UWC Maastricht honoured at UWC Netherlands ... - MosaLira

Newsletter Issue 12
Newsletter Date
16 June 2011
DATES TO REMEMBER
� Year 12 exams: Thurs 16 — Fri 24
June
� Year 10 exams: Fri 17 — Fri 24
June
� Viaduct Project opening: Fri 24
June, 4.00pm
� MYP Authorisation visit: Mon 27 —
Tues 28 June
� Year 12 Group 4 Project: Mon 27 —
Tues 28 June
� Year 12 Group 4 presentations:
Wed 29 — Thurs 30 June
� UWCM public lecture on critical
issues in contemporary criminal
justice: Thurs 30 June, 3.30—
5.30pm
� Last day of school: Fri 8 July
� First day of school for 2011/12
academic year: Wed 7 September
Inside this issue:
Creative Arts Evening
Mother tongue program
IB MYP authorisation visit
Viaduct Project update
Kunst Tour report
Year 10 tutorial initiative
Extended Essays in Science
Moment of Dialogue
Student Profile
Staff Member Profile
Focus on Clubs
Photos around the College
Contact details
2
3
4
5
6
IN FOCUS
Upper School Newsletter
UWC Maastricht honoured at UWC Netherlands
The UWC Netherlands
scholarship award ceremony
in The Hague is a significant
annual event in which the
achievements of students are
celebrated. Therefore, we at
UWC Maastricht were
delighted to be asked not
only to attend this year‟s
ceremony, but also to deliver
a presentation on
the development
of our Service
Learning program.
The purpose of the
ceremony is
primarily to award
UWC scholarships
to Dutch students
who have shown
outstanding
personal qualities
throughout a
rigorous
application process. This
year, a record number of
students — 27! — from the
Netherlands, Netherlands
Antilles and Aruba were given
scholarships to one of the
UWCs throughout the world,
from Li Po Chun UWC in Hong
Kong, to UWC Mahindra in
India and our own UWC in
Maastricht.
Some highlights of the UWCM
presentation last Friday were
scholarship award ceremony
Samreen Fatima‟s (year 12)
introduction, in which she
spoke about her unique
experiences this year and
advised scholarship students
to “be prepared to have the
best two years of your life.”
She was followed by Mr Colin
Jenkins, former Head of
Atlantic College in Wales, who
UWCM teaching staff, current students, future
students and HRH Prince Willem-Alexander of Orange
noted that UWCM‟s adoption
of the concept of Service
Learning has set us apart
from other UWCs. Each UWC
has a specific „mark‟ to leave
on the world — and service as
a form of education may be
the „mark‟ for UWCM.
Mr Simon Murray (Acting Head
of College) and Ms Tine
Vandewege (Service Learning
Coordinator) also spoke
about the role of Service
Learning in our College.
Both emphasised the
mutual benefits of Service
Learning to communities
and schools.
Cicely Blain and Beba
Cibralic (year 12) spoke
about Consulo, an
original method of
reflection they
have invented and
Kristina Pallova
(also year 12),
together with
Maddie and Pia
from year 6,
explained their
use of the game
for the audience.
The College was
represented in The
Hague by a
number of students
as well as teaching
and administrative staff and
parents. Our students
represented us superbly
and some were even lucky
enough to meet His Royal
Highness Prince Willem-
Alexander of Orange, the
patron of UWC in the
Netherlands.
Ms Caroline Hazel, In Focus
coordinator

Page 2 IN FOCUS
UWC Maastricht‟s
annual Creative
Arts Evening was
held last night to
great acclaim!
Creative Arts Evening: Wednesday 15 June
The evening
consisted of
eighteen items of a
variety of
performance types.
Some highlights of
the evening were
the dance troupe‟s hip hop
number „Telephone‟; a
rendition of „Mad World‟ sung
by Keren Berger and
accompanied by Ales
Varebyou on guitar; and a
group instrumental
performance by Hannah
Verheul (violin), Julius
Sustarevas (flute), Ales
Varebyou (guitar) and Mr
Earlier this year, UWCM was
visited by the IBO in a „preauthorisation‟
visit for our
proposed MYP (Middle Years
Program) authorisation. The
College was awarded
approval for our
accomplishments so far and
given some areas on which
to focus. Now, after a
considerable amount of very
hard work by staff and
students, the time for the
College‟s official MYP
authorisation has come.
