31st

October2013

The ISL Headlines

“Striving for

Excellence”

From the Head of School : Mr. Martin Gough

I hope that students all had a refreshing half-term break. Given the

temperature where I was camping on the Lower Zambezi, I am not

sure refreshing is the right word to describe my holiday! However, I

had a very enjoyable few days exploring an area of Zambia that was

new to me.

You will remember, I hope, that about a month ago we sent out an

online survey to families. Following a number of reminders we got a

very good response with questionnaires completed by 40% of those surveyed. The results

are being analysed and will go towards informing the development of the strategic plan for

ISL 2013-18.We have had two major events in school in recent weeks:

Carnival took place on Saturday 6th October. This annual event requires a massive

amount of hard work and organization by the ISL PTA. This year’s event ran very smoothly

and was enjoyed by the many students, parents and teachers who attended. My sincere

thanks go to the PTA, school staff and all the volunteers who helped make Carnival such a

success .(Please see the photos and Mr. Bowen’s article for more detail).

The second major annual event was the 2013 UN Zambia Day which was held at school on

Friday 18th October. The traditional national costume and colours Parade of Nations was

followed by a wonderful set of student performances in the MPC on the theme of ‘50 Years

of ISL & 100 Years of Lusaka’. The performances included dances, songs, poetry as well as

music from the ISL band. Along with members of the Diplomatic Corps and parents, His

Worship, the Mayor of Lusaka, Mr. Daniel Chisenga graced us with his presence and gave

a well-received speech reflecting on the theme of the celebration. My thanks go to the UN

Zambia Teacher Committee who put together an excellent event that allowed us to cele-

brate our diversity and unity as a community.

It is difficult to believe that we are already one quarter of the way through the school year.

The time is flying by, especially for IB2 students in Year 13 as they meet all their deadlines

for internal assessment and coursework for the IB Diploma Programme courses. Between

now and February they will have to finish major assignments that contribute towards their

final marks in most of their subjects, as well as finish their Extended Essay, a major re-

search project that is an essential part of the IBDP core. If you are the parent of an IBDP

student you will already be aware of the need to support your child through the stresses of

the next few months.

Important Dates

Head of School 1

Primary Princi-

pal/Early years

2

PYP/Primary 3

Upper Primary 4

Secondary Princi-

pal/MUN

5/6

IGCSE / IB/ IT 7

Creative Arts 8

UN day 9

PTA Carnival 10

IGCSE Trip/

Board Chair

11

Contents

CIE Univer-

sity tour

5th Nov

Yr 10 Nsobe

Trip

3rd-6th

Nov

Yr 11/IB2

PTC

13th Nov

End of Se-

mester ex-

ams

25th –

29th Nov

Primary Message from the Primary Principal: Mr. Bowen

We are now well into our second Unit in most of the Primary Classes and I am

thrilled with the levels of independent inquiry going on within the Primary School

walls. Central to the PYP’s philosophy is the idea of students thinking for them-

selves. In a sense we actually encourage children not to be satisfied with simply

finding the answers, instead they should be finding out more questions. As teach-

ers we often remark on the breathtaking talent of your children, our students.

However in recent assemblies the tables have been turned and the teachers

have been perfoming in their own talent show. Do ISL Primary teachers have

talent? You bet! Mrs Nair’s dancing was unbelievable and who can forget Mr

Nyirenda’s riddles, Mrs Banda, Mrs Lungu and Mrs Chilambu dancing, Mr Nkolola’s singing and of course the Kambeu

Matthias Rap Team to name but a few!

Primary School students and teachers were instrumental in making this year’s Carnival such a success. I understand a

record amount of Carnival money was raised so I would personally like to thank the students who helped raise that

money on behalf of our hard working PTA. If you have any ideas about how you would like to see the money spent,

then please feel free to pass on your ideas to me or one of the other PTA members.

Just before the holidays we held our UN Zambia day and of course the Parade of Nations. One thing I always notice at

this time of year is how undecided students (and staff!) are about which nation they ‘belong’ to. How wonderful! It

speaks volumes of our community that individuals actually wish to be considered multi-national and have difficulty in

literally pinning their colours to a particular mast.

Finally, we continue to have a steady chain of interested prospective parents visiting the Primary School in search of a

place for their children. In speaking with one of them this week I was told.“ The most important thing about the school

we choose is that it must make my child happy”. I could not agree with that parent more. It is absolutely imperative,

particularly at Primary level, that students enjoy coming to school. None of us learn when we are unhappy so this was

a timely reminder about our priorities as a Primary School.

t has been encouraging to see our Early Years students return from the mid

-term break rested, refreshed and ready for all the exciting learning their

teachers have planned for them.

