The AISL Board of Directors will hold this year's Annual General Meeting on  Monday, 10 December at 18:00 in the Palm Pavilion. All members of the AISL parent association are welcome to attend. The items on the agenda are as follows:

• Welcome from the Chair of the Board of Directors
• Treasurer's Report: Financial overview of the 2017-18 school year
  
• Director's Report: Where we have been and where we are going?
• Comments or correspondence from the community

We hope to see you there.

What I am excited about this week…
 

• Umoya International Band Festival! We were so proud to host the second annual Umoya International Band Festival last week.  Two visiting bands from AISJ were here – one from their Johannesburg campus and one from their Pretoria campus. They spent two days working with our own music teachers as well as three guest musicians, which culminated in a wonderful band concert on Friday. Many thanks to everyone who rolled out the red carpet for our guests. As usual, AISL’s reputation for hospitality was front and center when I spoke with them.  Each one of them gushed about our warm welcome and the strong sense of teamwork that they saw during their entire time at AISL. In a thank you note to the school, one of the AISJ teachers wrote, "As I said to you yesterday, we loved every minute at AISL. You can be incredibly proud of the welcoming atmosphere and stimulating environment you have nurtured." Many thanks to Chel and his team and to all the host families who made this happen.
• Pamodzi Experience Concert! On Saturday, 1 December, we were honored to host what is hopefully the first of a series of Pamodzi Experience concerts. Featuring some of Zambia’s most talented musicians playing alongside some of our high school musicians, this was truly a night to remember. I highly recommend you drop everything and be sure to attend the next one. Many thanks to Janke, Chel, Zamba, and their team for bringing this brilliant musical experience to AISL
• The PTA Holiday Fair! Don’t miss this year’s PTA Holiday Fair on 7 December from 12:00-14:30 at the Pavilion. This will be a great opportunity for children and parents to shop from local vendors, participate in craft activities and, of course, meet Santa Claus.
• Holiday Hampers! Our annual Holiday Hamper drive is underway. This is a fun AISL tradition where students bring in a few small food items to help create a gift hamper for each member of the school’s support staff, including gardeners, bus drivers, security guards, maintenance workers, and cleaners. This serves as a recognition and thank you from the students and parents for all the hard work that these people do on a daily basis to keep the school running smoothly.  The creation of these hampers is guided by the teachers in the lower grades and becomes a student-led project in advisories for our older students. Please sign up for and send in a few small food items to support this fun project. I promise that if you could see all the joy and fun we have on the day the hampers are distributed, you would appreciate what a lovely tradition this has become. Please see your child’s teacher (Primary) or advisor (Secondary) if you need more information.

AISL Class of 2019 IB Diploma candidates celebrated the completion of their Extended Essay journeys this Wednesday with presentations of their research questions, methodologies, key findings, and tips for students about to start the process. Thank you to the teachers, supervisors, parents, and other community members who attended the presentations. Students have gained valuable research and self-management skills through the rigorous process of writing an extended essay. Some students said that the seeds for their extended essays were sown with Grade 5 PYP Exhibition projects- which for some students became Grade 10 MYP Personal Projects that were then explored more formally through the extended essay during the student's DP years.
 
IBDP Class of 2019 Extended Essay Research Questions:

Students in Grade 9 advisory display social skills.
They collaborate through working effectively with each other by:

• helping others to succeed
• listening actively to others’ perspectives and ideas
• encouraging others to contribute and give and receive meaningful feedback
• advocating for their own rights and needs
• exercise leadership and take on a variety of different roles when they review work together

Great life skills being practiced!
Photo credit: Olaia Ruiz

​The Board is looking for a part-time administrator to help manage the myriad tasks that are required to support the Board’s work. This position will require approximately 6-8 hours per week while school is in session. If you think you might be interested, you can learn more here.

​On Tuesday night, our theater came alive with song as over 100 vocalists from AISL Primary, Secondary, and Adult choirs presented an amazing concert exploring the power of words in song.  We also celebrated the opening of the MYP Visual Arts Exhibition in the gallery, which explored similar ideas through powerful units at each grade level.
​

Special thanks to everyone who came out to support all of these amazing performances.  We hope you were as inspired and proud as we were!

Friday, 30 November was Ms. Sue's final day in Grade 2. The students organized a very lovely, heartfelt goodbye ceremony, each reading an original letter they had written sharing how much she meant to each and every one of them. We wish Ms. Sue the very best as she welcomes her daughter, Peggy, into her home, embarking on the wonderful journey of parenthood once again! 

It's happening at 18:30 tonight! See you at the AISL Tiyende Pamodzi Theater for an exciting showcase of Concert and Jazz Bands!

Thank you to all of the Kindergarten parents who were able to join us for a chilly, but very fun, Open Swim Day on Friday, 30 November. Our Kindergarten students had a wonderful time showing off their swimming strokes and splashes, enjoying themselves in the water with their teachers, parents and coaches. Thank you to Ms. Kate Luwisha, Coach Allen, Coach Antonio and Coach Isaac for all of their hard work this semester working with our students during their swimming unit.