Satyadeep Srivastava (tabla
drums).
Students were closely
involved in every aspect of
planning and staging the
event. They prepared
refreshments, set up
audience chairs and the
performance space,
organised the performers,
hosted the
event and
managed the
sound and
lighting. Their
hard work and
commitment
resulted in an
entertaining
and fun
showcase of
the dramatic,
musical and
MYP authorisation: Monday 27 — Tues 28 June
We will be visited on Monday
27 and Tuesday 28 June by
Mr Malcolm Nicolson, the
Head of MYP from the IBO in
Cardiff, UK and Mr Anatoliy
Kuznetsov from Miras IS
Astana, Kazakhstan. Our
visitors will observe a number
of aspects of school life, from
brief lesson observations and
meetings with teaching staff,
to discussions with students
dance talents of the
students in the
Middle and Upper
Schools.
Special mention
should go to Federico
Spera (year 12), who
was a driving force
behind the
preparation and
subsequent success
of the evening.
Thanks must also go to the
Parent Support Group, Mrs
Renate Geris, Mr Ludo Roijen
and many student and staff
volunteers, all of whom
worked tirelessly to prepare
the event.
In Focus newsletter
committee
about their understanding of
the MYP.
UWC Maastricht‟s anticipated
authorisation as an MYP
school is a significant event,
as if it is achieved, we will
become the first of the United
World Colleges to have gained
this qualification.
In Focus newsletter
committee
Mother tongue
learning at UWCM
This school year, UWCM
students are taking first
language courses in 25
different mother tongues.
Most of the students enrolled
in mother tongue courses
other than English and Dutch
are in years 12 and 13, as
mother tongue is a
compulsory subject in the IB
Diploma Program.
Next year, however, the
school is expanding its
mother tongue program in
years 7 through to 11 (IB
Middle Years Program) so
that every student can have
the opportunity to study his
or her first language as well
as the compulsory subjects
of English and Dutch.
For any enquiries about
UWCM‟s mother tongue
programme, please contact
Ms Laurie Kraaijeveld,
Mother Tongue Coordinator,
at
l.kraaijeveld@ism.portamosana.nl.

Page 3 IN FOCUS
Viaduct Project update — the poetry
Before I was asked to write
this article, I thought that I
knew exactly what the Viaduct
Project meant to me. I realised
how much I was mistaken as
soon as I tried to formulate my
thoughts. What popped into
my mind were the words of
Vincent van Gogh: „Poetry
surrounds us everywhere, but
putting it on paper is, alas, not
so easy as looking at it.‟
I think that this is the best
possible summary of the idea
of our project. We are trying
to show van Gogh‟s words
almost literally. We want
poetry to surround us and we
are doing our best to allow it
to remain unlimited by any
kind of border.
The purpose of this project is
deep in the minds and hearts
of the
people
who
created it.
The
theme of
the
Viaduct
Project
also adds
to this
purpose.
Connections? What do they
mean? How are they linked
with our international
community? How can they be
associated with a place that
used to be
just a grey,
sad tunnel
leading to
our
school?
Upper School students perform at ‘Kunst Tour’
One of the most exciting
aspects of living in Maastricht
is this living artistic
environment where people
gather together to create,
invent and express. Those
three qualities were truly
manifested in the annual art
festival „Kunst Tour‟ based on
the theme „My mouth still
speaks the tongue of my
mother‟.
During Kunst Tour, Grace
Sparapani, Andrea Grimaldi
and myself, along with Mine
Stemkens, a Dutch poet and a
spoken word artist, organised
a performance for the final
event of the festival. We
focused our performance on
the theme of „mother tongue‟
and created several scenes
using stories and poems. The
performance was in almost
eight languages with Dutch
translation. Other students
from year 12 helped us out
by acting and playing music
during the show.
