Weekly Newsletter
This Week At LOTS: 03-07 June 2024
Term 3 | Week 10
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Weekly Newsletter
This Week At LOTS: 03-07 June 2024
Term 3 | Week 10
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again. And that is why I succeed”
- Michael Jordan
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Dear parents,
Success needs arriving at, and there are a lot of related efforts from all ends, over and over again, to get there. Our children are works in progress - and what they are good at and what they are getting better at is a process that will go on long after they are done with school. But while at school, it is on all of us adults together - to help them retrace their steps when they go wrong, to help them hone out the rougher edges, to help them play to their strengths and attend to their weaknesses, to help them recognize their vulnerabilities and work on strengthening them. Michael Jordan became the greatest basketball player of his era by learning from his mistakes, and recognizing the gaps, and letting his coaches and teammates help him get there.
Likewise, we love to sing the redemption song. But while doing our best to counsel and correct and help redeem - there are limits to which we can support our learners. There are clear zero tolerance areas, and a process laid down where even for forgivable transgressions there is a first strike (warning) and a second strike (suspension) and a third strike (expulsion). Sadly this year we have had to expel 6 students. That is not something we want, but something inevitable when the safety and character of the school needs safeguarding. Empathy is a core value at LOTS but it can only go thus far and no further. The Code of Conduct for students is clear on this. You may refer to it in the Community Hub.
When asked about the secret of his success, Tennis legend Roger Federer kept it simple and said “What I think I’ve been able to do well over the years is play with pain, play with problems, play in all sorts of conditions”. That is the lesson everyone needs to keep in mind - being able to play in all sorts of conditions, and not just in favorable ones.
Talking of favorable conditions, we are going to affect a number of measures for the new academic year starting August 2024 that will make learning and schooling more favorable for our acorns:
Separate short break and lunch break timings for Primary and Secondary.
Dedicated homeroom time every morning with mentors to attend to specific student needs
30 functioning computers in the computer laboratory.
More Smartboards in classrooms
An infirmary with a proper sick bay and trained first aid support
Technology integration for IGCSE and A level students where students will bring laptops to class.
A specialized leadership curriculum that will be integrated into the time table and delivered by leadership experts.
CREED Leadership Camps sponsored by the school
Separate Annual Productions for Primary and Secondary.
Enhanced security measures with more security personnel manning both gates and other areas.
Additional support staff to ensure constant cleanliness and hygiene around restrooms and all other areas.
More toilets for CP blocks.
A dedicated Art space.
Additions to the PE and Music teams to strengthen the school’s sports and music programs.
Addition of Special Needs and Learning Support specialist to support student needs.
This is a sneak peek. There will be more, as we go along.
Best wishes to all our learners as they commence their examinations, and best wishes to all parents as well.
Warm regards,
Shouquot Hussain
Head of School
We are thrilled to share the exciting news about our students’ impressive participation in the ISAZ Junior Athletics event held last Saturday help at Martine house school chisamba. The event was a resounding success, showcasing the hard work, dedication, and sportsmanship of our team.
Over 50 of our students from various grades competed in a wide range of events, including sprints, long-distance running, high jump, long jump, shot put, and relay races. We are incredibly proud of all our participants and look forward to more such events where our students can continue to excel and make us proud. Let’s keep up the hard work and dedication as we prepare for future competitions.
Many thanks to the parents, teachers and drivers for your support and encouragement played a crucial role in motivating our young athletes. Thank you for being there and cheering them on at Martine house school together, we will continue to foster a spirit of excellence and sportsmanship in our school community.
Reading is an essential skill for children to learn but it can also be a fun and interactive experience. Acting out what is read is a great way to engage children in the story and help them develop their imagination and creativity and that is exactly what our Primary Student Council members did with their reading buddies from Bayuni primary school this week.
After some team work and having a good laugh during the session we were sad to bid farewell to our Bayuni school buddies as this was the third and final meeting. To end our program we were delighted to share books that are no longer needed in our library. The books donnated ranged from math, english, science to novels and story books.
We look forward to another program next year carrying all the lessons from our very first community outreach reading program.
I has been such a great honor to have Dr Amy O'brien and her team visit our school this week.Dr Amy and her team are Speech-Language pathologists from Baldwin Wallace university in Ohio.The team did observations in classrooms and gave some secondary class students techniques to improve comprehension. Dr Amy's team together with the teachers identified learners who would benefit from speech screening which was done on Thursday morning. Additionally, the team gave our pre primary, primary and secondary language teachers tips and techniques to improve the learners communication, speech and comprehension.
Dr Amy and her team will be in school once again next week Tuesday 11th June to meet parents who have any concerns about their child's language development and would like to find out more and to discuss results from the screening. To book an appointment please call front desk or reach out to Ms Lauren : lauren_njungu@lusakaoaktree.school (+260 979771847).
Early Years’ Careers Day
We recently hosted an exciting Careers Day for our young ones at our school, where students showcased their aspirations for future professions. Each student prepared a display about their chosen career, ranging across diverse career choices. Students donned costumes representing their desired professions, from doctors and engineers to pilots and lawyers. And homemakers.
The event was a great success, inspiring our students to think about their future goals and the paths to achieving them. Careers Day highlighted the importance of dreaming big and planning ahead, and we look forward to making it an annual tradition.
CP Examinations
Our CP students are writing their examinations from Monday 10th June. Here is wishing them all the very best. We are providing all the support we can and need to. We advise parents to just be mindful of the examination schedules and help their wards prepare accordingly. A calm and relaxed environment at home will really help keep them focused and energetic.
Reception and CP6 Graduation Ceremonies
The Reception Graduation Ceremony will take place from 8.30 to 10,00 hrs, and the CP6 Graduation Ceremony will take place from 11.00 to 12.30 hrs - on Thursday 20th June.
Parents of all Reception students and CP6 students are cordially invited to attend the graduation ceremonies of their wards.
End of term examinations have started. As earlier stated our students should take these examinations seriously as we shall use them to promote students to the next grade level. All students to report for examinations in proper school uniform except on days when they have Physical Education practicals. During this period students will knock off at 13:00 hours. May we ensure that the students are picked on time.
Use of vulgar language is not allowed, we therefore request you to do some counseling sessions to help the students improve their behavior.
Our under twelve(12) athletics team will be traveling to Martin House in Chisamba for an athletics competition. Parents to all the students involved signed consent forms.
Our graduations are on and will take place on the following dates:
Lower Secondary 3 - 21st June, 2024 from 09:00 to 10:30
IGCSE 2 & A-Level - 21st June, 2024 from 11:00 to 13:00
Please remind your children to look at their examination schedules every day.
Please ensure your children attend school till the last day of class, which is 26th June.
Please make it a point to attend the PTCs on 27th June and 28th June, as applicable.
When making fee payments, please ensure the name of the student is clearly mentioned in the transaction details and PoPs. That helps accounts reconcile the payment correctly.