Every August, as the American International School of Lusaka’s (AISL’s) community begins a new school year, we celebrate our most recent Leopard alumni. They’re heading off to universities around the world, pursuing gap years, or enlisting in National Service, applying their hard-earned experiences as DP students to life beyond our campus.

As we welcome an incoming DP cohort, it’s a great time to reflect on last year’s successes.  We’ve always been proud to offer enrolment in the Diploma Programme to any student who’s willing to take on the challenges it brings.  Our open, inclusive admissions policy means that each graduating class includes students with a range of backgrounds, interests, strengths, and abilities.  This diversity enriches our school culture.

Here are some highlights from the Class of 2019 DP results:

• The number of A’s in TOK and EE was double the world average, and was AISL’s highest in five years.
  
• Our grades exceeded the world average in bonus points.
  
• Our diploma recipients earned an average of 32 points overall, with an average subject grade of 5.08, an improvement over last years’ average of 4.79.
  
• Our graduates were awarded over $1.2 million in scholarships.
  
• 100% of our students earned their US High School Diploma.
  
• Our DP award rate was 64%, and 100% of students who applied for Fall entry, and aren’t still awaiting placement tests or additional applications, are heading off to university.
  
• Our teachers’ accuracy in predicting grades is right on par with teachers from around the world - we know our students well!

The Class of 2019 cohort, comprising thirty-nine students, excelled during this college and university application cycle.
 
All the students who applied for Fall entry, and whose colleges and universities have made formal decisions of acceptance, are placed and flying out to universities in Lebanon, Netherlands, Switzerland, UAE, UK, and the USA. Four students are still waiting for universities to make decisions due to the universities’ later deadlines and further placement tests (Czech Republic, Netherlands, Poland, and South Africa), and six students are taking a gap year or engaging in National Service.
 
Thirty-two students declared a clear first choice university, and twenty-seven of these students were accepted to that university. That is 91%! Of those admitted to their first choice, 86% will attend that university. The other 14% have either exceeded their exam expectations and are applying to more demanding universities through UCAS ‘Adjustment’, changed their first choice in recent weeks and are making further applications, are taking placement tests, or withdrew for financial reasons.

Students who applied for non-repayable scholarships were awarded $1,284,464.00 for merit, athletics, talent, or diversity scholarships.  

Congratulations to our Class of 2019 graduates!

Interested in learning more about the Grade 4-12 AISL Ski/Snowboard trip in April 2020?

Come to our Parent Coffee Morning, where two of our trip chaperones, Nathan Chilton (Grade 5 teacher) and Sheila Seiler (Secondary Assistant Principal), will share information about the trip and how you can save a spot for your child. The trip is open to students in Grades 4-12.

The presentation will take place on Thursday 22 August, 7:30-8:30 am, in the Library, which is currently operating out of the Pavilion.

The ski/snowboard trip will take place during the April holiday 2020, departing on Friday 3 April and returning on Saturday 11 April.  

Following the success of the last four ski trips, we are excited to offer AISL’s fifth organized student winter sports trip.  On this trip, students who are experienced skiers will be invited to try something new - snowboarding lessons.

There is also a change in location to Crans-Montana in the Swiss Alps.  We have worked with the organizers at Les Elfes before for the ski trips to Verbier and are thrilled about the new trip location - Les Elfes in Crans-Montana, which has views of the Matterhorn.  Les Elfes is an experienced partner that specializes in winter sports trips for international school students.

AISL students get the chance to mix and make friends with students from other schools who are on the same trip.  They meet them through their daylong skiing and snowboarding lessons and also through the evening activities and mealtimes.

Past evening activities on the trip have included ice skating, a disco night, hiking in the mountains with flashlights, a sports night with team games, a movie night, and a movie-making night.  There is also a daytrip to a cheese and chocolate factory.

The Ski and Snowboard Trip will take place during the April holiday 2020.  Students will depart on Friday 3 April and return on Saturday 11 April. The chaperones for the trip are Nathan Chilton (Grade 5 teacher), Sheila Seiler (Secondary Assistant Principal), and Bridget McCall (Grade 1 Teacher).  All are experienced skiers and snowboarders.

All skiing and snowboarding equipment rentals (including helmets), lessons, lift passes, lodging, activities, round-trip flights, round-trip bus tickets from the airport to Crans-Montana, accident insurance, trip t-shirt, and sundry items are included in the trip price, which is $3200 USD.  (If funds are left over, they will be refunded to families.) Students should bring pocket money for the cheese and chocolate factory and for visits to the town surrounding the lodge. There is a video of the Crans-Montana lodging here.

Places are limited and are on a first-come, first-served basis.  Families are asked to pay a $1600 USD deposit by September 2019 and to pay the balance in November 2019.  This trip often sells out, so if you know you are interested, please fill out the forms so that we can save your child a spot.

