From the Director

What I am excited about…

Thank You to Rosanna van Schalkwyk! Please join me in thanking Rosanna van Schalkwyk for her 23 years of service to the school! Rosanna has been a warm and friendly face in our business office and her hard work has helped keep the school on firm financial footing.  We will miss Rosanna and wish her all the best in her retirement.
Last Day of School is 18  December – Noon Dismissal! School will close at noon on 18 December after our annual End-of-Semester Celebration Assembly, which will be held virtually this year. Parents are welcome to join the virtual assembly, which will begin at 11:30 (click here to join). The main office will be closed between Christmas and New Year’s. Since many administrative staff members take their annual leave during the school holiday, please understand that staffing across the school will be very limited. I hope that this Festive Break provides an opportunity to find some rest, relaxation, and rejuvenation with loved ones and friends. We all need it. 
Phased Return to School in January! Classes resume on 19 January. We will offer distance learning ONLY (Learning Paths 2 and 3) from 19-22 January. There will be no on-campus classes nor activities for students for these four days. Then from 25-29 January, we will reopen all Learning Paths (1, 2, & 3). Students who are still quarantining will be able to continue with distance learning during this second week after the holiday. After 29 January, only Learning Paths 1 & 3 will be available. Note: Learning Path 3 is only open to qualified students and only with prior approval. If you have any questions about your child’s Learning Path, please contact the principals. If you have questions about your child’s eligibility to return to campus, please contact nurse Jennifer (janunsacion@aislusaka.org).
 
Plans to Expand Access to Campus! We will be reviewing our campus access rules as we begin the new semester. Assuming the COVID-19 situation permits, we look forward to expanding community access to use facilities such as the track, fields, tennis courts, etc. We will evaluate the situation in the first week of school and then communicate accordingly. Thank you for your patience over the last few months as we have sought to minimize health risks on campus.  We will also be reviewing applications for groups who wish to use our facilities for organized activities on evenings and weekends (e.g. frisbee, pilates, etc.). If you are the organizer for one of these groups, please contact Martina for an application (mvanvlaanderen@aislusaka.org). On a related note, see the article later in this newsletter for information about when and how you can have your photo taken for your parent ID card.
 
 
Academic Calendar for 2021-22! The Board of Directors has approved our 2021-22 academic calendar. It is attached to this newsletter so that you can begin planning for next year. As usual our calendar reflects the following priorities:

• 180 student days - starting after Farmer’s Day in August and ending as early in June as possible. The reason for the early June finish is to have as few school days as possible AFTER the Grade 12 students have started their IB exams in early May so that they can benefit from as many academic days as possible beforehand.
• Respect for Zambian national holidays as well as the American Thanksgiving holiday
• Four-week holiday in December and January
• One-week holidays in October and March/April

 
You will note that we plan to start school just prior to the Zambian election, which is currently scheduled for 12 August. If the election creates disruptions to normal business, we will be prepared to shift to distance learning temporarily.