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| 28 August 08 (09:18 EAT) |
| 4 October 2007 Dear Parents, With just over a week to go before the half term break, I wanted to give you an update of how things are progressing this term. Board Meeting The ISM Board of Directors met last Friday. The Board Sub-Committee on Parent Committee Restructuring presented a report including a number of recommended changes to Board Policy. The main objective of these is to create a single Parent Association in the School (instead of two separate committees) and to clarify the objectives of this association as supporting the mission and philosophy of the school, supporting and enriching the school community, and raising funds for school and community activities. The terms of reference for the new ISM Parents’ Association was passed unanimously. The new terms of reference are based on samples from more than 25 international schools and bring ISM in line with the expectations of our accrediting agencies, CIS and MSA. Parents can view the terms of reference on our website at www.ismoshi.org/Download.htm. PCM and PCA have agreed that Tuesday, November 20th will be the date of the first Annual General Meeting for the ISM Parents’ Association. It will be held from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. at KIA Lodge and all parents are welcome. The other important decision that was taken by the Board was to re-table the board restructuring proposal at the next board meeting. ISM’s shareholders will consider the proposal later in the year. Hard Labour Moshi D1 students went up to Materuni on Kilimanjaro last week as part two of their initial Hard Labour trip of the year. They and their teachers returned to us hot and sweaty on Sunday and learned the important lesson that hard work is its own reward (at least that is what my Dad used to tell me every time he made me shovel snow off the driveway). Thanks very much to the students who donated their time to make a huge number of bricks for a new classroom block and to the teachers who supervised the trip: Mr. Beveridge, Mr. Holt, Ms. Newman, Mr. Richert, and Sandra. Well done everyone! Tennis Tournament Many of those staff who could not manage hard labour in Moshi, opted for the annual staff-parent tennis tournament, which like Hard labour, was played out in the equatorial sun. The ultimate champions on the day were the rollicking Anthony Hall who was paired with the rock steady Debbie Garbett. They easily overcame a pathetic challenge in the final by Greg Emmanuel and the CEO. Many thanks to Alastair Brandon and Kate Dyer who hosted the après tennis BBQ. Rumours abound about a parent-teacher golf scramble in the offing: Anthony and Debbie be forewarned! M2 Pangani Trip The M2s are reaching for the beach this week and safely reached their destination on Monday afternoon. I know this because I was getting mobile updates from my daughter who is on the trip. How’s the trip? Fine. Is everyone wearing their seatbelts? Yes. Is it too hot? No, there is a breeze? Do you have sunscreen on? I don’t need it in the car. Did you remember your pillow? Yes. Can you text me before you go to bed? I think you better call me because I am almost out of credit. Having a school in beautiful Tanzania gives us lots of great educational opportunities for the children, but we all recognize the roads are extremely dangerous. No matter how many precautions we take, I fully understand that every parent will be worried until the children arrive back safely next Friday. Mr. Brown, Ms. Gorman, Mr. Holcomb and Mr. Richert are supervising this trip. M4 Art Exhibition There will be an M4 Art exhibition on Tuesday, October 9 at 7 p.m. on Arusha Campus. The students and Ms. Armon have worked very hard to put this together and I hope many parents will be able to attend. We are exploring the possibility of taking the M4 Moshi Campus students over to Arusha in the daylight for a matinee walk through of the exhibit. Resignation and new Hire We had a Humanities teacher break contract on Arusha Campus last week. Adrian and I were notified by e-mail Thursday night that she would not be working as of last Friday. I don’t think I need to comment on this level of professionalism as it obviously shows absolutely no concern for the students. Fortunately, Adrian has secured Mr. Mike Johnson, an experienced IGCSE Humanities teacher from New Zealand who is also a former MYP co-ordinator and MYP Humanities teacher. I am very sorry for the students who have been effected by the transition week while we cover the classes, but there is very little the school can do when a teacher decides to break contract with no notice. We think Mike will make a solid addition to our secondary team in Arusha. Marketing efforts ISM had billboards posted in Dar on Monday to promote the new reduced tuition/boarding fee package available from P3 to M4 on Moshi Campus. Marketing trips are planned for many towns in Tanzania and there will be a presentation in Mwanza next week. Our development Office is following up on any and all leads that our communities can provide of families who might now be able to consider ISM for their children because it is more affordable. If you know of anyone who might be interested in joining, please contact Anne Wilshin directly with the contact details (). We have gained three students through this promotion, but we need to attract many more this year. Thank you in advance for helping your school. Best Regards, Barry Sutherland Chief Executive Officer | |
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