​The  DP Visual Arts students in Ms. Nevers' class have finished their course, which culminated with an Exhibition that they showcased in the AISL Tiyende Pamodzi Theatre Gallery for a small group of parents last Thursday. It has certainly been challenging for the students as they missed studio time in the art room due to campus closures during the pandemic. They have overcome these obstacles and created spectacular artwork. Please take some time to view their wonderful artworks, shared here below, and to read their explanations of their art.

Dear parents,
April is here, the cruellest month according to T.S. Eliot. I’ve always loved April. Back home it’s the month of bluebonnets and the true beginning of springtime. Here in Zambia, of course, this is much different, but no less welcome. April here provides a reprieve from the rains and heat of the past few months; and while swimming becomes a little more unpleasant, hiking and biking become much more appealing. 
A few things to look forward to this month in the Secondary school: we have our parent-teacher-student conferences coming up on the 7th and 8th. Look below for appointment links, also an email was sent out on Thursday with full information on how to set up an appointment. 
This month also finds the Grade 12s starting their study leave, and the preparations for the DP exams rolling into full swing. Also, for some of our students, we will be having MAP testing, which will provide us very useful data to monitor student progress and to make curriculum and instruction decisions for the future. 
Please enjoy the long weekend, and this lovely weather!

During the afternoons of Wednesday, 7 April and Thursday, 8 April, we will be hosting Parent-Teacher Conferences for each student from Grades 6 to 12. Although we have had many important, informal conversations over the course of the year, this is the opportunity during the second semester for all of us to celebrate each student’s success and make goals for future progress.
In this half-day format, all students will attend regular classes in the morning on the 7th and 8th. School dismissal will be at 12:30 and there are no after-school activities on these two dates.
To ensure social distancing, conferences with homeroom teachers, specialist teachers and student support teachers will take place as Google Meet appointments and last for 15 minutes between 13:30-17:00 on both dates. We ask that you collect your child from school promptly at 12:30. Please note that there is NO SUPERVISION after school on either date.
Kind regards,
Dr. Rick Odum
How to Book a Conference
Please click on the relevant links below to select a time slot for your conference. You will need to arrange a separate appointment for each teacher you would like to meet with. Please help the teacher keep to the timeframe by ensuring that your appointment is for the first 10 minutes of the appointment slot, allowing teachers to have up to a 5 minute ‘transition time’ between Google Meets.
In order to book Google Meet appointment slots, you will need a Google account. Once you have selected your slot, you are welcome to share the link with another family member should they wish to join as well. If you do not have a Google account, your child can use their school Gmail account to book the appointment and, after doing so, they can invite you to the ‘Meet’ too.
If you have more than one child at the school and/or you wish to see multiple teachers, it will be your responsibility to coordinate the times accordingly so that conferences do not overlap. Please double check that your computer is set to the correct time zone.
As always, if you have any questions or need any further support, please do not hesitate to contact Mache at madonis@aislusaka.org

Last Thursday and Friday, the Secondary faculty met at the Palm Pavilion for some quality development of our professional skills through an in-depth examination of the selected curricular standards for each academic department. 
On Thursday, teachers were given time to look at what content, skills, and concepts are essential for students to master in each course/grade level, in order to access the material in subsequent classes/grade levels. Each department worked on curriculum alignment in their respective academic areas, and worked on establishing common expectations for students. 
On Friday, the whole faculty met in the pavilion to discuss ATL expectations for students at each grade level. Centered on “Self-Management” skills (Organization, Focus and Perseverance), the faculty had structured discussions and shared out what development in these areas looks like at each grade level, and came to some understandings as to what are some appropriate expectations for students considering their level of ATL development at each grade level.

It’s MAP testing season again!
MAP, or Measures of Academic Progress, tests are online adaptive tests that give parents, students, teachers, and school leaders information about students’ progress and growth.  
All on-campus Grade 2-10 students take MAP tests in Mathematics, Reading, and Language Usage.  The tests are scheduled during class time and are proctored by teachers.  Students who need extra time to complete their tests will have make-up sessions in which they can do so.
Here is a general overview of the Secondary school MAP testing schedule:
Tuesday 6 April

• Math for Grades 6-10
  

Wednesday 7 April

• Reading for Grades 6, 7A, 8, 9, 10
  

Thursday 8 April

• Reading for Grade 7B
  
• Language Usage for Grades 6, 7A, 8, 9X (Ms. Reinman’s L&L class), 10A
  

Friday 9 April

• Make-up tests for Grades 6, 8
  
• Language Usage for 7B, 9Y (Mr. Reinman’s L&L class), 10B
  

Monday 12-Friday 16 April
Make-up sessions for Grades 6-10 as needed.
Each student received their grade level’s MAP testing schedule, complete with times and the block schedule, in an email from Dr. Seiler, the Secondary School Assistant Principal on Monday 29 March.  Our school’s MAP testing window closes Friday 30 April; MAP test results will be uploaded to your child’s portfolio on ManageBac in May.
If you have any questions about MAP tests, you can ask your child’s teachers or visit the NWEA website.