Thank you to all parents for the effort you made to dress your children in

their national costume or colours for our UN/Zambia Day as it added to

the fun and excitement of the day. It was lovely to see the diversity of the

ISL community.

As the heat has arrived please make sure you send plenty of drink for your child each day and that your child

has a hat to wear at break times. We are noticing that some children are not being collected promptly at the

end of the school day or after activities. At this time of year, the children are hot and tired by the end of the

day and need to go home. Please check with your class teacher for the correct finishing time.

From the Early Years Coordinator: Mrs Rachel Bentley

ISL Headlines! Page 2

Whoa!!! We had a super duper day with many of our par-

ents turning up for the Math workshop!! There were some

exciting, exhilarating, fabulous and wonderful investigative

moments shared. We were so happy to see you all come in

and take an interest in what we do at school in spite of your

busy schedules. The workshops that we hold, aim to be a

platform to share ideas, practices and concerns. I sincerely

believe the more we work together, the more we can help

our children achieve.

Do not despair if you have been unable to make it for this

workshop! We have two more planned this academic year-

February 18th and May 21st. Please note those dates in your

diaries.

The request from parents has been to continue combining it with Coffee morning

and begin the workshops at 7:30 am so that we can end by 8:30 am and allow you to

get back in time for work. So we hope to follow the suggested time frame. That be-

ing said, we will remind you about the next one through emails, newsletters and no-

ticeboards.

Message from the PYP Coordinator: Mrs Sunita Nair

We are very excited about the new and very first Junior LAWS Club, which is part of the afternoon activities at ISL.

Every week the children from Junior LAWS visit the shelter from LAWS where they walk, clean, feed and help social-

ize the dogs and cats at the shelter. The children also have been a huge help at the 20th Anniversary Dog Show from

LAWS by helping out at the kids corner and selling items in order to raise money for the shelter. Recently, with the

help of some devoted students, a number of cats and kittens were rescued at school and handed over to LAWS. We

would like to thank them for their dedication.

For more information about LAWS, the cats that were rescued or information about adopting a cat or dog look at:

http://www.lawszambia.org/ or https://www.facebook.com/LusakaAnimalWelfareSocietylaws

The two kittens Biscuit and Picasso were rescued from a drain at ISL on the 15 of October.

20th Anniversary Dog Show

Junior Laws : Mrs. Johanna de Swardt and Mrs. Anne-Maries Phiri

ISL Headlines! Page 3

UPPER PRIMARY: Mrs. Grace Kambeu ISL Headlines! Page 4

We hope you had a wonderful break and enjoyed the Independence celebrations. Upper Primary continues to promote hands on

activities and it is remarkable to see so much inquiry happening both in and outside the classroom.

Year 6 students invited one of our parents, Mrs.

Sharmaine Mwenda, to give a talk on plants.

The students were so intrigued and couldn’t

wait to start their own garden as part of their

inquiry on plant cycle. They had a good experi-

ence planting and watering. They measured the

beds and were able to find the area and perime-

ter of the whole garden. Now they are busy observing the plants and recording findings. What a fun way to learn!

As part of our Unit Who We Are, the Year 5 students focused

on Children’s Rights and Action Planning. The students visited

Twatasha School to identify a problem around Children’s

Rights that concerned them and that they felt passionate about.

After that, the students created an action plan to stand up for

this problem and to organize a fundraiser. Finally, they turned

their plan into reality (see pictures of the bake sale). On the 1st

of October the students from Year 5 went back to Twatasha

School to handover the money, clothes, shoes, stationery, tooth

brushes, play ground materials and toys that they wanted to donate to Twatasha School. Besides that, the students organized a

morning full of activities for the pupils of the Twatasha School. It was a great success! The letter below from the head of the

school shows how much Twatasha School appreciated our support.

Dear Sirs, Madams & Students,

Ref: Letter of Appreciation

We, the management, teachers and students of Twatasha School would like to express our sincerest, heart-

felt thanks and appreciation for the money, the clothes and the other items that you donated to our school.

We want you to know that, your donation will go a long way in improving our pupils’ livelihoods and enhancing the smooth running of our school. We hope you will continue with the gesture which expresses

your love and care to our school.

