Term 2 - End of Term Newsletter 

Weekly Newsletter  

This Week At LOTS:25-29 March 2024

Term 2 | Week 12

Dear parents,

Doers are always better inspiration than talkers. When Ralph Waldo Emerson says “Do not go where the path may lead. Go where there is no path, and leave a trail”, he sounds great. But it is still just a worthy aphorism. But when Steve Jobs says “Your life is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking”, you know it comes from a place of experience - from someone who’s been there and done that, and that induces trust. 

Our students, your children, need to be doers, and need to be inspired by doers - doers in any field, and it does not matter if the inspirer is a scientist or a statesman or an entrepreneur or a player or a rockstar. Or a fictional character. Like Batman says in the movie Batman Begins, “It is not who you are deep underneath but what you do that defines you”. Let us not be snobs when helping our children choose their heroes.

And what have your children been doing?

 Signing up for the DoE (Duke of Edinburgh) Award Program - which will give them great and holistic experiences in the fields of experiential adventure, sports, skills and community work - which will be validated and certified by the Duke of Edinburgh and add tremendous value to their portfolios and university applications. We already have close to 20 secondary school students registering and embarking on this journey.

Applying to participate in our TEDx event - either as speakers or performers or organizers. This is a global platform that will give them the opportunity to feature on TED.com for the whole world to witness and consume - immortality in a pioneering sense - they will be the first school students to do so in Zambia. Of course the qualifying process is rigorous. It has to be. Applications close on 15th April.

Rehearsing and preparing for our School Annual Production “HOMECOMING”. The first message with the first poster has already gone out to you just before we closed for Easter. The second one will go out on 2nd April, when we resume classes after Easter. Please remember you will have to purchase your tickets to attend this show. The tickets will be available at the school admin front desk with Mr Gerald and Ms Mwango from the afternoon of 2nd April. As informed earlier, seating capacity is limited and hence you are advised to book early, before all seats are taken up. 

Embarking on  the next chapter of our Community Outreach initiative, this time headed by the Primary School Student Council. More details on this as you read on.

Representing the school in the Inter School ISAZ sports tournaments - Football and Netball. More on this as you read on.

Relishing the Easter Egg Hunt in the Pre Primary school. A colorfully joyous fun event you will read more about in the Primary Section of this newsletter.

Prepping for  the IGCSE and A Level Mock Examinations. A solid diagnostic dress rehearsal on now through exploration of past papers, revisions, extra lessons and remedials - for their finals in May. More on this in the Secondary Section of this newsletter. 

Let us take a breather. And we wait eagerly to welcome our students back after the short Easter break - rejuvenated, and ready for more!

Warm regards,

Shouquot Hussain

Head of School

Our students are currently enjoying their break and will be reporting to school on Tuesday 2 April. During this time we encourage them to continue studying as this will help consolidate the work done during the second term.

IGCSE 2 students will be writing their Information and Communication Technology final examinations on Wednesday 3rd and Thursday 4th April. Kindly find time to talk to all the students involved to stay focussed and calm. They should be reminded to continue preparations at home during this break. 

We would like to thank all our dear parents for supporting the IGCSE 2 students who attended lessons on Thursday 28th March. This enabled the students to prepare adequately for the coming examinations.

A student pass will now be introduced effective Tuesday 2nd April. This will help control the unnecessary movements in school. Only one student from each class will be allowed to be out of class at any given time.

We are currently issuing behavioral contracts to all the deserving students. This is an act that has been introduced to help on improving discipline levels in the institution. Any obligation of the contract will lead into a suspension or expulsion. Our teachers through the guidance and counseling department are doing a good job in guiding the students on good behavior.

Please purchase your tickets for the School Annual Production (to be staged on Friday  26th April) from the front office at the admin block

Please encourage your wards to sign up for the DoE Award program (deadline 8th April) and apply for participation in TEDx (deadline 15th April). Note that this is for secondary school students.

New parents please collect your car stickers from the front office (if not yet collected).

New parents please procure uniforms asap from our uniform store navigated by Ms Agness.

Please ensure your children are in school latest by 7.15 hrs and picked up by 16.00 hrs latest, at the end of the school day.

Reminder - any parent wanting to drop by the Head of School’s office for a conversation is free to do so on any Tuesday or Thursday between 14.00 and 15.00 hrs.

A friendly reminder that the Term 3 school fees are now due. We encourage you to settle your child's fees as soon as possible to ensure their continued enrollment and participation in school activities.

Payment Deadline:

All Term 3 school fees must be paid in full by Friday, April 1st, 2024. A 10% late fee levy is applicable for late payment.

Payment Methods:

Online: All school fee payments will be made through bank deposit or bank transfer into:

Bank: First National Bank                  Account Name: Lusaka Oaktree School

Account Number: 62692539384        Branch: Makeni

Branch code: 260016                          Swift code: FIRNZMLX

Payment Materials:

Payment Plan: There are no payment plans available in term 3. 

Invoice:

E-Mail Attachment: The invoice has been shared via E-mail.

Print Copy: Your child has also received a physical copy of the invoice that they brought home from school.

Outstanding Dues:

Please be aware that students with outstanding balances from previous terms will not be allowed to participate in school activities or receive their report cards until all fees are settled in full.

Questions and Assistance:

If you have any questions regarding your child's fees, payment options, or outstanding balances, please do not hesitate to contact the school administration office at +260 97 9604243 or finance@lusakaoaktree.school. Please refer to the attachment for further guidance. We are here to assist you in any way we can.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter.