Introducing Mystery Class #4
Toamasina, Madagascar
18.15 S, 49.41 E |
Treehgr (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Welcome to Madagascar!
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"Salama", you found us!
We are the 6-8th grade middle school class of AIS (Ambatovy International School), in Toamasina a/k/a Tamatave, Madagascar. When we wrote this Meet & Greet in January, it was the hottest season of the year and the temperature was around 25-32 degrees Celsius (77-89 F). This photo show us on our school playground. |
Credit: Barbara Wilson/ WIS
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We are "The AIS Ravenalas!"
Our school symbol is the Ravenala, which is a large flowing plant that has enormous paddle-shaped leaves. It is also Madagascar’s national symbol. Our school logo shows three ravenalas, along with the AIS chant:
"Act to support others; Insist on your best; and Stretch your boundaries." |
Credit: AIS |
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The AIS School Building
This photo shows our school building. There are only 42 students in our school, and we have students from kindergarten to grade 12.We are a diverse student body, with students from 17 different countries: Congo, France, Madagascar, Mali, Taiwan, United Kingdom, Armenia, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Tunisia, Bulgaria, Indonesia, Korea, USA, and Belgium.
AIS opened in 2011, when the Sherritt Mining Company built this compound. Our school is located near the Ambatovy mine site, where most of our parents work, and it is part of the Management Housing Village.
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Credit: AIS
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Favorite Books
We want to tell you about three very interesting books that we read this year.
As our first novel, we read “The Westing Game” by Ellen Raskin during the 1st quarter. It’s a murder mystery and realistic fiction novel. It follows the story of the residents of the Sunset Towers. Their goal is to find the murderer of Sam Westing, the owner of a huge paper company.
The second book we read was called "Tuck Everlasting" by Natalie Babbit. It’s a fiction book that follows the main character, Winifred Foster, and her adventures with the Tuck family. The Tuck family is immortal and Winnie has to choose between being immortal, or just staying mortal.
The third book we read is called “A Long Walk to Water” by Linda Sue Park. It is a historical fiction novel, based on the true story of one of Sudan’s "Lost Boys."
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Credit: E.P. Dutton Publishing, Scholastic Publishing & Clarion Books |
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Science Projects -- Rube Goldberg Machines
One of our favorite science activities this year has been working on Rube Goldberg machines. These machines are complicated contraptions that start with a rolling steel ball and end with achieving a very simple goal, like like turning on a light switch, turning on a faucet, and releasing a ball or balloon. We made these Goldberg machines to look more closely at different types of levers and learn more about Newton's Laws. We worked in pairs and had tons of fun! We presented our Goldberg machine in the science learning celebration. One thing we learned is that in order to successfully make this machine, we needed to work backwards. You can see our "contraptions in action" in the videos below.
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AIS
Faucet
AIS
Light Switch
AIS
Ball
AIS
Balloon |
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Our Own Television Program -- "ANN 10"
For Social Studies, we made our own news broadcast called "The ANN 10" (Ambatovy News Network 10). The broadcast let us present what we had been learning about the continent of Africa. Unlike the Goldberg machine, the class on ANN 10 worked as one huge team! First, we researched current events and wrote articles. Next, we planned our roles, gathered the costumes and wrote scripts. Finally, we filmed the broadcast on the various current events taking place around the continent, and used iMovie to edit the final product. And we were able to use the school drone to film a few scenes. From this project we had some good laughs and learned how hard it really is to produce a news cast! Take a look at our final edited video below, which is about 10 minutes long. (Be sure to watch our bloopers!)
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AIS
The ANN 10 Broadcast
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Our Community
We live in a small gated compound about a 10 minute drive from the city-center of Tamatave. The compound is called the Management Housing Village, or MHV for short. Our parents all work for Sherritt, which has a nickel and cobalt-mining plant called Ambatovy, which is set up across the street from our homes.
On the compound you will find the houses, our school, a tennis court, a clinic, a workout facility, a cafeteria, soccer fields, multipurpose gymnasium and a swimming pool. The MHV is located right on the shore of the Indian Ocean, and if you are quiet you can hear the waves crashing! Here are a few photos of our MHV community.
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Credit: AIS
Housing
Credit: AIS
Swimming Pool
Credit: AIS
Tennis Court
Credit: AIS
Indian Ocean |
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Our City of Toamasina or Tamatave:
Our MHV community is located just outside the city of Toamasina, but most people here call it Tamatave. It is populated by 206,373 people, making it the second largest city in Madagascar. On the map below, you can see that it's located on the eastern coast of Madagascar. The native language here is Malagasy, however almost everyone also speaks French. |
Credit: AIS
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A Beach and Port City
Tamatave is a beach city and port city. In the first photo below, you can see the beach with the ocean in the background. And in the second photo you can see the port in the center and the beach in the upper left. When you are on the beach, you can see the port which is always filled with ships and shipping containers from many different countries.
Tamatave is a place filled with festivities, like gatherings at the beach, where everyone comes together to enjoy music and fairs. In Tamatave we have many beautiful, sunny days, but on occasion, there are some cyclones and heavy rains too.
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Credit: Luc Legay (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Credit: JialiangGao (CC BY-SA 4.0) |
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Take a Tuk Tuk or pick up a Pousse-Pousse
The most common modes of transportation are a Pousse-Pousse or Tuk Tuk (as seen in the picture below), which are bicycle taxis. |
Credit: AIS
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Madagascar Meals
Here in Madagascar, we have plenty of traditional foods. One example is Ravitoto, made out of manihot leaves that are crushed together and boiled until they become a sauce. People add pork and cook it for long periods of time. Malagasy people eat this meal with rice and tomato salad. This dish has an ugly appearance, but the taste is amazing!
Another example is Romazava, a chicken soup with a delicious aroma that has a pinch of ginger, garlic, and a chicken base. This dish helps when the weather is very wet and cold. The moment you drink it you feel better and warmer. Romazava is mostly served with rice, but some people eat it with noodles. This dish is very promising! Bon appetit! |
Credit: AIS
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Nowhere Else on Earth
Because Madagascar has been an island nation for millions of year, it has a large number of plants and animals that are unique to or "endemic" to Madagascar -- that means these species are only found here! The World Wildlife Fund says that around 95% of Madagascar’s reptiles, 89 % of its plant life, and 92 % of its mammals exist nowhere else on Earth.
You met one of the endemic lemurs in our top photo above (there are more than 70 species of lemurs), and here are photos of a few other unique species including a Tomato frog, a Tenrec, and a Chameleon. To learn more about our unique plants, animals and insects you can view some fascinating BBC videos. |
Credit: Alfeus Liman
Credit: Alan Harper (CC BY-NC 2.0)
Credit: Marius Conjeaud (CC BY-SA 3.0 )
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Flag, Farewell and Felluma
As we bid farewell, we say "felluma" (which means goodbye in Malagasy), and we display our national flag of Madagascar. If you would like to contact us,write to our teacher Ms. Tower.
"Felluma" from your friends at AIS in Tamatave, Madagascar!
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