Isamilo has established a whole series of annual events over the years and these provide competition, opportunities to help the community, entertainment (for students, parents and the wider community) and a chance for students to learn outside of the classroom.
The Annual Sports Day is held at Kirumba Stadium, about 10 minutes walk from the main school site. The Stadium is a great location, with a 400m track, long and triple jump pits and marked areas for throwing events. This is always a really exciting day and students take part in a full range of athletics track and field events for their House Teams.
Sports Day is always an opportunity for our most talented sportsmen and women to shine, but it is also a real team day too. We encourage all students to take part in at least one event and earn points for their Houses. It is also a great opportunity for Student House Captains to further develop their organisation and leadership skills both in the preparation training of their teams and during Sports Day itself.
The Annual Year 10 Trip to Geita Gold Mine has been running since 2003, and it is excellent to continue to build on a great relationship with GGM, one of the biggest Gold Mines in East Africa. This trip always provides students with excellent examples that they can use for iGCSE Geography and Economics.
Students are able to experience large scale industry first-hand and learn about the mining process from exploration surveys and drilling, to the construction and operation of the huge open cast mine, to the chemical processes involved in the extraction of gold from the ore. Students also investigate the positive and negative impacts of the mine on the environment as well as the local community and the nation of Tanzania. During this trip, we also use rivers in the area to complete a river study for iGCSE Geography.
The Annual Cross Country Championships is always a much anticipated event. The whole school takes part and there are races of varying lengths throughout the day for all ages – from a lap of the school field for pre-school children, to the hilly 5.5km Senior Boys Race. Usually held on a Saturday, it is an event that is very well supported by the school community, with stalls and a BBQ organised by the PTA.
Secondary students take training for this event very seriously and all students are encouraged to take part to earn points for their House.
This is always a big event for the Secondary School since it generally involves large numbers of students and staff and lots of preparation in the lead up to the big night! In the past plays have included Bugsy Malone, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Oliver!. Last year saw Blood Brothers, the London West End musical, hit the bright lights of Isamilo’s stage and the audience made comments like ‘It was like watching a movie, I didn’t want it to end!’. Well having made everyone cry last year we’ve decided a bit of fun is in order so this year’s production is going to be a creative extravaganza in the form of The Lion King. We hope you enjoy it!
For children in the Early Years and Juniors Departments these take place twice a year. In Secondary these take place once a year for most year groups (except Year 11 and A-level where there are two so that parents can monitor progress even more closely in that all important iGCSE exam year). These are an opportunity for teachers and parents/guardians to raise any concerns and also to praise students in the format of a brief one-to-one conversation. For more in depth discussions or if there is ever a need to talk outside of this fixed event it is easy to make an appointment to see individual teacher. Teachers’ consultations are conducted in the early evening to ensure working parents can attend. Of course, end of year reports are issued to all Early Years and Juniors pupils and in Secondary reports are also issued on a half termly basis.
This is a whole new venture and one we hope will be very exciting! This year, our first year of 6th Form, the A-Level students includes some of our very talented actors and actresses from last year’s Secondary show (Blood Brothers) and we wanted to give them the opportunity to keep up the good work so we have decided to put on a show that allows them to take a little more ownership and initiative and with a slightly more adult theme. We’re going to start with a play called The Woman in Black, a terrifying tale that many students are familiar with having studied it in English.
For the first time, in April 2010, Isamilo Students will travel to France to the resort of Les Arcs for a ski trip. This is a very exciting opportunity and a party of 50, including 15 from Morogoro International School, will exchange tropical East African temperatures for snow in the Alps. The trip will include ski tuition during the day from expert instructors, and evening activities around the resort including ice skating, bowling and going to an ice hockey Match.
The school boasts a lovely 25m swimming pool (the only one in Mwanza City) and pupils work hard in lessons and clubs towards the annual Swimming Galas. Early Years, Juniors and Secondary each have their own Gala. All students are encouraged to take part, if they are able to, and the standard of swimming at Isamilo continues to improve. Children from the Early Years Department, including those from Stay and Play club, take part in fun races as well as those that are beginning to swim competing in individual distance races. The parents’ race is always a much looked forward to event. For the Juniors and Secondary Galas non-Swimmers are encouraged to take part in the fun ‘Tug of War’ event alongside the excitement of the relays and the more conventional races, including the challenging Individual Medley which is always a wonderful showcase for some of our best swimmers.
