es n i l d a e H L S The I From the Head of School : Mr. Martin Gough “Striving for
31st January 2014
It is a little late to wish you a happy New Year at the end of January but I hope the second semester of the school year has got off to a good start for your children.
Excellence” Important Dates 3rd Feb
School holiday
4th Feb
Staff development
5th Feb
IB/IGCSE reports given
5th Feb– Spirit week 7th Feb
Contents Head of School
1
Board Chair/Primary Principal
2
Early years/PYP Coordinators
3
Early years
4
Upper Primary
5
Secondary
6
IYA
7
IGCSE/IB
8
Sports
9
Students Council
10
January-February is known to be a very busy time in schools; at ISL Year 11 and 13 have been taking trial exams for IGCSE and IB Diploma Programme and their reports are being written, the school budget for next year is being worked on, and we are in the middle of the recruiting season for teachers. Recruiting new teachers is always a challenge as, for overseas teachers, we are competing in an international market and with the huge expansion in international schools in China and other parts of the world there are plenty of well-paid opportunities for international school teachers. As always, we are also recruiting teachers here in Zambia so that we can keep a balance of local and overseas hired teachers and maintain a blend of experience from other schools and continuity of teachers at ISL. With the Board of Governors, I am also working on plans to redevelop or at least refurbish many of our school buildings. These are up to 40 years old and, in many cases, were built using outdated construction methods and materials that have reached the end of their life. We intend to complete a multi-year master plan for the school site by the end of this school year. A component of this work will be to find out what is the minimum we need to do to create a safe, hygienic campus with suitable teaching spaces. However, we really need to do more than that over the next few years in order to develop a school campus that meets the needs of a 21 st Century school, particularly in terms of using technology in teaching and learning but also in providing suitable sports, performance and meeting spaces. Which brings me back to teacher recruitment, because teachers, like students, are affected by the place they spend a great deal of their time in which has an impact on teacher retention. For example, in terms of technology, the expectation is that classrooms will have digital projectors and probably interactive whiteboards, that teachers will be provided with laptops (which massively increase their productivity) and that the school will have, or will be working towards, a one to one tablet or laptop programme for students. We are at least making headway on the first of these and by the end of February all classrooms should have a ceiling mounted digital projector in place. A school is, however, clearly much more than the sum of the buildings and infrastructure – it is primarily made up of people; students and teachers, teaching and learning together. As I walk around each morning before school it is clear from the happy greetings of arriving students that we have a school community that is welcoming and inclusive. During the day I see students busy in classes and actively taking part in activities after school. Of course, we can always do better; hiring the best teachers and creating a climate and facilities that enhance students‟ learning and teachers‟ effectiveness are essential parts of improving the school. Martin Gough Head of School PS: You can read more about the redevelopment plans in the Board Chair‟s comment in this newsletter.