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| 10 May 08 (00:51 EAT) |
Dear Parents,Parents' Association Annual General MeetingThe new ISM Parents' Association was inaugurated on Tuesday afternoon at KIA Lodge. We welcome Sandra Kusserow and Joyce Msengi-Mullings on to the committee and are very pleased that Sylvia Vlaskamp, Satti Bhamra, Christine Baissac and Pauline Martin will continue to serve as parents' representatives. At their first meeting, the committee will elect their officers and will determine how to fill the remaining two places on the committee which are open to parents who have a child in Arusha Campus. The minutes of the PA AGM will be circulated to all parents in due course.A pair of spectacles was left behind at KIA Lodge. If these are yours, please contact . Annual Report 2006/07For the first time, International School Moshi has now published our Annual Report for the school year 2006/07. This report includes a summary of the developments in the school over the year as well as the outline figures from the income and expenditure report. You may download a copy from www.ismoshi.org/ismreport0607.pdf.Umoja Arts Project Benefit PerformanceOn Friday, November 30th at 6pm, the Umoja Arts Project will hold a benefit performance at Arusha Community Church. The evening will feature musical performances by Liza Barley, David Seng'enge, Jessica Welch, Ellen McSweeney, and Randy Stubbs, a dance performance by Tiana Razafy, and drawings by Linda Willms and her students. All are warmly welcomed to attend this special event! There is a suggested donation of 5,000 Tsh per person.All proceeds will benefit the Umoja Arts Project, a new organisation which promotes arts education, outreach and performance in Arusha. In January 2008, Umoja will celebrate the opening of its new Arts Centre, located near the United Nations. The Arts Centre will offer classes for students of all ages in visual, dance, violin, guitar, cello, and piano. Umoja relies on the support of donors to help support those students who would otherwise be unable to attend these classes. For further information, see www.ismoshi.org/umoja071130.pdf or email to . Outdoor Pursuits - Uhuru PeakOur most experienced student climbers - eighteen from Moshi and seven from Arusha - will be attempting to reach Uhuru Peak next weekend. They will take the five day journey from Saturday, 24th to Wednesday, 28th November.StaffingMike Johnson will be absent from school until the end of next week. Unfortunately he is currently back in NZ due to a serious illness in his family. We wish him the very best.Boarding Coffee MorningRichard Eaton will be down on Friday, 30th November for a coffee morning related to the Boarding programme in Moshi. It will begin at 8 a.m. in the drama room.Men at ArmsThe Moshi campus drama performance - Men at Arms - will be staged in El Rancho on Saturday and Sunday, 15th and 16th December. Tickets are available for TSh 12,000/- (adults) and TSh 8,000/- (children under 13) and the ticket price includes a full buffet at the restaurant. Space is limited and tickets have already sold fast. Tickets are available at reception on the Arusha Campus. Further details at www.ismoshi.org/menatarms.htm.Christmas FairThe Arusha Christmas Fair is on Saturday and Sunday, 1st and 2nd December, at ISM Arusha Campus. With over 30 different stands, a food and drinks court as well as lunch time entertainment, it promises to be a great day out. Further details at www.ismoshi.org/xmasfair.Regards Adrian Moody Head of Campus Secondary NewsParent conferences and reportsNext week, Thursday 29 November, there will be parent conferences for primary students, who are receiving their reports at this time. The end of term reports for secondary students will not be completed until closer to the end of term, in December. However, as we have done in the past, we will take this opportunity to meet with parents of secondary students regarding any concerns in student performance.Thursday, 29 November, will therefore not be a day of school for secondary students on Arusha Campus, as well as primary students. Parents who wish to meet with their child’s teacher(s) may schedule an appointment by signing up for a time in the reception area of the school, or by contacting me by Wednesday morning via e-mail at . Again, there are no secondary reports being sent home at this time, but we will take this opportunity to have a chance to speak about student performance and areas of concern. OP TripsThe Level 5 OP trip will be departing on Saturday and students will be hiking all next week. Safari njema to all the students. Enjoy the view from the top of Africa!John Iglar Head of Secondary Primary NewsAssessment Coffee MorningWhat is Assessment?At ISM – Arusha Campus, we believe that Authentic Assessment is… The ongoing collection of evidence providing descriptive information about a learner’s progress. It involves teachers, students and parents and informs