NEWSLETTER
October 2021
MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL
Dear AIS Family,
Greetings! As we continue to be online and try to adjust to the circumstances with flexibility and patience, I have no doubt that students, families, and staff of AIS will continue to thrive during this time.
I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the importance of creating a conducive ambience for your child to study, while at home. Their space should preferably have a wall in the background, so that your home and related activities are not a distraction to your child or their classmates.
It gives me great pleasure in introducing our PTO Chair for this year, Kyegombe Godwin, who has been extremely active, proactive and enthusiastic about strengthening the AIS Community.
I am very happy to inform that we had a successful KCCA visit regarding reopening of school. More details are in the taskforce section.
Candidates are working extremely hard as they prepare for October/November exams. We wish them all the luck.
We are a proud AIS family, who as per our commitment have continued to thrive with online programme and nothing stopped us from celebrating new families at AIS through Open Day, celebrating our curriculum through CCC, celebrating family and grandparents through EC Family Week and Grandparents Day, celebrating the future of students through Career’s Week for Secondary students, celebrating our hardworking team on the occasion of International Teachers’ Day through the month and last but not the least…. Celebrating diversity thorough Global Village!
In the same breath, looking forward to many more events like School Play, Virtual Field trips, Internship programmes for Upper Secondary students, Service Week and 3-Way Conferences and much more.
Lastly, I will conclude with a hope that, January 2022 will not only be a calendared new year, but also in all its genuineness be a new year of less uncertainties, more hope, more laughter, less masks, more hugs and most importantly togetherness! Happy Midterm!
TASKFORCE UPDATES
I would like to take this opportunity to, once again, welcome our newest member of the AIS COVID 19 Taskforce- the PTO Chair, Kyegombe Godwin.
The Taskforce met twice before the midterm break to discuss a few matters related to the pandemic. The Head of Taskforce also had training meetings with the departments that would be welcoming Candidate Students.
We are very proud of every member of the AIS Community for helping #flattenthecurve. If there is one thing the virus has taught us, it is the strength in unity. There is no “I” in this fight.
We are pleased that our KCCA inspection was successful. With an overall score of 86%, we checked almost all boxes (and immediately actioned every improvement suggested). We do hope that all our learners are back on campus as soon as we get word from the government.
Thank you for continuing to take appointments before visiting the campus, and helping us successfully execute every SOP in place.
Nishitha Shrivastava
Head of Admissions/Admin Department
Taskforce Lead
Email: [email protected]
WORLD TEACHERS’ DAY
“Stars are born out of dark moments” Our AIS Stars enjoying World Teachers’ Day
There is no ‘one’ day to celebrate teachers, since their influence lingers on for years! But it’s a start. This October, as an extension of World Teachers’ Day, we tried to make the entire month special with lunch, gifts, treats and more! Acorns International School stands tall because of each of its members, teaching and non-teaching, and we celebrate every hard working member of this AIS Family!
Quote from a teacher:
“What a fabulous Teachers’ Week!!! The special food, swimming slots, bonuses and treatment given to us has made us feel like we are on Cloud 9! Working under the AIS Management, Directors and administrators really helps us to elevate the whole work experience. Your motivation and kindness are a few traits that make you the great leaders that you are today! Thank you for your understanding and support“.
Amanda Mahaffey
PYP5 Homeroom Teacher
COFFEE WITH CURRICULUM COORDINATOR
Thank you parents for joining us for our bi-annual Coffee with Curriculum Coordinator (CCC). During the event this September, we invited parents and guardians to take on a student role and engage with Ms. Rachelle and Ms. Yirka to learn more about Inquiry-Based Learning through the Inquiry Cycle. The “students” were led through the Inquiry Cycle phases; tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, reflection, and taking action.
Through this process, we discovered the differences between the traditional teaching model and the IB model, how teachers at AIS use the principles of Inquiry-Based Learning in everyday lessons, and how parents and guardians can apply these practices in their interactions at home.
GLOBAL CITIZEN AS THE AIS VALUE
We have been exploring Global citizen as the AIS value during this first half of the term. Students have looked at learner profile attributes such as Risk-taker, Balanced, Reflective, and Inquirers. For students to continue identifying with and being part of the emerging world community, we encourage you to provide opportunities to practice the skills they have inquired about regarding global citizens.
The next CCC will be in January 2022. Please plan to attend and come ready to interact and participate!
Yirka Vinck & Rachelle Hale
Our first CCC, on September 3, provided insight into the programmes and the learning journey of the students in each programme. The sessions also highlighted academic honesty, IB Diploma Core and MYP Personal Projects.
