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| 3 December 08 (09:11 EAT) |
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International School Moshi Letter from the CEO - 8th June 2008 |
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Dear Parents: The end of school year 2007-08 is upon us and it has been a very successful year. Our D2 graduation was very successful and we wish our 37 ISM graduates the very best as they take on new challenges at excellent schools around the world. We hope they will stay in contact with their classmates and with ISM through the ISM alumni organization. We will be really happy to hear about their adventures in the coming years and share those stories through the Habari za Shule, alumni newsletter. Our S5 ceremonies also concluded last week. I am very pleased that many of the S5 students will be taking their IB Diploma at ISM on Moshi Campus beginning in August. As a school, we certainly appreciate the support of these families and their confidence in the academic programme at ISM. I want to thank Madeline Oosterhuis and the Social Committee on Arusha campus for the amazing refreshments after the ceremony in Arusha. I also want to thank the Meulenberg, Varsani and Mudher families for the lovely decorations in and preparations of Karibu Hall for the ceremony in Moshi. Next year our first M5 class will complete their five-year MYP programme and be the first students in ISM history to receive their MYP certificates. The transition to the MYP curriculum has been a carefully planned initiative during the past six years at ISM and I am very proud of all our teachers, parents and Board members, past and present, who have made it possible at ISM. Change is never easy, but in this case I believe the change was necessary to make ISM a stronger and more competitive school and to take us a step closer to our ultimate goal, which is to improve student learning. ISM Scholarship Programme
I have been asked by the Parent Association to explain our Scholarship programme to ISM parents. Let me start with the Philosophy and Objectives of our school that has the following statement: "We are a school in Moshi and Arusha, in Tanzania, in Africa. We respect and learn from our surroundings while striving to accept responsibility to take action towards making a positive impact in our local community." The Scholarship programme was set up in 2003 to offer places in the IB Diploma programme at ISM to the brightest Tanzanian students we could find.
The Board made it a policy to support two students per year, ideally, a capable boy and girl. Because the Diploma is such a rigorous programme, we really can only consider the brightest students in the country. To find them, we approach the heads of government schools in the Arusha and Kilimanjaro regions and ask them to forward the names of candidates along with full applications. We also advertise the scholarships nationally inviting Tanzanian students with the very top Form Four results to apply. The applications are then reviewed and a group of students are invited for testing and a panel interview. It is crucial that we choose the right students to join us. We are not only interested in how they can perform academically. We also want to learn about their commitment to Tanzania and their thoughts on how the country should develop and whether they believe they could be a driving force behind that change. We believe that through leadership opportunities at ISM and a tertiary education at the best universities in the world, these young people have the knowledge, skills and inclination to return to Africa and play a leadership role in promoting positive change. Although the School itself sponsors two students per year in each of the diploma years, we look for external funding for additional Tanzanian students as well. Barrick Mining, which operates in the Kahama region, has sponsored four additional students, the last of whom graduated this year. The ISM alumni have sponsored Susan Efata ('09), who will complete D2 this coming year. ISM and its donors have fundamentally changed the lives of not only twelve young, talented Tanzanians, but potentially the lives of the hundreds, if not thousands, of Africans whose lives will be touched by their future efforts. Imagine what positive changes could result if the ISM Scholarship Programme were extended to ten, twenty, even fifty similar students every year? To some, that kind of a goal will seem outrageous for a small international school in upcountry Tanzania. To me, I think, "why not?" We have established a Charitable Trust in the UK that can accept donations to the scholarship programme. We also have created the ISM Foundation in the United States, a registered 501C-3 Foundation, with a Board of Directors, the majority of whom are ISM alumni currently living in Florida, Alaska and Moshi. US taxpayers who donate more than $250 receive a tax receipt from the ISM Foundation, which they can use to reduce their overall tax bill for the year. This tax benefit also applies to US-based corporations. This summer, we will establish a registered charity in Canada for the same purpose of fundraising for the scholarship programme. When I suggested we set up these trusts and foundations four years ago, most people said "Why?" instead of "Why not?" I am really pleased that as a school we showed the courage to focus on the second question. After all, isn't that what we would expect our ISM students to do? At ISM, we are trying to prepare a few of Tanzania's best students to play a role in future African