The ISL Headlines - April 2015

s e n i l d a e H The ISL From the Head of School : Mr. Martin Gough “Striving for Excellence”

Important Dates IB2 Last Supper

23rd April

ISUZU-ISL Ultra Marathon

25th /26th April

IGCSE Last SUpper

30th April

PYP Exhibition

7th May

Contents Head of School

1

Primary principal/Early years

2

PYP/Upper Primary

3

Secondary

4

IGCSE/IB

5

Music Week

6

IB Visual Arts Exhibition

7/8

Soccer trip to Swaziland

9

April 2014

By the time you read this there will be less than 40 days left of the 180 annual school days – how does the time pass so quickly? IBDP students have finished their courses and go on exam study leave on 24th April, followed by Year 11 who start their IGCSE study leave a week later. We wish these 75 students well as they take the final examinations in their respective two-year courses. Some will be quietly confident, others a little nervous, but they all need to make the best use of their remaining preparation time during the last few weeks and ensure that they know the subject content, have worked on their subjectspecific skills, and honed their examination technique by doing plenty of practice papers. Effective revision doesn‟t mean non-stop staring at books and papers though. Students should develop a revision schedule, build-in time for exercise and breaks, and also ensure that they eat regularly, keep their brains supplied with water and sleep enough.

The 2015 ISUZU-ISL Ultra Marathon is being run on 25-26 April with 3, 6 and 24 hour races on the 1km track in and out of the bush on the ISL Sports Field. If it has not yet happened and you want to take part, you can sign up here: http://www.isuzu-isl-ultra.org/ If it has already finished by the time you read this and you did take part, you will, I hope, be able to find the results on the same website. My thanks to Todd Meyer, Phil Bowen, Karen Hedstrom and the rest of the Ultra Marathon committee for organizing this event and, of course, to the main sponsors ISUZU through Action Auto. If you have never been to an ISL Ultra Marathon, do come along to watch or take part.

ry

Prima

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Message from the Primary Principal: Mr. Bowen

I look back on the past month in the Primary School and the highlight for me was the Student-led Conference Day which we held on March 26th. Apart from superb parent attendance (100% attendance in many classes) I felt the day epitomized what we have tried to achieve at ISL since attaining our official IBO PYP status. Your children are taking increasing ownership of their learning experiences and that starts by being able to guide you, their parents, through the learning activities that they have been involved in this year. With the way that accessing information has become so easy in our world today, all of us, adults and children alike have to accept greater responsibility for what we find out about, how we do it and how much we find out. Your children are coping with the challenge admirably. Perhaps Principals, teachers and parents will find the concept of student empowerment more difficult to adapt to!

On the subject of PYP delivery, I would like to congratulate everyone in the ISL Primary community on our recent positive report from the IBO Visiting Team. As you know two Visitors from the IBO spent a week with us scrutinizing our practices, interviewing stakeholders and generally assessing our fitness to deliver the PYP Programme.

We seem to be accelerating toward the end of the school year and yet there is so much more to fit in. Here are some of the upcoming important events for your calendar.

Wednesday 22nd April

Inter-House Swimming

11:00 hrs

Saturday 25th April

ISUZU-ISL Ultramarathon

14:00 hrs

Friday 1st May

Labour Day

No School

Thursday 7th May

PYP Exhibition

Y6

Tuesday 19th May

Parent PYP Workshop

07:30 hrs

Monday 25th May

Africa Freedom Day

School Closed

Thursday 18th June

Last day of the year

11hrs early dismissal

Early Years Coordinator: Mrs Karen Hedstrom The Year Two's unit on inquiry into "Art is a way of expressing yourself" culminated in an incredible Art Exhibition. The children's art was auctioned and thanks to our very generous parents, they raised over K10 000.

Before the exhibition the Year Two's visited Nyumba Yang Orphanage and decided they would be the benefactors of their fundraising. They will be buying them some sheets, books and a bookshelf. Well done to all involved!

Preschool completed their unit on different transport systems and were very excited to getting a 'passport', choosing where to travel to, buying an 'air ticket', packing their bags and then boarding a plane. A big thank you to Royal air Charters for all their help.

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Message from the PYP Coordinator: Mrs Sunita Nair A hearty welcome after a short but required break! We are happy to see everyone return safe and once again welcome new families into our midst!

I would like to take this opportunity to inform our parent body of the feedback from the very successful visit that took place from the IBO (International Baccalaureate Organisation). As you maybe aware, we had the visiting team in school for three working days from March 18 th -20th and it is with great pleasure that I report their findings in brief.

We have been granted authorization for the next five years and there have been no matters that need immediate attention or require the team to visit us soon. They have agreed with our self- study and verified that the report submitted reflects current school practices. This suggests that the school has policies in place, has got a strong curriculum, has dedicated staff, involves the community etc. As is the norm, along with the commendations given to school, there are some recommendations too, to help us further strengthen the Primary schoolâ€&#x;s programme. This will be our new road map for the next five years. I am more than happy to discuss this with you at length if you so desire.