Sam Weaver & Kenneth Kanyesigye
OPEN DAY
Early Childhood
During the EC Open Day, parents and students were able to meet Ms. Ameena, Ms. Sarah, Ms. Yirka and all the EC teachers. Students were excited to see each other and most importantly their teachers. It was heartwarming to see so many innocent smiles and chats. Details of the online programme were shared and teachers took questions from students and parents. Hope that this session was useful and welcoming for both – new and returning families. Thank you for joining us for this informative session.
Sarah Bowman
Head of Early Childhood Department
Email: echod.ac.ug
Primary
As the first event of the academic year, Open Day is a chance for students and parents to meet their new teachers and learn more about what to expect in their new class. In Primary, students were all invited to Zoom sessions to play games, exchange facts about one another, and learn about expectations of the classroom. Students were excited and very happy to meet their friends and teachers. Thank you to all who participated and welcomed in the new academic year.
Shallon Baguma
Head of Primary Department
Email: [email protected]
Secondary
The virtual Open Day in AIS Secondary Department was an exciting day with the same spirit of enthusiasm and warmth as it would have been on campus. The teachers and the Secondary Senior Management team welcomed parents and students to the new academic year with a message from the Head of School- Ms. Ameena Lalani, followed by a welcome message from all teachers. The coordinators of the programmes then highlighted the programme-specific details and things to look forward to in the new academic year.
Shirin Bagchi
Head of Secondary Department
Email: [email protected]
PARENT TEACHER ORGANIZATION (PTO)
On behalf of the PTO and myself, I would like to extend our warmest wishes to you all and congratulate you on reaching this far. Through a crucible for years now, AIS has been tested and AIS has risen to the challenge. From the onset of the Covid Pandemic, the AIS mission has not wavered, nor has the AIS PTO been impeded from supporting activities that bring together the parents, teachers, students community.
With all your support, we look ahead uniquely as AIS PTO 2021-2022 – restless, bold, optimistic – and set our sights on the PTO we know we can be and we must be.
To the students, press forward with speed, urgency, and resilience. We have much to do in this period of possibility, as such, keep in mind that by participating in unity (yet observing social distance ) as the AIS family and community we can do great things. Important things!
To the teachers, a once-in-a-century virus silently stalks the country and you have been at the front line, we appreciate you in a special way. We are together in this, we have come so far. But we still have far to go. We trust in you to take us there.
To the parents, the AIS PTO success story depends not on any one of us, not on some of us, but on all of us. We rely greatly on your support in all forms, as and when required, you have always come through. We request you to carry on. We have never, ever, ever failed to reach our AIS PTO goals when we have acted together.
So far, the PTO met twice. In the first meeting, on September 20th, the officers were selected. In the adjoining document, there’s a list of all PTO members and their roles. The second meeting was on September 30th and was a goal-setting session. Below is what we discussed and agreed to start with this term:
- Home Clothes Day
- Virtual Event
- Encouraging teachers on World Teachers’ Day
- Support Service Week
–Godwin Kyegombe
PTO Chair
EC FAMILY WEEK / GRANDPARENTS’ DAY
It was a week of fun with our families! Each day, the EC teachers gave students a different activity to complete with their family; a science experiment, a photoshoot, a fun dance and more. We had so much fun seeing all the photos and videos you sent us from the week!
Grandparents’ Day
Thank you to the grandparents who were able to join us live on Zoom. Our students dressed up as grandparents and introduced us to the “real” grandparents. Stayed tuned for our Grandparent’s Cookbook coming soon!
CAREERS WEEK
Careers Week was celebrated with much enthusiasm. We had guest lecturers from different walks of life – Mr. David Masanso from Animations Studio,Ms. Carol Beyanga- Editor of Monitor publications and Ms. Emi Morita – Student Recruitment Specialist for Canadian Universities. Students also had the opportunity to find out about their skills and aptitudes to make informed choices about their career pathways.
ASSEMBLIES
Early Childhood
Reception students showed off what they learnt in their first unit :Who We Are.” We are so proud of all that they have accomplished so far and can’t wait to see what they have to show us in their next assembly.
Primary
The beauty of the world lies in the diversity of its people. And PYP 6 brought this assertion to life, through the different presentations they exhibited during the assembly. The theme was ‘Cultures & Communities’.
Secondary
Each class presents their assembly based on one learner profile in action. While DP 2 and A Levels presented theirs on the learner profile of ‘Open Mindedness’ , DP 1 presented theirs on what it means to be ‘Courageous’.
TOK EXHIBITION
Our first IB Diploma cohort started their sprint towards completing their Diploma with their Theory of Knowledge (ToK) Exhibition- exploring their notions on Knower and Knowledge.
GLOBAL VILLAGE