May God richly bless you for your generosity.

Yours Sincerely,

Mrs. Mabel M. Kachidz

Head of the School

Teacher’s day was hilarious as the teachers took over the stage to entertain the students.

The students enjoyed the show and screamed for more.

And finally house points:

Juniors (Year 2), in 3rd place Zambezi with 62 points, 2nd place Kafue with 71 points

and 1st place Luangwa with 79 points.

Intermediate (Year 3 & 4) in 3rd place Zambezi with 81 points, 2nd place Kafue with

91 points and 1st place Luangwa with 137 points.

Seniors (Year 5&6) in 3rd place Kafue with 180 points, 2nd place Luangwa with 211 points and 1st place Zambezi with 213 points.

Overall – 3rd place Kafue – 342 points, 2nd place Zambezi – 356 points and 1st place Luangwa – 427 points.

Look out for more in our next newsletter!!!

ISL Headlines! Page 5

From the Secondary Principal: Mr. Mwanza

A warm welcome back to school after a week of school break. We have, I

am sure, picked up sufficient energy to complete the first semester with

the commitment and drive it deserves.

If you were not at the Zambia/UN day celebrations on Friday 18th of Octo-

ber, you missed a treat. It was a most enjoyable event. Thank you to the

students for their involvement in setting up dances, songs, poems and a

power point presentation of the history of 100 years of Lusaka and 50

years of ISL. Thank you to teachers for organizing the whole show and to

parents for dressing up the students in very colourful national costumes.

The last few weeks of the semester are filled with a number of events. Year 10 students are off to

Nsobe camp on Sunday 3rd and will be back on Wednesday 6th November. On Tuesday 5th November

is the Council of International Schools (CIS) Tour. Again this year, we have 18 universities visiting

our school from the US and Canada. The College Representatives will do presentations at about 09 00

to our IB students, visiting students and parents followed by the College Fair from 10:00 hours until

11:30. We recommend that IB parents attend this function. On Wednesday 13th of November, we will

have the Parent – Teacher Conference for students in examination classes, Y11 and IB2 from 14 30 to

18 00. It is important that you find time on this day to see the teachers of your child to discuss the

progress made or concerns you may have. The ISL school musical production is on Friday 22nd No-

vember in the Fine Arts Centre. There are details of the play elsewhere in this bulletin.

First of all a big Thank you to Mr Silondwa and

Mr Mwale for organizing this amazing opportunity for our students. Thank you also to all the senior stu-

dents who supervised, support and chaired the committees. Preparing and participating in our Model

United Nations day was a great opportunity for our junior students to think deeply about the huge issues

facing our world today, as well as to perfect their public speaking and debating skills.

Have you ever dreamt of running your own country? During the MUN day the Junior Students made this

dream a reality. If you want to suspend human rights, embargo China, or invade Switzerland, you can

(well, fictionally). You choose what your country does, and the power you hold is amazing. Model United

Nations is an educational simulation activity necessitating a lot of preparation. During a Model United Na-

tions conference, students take on roles as foreign diplomats and participate in a simulated session of an

intergovernmental organization. Participants research a country (that activity took place every Wednes-

day and Monday afternoons), take on a role as a diplomat, investigate international issues, debate, delib-

erate, consult, and then develop solutions to world problems and pass resolutions. During the simulation

they employed a variety of communications and critical thinking skills to defend and advance the policies

of their country. Well done to all my little delegates! You looked so smart and so grownup!

From Junior Secondary School : Mrs.Dodd

Secondary

ISL Headlines! Page 6

MIDDLE SCHOOL MODEL UNITED NATION COMMITTEES

ECONOMIC

AND SOCIAL

COMMITTEE

CRIME AND

JUSTICE

COMMITTEE

ENVIRONMENT

COMMITTEE

HUMAN RIGHTS

COMMITTEE

SL Headlines! Page 7

After a successful Year 11 trip to Treetops, we are looking forward to

the year 10 trip to Nsobe Game Camp, from Sunday 3rd till Wednes-

day 6th of November.

The students will be asked to prepare for the trip by doing research

on the history, the wildlife and some local customs of the area.

After this, the year 10 students can start to prepare for their end of

semester exams from Monday 25th till Friday 29th of November. The

year 11 students are facing a worse fate: 2 weeks of IGCSE Trial ex-

ams from 13 – 24 January 2014. More information about these exams

will be given out closer to the dates.

