Dear G1-G5 Parents,

AISL Primary Talent show is coming soon! The date is set for Friday, September 21st at 11:00am in the PAC. This show is to be a celebration of our many talents. There will be no prizes; anyone who has the courage, persistence and commitment to prepare an act is a winner!

In order for the show to be a success and to have as many performers as possible, we limit the time for each act to no more than one minute and a half. We also allow each student to be in only one act. The performance must be prepared at home and be consistent (the same each time). Any lyrics of songs must be appropriate for our young audience. Lip-syncing is not allowed.

While there are tryouts, anyone who comes prepared and meets the above requirements will be invited to perform. Performance Plans with a parent’s signature must be submitted by Friday, 24 August. If you give permission for your child to participate, please ensure that your child fills out the Performance Plan, with your signature, and return it to his or her teacher before they can tryout. EACH performer must submit a plan, even if it is a group performance.

Submission Deadline for Performance Plan/Parent Permission: Friday, 24 August
Tryouts: Monday, 27 August – Friday, 7 September.
Practice and Polish: Monday, 10 September - Friday, 14 September (No new acts at this time)
Dress Rehearsal Week: Monday, 17 September – Friday, 21 September
TALENT SHOW: Friday, 21 September at 11:00 a.m. in the PAC

If you have any questions or comments, please email Ms. Natalie (ncoombs@aislusaka.org), Ms. Elisa (eingles@aislusaka.org), or Mr. Cormack (mcormack@aislusaka.org).

Beginning, Monday, 20 August until Friday, 31 August, we will be hosting Listening Conferences across the Primary School. Parents, we encourage you to please schedule a 15-minute slot with your child's homeroom teacher to share any information you feel would be important for us to know in supporting your child. It is your time to share and our time to listen! Your child's homeroom teacher will be reaching out directly with the process for securing a slot. 

Additionally, if you would like to set up a time to meet with our new Primary Counselor, Stephanie Sawchuk, to discuss any important information about your child please feel free to email her directly at ssawchuk@aislusaka.org. 

With after-school activities beginning on Monday, 20 August, we wanted to share some reminders regarding pick-up procedures at dismissal time.

Pick up from after-school activities (ASAs): All children attending an After School Activity (ASA) in G1-G5 will be accompanied to the Waiting Hut when their ASA finishes. Parents are asked to please meet and collect their child(ren) there at 15:40. If your child is signed up for the ASA bus service, we will make sure they are on the bus to go home at 15:40.
​
School dismissal (if not attending an after-school activity): Parents with children in KG-Grade 3 are asked to please collect their child(ren) from their classrooms. To respect the full lessons happening at the end of the day, parents are asked to please proceed to classrooms no earlier than the dismissal time and to refrain from peeking in the windows and/or conversing outside the classroom door before school officially finishes. Parents with children in ELC are asked to pick up at the classroom door every day at 12:00. For Grades 4-5, the students will be dismissed from their homeroom classroom and independently transition to their pick-up point. Parents, please communicate with your child and let him/her know where to meet you. This is a student privilege as we aim to support students in making good, informed choices independently.

All children will be dismissed from their homeroom classroom even if they have a specialist class at the end of the day. Those children not collected by 14:45 will be brought to the Primary Office. If you are running late, please inform the Primary Office (primaryoffice@aislusaka.org) and collect your child there. Any children playing on the playground after school hours are required to be supervised by parent/guardian. Please make sure you are at the playground if your child is playing there.

Thank you for your support and in helping to keep these dismissal procedures consistent. Should you have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Primary Office.

Greetings! My name is Kate Dobson and I am a Speech and Language pathologist joining AISL this year. In an effort to ensure that our students are supported in their language development, I will be conducting speech and language screenings for all students from grades ELC2 to Grade 2 over the next few weeks.

The purpose of the screenings is to identify students who may need targeted instruction or progress monitoring in the areas of speech and language. Because oral and written communication skills are critical to a student’s success in school, it is important to identify students who may need additional support in speech and/or language as early as possible. The screenings will take place in or just outside the classroom during the school day and will take approximately 5-10 minutes per student.

Parents will be notified if a need is identified through the screening process. Speech and language support is available to students during the school day and in collaboration with the classroom teacher at no additional cost to families.

Should you have any further questions/concerns, please feel free to contact me at kdobson@aislusaka.org.

It was wonderful meeting all of the new families on Tuesday morning who will be joining us in Primary as part of the New Family Orientation. We are looking forward to seeing all our students and families back for the first day of school on Wednesday, 8 August. Below is a slideshow presentation of some upcoming dates to note for families as well as introductions to our Primary faculty. We are looking forward to a great 2018-2019 school year!

As the school year comes to a close, we would like to take this moment to say a very big thank-you to a few familiar faces in our Primary community who have connected closely with our students and teachers and are moving on to new 'chapters'.

Thank you to Ms. Sandra Martin-Hofmann for her four years years as a substitute teacher at AISL as well as all of the volunteer hours she put forward to support numerous events over the years. We wish her and her family the very best as they return to Germany.

Thank you to Ms. Stephanie Devalia for her contribution to the school through many 'hats' over the past few years. She has been a regular substitute teacher in the Primary school as well as a lead coach for the Torpedoes and the co-director of the Leopard's Hill Football League. We wish Stephanie the very best as she takes on a full-time teaching position at LICS next year.

Thank you to Ms. Lauren Wassink for her contribution to Primary as a G3 teacher and a long-term substitute PE teacher. She has been instrumental in helping to organize our annual Triathlon, being a lead coach for the Torpedoes, and helping with our G4&5 Dances these past few years. We wish her all the best in the UK next year.

It was a defining moment on Monday as our Grade 5 students celebrated their end of Primary school at their Transition Ceremony. We had the opportunity to see how each student has grown over the years in the opening slideshow, hear some memories of when they first joined AISL, and listen to them play a traditional song for us. A special recognition goes to Devon McDonald as the recipient of the Learner Profile Award this year. Congratulations to all of our G5 students for their accomplishments over the years. We wish you a successful transition into Middle School!

It has been a busy week in Primary with the ELC-Grade 2 Sports Day on Friday, 8 June and the Grade 3-5 Sports Day on Tuesday, 12 June. Neither event would have been possible without the planning and coordination from Ms. Kate Luwisha and Coach Isaac Mbulo. A big thank-you to both of them for putting together two great days. It was wonderful to see so many families come out and support the events, cheering, photographing and, at times, participating. Our students showed strong sportsmanship, skill, and engagement in each of the events. Thank you to all of our teachers who supervised an activity and to our G4 students who helped our younger students. 

It was a great time last Friday as our Grade 4 and 5 students danced the evening away. It was wonderful to see them share their dance moves, catch up with friends, and have lots of laughs. Thank you to all of the parents who supported the event by providing food and drinks. A special thanks to Sandra Martin-Hofmann, Gigi Goodhart, and Lauren Wassink for the decorations and set-up!! Everyone's efforts helped make the event special for the students. 

On Friday, 8 June, we said good-bye to our 'leaving leopards' in Primary at our final PALS of the year. Though it is a sad time for students and teachers as they say good-bye to their close friends, in the international world, we always hope that it will be a "see you soon" in a new destination. To all of our AISL students, families, and teachers moving on to your new 'chapter', please remember us and know that you have all left your footprint here at AISL. We are glad to have known you!