leadership. We believe in the concept of "African solutions for Africans." When you read the attached update on our scholarship students, I hope you will get a sense of their potential to affect change in this country. Although this is a long term strategy, we believe it will work. One example I can cite is the project Stephen Lwendo ('06) is involved with at Harvard University, where he has just completed his second year of his Engineering degree programme. Stephen returns to Kilimanjaro this summer as part of a team that founded a non-profit, Lebone Solutions Inc. Their team won a US $ 200,000 grant from the World Bank to start a project aiming at lighting rural Africa where grid-electricity is not accessible. Stephen's work is already make a difference in Africa and every parent at ISM should understand that your support of Stephen is going to influence the lives of many desperately poor people in the Kilimanjaro region. You can read more about the Lebone grant at www.ismoshi.org/lebone.pdf. This is just one example of what our scholarship students are capable of. Could one of them ever return to become the President of the country? Why not? Through the ISM Scholarship Programme, we are committed to raising funds so that Tanzanian boys and girls can attend ISM and gain an IB Diploma. The successes of the ISM Scholarship Programme are evident from the attached update on our scholarship students, past and present. Boarding Promotion at ISM
During the past year, the school has offered a free boarding promotion to students from P6 to M4 and this has led to an increase in enrolment on the Moshi Campus. We took this decision, which was a bold move by the Board, to increase enrolment and ultimately improve student learning by having more students in our middle and high school classes. From a financial point of view, it is also more efficient to have greater numbers in the classes. This is balanced by class size limits the Board has set to ensure the best educational environment for our students. Management will be reviewing the entire ISM boarding programme later in 2008, including staffing, and fee levels across all grade levels. Proposals will be brought to the Board next school year.
Making it Work
My father used to tell me that hard work was its own reward whenever I asked for allowance for doing chores. When I was 8 years old, I was once shovelling snow at the end of our driveway when a neighbour stopped his truck at the end of the drive and asked if I liked shovelling snow. I said, "No, but I like to eat." I want to thank all the local employers in Moshi and Arusha who took our M4 students into their places of work for their work experience placements this term. I am really happy that we get such excellent cooperation from parents that allow our students to get a taste of the real world.
P6 PYP Exhibition
We had the P6 PYP Exhibitions on both campuses and this marks the rite of passage for the P6 students who will leave Primary school this year and evolve into M1 students next year. I want to thank all the teachers who provided guidance to the P6 students who worked very independently on these projects. I also appreciate the many parents who helped them. The P6 exhibition is linked to the MYP Personal Project which is in turn linked to the Diploma extended essay. This kind of continuity in the curriculum (a school with all three IBO programmes) is only offered at 100 schools in the world.
The Summit Magazine
I hope you will enjoy the photos, articles and memories in the 10th edition of The Summit magazine. I want to thank Annette Wood and Catriona Sutherland who have produced all 10 issues during the past four years. Pulling the magazine is a huge amount of extra work for which they receive no compensation, either in time or money. They volunteer their time, I think, because they believe in the school and in the importance of recording who we are at ISM and what we are doing as a community. Maybe they believe hard work is its own reward? I really appreciate their dedication and I hope you will enjoy reading your copy.
Socialist Peak
We had a group of staff and students hike to Socialist Peak on Mount Meru last weekend. They all made it to the summit. I also want to thank Ben Wiggins for organizing another great set of Outdoor Pursuits trips for our students this year. Ben's dedication in leading these trips and training other teachers to be trip leaders is another fine example of a teacher prepared to go the extra mile, literally, for our students.For those of you still reading at the end of this long letter, I wanted to finish by thanking all parents for their support of International School Moshi this school year. We have been able to focus this year upon improving our delivery of the curriculum across the whole school. I believe your children are receiving an excellent education on par with any school in the world. I also believe we are not only making a difference in their lives, but we are also demonstrating our commitment to this beautiful country of Tanzania. Our teachers are well-trained and highly professional. Our parents and Board members are supportive and all these factors are essential for the development of a world class school. While we are not perfect as a school, we are making progress and that does not happen by accident. Is it possible that we could continue to improve ourselves? Why not? Have a wonderful break with your family in the next few weeks. Sincerely, Barry Sutherland Chief Executive Officer | Available on the web...
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