Last week saw the final day of D2 classes, our presentation to M4 parents on the Personal Project, an M5 trip to Arusha Campus to see their colleagues' presentations, and culminated in an excellent Sports Banquet to celebrate the sporting achievements and personalities of the year. And this weekend we wish all the best to the outdoor pursuits group climbing to the lower peak of Little Meru.
Union Day Holiday
There will be no classes on Monday, 26th April to celebrate the union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Any boarders who have travelled for the weekend should return by 6pm on Monday for a regular study hall evening. Classes resume at 7:30am on Tuesday.
P6 PYP Exhibition
Parents of P6 students and others are welcome to attend our PYP Exhibition Information Evening which will be held on Tuesday 27th April at 6.30pm in Room 16. The students have prepared a talk for you and have already started working on their exhibition. You will be wowed by the interesting topics they have chosen.
M1/M2 Maths Challenge
Our M1 and M2 students will be competing with their Arusha counterparts in Moshi on Wednesday, 28th April in our annual Maths Challenge.
Curriculum Changes for 2010/11
A number of different curriculum issues have been addressed during this school year and we are planning to make a few changes in 2010/11.
1. Diploma Programme Theatre: The number of students selecting this course has been consistently very low since the course was introduced in 2006. We currently have one student in D1 taking this course and 3 students in D2. We will therefore not be offering the course in D1 in 2010/11 (although the course will continue for the D2 student and students in M1 to M5 will continue to take Drama).
2. Second Language Provision: In 2010/11 it will be a required part of the programme for all students from P3 to M3 to study both French and Swahili*. We believe that all students should share a common core programme and that this should include a foreign European language as well as the language of our host country. This means that students currently taking other mother tongue classes during school lessons will need to move these classes to a time outside the regular ISM classes. ISM will continue to provide other support for mother tongue instruction as in 2009/10. The other languages on offer in M4 will be Swahili A or French B and students may choose either of these if eligible. Some support will continue to be provided for francophone students to study French A. Languages on offer in the diploma programme will remain the same for next year. (*Note: students may be excused study of a language if they are required by school to study ESL at that time, or if they have Special Educational Needs and this is recognized within their Individual Education Plan [IEP])
Primary Swimming Gala & Football Tournament
On Saturday 1st May, Moshi Campus will be hosting a large primary inter-schools swimming gala in the morning, and football tournament in the afternoon. Eight schools from all over Tanzania will be participating in this event. The swimming gala will start at 8.30am with warm-ups and should finish around lunch time. The football tournament will begin at 2pm and will end around 4pm.
We will be selling snacks, drinks and baked goodies throughout the day. If you can contribute any baked goods for our bake sale, that will be fantastic. It will be great if you can come to cheer on our Junior Swim team.
MYP Personal Projects
I would like to thank all those who came to the Personal Project presentation last week. We had the opportunity to discuss the project and its importance within the MYP curriculum. To the parents of boarders or others who were unable to attend, you will find the presentation we had on that day, as well as the Personal Project Guide given to all M4 students and the accompanying folders, all available on our website's Download page at www.ismoshi.org/Download.htm. If you have any queries, please contact Jaimala Quinlan (MYP Coordinator) on .
Diploma Exams
Our D2 students finished their regular classes last Friday and are now into the final week of study before the written exams begin on 4th May. The diploma exam timetable is available to view at www.ismoshi.org/dip_exams.htm. The International Baccalaureate has also asked us to make available to parents and students the General Regulations for the IB Diploma and the regulations for the conduct of examinations. These are available from our Download page at www.ismoshi.org/Download.htm.
Economics Classes
Unfortunately our Economics teacher, Mr Jeff Mayo, was unable to return to school from the UK earlier this quarter because of the flight disruption caused by volcanic ash. He is now back in Moshi and will be organising extra support as needed for the D2 students getting ready for their final exams, as well as for D1 students.
MYP and PYP regulations
As with the Diploma programme, we are asked to make the IB's General Regulations for both the PYP and MYP available to parents. These are both available on the website Download page at www.ismoshi.org/Download.htm.
ACER International School Assessment (ISA)
You may remember that most students in P4, P5, P6, M1 and M3 took the International Schools Assessment tests last February. We have now received the results of these tests and will be sending individual score reports by email to the parents of each child on Monday. A general summary of the school's results will also be available by Tuesday at www.ismoshi.org/isaacer.htm. If you are unable to open your child's report and would prefer a printed copy, or if you have any questions, please contact Rosi Uluiviti (primary) or Colin Beveridge (secondary).
Primary Years Programme (PYP)
We have now received the reports of the IB's official visit in February to evaluate our implementation and delivery of the PYP. The reports contain a number of commendations and recommendations that will help us to develop our programme over the next few months and years. The full repoprts are available to read in the Parent Documents section of the website at www.ismoshi.org/pardocs/. You will need to use the Username and Password that you have been given to access these documents.
Primary Assembly
Our next primary assembly will be held on Friday 30th April. We will be celebrating World Dance Day.
Outdoor Pursuits
Sign-ups took place in school last quarter for the Outdoor Pursuits trips as follows:
24-26 April: Little Meru - a Level Two trip to the smaller peak on Mout Meru.
29 April - 2 May: Mawenzi Hut, Kilimanjaro - a level Three trip to the base of Mawenzi - the lower peak on Kilimanjaro.
8-11 May: Socialist Peak - a demanding level Four trip to the summit of Mount Meru.
M4 Work Experience
During the week of 3rd - 7th May, our M4 students will be working in a local company or industry for the week so as to acquire some work experience. The students are guided to arrange the work placement themselves at a place of work in the Moshi/Arusha area. We will then ensure that the work placement is suitable, will arrange for a teacher to visit them at work during the week and meet with both our M4 student and their work placement supervisor, and will generally monitor their placement through the week
M3 Field Study Trip
The M3 students will be undertaking a field study trip on 4th-6th May with the Arusha Campus M3 students at UAACC near Arusha.
Enrolment for 2010/11
All students currently enrolled in the school are assumed to be continuing in 2010/11 unless we are advised otherwise. If you expect that your child will be leaving ISM at the end of this school year in June, could you please let me know in writing to as soon as possible. If you are uncertain, please also contact me to explain the situation, so that we can make any necessary arrangements.
This also applies to M5 students on both Moshi and Arusha campuses who we look forward to welcoming in D1 next year unless we are advised otherwise.
P3/4 Bake Sale
A group of the P3/P4 students are organising a Bake Sale on Thursday, 6th May & Friday, 7th May at break time. All money received will be donated to the Mkombozi orphanage which the P3/P4 students visited recently.
Yearbook
If any parent or student has photos or videos of school events or school life taken over the past school year, and are prepared to share them with the Yearbook, could you please put them on a USB memory stick or on to a CD and give them to Miss Cindy. Photos can also be uploaded (one at a time) at www.ismoshi.org/filebox.htm.
Website Additions
In additon to the new pages advertised in last week's newsletter, you can also now find on our website photos of:
If you have good photos of other school events which we could use on the school website or in other ISM publications, please let me know. Photos can be given to me on CD or memory stick, uploaded to me (one at a time) at www.ismoshi.org/filebox.htm or can be sent by email to . Please let me know if you would like to be credited for any photos published.
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