Once a year Isamilo Students have the opportunity to take place in a Sports Tour. These have included visiting and playing against schools in Kenya, and in 2009 we took part in a fantastic weekend of Sport at Morogoro International School. Our cricketers also took part in a national competition in Dar es Salaam.
The Annual General Meeting is an opportunity for parents and teachers and members of the local community to gain greater insight into the overall workings of the school and also to raise any issues they might have. It generally involves presentations from the Head Master and the various Heads of Departments, budgetary discussion and then a Q & A session, all interspersed with some entertainment from students and staff. It also provides an opportunity for everyone to meet the governors and PTA members and to register their interest if they should wish to join the school in these capacities.
These induction days, placed towards the end of the Summer Term, allow students making the big moves (from early years to juniors, from junior to senior school and from iGCSE to A-Level) to gain some insight into what will be expected of them and what they can expect from lessons and activities. Children moving up to Year 3 get the opportunity to explore the Main School site, experience a different timetable and begin to prepare for the rigours of Junior life. For Year 7 it will largely be focused on meeting secondary teachers and orienting themselves within the new system of specialist teachers and classrooms. For the 6th Form it is a little more in-depth since it may influence final subject choices and help them to prepare for the high-pressure time ahead. Days will include careers guidance, lesson tasters, CV writing, organising CAS options (see 6th Form section of the site for more details), signing code of conduct contracts etc.
The extended walk took place in Moshi this year and saw the majority of Year 10 learning a whole range of skills as they fended for themselves (protected by askaris and staff!) camping, cooking and carrying their equipment over a period of three days.
For more details on the IAYP see the Secondary Department extra curricular page.
Organised by the Year 11 students this event was held this year at the New Mwanza Hotel and saw students and teachers come together for a celebration of all the hard work accomplished. Happily this year it wasn't
so much a 'leavers' event as a welcome to 6th Form event! A good time was had by all and students and staff alike all looked very glam!
This is a fun packed day encouraging the children in team-work skills and the importance of being active and healthy. All of the children join in with fun events such as obstacle races, shooting the ball in the goal and throwing balls into hoops.
These annual workshops are for the parents. They aim to give a greater understanding of the many challenges children face on their journey towards becoming fluent readers and mathematicians. Parents are given ideas and suggestions about how they can help their child at home.
The International Award is the equivalent programme to Duke of Edinburgh in the UK and the Silver level requires six months of commitment to the development of physical and creative skills as well as community service project. The scheme culminates in the expedition which is always an excellent adventure for students, requiring them to work in teams, use map reading skills, camp outside for two nights, hike between locations over three days, cook for themselves etc. This process is assessed by staff who shadow the teams the whole way!
This is a day dedicated to opening students eyes to the possibilities available to them. The morning consists of students attending a series of talks by Mwanza-based professionals from a huge range of backgrounds and industries – this year we covered everything from hairdressing to law, engineering to veterinary science. In the afternoon students are given ‘challenge sheets’ and asked to to circulate stalls help by a wide selection of further professionals, interviewing them to discover the information they need. 2010 saw the first of these events and it was a great success. This will now become an annual event, primarily targeted towards helping year 12 find work experience placements and make decisions about what university courses would most suit their career aspirations. Years 11 – 13 attend.
This is an opportunity for students to go out into the work place and see if the career they think they want to do is really what they expected, to meet professionals in the industry and find out more about required qualifications and training and also to understand a little more of the day-to-day requirements of a working environment of their choice. Each student will be allocated a teacher who will visit the student on one of the days of the placement to gain feedback and students are asked to keep a diary of their activities, thoughts and lessons during the week for review later. This can often be a crucial part of students’ decision making processes.
International Award Silver Practice Expedition (Yr 12)
The International Award is the equivalent program to Duke of Edinburgh in the UK The scheme culminates in the expedition which takes place in the first term of year 13, but it is a requirement of the program that the teams have a practice walk in order to prepare themselves. This aspect of the course occurs after examinations have been completed, right at the end of term.