Our Primary students had the opportunity to visit the next grade-level up on Tuesday morning, meeting the teachers and teaching assistants, hearing about some things that they will be learning about next year, and finding out more about events that will make the next grade-level special. Our G5 students spent the full morning in Middle School in preparation for their transition to Secondary school next year.

On Monday, 10 June the Grade 5 marked their move to the middle school with a special transition ceremony held in the Tiyende Pamodzi Theatre. Students from Kindergarten to Grade 5, proud parents and special guests enjoyed the ceremony. The Grade 5 band began with a stirring rendition of 'Alpha Squadron' by Greg Hillis and the ceremony closed with a touching performance of 'We Won't Stop Dreaming' by Pinkzebra. Congratulations to Aditya Koradia as this year's recipient winner of the IB Learner Profile and International Mindedness award, an award nominated by his peers and teachers and announced by last year's recipent winner Devon MacDonald. We look forward to seeing these students thrive in the middle school.

On Tuesday, our Secondary National Honor Society students facilitated a very successful Primary Fun Day for our students. It was an afternoon full of games, crafts and a small snack. The students had a great time engaging in team games; designing and flying paper planes; and field sports. A very big thank-you to our Secondary school NHS students for organizing a wonderful event.

Last Friday, our youngest students performed a variety of stories for us through narration, role-play, song, and creative movement. We had the opportunity to hear their version of The Very Hungry Caterpillar, watch them interpret "My Roots Go Down" through dance, and listen to them sing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" in English, Chinyanja, and Chinese. Thank you to all of the families who came to support our students and to our ELC teaching team for making this performance possible.

On Friday, 7 June, we had our final PALS for the school year. Student Council shared their video from Spirit Day, a day dedicated to dressing up as someone who has inspired us over the year. We celebrated our chess players with medals and some certificates. We welcomed visitors from the UTH school who thanked three of our third grade students (Melissa, Aviv and Shae) for their student-initiated fundraiser project. Though this was only one example of student action, this moment symbolized all of the amazing action that happened over this year. We also dedicated our assembly to saying farewell to our fellow leopards in Primary who are moving on to new adventures. Being an international school, we say good-bye to close friends each year and though this is difficult, please know that "once and leopards, always a leopard" so please be sure to stay in touch. We hope to see you soon.

At our last meeting, the Board of Directors said goodbye to our chair, Frank Monticello, and our treasurer, Joseph Gibson. They are moving on to new adventures and we wish them the best of luck. In their three and four years of service, respectively, these two gentlemen have played crucial roles in developing and improving this school.

Under Frank’s leadership, the board has become more disciplined and more effective than ever. He has committed himself to asking challenging questions of the school and reviewing data to ensure that our programs remain the best in Zambia and compare with the best international schools in the region. The school has been very lucky to have such a dedicated, caring, and competent board chair.

Under Joseph’s financial oversight, this school has maintained its financial health despite the vicissitudes of enrolment, currency fluctuation, and the overall economic atmosphere. He has helped manage our capital funds, collected through the annual capital levy and one-time admissions fee, to complete Phase 1A of our Campus Improvement Plan.  This phase included the construction of the Palm Pavilion and external multi-sport courts and the renovation of the Leopard’s Lair gym, all of which were finished under budget. Finally, he has helped set the stage for our next improvement phase, which will begin soon.  

When you see them, please take a moment to thank these two gentlemen for their generosity with their time and their numerous important contributions to the school.

As the school year winds down, please take a moment to thank someone on our staff for their effort – and encourage your children to do the same. The AISL team works very hard all year to provide great opportunities for our students. Teachers work long hours and grading, coaching, or chaperoning duties on evenings and weekends are the norm rather than the exceptions. Overnight trips bring with them the burden of extremely high levels of responsibility and accountability, 24/7. Teaching assistants work hard to support students and to ensure that classes run smoothly.  Furthermore, the administrative staff works hard to remove obstacles and pave the way so teachers and TA’s can do what they do best. In the background, our support staff work diligently to ensure that our campus is clean and attractive and our bus drivers take great care to ensure that our children are delivered safely to their destinations. Like any school, AISL is a very complex organization. It requires a large team of dedicated individuals to keep it running smoothly. Please take a moment sometime in the remaining days to thank at least one member of our hard-working staff in person or in writing.
 
And while I am at it, let me thank YOU, the AISL parent community. I have been truly grateful for the trust and support you have shown us this year. Educating children is a team effort and I am thrilled that we are working together to nurture and support our young people as they strive to meet their potential. Thank you!

Russ Menard
​AISL Director

What I’m excited about this week…
 
Reminder: Campus Closed from 15 June to 7 August! Unfortunately, due to the large construction project that will begin when school ends, we will be closing the school campus to all recreational uses during the school holiday. This includes the library, fields, pools, and tennis courts. We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your patience as we begin Phase 1B of our Campus Improvement Plan. When this phase ends in January, we will have a renovated primary school, smoother traffic flow, more parking, and improved safety and security.
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Namwali Serpell Visit TONIGHT! Please join us for an evening with Zambian author, Namwali Serpell, tonight at 17:00 in the Tiyende Pamodzi Theater. Ms. Serpell is touring Zambia to promote her new novel, The Old Drift. Many thanks to our librarian, Terry Maguire, for initiating this wonderful opportunity for our community. You can read more about this event later in this newsletter.
 
PTA Parent Discussion Group! Many thanks to Adam Kim for his presentation on the adolescent (and adult!) brain and mental health. This was the first of what we hope will become a series of evening sessions dedicated to supporting parents, teachers, and students around issues of mental health and other relevant topics. Stay tuned to the Leopard’s Tale for information about the next session in the new school year.

Yearbook! Our annual student-created yearbook will be distributed this week and it looks great. As you review it, please pause to consider the work that went into this project. Seven students (Alissa, Haley, Bernice, Zenani, Naveh, Lena, and Evelyn), working with Ms. Ginwala, Ms. Adonis, and Ms. Lindeque, spent all year planning, designing, and creating this yearbook as an after-school activity. Bravo to the yearbook team for a great job! Don’t forget that a lot of the pictures that could not fit in the yearbook can be viewed electronically at tiny.cc/aislyearbook2019 or by scanning the QR code on the first page.

Library and Office Relocations! As we continue to prepare for our exciting renovation project, we are starting to relocate our administrative offices. These offices and the library will be moving so that the building can be renovated. The Admissions Office and the Director’s Office have been relocated to the Pavilion. Next week, the Business Office and Reception will relocate to the Protea Room. I appreciate your patience as we make these moves.

Last Day of School for Students – 13 June - Noon Dismissal! This year has flown by. We will end the year with our final farewell assembly from 11:30-12:00 on Thursday, 13 June. Students will be dismissed at noon to begin their well-deserved holiday. The new academic year will begin on 8 August.

We are super proud of our Athletes who performed so well in the Sr Nationals Athletics that took place in the Levi Stadium, Ndola on Saturday 8th June. 
We walked away with 16 medals which comprised of 3 Gold medals, 7 Silver medals and 6 Bronze medals.