It was an amazing
experience, although
stressful. We had to perform
These
could be
the
questions that Mine
Stemkens would like you to
answer. She‟s a Dutch poet,
who together with the
Buurtplatform
(neighbourhood organisation);
Mrs Nicola Jackson (UWCM
Visual Arts teacher); Ms
Laurie Kraaijeveld (Head of
Languages); the artist Esther
Janssen; the BLS and
Leeuwenborgh (our
neighbouring Dutch schools),
came up with the idea of this
art-connecting-people-poetry
project. The artwork on the
viaduct has been completed
our piece
twice in
the streets
as a sort of
rehearsal
before the
closing
event,
which was
very
challenging as we had to
shout very loudly in order to
capture everyone‟s attention.
Luckily, everything went well
in the final performance and
the tough month of
preparation was worth it. The
and the poetry is in the
process of being added to it.
You will see the final result of
this creative work soon, so
prepare yourself for a piece of
reality that has its origins
somewhere out of this world!
Weronika Bielecka, 12A
Note: The official opening of
the finished work is taking
place at the tunnel on Friday
24 June at 4.00pm. Come to
the opening to celebrate the
results of this exciting project!
performance ended up being
quite rewarding - we even
noticed some happy tears
amongst the audience.
Rindala Pereverzev, 12A

Newsletter Issue 12
As part of the year 10 tutorial
program this year, we have
focused on issues of personal
care: specifically, healthy
eating.
The two year 10 tutor groups
were divided into four smaller
groups of 8 — 9 students
each. Each group was given
an important task: to plan,
budget, purchase ingredients
for and prepare a „healthy
lunch‟ for the entire year
group (plus three very lucky
teachers!) In addition to this,
each group had to present a
short speech explaining why
they had made particular
decisions in their preparation
UWCM‟s
first
„Moment
of
Dialogue‟ took place on
Wednesday 15 June.
Students from years 8, 9, 10
and 12 gathered in small
groups during assembly
period and lunchtime to
share personal stories on the
theme of „connections.‟
Connections are an
important concept in an
international school as
students often experience
of the meal.
This challenge was
seized upon with
determination by
each group. The
first planning
session consisted
of rather a lot of
shouting as they
argued the various
merits of each
other‟s ideas. An
added challenge was the
various dietary requirements
of students — it was
necessary, for example, to
have vegetarian options
available for non-meat
eaters. Each group was
also expected to stick to a
minimal budget and almost
non-existent cooking
facilities (thank goodness
for Mrs Mahönen and her
portable hot plate!)
The first group provided us
with a traditional Dutch
lunch of sandwiches — with
some influence from the
Middle East. The hummus
Words, words, words...a Moment of Dialogue
moves to different countries,
which results in the creation
of many connections. This
year UWCM students have
learned to connect in many
new ways through
involvement in Service
Learning, interacting with
students from many
countries and participating in
school camps, for example.
The first multilingual „Day of
Dialogue‟ in the Netherlands
will take place in our school
at the beginning of next
school year in about twelve
was particularly well
received! They were followed
by the second group who
prepared a lovely meal of
meat and vegetarian fajitas
and tacos, with fresh fruit
salad to follow.
There are two groups still to
come — and the taste buds
of the year 10 cohort eagerly
await their next meal!
Ms Caroline Hazel, year 10
tutor group teacher
different languages and will
involve every high school
student.
Another UWCM
initiative to do with
connections is the
Viaduct Project,
which explores
connections
between visual art,
drama, music and
creative writing in
the mother tongue.
Ms Laurie
Kraaijeveld, Head
of Languages
Page 4
Year 10 healthy eating initiative Work in progress:
Extended Essay
students in
Science
Looking back in life, it is clear
that one often feels the
happiest when life is busy. Our
year 12 students must
therefore feel very happy at
the moment… especially our
Science Extended Essay
students.
They have been gathering
data for their essays, usually
until the early evening, in the
school laboratory under the
supervision of their teachers.
This has meant long, fumefilled
afternoons in a hot
laboratory, but also laughter
and occasionally opportunities
to do something that would
either be impossible or illegal
to do in your garage. We
salute our students and hope
that this experience will give
them a better view on „how
science works‟. Perhaps it will
also inspire them to choose a
career in science!
