Today was a day for celebrations, goodbyes to new friends and reflections upon a fantastic first-time experience for the International School of Kigali.  We come back to Kigali brimming with stories and memories to share.

Highlights:

1. I was impressed to find out that our delegates from Economics committee (Ingo and Dylan)) took the initiative to move to reconsider the failed Turkey resolution. They had many delegates come up to them and express their dismay at what happened yesterday, so they lobbied to have it put back on the agenda, and succeeded. Unfortunately the time constraints of the last day of the conference meant that there ended up not actually being time to debate the resolution, but it was a victory nonetheless to get it put back on the agenda. Additionally, I can tell you that I had conversations with each of our students today about specific questions they asked, motions they proposed, or speeches they made. By today everyone was really actively participating.

2. Much spontaneous cheering and applause throughout the chamber during closing ceremony as announcements were made about distinguished delegates and the the membership of next year’s student-led executive committee. Students wait, sometimes years, to get a chance to serve on the “exec” and so being chosen for the following year’s conference brings, in many cases, tears of joy. EAMUN is a really closely knit community.

3. The dance held at Braeburn Garden Estate far surpassed my expectations. One never knows what to expect with school dances, but after three solid hours of dancing and socializing for our students who made so many new friends and acquaintances in just a week. I had the unenviable task of keeping to our schedule amid hugs and, again, tears.

I can’t tell you the number of times over the last two days I’ve heard one of our students say “I’m *definitely* doing this next year” or “Mr Crocker are we coming back next year?” In many ways this is everything a teacher could ask for.

Needless to say, the EAMUN tradition has now begun strongly at ISK, and our students will return with much enthusiasm and passion for the program and its ideals. I thank you all for giving us this unique and memorable opportunity, and I eagerly look forward to what the future holds.

~Mr. Crocker

From Dr. Anna

ACCREDITATION and EARLY DISMISSAL

Many of you have asked why we are having early dismissal at 1 PM on Fridays for the remainder of the year. We are taking this time to achieve a goal that is common to all of us – accreditation. You may be asking why is this important?

It is a Self-evaluation process (“self study”) that takes approximately 18 months

Successful completion results in official stamp of approval by internationally recognized organizations (CIS/NEASC). The Council of International Schools and the New England Association of Schools and Colleges

Provides accountability to the highest international standards available

• Committees measure ISK’s performances and practices against international standards
• Identifies strengths, weaknesses, and creates action plans for improvement

High school families can know that….

• The ISK high school diploma will be internationally recognized by any legitimate university
• Universities will accept our high school courses as valid and we do not have to individually justify our coursework each time a student applies

Families of younger children can know that….

• You can easily transfer to any other accredited school worldwide (we are a mobile community!)

ALL members of the school community, have assurance that….

• The education meets the highest possible international standards
• The school is devoted to its mission and cares enough about what it does to seek validation by a recognized accreditation authority.
• The school knows itself. It has thought deeply about the services it offers to students, family and community.
• The school is student-oriented. Its philosophy of education is suitable for the students on roll, and encompasses the development of the whole individual.
• The school keeps its promises. It promises only what it can deliver
• The school accepts objective expert assessment of its programs
• The school has a plan for the future and is always seeking to improve

The process is in the form of a Committee structure that involves the Whole school sitting together to take a deep and formalized look at

• Existing condition of the school and its services (complete)
• Mission, Vision, and Educational Objectives (complete)
• Teaching and Learning (begun Fri 25 Jan)
• Governance, Leadership, Management and Finances
• Faculty and Support Staff
• Access to Teaching and Learning
• School Culture and Partnerships
• Health, safety, and facilities

So far we have:

• Step 1: CIS membership (completed June 2011)
• Step 2: Preliminary Visit by Accreditation Officers (completed Sept 2011)
• And we are at Step 3: The 18 month “Self-Study”

While we have involved parents and students in this process the PRIMARY people who are accomplishing these tasks are the teachers. Our teachers are a dedicated group of individuals who are working hard to put together the pieces to make ISK an accomplished school with curriculum, policy and procedures in place.

We are a new school that, for the most part, is developing all of this from scratch in addition to teaching and running the school. It is a time consuming process for all of us. While it is a labor of commitment it is also a commitment of hours and arrangement of time with busy schedules that cannot always accommodate busy schedules.

By arranging the early dismissal we have attempted to handle the following difficulties and to succeed in our timeline of 18 months for accreditation:

1. Logistics with scheduling

2. Prioritization of and maintaining after school clubs – if we don’t have the early release Fridays, we’d have to cancel them to make time for committee work

3. Teaching is a professions that requires after schoolwork in planning, correcting papers and general preparation for the next day, week, month….