We have a Frequently Asked Questions page to provide guidance for students and families around the May 2021 examination session.  It is updated as the IB provides us with more information.  You can submit questions through this form.
Reminder: If students want to request a review of their Predicted Grades in a particular subject, they should email Ms. Murphy on 1 April.

DP deadlines - and DASH sessions - begin for Grade 11’s
Our first DASH (Diploma After School Help) sessions got off to a good start for the Grade 11 class this week.  DASH is an opportunity for students to get some extra time to finish up their DP coursework, even if they don’t have a “valid” reason for not meeting their deadline on the DP Assessment Calendar.
This week, the focus was DP Music and the Extended Essay (EE), since the first official DP drafts were submitted in Music - well done, musicians!  For the EE, our coordinator Ms. Maguire checked in on student progress and recommended some students to attend DASH to get caught up on some missing pieces. 
DASH is usually held in Mr. Dobson’s room on Monday, and in the Palm Pavilion from Tuesday to Thursday.  As a reminder, students who want to take advantage of DASH must email the DP Coordinator, Ms. Murphy, and their subject teacher, and submit their current work to the ManageBac dropbox, even if it’s incomplete.
Our graduating Class of May 2021 have been very appreciative of having the DASH option for all their DP assessment components, and we hope our Grade 11’s will also benefit from this balance between accountability and flexibility!

The  DP Visual Arts students have finished their course which ends with an Exhibition that they have set up in the PAC Gallery. It has certainly been challenging for the students as they missed studio time in the art room due to campus closures. They have overcome these obstacles. Their wonderful artworks and explanations of their art will be shared as soon as possible.
Ms Nevers MYP and DP art teacher

We hope that all of you had a relaxing long weekend last week. Now that we are back in full swing for Quarter 4, here are some things that will be happening in April:

• PYP Exhibition: On Tuesday, 20 April, our Grade 5 students will be sharing their PYPX projects with the wider AISL community. On that date, we will be launching the link to the projects so that everyone can view and provide comments on their work. These projects are a culmination of nine weeks of research, data collection, revision, and presentation planning. We look forward to seeing their final projects soon.
• MAP Growth assessments: Beginning 20 April, our upper primary students will take their ‘Spring’ MAP assessments. G3 and G4 will complete them the week of 20 April and G5 will complete them the week after PYPX is finished. These assessments provide teachers with valuable data that they can use to differentiate instruction for your child. We ask that students get a good night’s sleep, eat a healthy breakfast and snack, and arrive at school on time in order to set them up well for the assessments. 
• WorldFest: Though this event will be on a much smaller scale than in past years, we plan on celebrating WorldFest at the end of the month. When the planning committee has finalized the plan, more information will be communicated in the newsletter. Stay tuned for more details.

What I am excited about this week:
 
Parent-Teacher Conferences on 7-8 April – Dismissal at 12:30! The next round of parent-teacher conferences will take place on 7-8 April from 13:30-17:00. This is a great opportunity for you to gauge your child’s progress as we enter the last quarter of the academic year. Students will be dismissed at 12:30 and there will be no After School Activities. Please see the Primary School and Secondary School sections of this newsletter and/or the direct emails that have been sent for information about how to sign up for conferences.  If you cannot attend these conferences for some reason, please remember that you are always welcome to reach out to your child’s teachers directly any time you have a concern or question.
 
Professional Development Days! Last week’s Professional Development days were a great success. I am thrilled to announce that these days allowed us to complete our self-study for our upcoming accreditation visit by the Council of International Schools (CIS), Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools (MSA), and the International Baccalaureate (IB). Our continued accreditations by these three global education organizations are further proof that AISL is a world-class international school. Many thanks to all of the faculty, staff, parents, board members, and students who contributed to this comprehensive self-study process. Special thanks to our Accreditation Coordinator, Ms. Christine Kelly.
 
WorldFest! We are looking forward to 29 April when we will hold WorldFest!, our annual celebration of the diversity that makes AISL so special. This year’s theme is “Better Together.” Many thanks to the team of volunteers who are brainstorming ways to make sure that this is a great event for everyone, despite the challenges of COVID-19 restrictions. Watch this space for more information.

