Dear parents,

To that end, the LOTS Student Council is embarking on two community outreach projects this term, as an effort to sustainably support the needs of the extended community.

1. Orphanage support

   • An orphanage will be identified where LOTS will deliver some products.

   • storage boxes to be placed in designated areas around the school and learners can donate old toys , books ,clothes and shoes.

   • These would be given to the selected orphanage in addition to bought products.

2. Peer teaching

   • A government school will be identified. (most likely Bayuni)

   • stationary and books will be donated

   • LOTS learners will offer extra lessons to some learners from the government school (peer teaching and/or reading programme)

For concerns, feedback, appreciation, suggestions, queries - please feel free to get in touch with us through email or message. For academic/curriculum matters you should reach out to the concerned coordinator or principal, for fee and payment-related matters please reach out to finance/accounts, for admissions and general information, please reach out to admissions and parent relations, for bus or maintenance related issues please reach out to operations, and for anything, you feel the need to, you are most welcome to reach out to me. I am reiterating all this because all our contact details are included in this newsletter, and in every newsletter. You just need to click on the contacts tab, and reach out to the person in charge of the area that you need addressed. This will speed things up.

Here’s wishing you all a fulfilling and joyous second term.

Warm regards,

Shouquot Hussain

Head of School

The announcement of the outbreak of cholera and schools remaining closed was received with mixed emotions. However, as a school we did not let that stop us and we quickly adjusted our plans and did a lot of teacher training to prepare for home based online learning.

While virtual learning has had its challenges, we would like to thank you, the parents for playing your part in ensuring the children can continue learning and interacting with peers. We would also like to say a huge thank you to the amazing teachers who have stepped up and had to learn new skills of using technology to teach in fun and creative ways.

Here are a few reminders and tips for parents to help your children thrive in a home based online learning environment:

1. Ensure to create a learning space. Set up a dedicated learning area in your home with minimal distractions and ensure children are wearing the correct uniform to simulate a classroom setting. Encourage children to treat online classes with the same seriousness as in-person.

2. Ensure to limit multitasking. Children should focus on the lesson or task at hand. Make sure to turn off notifications, close unused tabs and apps to avoid distractions during class sessions.

3. Encourage children to actively participate, reminding them to keep their cameras on (especially secondary learners), raise their hands to ask and answer questions and to stay engaged with their teachers and peers.  

4. Ensure children are doing their school work, homework and assignments. Teachers have worked hard to prepare work to keep children engaged.

Testimonials

 "I love how you are teaching, you are doing an excellent job in keeping the children focused and engaging all the children so they can participate" - Parent's feedback

"I like my online classes because I am able to watch educative videos, see my teacher and ask questions when I don't understand and still learn with my friends and from my friends" - Learner's feedback

"Teachers have been encouraged to think outside the box and use a variety of online resources to keep learners engaged. Additionally, our technology skills have been sharpened over the past few days" - Teacher's feedback

Lusaka Oaktree School is committed to providing learners with 21st century skills that would enable them to be future ready, in terms of good college placements. And to that end, LOTS will host its first ever university fair that will be held on the 5th of March 2024.

We will have representatives from different universities across the globe such as Canada,the United Kingdom, Australia and the United States of America. The university fair will allow our learners to discover their interests and passion for post secondary life.In addition this will help learners to explore and reflect on how they envision themselves in their Career path. Furthermore learners will be given a chance to interact With different university personnel which will be the best way for them to gather information about their education excellence and career options as well as stay updated with the latest education trends.The university fair will also pave an opportunity for our learners to learn from professionals and get their questions answered in line with their Career requirements and interests . We strongly urge our secondary school parents/ guardians to take part in the university fair has this will also give them an opportunity to get a better understanding of what university admissions Officers are looking for in terms of subject combinations,scholarships,application process and expected school fees .We look forward to seeing you at the lusaka oaktree university fair.

Welcome back, students, to an improved Clubs and Activities schedule that gives you more space and more exclusive time - specially in the thickly populated area of sports and games! Get ready to unleash your potential and have a blast with our exciting lineup of P.E lessons and after-school activities. Whether you're a budding athlete or an arts enthusiast, there's something for everyone. Let the 2024 adventure begin. We resume from 5th February. Sign up sheets will be shared this coming week. Choose happily, choose wisely, choose adventurously. 

Sometimes it is good to choose what you love, and let your passion find an outlet. Sometimes it is good to choose what you are already good at, simply to get better at it and excel. Sometimes it is good to choose something new, so that you pick up a set of skills you earlier did not have. So choose, and grow!

The arts are a gateway to unlocking creativity, nurturing self-expression, and cultivating a well-rounded individual. We have recognised that these disciplines offer more than just entertainment. As we start our second term, we look forward to seeing students develop skills such as teamwork and collaboration, critical thinking and problem-solving, communication skills, and emotional intelligence - in the context of music, drama, dance and art at LOTS.

Incorporating MDD into education not only cultivates these skills but also makes the learning process engaging and enjoyable. It provides students with a well-rounded education beyond textbooks, empowering them with a diverse skill set that can serve them well in their academic pursuits and throughout their lives.

We are working on merging these skill building drives to our annual school production - so that they can be tangibly reflected in a showcase event.

“Music, dance, painting, and theatre are all keys that unlock profound human understanding and accomplishment." – William Bennett.

As we continue our journey of remote education, we are excited to share that online classes this week were better. Reception classes to CP6 are using Google Meet from this week which is effective specifically in terms of continuing the lessons without getting disconnected after 40 mins. We have been working tirelessly to create engaging and interactive learning experiences for our students and kept the wifi in the school up and running. There have been challenges and we appreciate your patience and cooperation. 

The content of teaching during this period has been limited to revision of previous topics so students can strengthen their skills further. We will teach new concepts when we are back in face to face classes. Some parents are being very encouraging by sending positive messages and constructive feedback to the teachers. We thank those parents and everyone for helping our students in the online learning process. 

Online Lessons

Our online lessons in week 2 have improved on both the teachers and students. There is a great improvement on the number of students attending lessons per class, this all because of the support we are getting from you, our good parents. We have a few students who have a tendency of joining lessons late,we request the respective parents help eradicate this habit.

We request you to guide our students not to share the online lesson links to non Lusaka Oaktree students. We have unknown students joining our classes. We have now tried to control this problem by not allowing any student who joins the class with their personal email. All students are encouraged to join class using the school email id.

During online lessons we have requested the following from our students:

1. Wear school uniform as this will help set a good learning mood

2. Switch their cameras on for easy monitoring of the students

If there are any challenges experienced by our students during the online classes, don’t hesitate to contact the class or subject teachers.

IGCSE

Our IGCSE is a two year programme which students take in their senior secondary level. At the end of the two years students write Cambridge International Examinations(CIE). Our current IGCSE 2 class is preparing for these examinations which will be in May-June. We therefore request all our IGCSE parents to continue supporting the students as they prepare for their examinations.

A-LEVEL

An ‘advanced level’ or A-level is a qualification available across a range of subjects to school-leavers.

A-levels are studied across two years:  AS year (year 12) and your A2 year (year 13). Students take examinations at both AS and A2. Our current AS and A2 classes are currently preparing for their examinations. We request you to support them fully for them to get better grades.