4. The student’s classroom experience suffers when teachers’ time is overstretched. Early release allows for teachers to do both their class-work and accreditation while avoiding burnout (a very real risk)

We could set the timeline for 2 years to accomplish accreditation. However, we are concerned about making sure we can meet the needs of parents who require the services of ISK and we are concerned about our future plans for growth. If we are to be internationally competitive with schools with whom we feel comparable (ISK-Kenya; International School of Yaoundé, etc), then accreditation is essential.

We felt the temporary inconvenience of early dismissal was well worth the achievement of accreditation in May of 2013.

Thank you all for your ongoing support of us during this process and we all look forward to our celebration of this achievement together.

Anna M, Karola, PhD

Director

Dates to Remember

24 February – Early Release

Announcements

The ISK PTO invites you to save a day on the the weekend of March 3rd & 4th for the ISK picnic and activity day.

The ISK picnic will be a day of outdoor activities and a potluck picnic that will be fun for the whole family.
The PTO is currently researching venues and availability will dictate whether the picnic takes place on the Saturday or Sunday.
Come out and enjoy an afternoon of fun while building our school community.

More information to come soon!!!

We spent today at the United Nations Office of Nairobi (UNON). This was the lobbying day of the conference when students have the chance to mix, mingle, and gain support for their resolutions.Tomorrow is the official opening ceremony and the beginning of committee debates. But today was the first coming together of almost 1,000 delegates from all over East Africa. The students (and their humble advisor) were awed at the UNON compound – lush green spaces every where, and you’re right in the hub of “The UN’s Headquarters in Africa.” We entered through several security checkpoints before being led through a winding sidewalk lined with all the flags of the world – a rare experience for those of us who are usually only on the edges of the UN community. This week we’re right in the mix of things.

Highlights:

1. Opening speeches by student-led Executive Committee – one included a tribute video to Wangari Maathai. Ask your kids what it means to “be like a hummingbird.” Later on in committee briefing students were shown Ken Robinson’s RSA Animate about the real meaning of education. This was the same video that Dr Anna recommended to teachers a while back, and that I used only a couple of weeks ago in history class during lessons about the industrial revolution. Exciting for students to get that unexpected (and hopefully meaningful) connection.

2. I sat in the upper balcony press area during the first plenary session, and was able to get a bird’s eye view of the whole “General Assembly” as each student delegation sat in the official committee room, all dressed to their professional best, representing their schools, all engaged in the process of how to make a more just and peaceful world. Teachers like to have experiences like this.

We experienced an unforeseen setback today when we got the official resolution packet of all topics to be debate and found neither of ISK’s resolutions to be there! This led me to several personal conversations with the Executive Committee about how or why ours were left out – seems to be an error in communication and organization on the EAMUN side. I have a good relationships with the leaders here, and I think we were able to work out a solution so that our students will be able to present and debate their resolutions. Keep your fingers crossed on that.

Overall the day was a stimulating affair not soon to be forgotten – some students even dressed in the traditional clothing of the country they represent – e.g. surprising to see essentially an Egyptian pharoah walking around the compound!

Committee debates begin tomorrow – the proving ground for all of our preparation.

~Mr. Crocker

Watch the video here.

Dates to Remember
7 February – PTO meeting
10 February – Half Day for Parent-Teacher Conferences. Conferences begin at 1 o’clock
24 February – Early Release
Announcements
ISK PTO News

Next PTO meeting February 7th, 7:30 pm.
PTO meetings are a lot of fun, we bring snacks and drinks and the conversation is lively.They are a great way to contribute to your child’s school experience while enjoying a social evening. Come and have your say.

Bring a snack and/or drink to share, This month’s meeting will be held at the residence of Samela and Mark Priestly in Kacyiru.

From Umubano (Laico) Hotel go towards US embassy and take the first left at the corner of the US Ambassador’s Residence.

Then take the next right for approx. 500 meters, past G4S Security Office on the right. After 2 speed bumps, our bungalow house is down on the left with a red gate (KK Security sign) below the residence of the UK High Commissioner.

If you are still struggling, don’t hesitate to call Samela 078 246 0092.

No Response to the request for assistance from parents to take part in the process for a caterer search
As no parents responded to our request for assistance in conducting a search for a new caterer, and the school survey indicated that 70% of parents were happy with the existing caterer, we will no be conducting a search. If you feel that such a process must be undertaken, please plan to attend the February 7th meeting and let us know how you would like help the process along. The PTO does plan to work with the existing caterer to help them make improvements to how they deliver their meals.