If you would like more information in the meantime, please contact Nathan Chilton at nchilton@aislusaka.org; he will add you to a mailing list. There will be a permission slip and more information sent out soon for those who are interested.

Due to our campus improvement project, please note the following temporary locations:

• Library and Discovery Center: Palm Pavilion
• Business Office: Protea Room
• Director’s Office: Palm Pavilion
• Admissions Office: Palm Pavilion
• Transport and Health & Safety Offices: adjacent to the nurse’s station

Hello AISL!  I’m Monica Murphy, and I’m excited to be taking over as the DP Coordinator at the American International School of Lusaka.  This will be my eleventh year teaching overseas but my first in Africa, and my family and I are loving it so far!  I’m teaching Grade 11 Lang-Lit as well, and I’m glad I can continue working with students as a classroom teacher.

On the very first day of school, our seniors took an important step towards graduation: they submitted their first complete draft of their EE.  This is a major accomplishment. Well done, seniors! By next week, they’ll receive feedback on it from their supervisors and begin the revision process.  Over the next couple of months, students will engage in a number of workshops with myself and Terry Maguire to get their final versions ready for submission.

In the first week of the DP, Grade 11s have been learning about their course requirements and getting accustomed to their new timetables.  With unsupervised study time built into their schedules, they’re practicing the self-management skills that are going to be crucial for long-term success.  Teenagers need lots of sleep, and it can be beneficial to use those long free morning blocks to get another hour of rest in.  Finding the best balance between studying, socializing, athletics, and sleep will be a work in progress, and I encourage our newest DP cohort to communicate often with their parents and teachers as they navigate this first term - we’re here to help!

What I am excited about this week…
 
Secondary School Open House TONIGHT! A great way to learn about our Secondary School programs is to attend tonight’s Open House.  It will begin at 17:00 in the Tiyende Pamodzi Theater.  The Primary School event will be held during the day on 4 September.

PTA Coffee Morning on 16 August! Please come enjoy some coffee and tea and learn more about the Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) on Friday, 16 August at 07:30 at the Palm Pavilion.

ASA Sign-Ups Open on 16 August! It’s almost time to begin this year’s After School Activities (ASA’s). We are proud to offer an extremely robust program, especially for a school our size. Please encourage your child to participate. Sign-ups begin on 16 August at 08:00 via the MyCHQ platform. Please check your email for details. ASA’s will begin on Tuesday, 20 August.4.

​Car stickers have already been distributed to your youngest returning child. If you have not yet received car stickers, please first check their school bag for a white envelope and then visit the primary or secondary office with the make and registration number of the cars for which you need stickers.

Car stickers are tied to the specific registration plate so please ensure that they are placed on the correct vehicle and let the primary or secondary office know if any of your details change.

All vehicles that do not have an AISL car sticker will be asked to stop and sign in from Monday, 26 August onwards so, in order to avoid this inconvenience, please ensure that each of your cars are correctly 'stickered' by then! 

As always, the safety and security of children on campus is our priority so we appreciate your cooperation as we work to ensure that only authorized people can access the campus.

Regards,

Mike Mills
Security Manager

If you or your child(ren) borrowed a stack of library books for the June / July holiday, please note that they were due on August 8th. Please help us restock our shelves by bringing books back so others may borrow them. Many of our books are in storage during the construction project, so the more books we have in circulation in our temporary space, the better for everyone. Thanks for your help!

Whether you are returning or new, stop by the library (currently situated in the Palm Pavilion during the construction project) to stock up on some fantastic regional reads. In addition to having a wide array of guidebooks and field guides for South Central Africa (with the newest ones arriving in our shipment shortly), we also have an excellent selection of regional fiction & non-fiction reads. Topping the charts in this area is the great Zambian novel The Old Drift (2019) by Zambian author Namwali Serpell. On the penultimate day of school last year, we were honored to have Ms. Serpell join us in Tiyende Pamodzi Theatre for a reading from her acclaimed novel and a presentation about the history of Zambia's space program. Our AISL Poet Laureate for the 2019-20 school year, Laura (class of 2020), introduced our esteemed guest and a group of National Honor Society students served as greeters and ushers for the evening. Barefeet Theatre, a local arts group, performed a spoken word piece based on the mosquito chorus from The Old Drift. The event concluded with a book signing by the author. We have multiple copies in the library for checkout.
 
If you are looking for some titles to get you started with regional reads, here is a shortlist:

1. The Old Drift by Namwalli Serpell
2. The Garden of Burning Sand by Corbin Addison
3. The Eye of the Leopard by Henning Mankell
4. The Africa House by Christina Lamb
5. We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo
6. Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
7. Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight by Alexandra Fuller
8. Black Moses by Alan Mabanckou
9. The Book of Memory by Petina Gappah
10. The Hairdresser of Harare by Tendai Huchu