UWCM Science Department

Newsletter Issue 12
My name is Amna Moukhyer
and I am 17 years old. I am
currently in Year 12 and am
studying the IB Diploma
Staff member profile — Mr Patrick Severijns
My name is Patrick Severijns.
I was born in 1982 in the
beautiful city of Maastricht
where I spent the first years
of my life.
After making a major mistake
by choosing to study
marketing and
communication after high
school, I decided to move to
The Hague and started
studying at the P.E. Academy
located there. I learned a lot
during my internships in one
The final day of the 2010/11
school year will be Friday 8
July. All students are expected
to attend lessons as normal in
the final week of school. Any
planned absences must be
applied for to the Deputy
Principal (Pastoral).
The final day of school will
begin as usual with
registration at 8.20am.
Registration will be extended
Program at
UWCM.
I was born in
Khartoum state
in Sudan. I lived
for about nine
years in
Omdurman, a
year in Egypt
and seven
years in the Netherlands.
I first came to the
Netherlands in 2002 when
my father was doing his PhD
of the harsh inner-city
schools and it was therefore
a welcome relief, after my
final internship, to start
working at ISM (which then
became UWCM).
Since then I am still at the
same spot and am still
enjoying every day. Where
else can I have a job that
allows me to play sport every
day and that, once a year,
allows me to spend a week
on camp in Switzerland?
Student profile — Amna Moukhyer
project at Maastricht
University and I got this great
opportunity to study at an
international school. I am
grateful to him and my
mother for deciding to move
here.
I have always had to go back
and forth to Sudan for long
periods due to family
reasons, so I have never
forgotten my family and
cultural background.
Living in the Netherlands has
My hobbies include
every sport (except
dance or anything
related to moving to a
rhythm) and travelling
(wherever my bank
account will let me go).
Mr Patrick Severijns, PE
Department
Arrangements for the end of the school year
until 10.30am and this time
will be used to distribute
academic reports to
students and complete
other administrative tasks.
A full school assembly will
be held from 11.00am to
12.00 noon. We will use this
opportunity to celebrate the
year‟s accomplishments
and farewell departing
members of the College
community.
Page 5
opened up great
opportunities for all my family
members. My mum got great
health care and the chance
to pursue a PhD project, my
younger sister, who is
mentally disabled, got special
care and attention that she
wouldn‟t have received in
Sudan and my elder sister is
resuming her higher
education.
Amna Moukhyer, 12D
School will be dismissed at
12.00 noon.
We wish everyone a happy
and safe holiday and look
forward to seeing you in
September!
In Focus newsletter
committee

Nijverheidsweg 25
6227 AL Maastricht
The Netherlands
Postal address:
PO Box 1187
6201 BD Maastricht
Phone: +31(0)43 367 4666
Fax: +31(0)43 367 0809
E-mail: admin@ism.portamosana.nl
Website: www.uwcmaastricht.com
Newsletter submissions:
uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com
Photos around the College:
Year 10 healthy eating initiative
and the continuing progress of
the Viaduct Project
Next deadline for submissions:
Tuesday 5 July
If you have an article you would like to submit to In Focus,
please email it to uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com, along with your
name and any relevant accompanying photographs. A return
email, confirming your submission, will be sent as soon as
possible. This newsletter is intended to inform the UWCM
community about events in the Upper School (years 10 to 13).
If your article is more relevant to Lower School (years 7 to 9)
or Primary School, please contact uwcmlens@gmail.com
(Lower School) or Primary School Administration.
The newsletter will be published each fortnight on Thursday.
The deadline for submissions for each issue will be the Tuesday
of that week. Unfortunately we can only accept submissions for
UWC Maastricht events. We cannot accept advertisements
unless directly affiliated with the College.
Would you like to receive the
next issue of In Focus?
If you would like to be placed on the emailing
list for In Focus, please send a request via
email to uwcmnewsletter@gmail.com.
Next newsletter publication date:
Thursday 7 July
The final issue of In Focus for the 2010/11 academic year will be published
in three weeks’ time, one week later than usual. The final issue will be a
‘bumper summer edition’ consisting of reflections from UWCM students
and staff on their experiences from the school year.