Happy New Year and Welcome Back

Happy New Year! I hope that you enjoyed the festive season and that your 2017 is off to a great start. Monday’s professional development day provided a great opportunity for faculty teams to collaborate on curriculum development and get ready for the students’ arrival on Tuesday. We are thrilled to welcome four new families to AISL. Please look for opportunities to welcome them and to help them settle into Lusaka and AISL.
This semester promises to be an exciting one. We are getting ready to host ISSEA Rugby, the ISAZ Teachers Conference, and our Visiting Author, John Coy, in February. We will send students to eight different ISSEA tournaments and two language immersion trips from February through April. We will host our own Model United Nations and enjoy the Middle School Musical in March. In April we will celebrate International Day and the 30th Anniversary of AISL. May will bring the Primary School Play and our annual IB Exams. While all of these events keep us very busy, they are all part of providing a world-class educational environment for our students. Please keep an eye on our weekly Leopard’s Tale for more information about each event.
What I am excited about this week...

1. PTA Elections! The PTA will be holding elections on January 25. If you are
   interested in taking on a leadership position, please see the PTA section later in this newsletter or email pta@aislusaka.org. Let’s keep up the PTA’s impressive momentum this year.
   
2. Promotional Videos! Tony Pappa from Conceptually Speaking will be on campus next week to help us to create two short videos to promote the school. He will be dilming the facilities and school events and will be interviewing students, staff, and parents. This should provide a fun opportunity for us to showcase many of the great aspects of AISL.
   
3. Coffee House on January 20! Last year saw the creation of a new tradition here at AISL: The Coffee House. These events happen in the library a few times per year and provide an opportunity for students, parents, and staff to share their artistic talents in a relaxed and supportive environment. The next Coffee House will be held at 19:00 on January 20 in the library. All AISL families are welcome.
   
4. Approved 2017-18 School Calendar! The Board of Directors approved our 2017-18 calendar before the school break. It is attached to this newsletter so that you can begin planning for next year.