Weekly Update from the Secondary School

Ten and a half weeks since we welcomed back students to the AISL campus and we continue to have a safe and engaging learning environment for all students. As you know, we will be discontinuing our Path 2 online learning option, with the final day of Path 2 learning being Friday 6 November. 
I have been speaking with teachers, students and parents over the past few months about AISL’s distance learning program, and one of the things I hear the most is 1). That the landing pages are a huge help, and 2). there needs to be more consistency in the look and feel of the landing pages throughout the Secondary School. This week the Secondary leadership team and myself, worked to construct a template that teachers will be using for their landing pages, beginning Monday 9 November. 
Please remember that these landing pages are for students who are on Path 3 because: they are still living abroad; they are living in Lusaka and wish to remain involved in AISL’s distance learning program; they need to quarantine for any reason; they have a long term illness; they need to be away from school for a family emergency; or other reasons on a case-by-case basis. 
Path 3 is not for students who need to miss a day of school because they feel ill. If a student needs to miss a day of school due to illness, they should be focusing on their health, and getting better so they can get back to school. If a student has a long-term illness that will necessitate an extended absence from school, then Path 3 is appropriate. 
Path 3 is also not for students who will be away from school for vacations, or for other reasons that would be unexcused absences in non-COVID times. The creation of landing pages and the check-ins that accompany Path 3 status represent additional work for teachers, and so Path 3 is an option reserved for legitimate reasons for student absences. 

Professional Development
This week our Student Services Department offered some fantastic professional development opportunities for our teachers designed to increase teacher knowledge of ADHD, Anxiety, and supporting students with specific learning needs. Topics covered included: “Understanding ADHD”, “The Anxious Child”, “Visible Thinking”, and “Note-Taking for Secondary”.

School Picture Time

Save the Date

​We host three to six Parent Information Sessions each month to support our parents in understanding what their children are learning and how to support them at home.  If you have ideas about Parent Information Sessions that you or others would like to attend, please let our Assistant Principal, Dr. Sheila Seiler, know by writing to her at [email protected].

Upcoming Parent Information Sessions:
Tuesday 10 November 18:00-19:00 - Understanding ADHD:  Why are some students distracted or disruptive, and what can we do to support them?
Join the Director of Student Services in a professional conversation as she presents neuroscience research on inattention and ADHD, and interprets the research through the lens of an educator.  This session is for parents, educators and other professionals who seek to understand how some children can have laser focus in some tasks and seem very inattentive in others.  Are there cortical differences in an ADHD brain?  Most of all, what can we do to support them?
​You can join the session by clicking on this link.

Communication

​We know that this can be a time filled with uncertainties, so please understand that our highest priority is the health and well-being of your children.  If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

Kind regards,
Dr. Rick Odum, Secondary Principal
Dr. Sheila Seiler, Secondary Assistant Principal