them in a meaningful way about individual strengths and weaknesses. It provides information for planning and identifies future goals and targets. Authentic assessment is cumulative and specific, being criteria-based and varied, through the use of a range of measurement tools. It encourages all participants in the process to communicate clearly and provides opportunities for the sharing of school - based expectations and the consideration of the individual. In this way, authentic assessment allows students to be active participants in their own continued learning and teachers to be accountable for the learning opportunities they provide for students. This belief statement was formulated by the primary staff during a series of workshops designed to focus on the assessment of student learning. I would like to thank Natalie Croome for her informative, interactive coffee morning about Assessment. Answers to the following questions were explored and each parent received a copy of our Assessment Handbook (much of which you will find in the primary handbook) A display of responses is on the wall outside my room – Come and have a read! Content covered included:
Parent, Teacher, Child ConferencesA reminder that Thursday 29th November is conference day, therefore students are only required at school for their scheduled meetings with their class teacher. Teachers will coordinate times which you will receive in your child’s portfolio on Tuesday.What is a Portfolio?A portfolio is a systematic, purposeful and meaningful collection of student work which describes and provides evidence of student learning, progress and development over a period of time and across the curriculum. It is a flexible approach to organising and presenting student work for further consideration, reflection and discussion. At ISM the portfolio provides evidence of the PYP in practice.Parent Teacher Child ConferenceParent, Teacher, Child Conferences occur when the student introduces his / her parents to their portfolio and any other work in the classroom which they wish to share. The Parent, Teacher, Child Conferences take the form of an extended discussion that involves students leading their parents and teacher through their own understanding of their recent learning and their goals for future learning. The ability of the student to “lead’ the conference depends in the child’s age, ability and past experience; however the goal is to increasingly develop each student’s ability to confidently discuss themselves and their work in an honest and open manner.Share Time AssemblyI apologise to those parents who attended our share time assembly last week and did not get to see their children on stage. The assembly was hosted by the P1/2 classes and they had lots to share. Next Friday 30 November our Early Childhood students will be hosting our share time assembly and therefore will have priority on stage sharing what they are doing in class. Please continue to come and support all our share time assemblies as they really are a great indication of the learning happening in the classrooms.Betty Brown Head of Primary Early Childhood NewsDear Parents,This week the students have been very busy. We have continued to look at the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make through our morning message and have been making pages for our alphabet books. Students also had great fun this week with their reading buddies from P3/4S. They read books to one another and then had time for cooperative play. A good time was had by all! Our party centre is open. Students have been taking turns having birthday parties for each other and for the baby dolls. I have been working this week with students one-on-one on math skills. This week we have been playing math games that help students practise counting and comparing numbers. The games we have been playing use manipulatives and ask children to do things like; put 5 fish in the first pond, put 4 fish in the second pond, and 6 fish in the third pond. And then asks them which pond has the most fish? Which pond has the least fish? These games also reinforce the use of math vocabulary. Students have been doing a great job! We have a new computer program that helps students with phonemic awareness through sounding out and spelling simple words. Students love to play the games and they are learning too! It’s a win, win! For our unit of inquiry we have opened a “Baby Wash” using the baby dolls we have in class. One student very enthusiastically exclaimed, “We are using the power of water!” This activity also allowed students an opportunity to talk and make discoveries about the fact that one baby was brown and one was white, and one was a girl and one was a boy. These conversations are the building blocks of cultural tolerance and acceptance as students notice differences in people and talk about them openly. Warm Regards, Kristine Zydel Early Childhood |
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