILL be classes on Wednesday, 1st October irrespective of any official announcements and we will expect all students to attend on this day. Of course, Muslim students will be excused attendance at school if their own celebrations of Idd occur earlier than this.
Wednesday, 1st October
There will be classes and an assembly for all students on Wednesday, 1st October from 7:30am to 10:15am. After this time students will be free to return home. From 10:35 to 12 noon there will be meetings for parents of secondary students and their teachers in Karibu Hall, aimed at providing an opportunity for you to discuss your child's progress with his/her teachers. Primary teachers will also be available from 10:35am to meet with parents of children in their class.
Secondary Reports
All secondary students in M1 to D1 will receive a one page interim report on their child's progress by the half term break. Students in D2 will received a more detailed full report. These reports will be issued to students on Monday, 29th September. In order that we have sufficient time to prepare these properly, it is not possible for us to issue reports early for any student.
Guitar Rental
We have a limited number of guitars available for rental. In order to rent a guitar, students must be signed up for private lessons. The cost will be TSh 2000/- per week. Renewals can be made weekly or monthly and students must have their instruments checked monthly for quality care. Any damages will be billed to the student's account. If you are eligible and would like to rent a guitar, please see Mr. Lee in the Music Room.
Parental Consent Forms
We ask the parents of all our boarding students to complete and sign a Parental Consent (PC) Form to guide us on parental expectations when considering various requests from students. It is important to us that these are all fully completed and sent to the boarding parents. If you wish to amend any item on the form, please send a written note (by email) to your child's boarding parent or complete a new form. The PC Form is available to download from www.ismoshi.org/Download.
Half Term Holiday Travel
Please ensure that your child's boarding parent knows how your child will be travelling for half term on 1st October and returning on 14th October. If you need any help with travel arrangements, please contact Sunita Somaiya on .
Kilimanjaro Rugby Sevens
The Kilimanjaro Rugby 7s, which features an adult tournament for clubs from Tanzania and Kenya, and an under-19 schools tournament, will be held on Saturday, 4th October on the Moshi Campus playing fields. All are welcome to support and enjoy the event.
Students in the ballroom dancing club will start their first lesson on Thursday 18th September in Karibu Hall. Amanda Kirk, who is a former Australian National Ballroom dancer, will be taking these classes.
International Literacy Day in Primary
We celebrated International Literacy Day on Monday with KG discussing and planning what our progressive story should be about and the characters they would like. P1/2 took over developing the introduction before P5/6 got into the body of the story. By the end of the day, P3/4 were still deciding how best the story should end. We hope to be able to present the picture book version of the story during the KG assembly on Friday, 19 September.
Cooperative Learning
As part of developing Life Skills in the Diploma programme, D1 students were inquiring into how primary students learn. This week as part of their assessment, D1 students worked with different year levels in the primary school organising activities and presentations to develop social and communication skills, self management skills, health and safety issues, nutrition, hygiene and exercise.
Dance Lessons for Adults
Amanda Kirk is offering dance lessons for adults every Thursday evening starting this week, 18th September.
6pm-7pm Latin and Salsa Dance
7pm-8pm Ballroom Dancing
Cost: TSh 5000/- per session.
Hats and Water Bottles
We would like to thank parents for supporting the primary teachers in their effort to enforce our Hat policy and encourage students to have water bottles. It has been encouraging seeing most primary students with their hats and water bottles during break times.
Lost Property
Our main office receptionist, Anita, is responsible for lost (and found) property. Please contact her first if your child has lost anything or you have found a missing item. One student has misplaced her red library bag and reading bag with books in them. If you have any information on its whereabouts please let Narelle (P1/2 Teacher) know.
Primary Polo Shirts
These are available from Anita in the main office. We hope to get a wider selection of colours and sizes shortly.
Nationalities in ISM
Two weeks ago we showed the nationalities of students on the Moshi Campus. Below is the same chart for the whole of ISM showing the division between our 46 nationalities.
Rummage Sale
Another community rummage sale is being organised for Saturday, 1st November. If you would like to set up a stall to sell your used items, please contact Simon or Janien Mainwaring on . Stall rental costs TSh 10,000/- and proceeds will go to supporting the school's CAS programme. Further details will be published later.
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