What I am excited about this week…
 

• The Arts! This has been a wonderful month for the arts at AISL. Here is a review of SOME of what has been going on:
  • From 15-17 November, we had the wonderful Secondary School production of Fame, Jr. Congratulations to the Director, Ms. Tolino, the Music Director, Ms. Hausman, the Choreographer, Ms. Coombs, and the more than forty student actors, technicians, and backstage crew who came together to make this happen!
  • On 27 November, we were treated to a brilliant night of music at our “Say it with Song” All Choirs Concert. Kudos to the singers in the MS and HS Honor Choirs, MS Combined Choir, 6th Grade Choir, 7th & 8th Grade Choir, Community (adult) Choir, and That Sing Thing primary choir, all led by the talented Ms. Hausman. Better still, the singers used the event to connect with others beyond the school. These connections happened globally by becoming an official World Choral Day event and locally by supporting literacy through donations of money and/or books. It served as a great example of the power of song to unite and inspire. Many thanks to all who were involved.
  • Concertgoers were also treated to the MYP Art Exhibition that is currently hanging in the gallery at the Tiyende Pamodzi Theater. The gallery is open during the day so please feel free to stop in and take a look and celebrate our young scholar-artists.
  • We are also proud to be hosting the Umoya International Band Festival this week. Two visiting bands from AISJ are here – one from their Johannesburg campus and one from their Pretoria campus. They will spend two days working with our own music teachers as well as three guest musicians. This will all culminate in a combined band concert on Friday, 30 November at 18:30 in the Theater.
  • On Saturday, 1 December, we are proud to be hosting the Tiyende Experience concert featuring some of Zambia’s most talented musicians. See the poster later in this newsletter for ticket information.
• The PTA! The PTA is as busy as ever with several events on the horizon.
  • On 1 December, the PTA will host a Community Boot Sale from 07:30-11:00 in the Primary Car Park.
  • They will also be hosting a Holiday Fair on 7 December from 12:00-14:30 at the Pavilion. This will be a great opportunity for children and parents to shop from local vendors, participate in craft activities and, of course, meet Santa Claus.
  • Finally, don’t forget that the PTA has created “PTA Liaisons” at each grade level to help keep you abreast of school events. If you want to be on their WhatsApp broadcast lists, please contact the PTA at PTA@aislusaka.org.
• Holiday Hampers! Our annual Holiday Hamper drive is underway. This is a fun AISL tradition where students bring in a few small food items to help create a gift hamper for each member of the school’s support staff, including gardeners, bus drivers, security guards, maintenance workers, and cleaners. This serves as a recognition and thank you from the students and parents for all the hard work that these people do on a daily basis to keep the school running smoothly.  The creation of these hampers is guided by the teachers in the lower grades and becomes a student-led project in advisories for our older students. Please send in a few small food items to support this fun project. I promise that if you could see all the joy and fun we have on the day the hampers are distributed, you would appreciate what a lovely tradition this has become. Please see your child’s teacher (Primary) or advisor (Secondary) if you need more information.

“The state of men’s health is in crisis. Men experience worse longer-term health than women and die on average six years earlier. Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. Three-quarters of suicides are men. Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year. That’s one every minute.” - Movember Foundation.

You may have noticed some teachers sporting more facial hair this month. No, you did not step into a time machine taking you back to the 1970's. You have probably run into a member of the Lusaka League of Extraordinary Moustaches, a group of AISL teachers, students and community members who have joined a global movement known as Movember.

Starting on November 1st, this group that includes Russ Menard, Tony Potts, Ty Smeins, Kevin Frederick, Marin Dobson, Mark Cormack, Wayne Thompson, Frank Louw, Nathan Chilton, Martin Mikus, Adam Kim, and Rob Martin started growing a moustache to raise awareness and funding for such men’s health concerns as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, mental health, and suicide prevention. From humble beginnings in Australia in 2003, the Movember movement has grown to be a truly global one, inspiring support from over 5 million “Mo Bros” and their “Mo Sistas” around the world. According to the Movember Foundation website, they have funded more than 1,200 men’s health projects around the world since its inception. By 2030 they aim to reduce the number of men dying prematurely by 25%.

How can you support our team? Watch this short introductory video and read more about the great work of the Movember Foundation on their website. You can also donate to our team via our Movember team page. We have nearly doubled the amount raised last year! However, we are striving to raise even more money in our final week. Please consider a donation to this worthy cause and support the Lusaka League of Extraordinary Moustaches. See the green ‘Donate to team’ tab on our team page. Finally, consider joining us next year as we strive to build more awareness on these important health issues facing men - and grow cool facial hair!

​Rob Martin, EAL Teacher

Well done to all of our G1 and G2 swimmers on Wednesday afternoon as they showcased their swimming strokes in their annual Splash Gala! Students showed their skills in the kick board, noodle, breaststroke, backstroke and 'free choice' heats. A very big thank-you to Kate Luwisha, Isaac Mbulo, Allen Nicols and Antonio Betti for all of their hard work this swimming season working with all of our students. Thank you to all of the families who came out to support this special event.