The Grade 9 students have finished their mural in the Primary Library featuring popular fairy tales.  Under the guidance of Ms. Nevers in Secondary Art, the students worked in teams to create a scene that communicated the essence of the story.  Please drop by and take a look at their vibrant paintings. 

Feel welcome to check out a book (or two or three) while you're visiting, too!

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It's an amazingly MUSICAL month here at AISL!

From the primary "That Sing Thing" ASA, to the adult Community Choir, from the FAME, Jr. production to the HS Jazz Band, and from Coffeehouses to bands & choirs involving every single middle school student, the AISL community is buzzing with rehearsals at home, in class, and on stage.  Keep an eye out for some hard work and talent near you!

• FAME, Jr!  Secondary Production: 15-17 November
• MS Coffeehouse: 21 November
• "Say it with Song" All Choirs Concert: 27 November
• "Umoya" MS Band Festival 28-30 November
• Festival Finale & Band Concert 30 November

... and December is looking great too...
Catch some fantastic Zambian talent at the "Pamodzi Experience" concert 1 December, and watch for the student-led Secondary Talent Show and PTA-led holiday extravaganza, leading us into the Festive Break!

Please join us next Tuesday, 20 November from 07:30-08:30 in the Protea Room for an informal discussion about digital citizenship, social media, and internet use. We will use this time to explore parent questions around these topics and will share how we educate our students in proactive, balanced, ethical use of these platforms.

Please take no more than a minute to provide us with a bit of feedback about topics you'd like more information on by filling out this short survey. It will help guide our planning for this session.

The 'Who we are' unit has inspired Grade 3 students to make a difference in their local community. The students were so enthusiastic that they brainstormed ways that they could make a difference by providing financial support to an organisation such as World Wildlife Fund and Game Rangers International.

To raise money, the Grade 3 students held a market on Friday, 9 November. Students baked goods, made games, and sold crafts, with all money collected going to their selected organisation. To spread the message students created signs, visited classrooms, and sent messages to teachers. We look forward to hearing how well the students did in raising awareness and supporting their chosen charity.

Fourteen of our Primary faculty including teachers, teaching assistants, and primary leadership team members had the pleasure of reviewing the essential components of inquiry with Emma Butler, the workshop leader who is currently the Head of Primary at the Sotogrande International School in Spain, from 5-6 November. Held in the new Palm Pavillon, Emma began with a review of the core elements of inquiry, how inquiry looks in all areas of the curriculum, and how we can promote deeper inquiry practices in the AISL primary school. The workshop team looks forward to sharing their knowledge with their grade levels and implementing new practices. 

There was an audible buzz in the air as Grade 5 students presented their current learning with parents and teachers on Friday 2 November. Students shared their iMovie, biome collage and report, Wildtracks reflection, and forest reserve maps connected to the 'Sharing the planet' unit of inquiry. They updated their parents on their thinking connected to the Sustainable Development Goals as way of building knowledge leading towards the PYPX (exhibition) later in the year. Additionally, some students chose to share their Book Creator project, graphs, personal narratives, and book recommendations. 

Grade One students have been exploring expression and feelings throughout the "How we express ourselves" Unit of Inquiry. In Performing Arts we began preparing for the showcase by creating stories and characters in our drawings. We combined our characters within our original script inspired by the story of the "Colour Monster" by Silvia Goni and Sarai Ruano. 

"The colour monster is all mixed up. He is red, green, yellow, blue and black, all at the same time. It's making him very confused and he doesn't know why. Luckily, he has some friends who help him to see that the colours are his feelings, and he can sort them out by identifying each one separately and understanding how it makes him feel".

We also collaborated with Modern Languages and incorporated phrases about our feelings in French and Spanish. During the performance we hope to share our knowledge about our feelings and when we express them. 
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Student-initiated action is a vital component of the Primary Years Programme. Action is integral to the learning process that can arise at any time during the units of inquiry or stand alone units in both homeroom and specialist classes. This action can be evidenced at school or at home. During our primary assemblies we have been highlighting the action students across the world have taken to address issues such as plastic waste, caring for those who are ill in hospital, and having a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Additionally, AISL's 'Green Team' has been promoting green practices such as bringing your own containers to the Friday market and ensuring that we use water wisely when washing our hands. Please encourage your child to find ways to make their learning 'real' by taking action at home and in their community.
Below is a video that was shared with students during one of our September assemblies.

