International School Moshi Moshi Campus Newsletter - 3rd May 2009
Dear Parents,
Our IB Diploma students begin their written examinations tomorrow (Monday) and we wish them all the best of success at this important time.
Visit of the new Director
Mr Bob Woods is currently visiting ISM this week on a fact-finding and orientation visit to prepare him for when he takes on the position of Director of ISM in August 2009. During the week Mr Woods will spend time on both campuses and meet with many different people within the school.
PA Coffee Meetings
You will have received an invotation from the Parent Association to meet the PA committee and discuss concerns on Tuesday, 5th May at 12 noon in Moshi Campus or on Wednesday, 6th May at 2pm on the Arusha Campus. It is expected that Mr Woods will also join these meetings for a few minutes.
Maths Challenge
An enjoyable day of fun and competition was had by all the M1 and M2 students from both campuses last Wednesday in their Maths Challenge. Thanks also to the D1 students for assisting them. Photos of the event are at www.ismoshi.org/maths09.htm.
Outdoor Pursuits
As I write, a group of students from both campuses is at Horombo having climbed to the base of Mawenzi on Kilimanjaro today. They are due back tomorrow (Monday). The final OP trip for this term is the Socialist Peak trip on 9th-12th May. Photos of last week's Little Meru trip are on the school website at www.ismoshi.org/littlemeru09.htm.
Fee Invoices for 2009/10
I would like to apologise for an error on many of the invoices issued for the school year 2009/10. The error is in the due dates for payments by instalments. If you choose to pay fees next year by quarterly instalments, the due dates are 1st July 2009, 1st October 2009, 1st December 2009 and 1st March 2010. If you have not received an invoice or would like to receive a corrected copy, please contact the accounts office on .
TOEFL Tests
The next set of TOEFL tests in Moshi are taking place on Saturday, 9th May. Registration has now closed for these tests. Students who have already registered are reminded that they must present their passport (original only - no copies accepted) before they are allowed to enter the test. We are required to strictly enforce this ETS regulation.
Primary Assembly
This week's primary assembly on Friday, 8th May at 7:40am is led by the P1/P2 class.
Upcoming Primary Events
Wednesday, 13th May - PYP Exhibition
Friday 15th - Monday 18th May - Primary Sports Weekend in Dar es Salaam.
Lost Property
This term we have found that a lot of students have been leaving all sorts of things behind after school. Please label your child's things so that they may be easily identified.
Primary Students' Footwear
Primary children are asked to bring some indoor shoes (or malapas / flip-flops) to school on wet and muddy days, so that they have shoes to change into.
Boarding Students and Laptops
A number of parents have asked for advice concerning their child's need for a laptop in school. For IB Diploma students who are expected to undertake a significant part of their work on a computer, a personal laptop can be very beneficial, although it is not essential as all students have sufficient access to school computers. For primary students and those in M1 to M5, there is not a significant need for boarding students to bring laptops to school, although many choose to do so. The access to computers in the computer centre is quite adequate for all the students' needs. Our experience has been that the principal use of laptop computers by younger students in boarding is to watch movies on DVD or on hard drives and the actual benefit to their work is limited. Whilst some students do use their laptops well for school work, some do not and it is extremely difficult for us to monitor or control student use of computers in their own bedrooms.
All students have access to the internet in the computer centre until 9:15pm on weekdays and at various times during the weekends. Students also have the option to have a private Internet connection in their bedrooms at a cost of US$40 per computer per calendar month. There is no need or expectation for any student to have an internet connection in their bedroom although some choose to do so for personal convenience. If parents do wish their child to have this facility, we must remind you that, although there is monitoring of all internet use in the computer centre, we are unable to monitor any student use of the internet in bedrooms. We do not advise private internet access in bedrooms for younger students.
