Primary Boarding

Primary boarding on the Moshi Campus at ISM offers younger children a safe and engaging experience, as well as a close-knit family environment. Run by the Head of Boarding and his wife, our primary boarding house is set up as an extended family unit and caters for students from the age of 7 years (P3) to 11 years (P6). We aim to create an atmosphere where the students feel happy, safe, secure, and part of a family, including weekly family dinners and other bonding activities. The students sleep in bedrooms situated off a large shared common room. The common room has a big screen TV, a DVD player, an arts & crafts station, a gaming area, ample seating for relaxing, a study area of desks and chairs for homework/study time, a kitchen area - with safe, child friendly facilities, including a microwave oven - as wall as a cushioned area for lounging and reading. The boarding parents’ accommodation is adjoining the students’ accommodation. The students are supervised at all times.

The primary boarding house is also attached to a private garden, which includes space for camping, an African style banda with a fire pit for roasting marshmallows and other campfire activities, a hopscotch area, a BBQ for family events, and outdoor tables for dining, work, or games.

The School Day

The school day is from 07.30 until 13:05 (four days a week) and until 12.35 (Fridays). In addition, there are a variety of activities offered during the ‘After School Club’ sessions, in which all primary students are encouraged to participate fully. Each day (Sunday-Thursday) there is a homework time between 17.30 pm and 18.15 pm. During this slot students are supervised and assisted as is necessary. The school’s computer centre is also available if the student requires Internet access to complete a task.

At the weekends the boarding staff organise a range of different activities including, sporting events, visits to National Parks and local places of interest, cultural experiences, mini-camps, creative pursuits, as well as cooking, movies, discos, and sleepovers with friends. Each weekend culminates with a family meeting, where issues of importance and the ‘Five Pillars of Boarding’ () are reflected on, reinforced, and discussed.

Visits and Leave

Outside of school hours, friends are welcome to the boarding house to see the students. Parents, of course, are particularly welcomed and encouraged to visit their child if they are in the Moshi area. Please join us just for a visit, or to share a meal, meet the other students or discuss your child’s needs whenever you can. Your continued inclusion in your child’s life is essential while they are in boarding. At ISM we believe in societas parentis, or partnerships with parents.

Students are encouraged to have weekends away from the campus, which may be visits home, a planned boarding weekend trip, or to stay with friends. We will ask parents to complete a ‘Parental Consent Form’, so that the boarding parents have the autonomy to allow students to attend birthday parties, sleepovers, etc., in the event of parents being out of telephone reach.

Primary boarding at ISM is perfect for children whose parents wish them to be exposed to a tight-nit family environment, but whose careers require that they travel extensively, and/or those who work in isolated locations where topflight education is not available.

Your child will develop relationships, build character, gain independence, and earn the best education possible if they join us as a primary boarder.

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