It is truly something to celebrate that we concluded the first semester with our campus fully open to students. We wish all of our families a wonderful holiday, wherever you may be. Upon return to school, on 19 January, we will open the second semester with four days of Distance Learning. 

As shared in last week’s newsletter, all lessons will be Path 2 (synchronous learning) on Google Meet according to your child’s timetable from 19-22 January. For those families who wish to connect via Path 3 (asynchronous learning) for that week, please inform your child’s homeroom teacher. Seesaw will remain the platform for accessing and completing tasks for that week. For that reason, your child (KG-G5) will be bringing his/her iPad and charging cable home with him/her on 18 December. In order to necessitate the return of charging cables and iPads, your child will complete a sign-out sheet indicating that he/she has one in his/her possession. It will be the family's responsibility to take care of the device and cable over the holiday break. For cables that are not returned in January, there will be a USD$20 fee to cover replacement costs. 

We look forward to seeing everyone again in person on Monday, 25 January. Should your family’s quarantine extend beyond the 25th, please inform your child’s homeroom teacher and the Primary Office (primaryoffice@aislusaka.org). Thank you for your support and Happy Holidays!

When we return from the holiday break on Tuesday, 19 January, students will be connecting via Path 2 of the distance learning program. For four days (19-22 January), all lessons will be synchronous on Google Meet according to your child’s timetable. For those families who wish to connect via Path 3 (asynchronous learning) for that week, please inform your child’s homeroom teacher. Seesaw will remain the platform for accessing and completing tasks for that week. For that reason, your child (KG-G5) will be bringing his/her iPad and charging cable home with him/her on 18 December. In order to necessitate the return of charging cables and iPads, your child will complete a sign-out sheet indicating that he/she has one in his/her possession. It will be the family's responsibility to take care of the device and cable over the holiday break. For cables that are not returned in January, there will be a USD$20 fee to cover replacement costs. Thank you for your support.

​At our PALS assembly last Friday, our G2 actors and singers performed a theater piece and song to conclude their recent unit of inquiry, ‘How we express ourselves’. Over the past six weeks, the G2 students have been inquiring into how we learn and connect with others through shared stories. By putting together a performance of The Tortoise and the Hare, the students learned about the common elements of stories; how stories are created and shared; what stories can teach us; and how they can affect our lives. Well done, G2!

We encourage all of our returning families to stock up on books for the December / January break and we will also have an opportunity for you to collect more books mid-way through in January. Our guidelines are as follows:

- Returning students may have up to five books out at a time
- Returning parents may have up to ten books out at a time (per parent)

If you are leaving us at the end of the semester, we kindly ask that you return all library materials to us so that they may circulate to other patrons.

If you have lost an item, please have your child see a member of our library staff for a bill, which is to be paid in the business office. Note that we are obliged to add 30% of the cost of the item to cover international shipping, library bindings, and library processing.

During the break, you may also request books for collection. There will be one collection opportunity during the break. Please fill out your request by midnight on Tuesday 5 January, and collect your books from the guards by the main secondary entrance (where the secondary students walk in) from 10:00-18:00 on Wednesday 6 January. We hope that this will keep everyone reading during the break! The links for requests are on the library page of our school website, the virtual libraries, and also posted here:

Primary Library Book Requests
Secondary Library Book Requests Form

We always welcome photos of you and your family reading! Please send them to us and we will share them at school.

We wish you and your family a healthy, joyous holiday season and a wonderful start to the New Year!
Terry, Jill, & Lunyunge

Image by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash

Overall, our students have done a wonderful job remembering all of the pieces necessary for creating a healthy and safe school during our pandemic. However, we want to make sure that we continue to be very vigilant about the following:

• Students must have two masks with them each day. One that they wear upon arrival and a spare mask in their bag. Masks must cover the child’s mouth and nose and not be too loose.
• Students must have two labeled water bottles with them each day.
• Treats sent in for celebrations must be pre-packaged. We will not be able to distribute homemade treats at this time.
• Hats are required each day in order for the students to enjoy their outdoor play time in the sun. 
• Students must maintain a distance of 1.5 meters, both in the classrooms and during outdoor play.

Thank you so much for all of your support these past few months. We are so grateful for each day our campus is able to remain open so that we can all be together.

​The AISL Holiday Hamper program has been a part of AISL’s community for a number of years now, and it’s a small way that the students and teaching staff give back to our local support staff. Similar to years’ past, students in the secondary advisory groups and primary homerooms will be putting together a hamper full of food items that will be given to the local support staff just before the holiday break. This serves as a thank you and a token of appreciation for all their hard work throughout the year, and includes our NemChem employees, PreSecure Security staff, our driving team, and all the gardening and maintenance staff. They’re the people who protect our campus, keep students safe on the way home, and keep the campus looking amazing!

In the coming days/weeks, your children will likely come home with some plans and ideas for contributions. We’d love you to support them so we can make the experience as meaningful as possible, and to help encourage them to be more caring, principled young people. You can support this by giving your child a chance to initiate the shopping trip for the hamper items for which they’re responsible, or help them create a meaningful thank you card for the hamper recipient. It’s such a great way to give a little back to those who support the school, and is very much appreciated by all those who receive them. Look forward to more communications in the coming weeks!

​This past week, our G1 students continued their inquiry into sources of light, sound and heat as part of their unit of inquiry, ‘How the world works’. In this unit, students explore how different forms of energy affect the way we experience the world. Students had a wonderful time creating their solar ovens and experimenting how the heat created from them transformed the items they placed on them. Eggs anyone?

The current Personal Social and Emotional unit for Grades 3 to 5 focuses on the important skills of decision making, communication, and assertiveness. The students have reflected on their own personal responses to situations of conflict. Classes have then discussed different responses to problems. Students have enjoyed using role plays and scenarios to discover different responses to common everyday events.
Students are learning that:
* Being assertive is different from being aggressive, which interferes with the rights of others.
* Assertiveness is a skill that can be learned and improved.
* Being assertive may include repeating one’s position, offering a compromise, and/or walking away.
* Being assertive does not ensure that people will always get what they want.

​Following this unit there will be a focus on negotiation. Students will learn that:
* Effective negotiation (problem solving, decision making, compromise, win/win) requires certain skills including: careful observation of other people; use of open body language; good verbal communication; imagining oneself in other people’s positions; identifying all the options in a situation; and reaching a mutual agreement.
* Negotiation works best when a problem or conflict is addressed in its early stages.
Images used with permission from Unsplash.com.

Now more than ever, parents are concerned about the amount of time our children - and ourselves - spend online. During this informal session Tony Potts, our Primary Assistant Principal and whole school Tech Integration Specialist shared strategies for managing screentime. Click on the links below, and also navigate to the Screentime LibGuide (same password as the Parent Portal), to find more resources, links and useful information especially collated for our AISL parents.

​On Friday, 13 November, our G2 students hosted a Celebration of Learning for their families. This special time was conducted virtually and it was a time to celebrate the conclusion of the unit of inquiry, ‘Sharing the planet’. In this unit, students were inquiring into how our use of natural resources affects all living things. As part of their unit project, students selected an animal of their choice and wrote nonfiction pieces about it, integrating both the lines of inquiry and the literacy objectives into one project. Thank you to all of the families who were able to ‘attend’.