MYP End of Year Assessments
The M1 to M5 students will be undertaking end of year assessments in the week of 25th to 29th May. Students have been given revision guides by subject teachers for their end of year assessments. Assessments are designed to fit the MYP assessment criteria, and will vary in type as subjects
require: some will be tests, others will be various types of projects. The scope and difficulty of the assessments will vary by class increasing as students get older. All students are being given an overall guide to plan for the assessments and how to study. I invite all parents to read through the revision guide and help your children prepare for these assessments. The purpose of assessment week is to help the students become more knowledgeable and accomplished in their subjects, and to prepare them for the types of examinations they will receive in the Diploma programme.
Special Needs Support personnel
ISM has a Special Needs teacher, Debbie Garbett, who can carry out a few assessments of students who may have special educational needs and who can also give some support to students with identified needs either within their regular classrooms or outside the classroom. The school is able to provide support for mild learning difficulties as part of our regular programme. There are a small number of children in the school who have particular learning needs and, in order to support them, the school has employed additional teaching assistants to work specifically with certain children. This can only be done if the school and teachers consider it to be necessary and beneficial for the child and that this is agreed in consultation with the parents. In such special circumstances, the additional costs of employing a special assistant are passed on to the parents concerned. In all such situations, the teaching assistant work under the guidance and direction of the regular teacher(s).
ABRSM Practical Exams
The date for these exams is now confirmed as Friday, 22nd May in Moshi. Students have already registered for these and it is no longer possible to accept new registrations.
D2 Graduation - Privately arranged parties
The D2 students will be graduating on May 23rd and, as described above, we organise celebrations for these events ourselves. However, in the past, the students have additionally opted to arrange their own private parties off-campus. Although we have no confirmation of plans, these are likely to be on the weekend of 23rd May after the official ceremony. These student-organised parties are not school events and we cannot, as a school, take responsibility for them. Invariably, there is alcohol available at these parties and minimal, if any, adult supervision. We are very concerned about the inevitable, and potentially serious risks that arise from these situations, particularly for many of the younger students who frequently receive invitations to attend and we have endeavoured to deal with such issues from an educational point of view in our Life Skills lessons. We also need to be especially confident that parents are aware of the nature of these events, and are happy with their own children's involvement. We would therefore offer the following requests and guidelines.
For parents of boarders:
Boarders staying in school will not be allowed to attend any unsupervised parties. If boarders do want to attend, they can only do so if their parents agree and they have been taken out of the school's care by staying with another family for the weekend. Even if you have already indicated on the Parental Consent form that your child may sign out to friends at weekends, we would like to further confirm that it is acceptable on this particular weekend. If you have children intending to sign out for this weekend, could you please contact us with that confirmation? You may contact either the boarding parent or Mrs Somaiya by whatever means is most convenient (telephone, letter, email or fax). Boarders will be expected to remain in school for the weekend if we have not heard from you before May 18th.
We would also suggest on this occasion, that you contact the host family directly to discuss what you feel would be appropriate arrangements, curfew etc for your children on the evening of the party.
For parents offering to host boarders:
Boarders signing out on these weekends will need to sign out for the whole weekend from the Friday afternoon until midday on the Sunday, although they may of course attend the Graduation Ceremony if invited. We would suggest that before you take on the responsibility for the guest students over this period, you are confident of their own parent's expectations in terms of curfew, supervision etc.
We do not in any way wish to curtail the students' opportunity for well-deserved celebration on these occasions, but we are concerned for their safety and their parents' full consent and understanding.
Leaving Students
If your children will be leaving ISM at the end of this term, could you please advise us as soon as possible by email to me: . By school policy we should be advised of all departures before May 6th. If your situation is uncertain, please let me know the details and the nature of the uncertainty, as we now need to reserve places for students in 2009/10.
H1N1 Flu
At the time of writing, there is some concern worldwide about the spread of H1N1 flu, also known as swine flu. The World Health Organisation has raised its pandemic alert to Phase 5 which is the second highest level. To date there have been no confirmed cases of H1N1 flu anywhere in Africa, although this situation could change. During the rainy season in this region, seasonal flu is common and many of our community have already had a bout of this regular type of influenza. Symptoms for H1N1 flu are similar to those for regular seasonal flu. We will continue to monitor the situation in Tanzania and East Africa and, if needed, will respond to any increased risks in this area in line with medical advice from professionals in this region.
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