In the meantime the Cambridge Certificates for all May 2013 candidates have arrived and can be

collected from the IGCSE Coordinator between 2- 3 pm on weekdays. Please bring some ID with

you.’

From the IGCSE coordinator: Mr R Van de Velde

The IB2 Extended Essays are in the process of being handed in ready for sending off to examin-ers around the world. The IB1 students will begin their Extend-ed Essay journey in the next few weeks.

‘The extended essay is an in-depth study of a fo-cused topic chosen from the list of approved Diplo-ma Programme subjects—normally one of the stu-dent’s six chosen subjects for the IB diploma. It is intended to promote high-level research and writing skills, intellectual discovery and creativity. It pro-vides students with an opportunity to engage in personal research in a topic of their own choice, under the guidance of a supervisor (a teacher in the school). This leads to a major piece of formally presented, structured writing, in which ideas and findings are communicated in a reasoned and co-herent manner, appropriate to the subject cho-sen.’Extract taken for the IB Extended Essay Guide 2013 The Extended Essay is one of many areas that

distinguish the IB Diploma from A-levels. University

administrators regularly cite the Extended Essay as

being one of the reasons why the IB Diploma is the

best pre-university qualification on offer. It familiar-

ises students with the independent research and

writing skills expected at university.

Parents of prospective IB students should contact me at ibcoordinator@islzambia.org if they would like to arrange an appointment to discuss the pro-gramme.

IB Corner! From Mr. Hearsum MUSICAL NITE

Mark your calenders! The

ISL production of the musi-

cal "You're a Good Man

Charlie Brown" will be per-

formed in the Fine Arts

building on the 22nd of No-

vember at 18:00. Seating is

limited so first come first

served.

IT NEWS : Mr. Ezekiel Miti

Our school has decided to use Google Apps both for communi-cation (using Gmail) and as a Learning Management Portal (using Google Drive and Google Sites). All students from Year 3 to IB2 have been allocated school email address and user id which will be in the form of: Graduation Year, Student First Name initial, Last Name + Student Domain Name. For exam-ple, a Year 4 student called Miti Bowen will have their username as 2023mbowen@student.islzambia.org. Primary parents should have received letters through their chil-dren. We ask that they return the signed slips to their children's class teachers as soon as possible. Should any parents have questions about their children's privacy or safety, Mr Miti or Mr Bowen will gladly answer all your questions and allay any fears about this new learning and teaching service that the school has embarked on.

SL Headlines! Page 8

NEWS FROM HEAD OF CREATIVE ARTS : Mr. Fraser Dodd

Although this is our first newsletter posting for

this academic year, the Creative Arts Dept. has

far from been taking a leisurely start to the year.

In September, our Visual Arts students worked

studiously under the careful and skilled guidance

of both Mr Hopkins and Mr Banda to produce

some wonderful entries for the David Shepherd

Art competition. ISL demonstrated the strength

and depth of the quality of their work by com-

manding the 12-14year old category with 1st place

being won by Ayra Hussain, 2nd place going to Tha-

to Van der Jagt and 3rd place to Jessica Riekert. Congratulations to these students who all produced

thematic work with powerful messages regarding the importance of animal conservation.

October began with the ISL Band performing to English royalty and Zambian dignitaries at the Inter-

national Youth award, otherwise called Duke of Edinburgh gold award ceremony. Attended by Prince

Edward, Duke of Essex and the Zambian Vice-president, Mr Guy Scott, along with other government

MP’s and officials, the ISL Band performed at the home of the VP in the morning of the 3rd of Octo-

ber as well as later in the evening at the Intercontinental Hotel for the gala dinner. Aside from per-

forming the respective national anthems of both the UK and Zambia, the ISL Band performed a well-

received and appreciated selection of music to the distinguished audience. Bravo to the following musi-

cians for their skills and dedication; Priyanka Naik, Ruella Che, Somang Kim, Tong Yu, Jin Yong Hwang,

Gowri Prasad, Melody Che, Nathan Doras and Malin Mabika.

While the ISL UN/Zambia Day celebration is likely mentioned elsewhere in this publication I would

like to recognise, thank and congratulate all of the performers who rehearsed tirelessly in the weeks

leading up to the event in order that it could be the spectacular success that it was. Showcasing a

genuine depth of creative talent from the Early Years division through to our Y13 students, and with

too many students to individually mention, the event was a true display of our cultural diversity while

celebrating the unique way the Arts can bring us all together. With 50 years of this nation’s independ-

ence only 1 year away, I feel certain that the ISL UN/Zambia Day of 2014 will surely be (another!)