I would like to sincerely thank you all; thanks especially to the parents who volunteered to come in and have a chat with the visiting team for being supportive and making themselves available to share thoughts and understandings. The Primary staff have also had a remarkably busy year working on the self- study along with their normal class preparations and they have done our school proud. It has indeed been exciting to receive a positive report from the IBO. New directions, new possibilities, new roads to travel on----- a very bright future ahead for us!! We continue to be lifelong learners!!

UPPER PRIMARY: Mrs. Grace Kambeu Welcome back and hope you all had a restful Easter holiday! Here is just a quick recap: on Friday 27th March, the Primary School had inter-house netball and football. We had fun and all the houses showed great sportsmanship with Zambezi emerging as winner in Football and in Netball Zambezi and Luangwa tied.

The Yr 6 Exhibition is still on and we have had a lot of support from the ISL community.

Guest speakers have come in to talk about issues related to poverty. Recently Mrs. Jere, a parent, came in and taught us a game on how communities save and lend money. This game allows members of the community to build capital and in turn reduce poverty.

On the 2nd of April Year 5 students sold various self made products to parents, teachers and students. This was part of their summative assessment. In the weeks running up to the sale, the children were put into groups and had to come up with a business plan. All groups managed to make a profit which will be given to a charity of their choice. The Year 5 students would like to thank all their customers!

In a visit to Kalimba Crocodile Farm, Year 4 saw different kinds of reptiles, including a monitor lizard, snakes, tortoises and, of course, lots of crocs!

An Inquiry into Where We Are in Time and Place led the Year 3 students to Chilenje House Number 394, which was home for the first republican president of Zambia- Dr. Kenneth Kaunda. A question and answer session provided some really interesting facts. It was wonderful to see how such a small house could accommodate important meetings that led to Zambiaâ€&#x;s independence!

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Secondary From Junior Secondary School : Mrs.Dodd Exams are coming – here are a few tips I suggest you follow to start revising.

If we told you that at school there was a special pill that would make you more intelligent, that would help you to achieve 100% in your exams, everyone would be queuing up to take it. Actually there is a way to do this, by getting to know your brain, your learning style and by following a few guidelines. Learning to work with that knowledge, you can achieve your potential, increase your memory and learn to work more time-efficiently to be prepared for your exams.

Remember the basic rules of exam revision: Start early Create a revision time-table Alternate fun time and work time Have a balanced diet Sleep enough Work in a peaceful environment Know your preferred learning style Apply strategies learnt in class

For many subjects the best way to revise is to be active in your revision.

Make mind-maps ( with a lot of colours) Use the COVER-Test-Check method Work with a partner Use mnemonics, acronyms and rhymes Use post-its to stick in your room Colour-code your rules, dates, formulas and vocabulary Make flash cards – play memory games and bingos Record yourself

ISL end of year exams are from the 28th of May to the 3rd of June. Good Luck!

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From the IGCSE coordinator: Mr R Van de Velde

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After a short but refreshing Easter Holiday, we are back to business. The year 9 students have sorted out their options for when they start year 10 in August 2015. The year 10 students had a successful work week (thanks to Marit and Leah for organising) and the year 11‟s are going through some final practical exams before embarking on their written IGCSE exams starting April 26th and lasting till 5th of June. On their last day of school, Thursday April 30th, they are having their last supper at school from 18.30 till 20.30, all organised and provided for by themselves. This is an informal get-together of the y11 students and their teachers, with usually a simple but great meal and the exchange of fun awards.

Concerning the IGCSE exams, the candidates are explicitly told NOT to take any mobile phones in the exam room (CIE regulation). Ideally, phones are left at home; alternatively they can keep them safely at school at the candidate‟s own initiative and responsibility.

I wish all the candidates a successful exam session, yielding the final great grades they deserve !

IB Corner! From Mr. Hearsum The final teaching day for IB2 is on Friday 24th of April. By now all students should be fully immersed in their revision programme. The examination period is not just the culmination of the IB Diploma Programme but for a number of our students the end of over 13 years as students at ISL. Effective Revision Planning out revision time is a key element to gaining confidence with a strong sense of being fully prepared. When planning, it is good to be as specific as possible with allocation of time to task. For example, rather than assign “all day Monday” to “Maths”, divide up the day into 40-45 minute blocks and assign blocks of time to specific topics within Maths. If you‟re good with maintaining concentration, then you may be able to push your focus to being effective for two consecutive time blocks before taking a short break. However, the human concentration span tends to start to peter out after 40 minutes – and there‟s no point in sitting there reading the same material three times without actually absorbing it. Give yourself a short (five to ten minute) break where you re-hydrate (water is fine) and think about things other than algorithms or vectors.

If you start this process sufficiently early, you‟ll also have the ability to vary subject material throughout the day – perhaps Maths in the morning and Biology in the afternoon. Brains love variety for refreshment purposes. Draw up a study schedule with all of this detail and display it in full view. It will also assure you that you‟ll cover all the material as you will have clearly assigned time to each topic, and will help to reduce your stress levels as you will have broken up that huge, looming “whole subject” into manageable parts.

