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International School Moshi Moshi Campus Newsletter - 8th August 2009 |
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Dear Parents, Welcome back to all returning students for the new school year, and welcome to the many new students who will be joining Moshi Campus this quarter. We hope that the 2009/10 school year will prove a very successful and positive one for the whole of the community. These email newsletters will be sent to parents every weekend during the school term and, by this means, we hope to keep you fully informed of school news and events. If your email address needs to be changed or you know of another email address that should be added to the mailing list, please let me know on . New Year - New Students - New Teachers
We have also welcomed many new teachers to the Moshi Campus this term. The teachers arrived just over a week ago and have spent time settling in and preparing for the students' arrival. In particular we are very pleased to welcome our new Director, Bob Woods, together with his wife Amelia. Pictures of all the new teachers and a short description of their backgrounds are available at www.ismoshi.org/newtm.htm. You can also see who will be teaching which classes this school year at www.ismoshi.org/teaching0910.htm.In addition, we are pleased to welcome Ben Tsui and Jack Breen who will be working in the school as PE/Sports volunteers for the whole of this school year. We are also joined by Krista Peterson who will be working as a student teacher in the Humanities department for the first few weeks of this quarter. Arrangements for Boarders
As previously advised, we are looking forward to welcoming all boarders here on Sunday, 9th August. If you need help in meeting your child at Kilimanjaro airport, please email either myself or the Senior Boarding Parent, Sunita Somaiya on . New boarders should aim to arrive by 3pm and settle into their rooms in the boarding houses. This quarter, the arrangements are as follows:
Parents of boarders are also invited to an informal tea in the dining hall at 4pm. This will be an opportunity to meet members of the boarding staff team as well as myself and others involved in boarding. Please remember to return to school with the new Parental Consent form completed and, for new boarders, with the health form. These forms are available on the school website at www.ismoshi.org/Download.htm. Supper for the boarders will be at 6pm. After supper there will be boarding house meetings and an orientation for the new boarders. The IT Centre will also be open for computer and internet access. Arrangements for Classes on Monday, 10th August
Classes will start at 7:30am on Monday and all students should initially go to their tutor room for registration. Signs are posted in school indicating who has been allocated to which tutor group, and we will be on hand to help with this also. The tutors will be spending time with their tutor groups in the earlier part of the morning explaining timetables, expectations and other necessary details. Classes will then start for all students except those in D1.D1 students have a full programme of orientation on both Monday and Tuesday. This will include introductions to all of the subjects in the Diploma programme and an opportunity to discuss subject choices with teachers and the Diploma Coordinator, Ms Patricia Hermes. Classes will start formally on Wednesday morning. It is important that all D1 students take a full part in the orientation programme. Parents of primary children are asked to drop off students every morning through the Kindergarten playground gate where teachers will meet and assemble their classes outside their classrooms at 7.30am. Kivuli Boarding House
The new eight room extension to Kivuli boarding house is now complete and we are ready to welcome the M1-M5 boys into Kivuli tomorrow. Also during the holiday, renovations have been completed in Kiota boarding house.Fees
The first quarterly instalment of school fees was due to have been received by us before 1st July 2009. If these fees have not yet been paid and you have not been in correspondence with us about this, please ensure that the fees are paid immediately. Students whose fees have not been paid will not be able to remain in school. If you are unsure about the stautus of your child's fees account, please contact our accounts office on .Primary Information Evening
Parents of primary children are invited to an information session on Wednesday, 12th August from 5pm to 6pm. This will be an opportunity to meet your child's teacher and to hear about the teaching plans for this semester and year.Primary Polo Shirts
All primary children are expected to wear an ISM polo shirt for classes. Polo shirts are available from the receptionist, Anita, in the main office at a cost of TSh 18,000/- per shirt. We are also expecting some new shirts which will be available from Monday, 17th August at a cost of TSh 14,000/- each. We will give everyone a few days to obtain their shirts but will start requiring ISM polo shirts from 19th August.Primary PE Lessons
The focus in primary will be Athletics during the first quarter. All classes will start swimming next quarter after the October break. Swimming will only be offered as an after school activity to students in P3/4 this quarter.Primary Clubs
After school clubs are offered on Mondays-Thursdays. All clubs will start on Monday 17th August. Please be reminded that afternoon clubs are optional activities for primary students. The range of activities offered depends on what teachers and parents are willing to offer. If you would like to offer a club please let Ms. Rosi know, including preferences for:
Primary Sports
This year students will be distributed into house colours in each year level (Blue - Kibo House, Green - Mawenzi House, Yellow - Meru House) for whole school events e.g. athletics, swimming etc. When these events are organized students will be expected to wear their house colour polo shirts.Secondary CAS and Sports Activities
Within the first couple of days this quarter, secondary students will make choices about which CAS or Sports activities they wish to take. It is expected that secondary CAS and Sports will start fully on Thursday, 13th August.IB Diploma and MYP Results
IB Diploma results were released on 6th July and are available to view on the school website at www.ismoshi.org/dip_result.htm. MYP results will not be available until 1st September 2009.Swine Flu in Tanzania
Since early June, we have been maintaining a regularly updated information page on our website at www.ismoshi.org/swineflu.htm to keep families and others current on the status of H1N1 swine flu in Tanzania.There have still only been ten officially recorded cases of swine flu in Tanzania to date. Although the number of reported cases in Tanzania is small, swine flu is epidemic in many developed countries and, given the mobile nature of our student population, it seems inevitable that there will be cases in the school in the near future. We have therefore developed a set of guidelines to follow in the event that swine flu reaches ISM. If your child is exhibiting flu-like symptoms, we recommend that you seek medical advice, and we would request that he/she remains at home and does not return to school until well. In the event that any student exhibits flu-like symptoms whilst at school, parents will be informed by phone. The student may travel home if accompanied in a private vehicle (but not by public transport) if parents request this. All parents will be kept advised by email newsletters and via the above web page of any suspected flu cases in the school. Procedures have been prepared to ensure that we can provide good care in an effective isolation unit within the school for boarding students, if this should become necessary. The school will remain open and operating normally unless advised to close by the Tanzanian authorities, or unless the number of cases of illness amongst staff and/or students prevents effective operation. It is expected that an effective vaccination against H1N1 will be available by September. The school will keep up to date on the availability of such a vaccine in Tanzania. School Calendar for 2009/10
For the school year 2009/10, ISM will change to a four quarter school year instead of a three term school year. This is reflected in the calendar for the first two quarters of the school year which is available to download from our Calendar page at www.ismoshi.org/Calendar.htm. | Available on the web...
This newsletter has been sent to you from International School Moshi. Please advise me if your email address changes or if you would like me to add another email address to this mailing list. Keiron White Head of Moshi Campus International School Moshi inspires individuals to be lifelong learners in a global community.
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