“Technology is like fish. The longer it stays on the shelf, the less desirable it becomes” - Andrew Heller

Dear Parents,

Thank you for supporting us in our transition to a paperless process of receiving report cards. And embracing the technology that enables you to access your child’s academic reports, attendance details, curriculum overview and related information from anywhere on earth, at any time. Those of you who attended the Parent Teacher Conferences either came in already logged in, or allowed our IT team to help you log in - to our School Information System ‘ENGAGE SCHOOL”. 

Those among you who were unable to attend the PTCs in person, we hope  you have followed the instructions as shared and have managed to log in to ENGAGE and have managed to access your children’s semester 1 reports. If you have not, please reach out to william_simfukwe@lusakaoaktree.school (phone 0961985806) or kelvin.mulenga@lusakaoaktree.school (phone 0979607077) and make sure become a part of this inevitable world. 

Former IBM CEO Ginni Rommetty famously said “Growth and comfort do not coexist”. That is true. Growth necessitates change and change is initially uncomfortable - but ultimately very rewarding. Current Apple CEO Tim Cook pragmatises  the context further with these words - “You can focus on things that are barriers or you can focus on scaling the wall and redefining the problem”. So let us all get there together. We will save two extremely important resources -  time and trees, 

We celebrated the last day of semester 1 in EYD and CP by awarding certificates to those students in every classroom who best exhibited the school’s five core values. In CP and Secondary we awarded certificates to all those students who participated in the inter house debate competition, and to those who won best and second best speakers. In Secondary we awarded certificates to all those bravehearts who were presenters in our pioneering TEDx event.

In addition to World Scholar’s Cup and TEDx and Debate and Leadership and Writing and Sports scholarships, we are now actively launching the following at 

LOTS - Model United Nations (MUN), Duke of Edinburgh Award Program (DoE), Math and Science Olympiads, the School Choir and the School Band. More details on each of these can be found later in this newsletter.

I would like to take this opportunity, on behalf of team LOTS, to thank all parents and all students for a very eventful, challenging and rewarding semester one. Here is wishing all of you, and all of us, as growth inducing a semester two.

Here’s wishing you Merry Christmas and a happy 2025  in advance.

Warm regards,

Shouquot Hussain

Head of School

During holidays, you may want to read with your child or give some practice work in math. Here are a few recommendations for resources which are free and can be fun to practice with. 

Recommended resources for practice at home

https://www.wilbooks.com/free-online-books-guided-reading-level-a free books online to increase fluency, vocabulary, reading habit. (Needs internet)

https://storylineonline.net  free books online to increase fluency, vocabulary, reading habit. (Needs internet)

https://about.readworks.org/parents.html   read interesting fiction and non-fiction text and comprehension tasks

• Set up your free parent or guardian account

• Create a digital class or learn how to print

• Access easy-to-use reading materials and instruction, like Article-A-Day

• Use offline mode to access assignments, regardless of internet connection at home

• Do the 40-min student independent work routine

 https://learn.khanacademy.org/khan-academy-kids/ (downloading option available for videos and tasks) (Math and other subjects)

https://jr.brainpop.com/ for all subjects, games and interactive activities

You may want to know more about LOTS Cambridge Checkpoint Examinations. For any further information, please contact Mr Ryan Zulu  at ryan_zulu@lusakaoaktree.school   who is the coordinator for CP6 and LS3. 

Pastoral care lies at the heart of our school and is embedded in everything we do. During the term we cared about the mental health and wellbeing of our students. All this is done to have a happy student at Lusaka Oaktree School (LOTS). The students were engaged academically, socially, and emotionally, which is reflected in their overall well-being, positive interactions with peers and teachers, and their ability to embrace both challenges and achievements.

As a way of ensuring that our student’s well-being is good, the following was done:

a. Introducing a morning mentorship program

b. Dividing students in small groups of 5 to 10

c. Assigning a mentor to each group

d. Providing all mentors with content to use

e. Giving students a survey to give feedback on well-being

f.   Engaging students through one on one conversations to get feedback from them.

g. Ensured that teachers report for class on time and follow the timetable when teaching

h. Encouraged both students and teachers to use a good tone when talking to each other

STUDENT BEHAVIOUR

We are proud to inform you that this term has ended without any student being expelled. This is a clear indication that we are working together to improve the behaviour of our children. We still experienced some minor incidents which led to students being suspended to go and reflect. The students signed behavioural contracts upon return in which they have promised to exhibit good behaviour.

SCHOOL UNIFORM

The school uniform policy is very clear. We are now working towards restocking our uniform shop with all sizes. Kindly get in touch with Ms Agnes on 0971801230 so that you can buy uniforms before schools open in January 2025. Our school uniform is as follows:

Primary

Boys- beige shorts and white shirts with grey socks, green fleece top, black shoes

Girls- beige gym dress with white blouse, white socks, green fleece, black shoes

Secondary

Boys- beige trousers and white shirts with grey socks, green blazer top and green- yellow striped necktie, black shoes

Girls- beige gym dress with white blouse, white socks, green blazer top and green-yellow striped necktie, black shoes

Next term no student will be allowed to wear bangles or bracelets in school