After you‟ve completed each of your topics within your time blocks, tick them off on your schedule to emphasise that sense of achievement. Remember, at the end of each day, to relax and unwind effectively – you‟ll need to be fully recovered to be top of your game to get back into it tomorrow.

Adapted from: http://www.examconfidence.co.uk (5th November 2014) Good luck

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IB2 Visual Arts Exhibition The IB2 Art Exhibition is a celebratory event, showcasing the exploration of artistic expression from our aspiring IB2 art students. The IB program challenges students to find their voice in the arts, explore ways to create meaning, and think critically about their personal, cultural and global perspective.

This year, students Marije Kern, Brandon Burrows, Song-E Kim, Hannah Mey Haakenson, and Mifaly Andriamady exhibited a fascinating selection of work. Each student explored different themes over their two year IB program, incorporating influences from art history, modern art, daily life and cultural values. Amongst the work displayed, students showcased a variety of media, including sculpture, photography, painting, mixed media and film animation.

The IB2 Art Exhibition took place in the Fine Arts Building on the evening of March 27. The space was transformed into a sleek, modern gallery with generous help from staff and parents. Guest speaker and Dutch Art Curator, Camiel Van Lenteren, shared lovely words with our students to kick off the event. Patrons of the arts enjoyed wine, gourmet snacks and live jazz music, played by our very own Mr. Fraser Dodd, while viewing our students' work. Professional Zambian artists, David Makala, Owen Shikabeta, and Vincentio Phiri visited our exhibition, and remarked how very impressed they were with our students. Throughout the evening, ISL faculty, parents, students and the local artists in attendance commented on the quality, originality and intentionality of the work that was being displayed by the IB students.

A component of the IB program requires students to take risks, to be brave and to find ways to overcome challenges and uncertainty. Exhibiting personal work can be quite intimidating. It requires courage to put your personal work on display for others to see. I commend each of our students for the success of their work and for the challenging journey to their final exhibition.

By Courtney Reed Nicoletti, Art teacher

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IB2 Visual Arts Exhibition

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MUSIC WEEK

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The final week of March once more saw the school amphitheatre come alive to the sound of music. A wonderful line-up of student ensembles performed each break time from 10:35 – 11:00 with a collective aim to herald the end of a busy term and to celebrate the joy of music making.

The first break time concert saw the Y11 music students showcasing their IGCSE group performance pieces. On Tuesday we were treated to an array of primary music ensembles that featured groups on ukulele and recorder as well as solo piano and a vocal pop group. While our mid-week performance was hosted by the torch-song singers from Y10 and then Nathan Doras on solo bass, on Thursday we were treated to the ever popular student rock bands from Luangwa house and IB2.

For the first time ever a musical scavenger hunt was held during the Friday break time. Seven different music „zones‟ were set up around the school and students from throughout the school were challenged to discover each zone and answer a simple music questions about the music that they heard in each place. From classical piano in the Covered Area, ukuleles in the playground, rock in the Fine Arts, recorders in the cricket nets, flutes at the fish pond, songwriters in the amphitheatre and troubadours in an insaka, the academic halls of ISL were truly alive to the sound of music.

The winners of the scavenger hunt saw 3 lucky students taking home some wonderful music prizes in celebration of a terrific week of music : 1st prize: Yunru Huang (Yamaha digital keyboard), 2 nd prize: Chiluba Chomba (Yamaha recorder + ISL school CD), 3rd prize: Dorothy Cole (Yamaha recorder).

Music Week also combined as a House event with each correct entry counting towards all-important House points. 1st place – Luangwa, 2nd place – Zambezi, 3rd place – Kafue.

It was a true pleasure to see the break time concerts so well attended this year with staff and students making the most of the fabulous music and glorious weather. Of course, the final word must be one of thanks to all the talented ISL music students who took part in this week of music. Their talent and enthusiasm for music once more highlighted the tremendous artistry of our student body and the importance of the creative arts in our lives.

Mr Dodd Head of Creative Arts

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SOCCER TRIP TO SWAZILAND Our trip to Swaziland was a great success. We visited wonderful places in the country and got the chance to learn about the Swazi culture.

Living in Swaziland for a few days was unique as the environment surrounding the place was completely different from our very urbanized Lusaka.

The reason we went there in the first place was to take part in a 7-aside football tournament in which we competed with four Swaziland schools. The games were quite exciting. Although we did not bring the trophy home, we did our very best and came second out of five schools.

We would like to thank Mr. Phiri, not only for organizing the trip but also being a great coach.

We would also like to thank Mrs. Martins for organizing the tournament and doing all she could to make the team feel comfortable in Swaziland.

Finally, we would like to thank the school for supporting this trip, please may such sports trips continue.

By David Ngomirakiza, IB 2

CONTACT US

http://www.cois.org/

http://www.ibo.org/

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

http://www.pamojaeducation.com/

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

http://www.neasc.org/