ISL event not to be missed.

Completing this first half term of artistic endeavours was the successful exhibition at the Alliance

Française of several of our energetic visual artists. Held from the 18th-25th October, the exhibition

provided an opportunity for the work of our own ISL students to be shown against the work of other

students in an effort to promote the importance of Visual Art as a subject. Again, a hearty thank you

goes to Messer’s Hopkins and Banda for guiding and inspiring our students in their efforts to produce

a level of student artwork that is clearly second to none in Lusaka.

UN DAY ISL

@

50

LUSAKA

@

ISL Headlines! Page 9

ISL Headlines! Page 10

PTA CARNIVAL

The PTA decided in advance of this

year’s Carnival to adopt a watery theme

in anticipation of a hot and sunny Octo-

ber day. Sure enough the weather did

not disappoint, and neither did the cool-

ing attraction of the ISL Water Park.

The PTA volunteers were still at work at

23.30 the previous evening trying to make

sure water, air and electricity supplies

were adequate for the event to take

place. Aside from the water attractions

there were the usual fantastic arrays of

world food and of course games and side-

shows put on by the ISL students them-

selves. Other attractions included the

rally car display by Tanweer Dalal and

friends, not to mention the Grand raffle

and music throughout the day. A great

day was had by all and the event was a

success. The secondary purpose of the

day – to raise funds for a school PTA pro-

ject - was also a success and a whopping

figure in excess of K60 000 was raised.

Well done everybody and in particular to

the ISL PTA.

Mr. Bowen

CONTACT US The International School of Lusaka

6945 Nangwenya Road

Lusaka, Zambia

Phone: +260 211 252291

Fax: +260 211 252865

E-mail: info@islzambia.org

www.islzambia.org

Hello from the Board!

A school is not a school without teachers.

Every time I meet an ISL alum the first

thing they ask about is their former teach-

ers. ‘Is Mr. Nyirenda still there? How about

Mrs. Thomas?’ They smile with memories.

Our children spend more time with their

teachers second only to (perhaps) their par-

ents. We’ve chosen to send our children to

ISL because we have faith that the school’s

teaching staff can develop our children into

“open-minded, balanced, environmentally

conscious and principled citizens of the world

who will strive for excellence and cherish life-long learning” (from the

ISL Mission Statement).

A few facts about teachers at ISL:

Number of teaching staff: 63

% of teachers who are citizens of a country other than Zambia: 57%

Length of teacher contract (renewable): 2 years

Percent of school budget (school fees) for teacher salaries and bene-

fits: 65%

To ensure that the school is able to attract and retain strong teachers,

the Board created a new “Human Resources” sub-committee for the

2013-14 school year. (Note: This committee has a distinct role apart

from the administrative HR department). The committee works with

school management and the finance committee to review salary scales,

annual pay increases and benefit packages, making sure that ISL re-

mains competitive. The committee is tasked with reviewing the Condi-

tions of Service policy to ensure that it is up-to-date, realistic and fair.

The committee recommends policy changes to the Board, who makes

final decisions while factoring in the level of school fee increases that

can support reasonable annual raises in teacher’s salaries while also

ensuring that the school maintains a healthy budget surplus. The deci-

sions are difficult, but one factor remains clear: A school is not a

school without teachers.

Elizabeth Jere, Chair of Board of Governors

http://www.cois.org/ http://www.cie.org.uk/

http://www.neasc.org/ http://www.ibo.org/ http://www.pamojaeducation.com/

ISL Headlines! Page 11

IGCSE Biology Field Trip to Ka-

fue National Park!

25 year 11 students woke early on Sunday

morning after the Carnival and boarded the bus

for Treetops in Kafue National Park. In this wild

environment, 105 km from the nearest tarmac

road, they settled in for a few days of Biology in

the Bush. There were several field studies to

complete such as a biomass in the ecosystem,

antelope behavior, the effects of termites on

soil and making dichotomous keys and draw-

ings from a wonderful range of animal skulls.

These all backed up their understanding of

ecology and conservation first learnt in the

classroom at school.

We also had time for great game drives, both

early morning and evening, where lucky stu-

dents saw first hand some of the diversity of

wildlife to be found in Kafue and especially in

Busanga plains. There were some memorable

meals including tasty braais in some beautiful

spots by a river or on the plains. All together

we all though it was a great field trip, both edu-

cational and enjoyable.