From the Director

​Welcome Back (and please complete this survey)!
 
Greetings and welcome back to the second semester of the 2020-21 school year. I hope that your 2021 is off to a great start. Although we have seen some of the usual technical hiccups, I am pleased to report that our launch of distance learning on Tuesday has been smooth.
 
The serious COVID-19 spike in Lusaka has forced us to reconsider some of our earlier plans. As you know, the government has instructed all schools to close their campuses until at least 1 February. As a result, we are planning to offer both Learning Path 2 (synchronous distance learning) and Learning Path 3 (asynchronous distance learning) until we reopen the campus. We may also have to roll back some of our plans to expand access to our facilities until the situation improves. We will certainly keep you informed of any changes.
 
This new spike appears to have had a greater impact on the AISL community than we have previously seen. We have had several reports of infections among our students, staff, and parents that occurred over the school holiday. Thankfully, as far as I am aware, most of these cases have not led to serious illness.
 
As always, we are committed to offering a safe learning environment and continue to be guided in our decision-making by the Ministry of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the World Health Organization (WHO). Because of the scale of this current spike and the fact that the new strains of the virus have been reported to be significantly more transmissible, I have had many parents report a higher level of anxiety about sending their children back to school than they felt before the holidays. The school’s COVID-19 Task Force has created a survey to help us better understand the community’s overall comfort level with reopening the campus.  Please take a few moments to complete this survey, the results of which will serve as a data point for our decision-making as we move forward.
 
Please review the school’s health and safety measures that are posted on our COVID-19 webpage. There you can explore our Reunite 2020: Campus Reopening Plan or some of the previous parent presentations we held. We will also hold another parent session via Zoom at 18:00 on Thursday, 28 January. This presentation will provide an overview of our on-campus health and safety protocols and will include time for questions. To join the session, please click here (Meeting ID: 870 4466 8253, Passcode: 363206)
 
As always, I am grateful for the strength and resilience of this community and the support we have received as we try to navigate these unprecedented times. You are always welcome to contact me ([email protected]) or the principals, Rick Odum  ([email protected]) or Darlene Huson ([email protected]), if you have any questions, comments, or concerns.
 
Thank you.
 
Dr. Russ Menard
Director