All of our MYP Grade 7 students have begun their Passion Projects. During three recent advisory sessions, students have reflected on their interests, wonderings, and concerns and have turned these into possible project ideas.  They have been developing Passion Project Plans and learning about different ways to gather information through the MISO Brainstorming Document. During our next sessions together they will be finalizing their plans and researching their topics. Please ask your son or daughter about his or her project idea! This is a wonderful opportunity for students to develop ATL skills such as research, self-management, communication, and critical thinking by delving into an area of personal interest.

Students have a huge range of goals that reflect their diverse interests as learners: learning Japanese, developing a teen-friendly cookbook, creating dry-land training for water-skiing, following a training program to run a 5k, and learning to code- just to name a few!

The resources we are using for this unit may be found on the Passion Project Libguide (password is the same as the one for the parent portal).

Image credit by Marija Zaric on Unsplash

All students in Grades 6 and 11 had Digital Citizenship classes this week. The Grade 6 students, in a class facilitated by Mr. Tony Potts and Ms. Terry Maguire, learned how to use the SIFT acronym to analyze news claims. SIFT stands for Stop, Investigate, Find, and Trace (see SIFT acronym infographic below). Using a case study of COVID vaccine efficacy and safety, students looked at two different websites and used the SIFT acronym to evaluate each source. Increasingly, it is not enough to evaluate a source on its own; triangulating information by looking for support for evidence in at least two other mainstream news outlets is more useful.

​In this Wednesday's Grade 11 Advisory led by Grade 11 advisor Ms. Terry Maguire, students read this recent New York Times piece about the resignation of Alexi McCammond from Teen Vogue as a result of racist tweets she posted ten years earlier, when she was seventeen years old. Students shared a wide range of their perspectives on whether or not they felt that her resignation was warranted, and then discussed take-away lessons from this cautionary incident. We then talked about the importance of proactively cultivating a positive digital footprint as a part of beneficial, engaged digital citizenship. We also connected our discussion of this current event to our school focus of anti-racism. This article promotes great discussion and might be one you'd enjoy reading to continue the conversation at home.

Digital citizenship has shifted away in recent years from being a list of "don'ts" and things to avoid, and instead emphasizes the pro-social ways that we can harness the power of technology to amplify our voices, to join important causes, to create safe spaces for ourselves and others online, and to be informed and engaged. If you are interested learning about this newer focus, you might be enjoy watching this three-minute video titled "Make Digital Citizenship About the Do's, and Not the Don'ts" by Richard Culatta, CEO of ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education).

We look forward to continued Digital Citizenship classes with Grade 8 next week. 
Image credits: SIFT Acronym infographic created by Suzanne Sannwald based on research by Mike Caulfield (CC License); ISTE Infographic of the New Digital Citizenship Competencies

The afternoons of Wednesday, 7 April and Thursday, 8 April, will be dedicated to Parent-Teacher Conferences. Although we have had many important, informal conversations over the course of the academic year, this is the opportunity during the second semester for all of us to celebrate each student’s success and discuss next steps for continued progress.

In this half-day format, all students will attend regular classes in the morning on the 7th and 8th. School dismissal is at 12:30 on both days and there will not be any after-school activities on these days. 

Conferences will be scheduled for 15-minutes slots and will be held virtually. Conference bookings will begin at 13:30 and conclude by 17:00 on both afternoons. In addition to a conference with your child’s homeroom teacher, all specialist teachers and student support teachers will be available on both afternoons for additional conferences. 

An email has been sent explaining how to book a conference for each teacher you wish to ‘see’. In the meantime, please mark the dates in your calendar.

If you drop off your children in the morning or pick them up afternoon, please remember that you are welcome to park in the parking lot beside the track and tennis courts. These spaces are easy to access and you may find that using them makes your visit much smoother.

What I am excited about this week!
 
National Honor Society Induction!  Congratulations to the 21 newest members of the National Honor Society (NHS).  They were inducted in a beautiful, in-person ceremony in the Tiyende Pamodzi Theater on Wednesday.  You can read more about the ceremony and see some pictures later in this newsletter. Membership in NHS is reserved for students who have demonstrated the highest levels of scholarship, leadership, character, and service. To earn membership is a significant achievement. We should all be very proud of our new inductees. Thank you to Mr. Potter and Dr. Stewart for serving as faculty advisors to the Lusaka Leopards chapter of the NHS.
 
Enrolment for Next Year! As we wrap up our annual enrolment projection exercise, we are preparing for slight growth next year. We anticipate that this growth will continue as the COVID-19 situation evolves. The more, the merrier so please consider referring the school to your friends and ask them to get in touch with our Admissions Team (admissions@aislusaka.org). Also, don’t forget to check to see if you might be eligible for our Refer-A-Friend Discount Program.