On Wednesday, 28 November, from 13:15-14:30, our Grade 1 and 2 students will have a chance to highlight their swimming strokes in the annual Splash Gala. Please make sure to pack your child's swimsuit, goggles, swim cap, towel and sunscreen on that day. 

This event is an opportunity for students to participate and enjoy fun-filled novelty swim races. The emphasis is to showcase and celebrate what they are learning and have learnt so far.  We hope many of our G1 and G2 families are able to come and support the event at the Primary pool.

For any questions or clarification, please email Ms. Kate Luwisha at kluwisha@aislusaka.org.
Image from www.pixabay.com

On Friday, 12 October, AISL celebrated Zambia Day. In the Primary school, students had multiple opportunities to immerse themselves in various Zambian cultural activities, organized and facilitated by our Primary Teaching Assistants. Across the morning, students engaged in different combinations of the following activities: Zambian dance, clay art, cultural foods, traditional stories, beading, making chindunu and leaf propellers, learning about the flag of Zambia, and creating fipombwa. The day finished with an amazing assembly for the whole school. A special thank you to Ms. Karen Beaty and Ms. Naomi Nalumbamba for being part of the Zambia Day planning committee and making all of this possible for our students. Below are some highlights from the day.

Thank you to all of the families who came to support the G2 Performing Arts assembly and mini art exhibition on Friday, 5 October. It was a wonderful showcase of acting our an original script written by our second graders, singing, and creative movement. Thank you to all of the teachers who participated in the 'brain breaks', created by the students, as part of their assembly in recognition of International Teachers' Day. Thank you to Ms. Natalie Coombs and Mwamba Mulangala for making the event possible. Below are some moments from the day.

Earlier this week, an email was sent to all Primary parents informing you of the details regarding the Parent-Teacher Conferences on 10-11 October. Please follow instructions on that email to sign up for conferences with your child's teacher(s). If you have any questions or need additional support, please contact Janke in the primary office.

During the Parent-Teacher Conferences, please also take the opportunity to visit the Library Open House too. This is a great way for you to check out the new book arrivals and also see what happens in the library. Jill Daley, our Primary Librarian, will also be available to chat with parents about programming too!

Please note the following:

• school dismissal will be at 12:00
• there are no after-school activities on these two dates
• please note that there is NO SUPERVISION between 12:00-13:00 on either date
• should you need to bring your children with you, supervision by our Primary faculty will be in place from 13:00 to 17:00 on the ELC Playground (for ELC and Kindergarten students ONLY) and the Primary Playground (for students in G1-G5) for the duration of the conferences.

We look forward to seeing you all!

​Did you notice that Grade 2 have their PA Showcase this Friday?  They are so excited to share their original movement-based "brain breaks" with our community!  But that's not all...

Grades 2 - 5 have been exploring the Performing Arts through DANCE in this first unit of the year!  Each grade level has been connecting to their inquiry or stand-alone unit through a variety of activities engaging age-specific Dance standards. The Elements of Dance are a vehicle we use to help us create, perform, respond, and connect to movement in new ways each year.  But what ARE the Elements of Dance, you say?  Just have a look at this list, and the photos of our work in process below, and you'll see how much learning is going on!

We MOVE our bodies, and we're also ON THE MOVE... to London!

DP Theatre 1 & 2 will be attending an ISTA TaPs workshop in London this week. ISTA stands for International School Theatre Association and they produce workshops all over the world for IB theatre students. TaPs workshops specifically focus on the DP Theatre curriculum. We are very excited about this trip, and look forward to sharing our experience with AISL when we return!

As part of the 'How we organise ourselves' unit in Kindergarten, students reviewed the IB Learner Profile and how they connected to their lives. Together they created a video highlighting their understanding. This wonderful video of learning was then shared at the recent IB 50th Birthday Assembly. Please see the videos that the students made below.