After school swimming lessons
The ISK PTO has an opportunity to offer after-school swim lessons at the Nyarutarama Tennis Club. These lessons will be for children that already have a basic ability to swim and need to improve. The lessons will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 3:45 to 4:30 and be be made up of two skill levels: Tuesdays will be beginner swimmers and Thursdays will be for more advanced swimmers. Please note: This is an outside of school activity and in the event or accident or injury ISK assumes no responsibility for your child.
• The daily fee per child charged by the tennis club will be 1500 rwf per session. We will collect this amount in advance to avoid daily confusion.
• The Instructor will charge 10,000 rwf per session, so once we have our groups signed up we will divide that by the number of children in each group.
• As we are not able to provide kick boards and other learn-to-swim accessories, you child must have a basic ability to swim to take part.
• Tuesdays will be beginner swimmers and Thursdays will be for more advanced swimmers.
• ISK will not provide transportation to the pool, and parents must pick up their children from the pool promptly at 4:30. We will attempt to create a carpool system so that parents may share the responsibility of getting groups of students to the pool.
• This is a parent led activity, and as such we will need to co-ordinate it ourselves. If you wish for your child to take part you must be prepared to take on some of the work.

To enroll your child, please contact Fabrizio Cross, at iskptopres@gmail.com

Dates to Remember

2 February – All School Dialogue. See announcement below

3 February – Early dismissal (students dismissed at 1 pm)

7 February – PTO meeting

Announcements

**One Last Reminder for Thursday’s All School Dialogue. A specific agenda is included. Please come!**

**Important Event for ISK’s Accreditation Process**

**Parents:  ISK needs your help!**

Accreditation will represent an important milestone for the future of ISK.  Our process towards accreditation depends on gathering input from all of  ISK’s stake-holders, including YOU.  If you took the on-line survey, thank you.  That was step one in a two step process of gathering input from parents.

Your opportunity to participate in the important second step is coming up on 2 February.  We are asking you to seriously consider making a 90 minute commitment to the future of our school by attending the “All School Dialogue,” where we will….

-         Give an overview of what benefits the accreditation process brings to you

-         Review and discuss the results of the surveys completed at the end of 2011

-         Provide a structured time for your input as we plan for the future.

This meeting is a required and essential element in the accreditation process.  Therefore, we need participation from as many parents as possible.  Even if your family is not destined to live in Kigali long-term, we still want your help in planning the long-term success of your child’s school.

Here are the details:                                                

What?

An “All School Dialogue” on the results of the accreditation surveys. This is a chance to hear the results of the surveys and a face-to-face opportunity to share your thoughts on ISK’s strategic goals.

When?

Thursday 2 February

18:30 – 20:00

Where?

Lemigo Hotel

Refreshments will be provided. The dialogue will be facilitated in English and French.

All are welcome and we hope to see you all there!

PLEASE plan to attend.

Agenda for All School Dialogue – Thurs 2 Feb 2012

1. Welcome and introduce the Steering Team (5 min)

2. Overview of accreditation process, benefits provided to you, and update of what we’ve done so far (25 min)

3. Time for everyone to provide written input in breakout groups on the school’s future/five year plan. (30 min)

4. Open forum Q & A time (30 min)

5. Closing

~

ISK PTO News

Next PTO meeting February 7th, 7:30 pm.
PTO meetings are a lot of fun, we bring snacks and drinks and the conversation is lively.They are a great way to contribute to your child’s school experience while enjoying a social evening. Come and have your say.

Bring a snack and/or drink to share, This month’s meeting will be held at the residence of Samela and Mark Priestly in Kacyiru.

From Umubano (Laico) Hotel go towards US embassy and take the first left at the corner of the US Ambassador’s Residence.

Then take the next right for approx. 500 meters, past G4S Security Office on the right. After 2 speed bumps, our bungalow house is down on the left with a red gate (KK Security sign) below the residence of the UK High Commissioner.

If you are still struggling, don’t hesitate to call Samela 078 246 0092.

No Response to the request for assistance from parents to take part in the process for a caterer search
As no parents responded to our request for assistance in conducting a search for a new caterer, and the school survey indicated that 70% of parents were happy with the existing caterer, we will no be conducting a search. If you feel that such a process must be undertaken, please plan to attend the February 7th meeting and let us know how you would like help the process along. The PTO does plan to work with the existing caterer to help them make improvements to how they deliver their meals.

After school swimming lessons
The ISK PTO has an opportunity to offer after-school swim lessons at the Nyarutarama Tennis Club. These lessons will be for children that already have a basic ability to swim and need to improve. The lessons will take place Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 3:45 to 4:30 and be be made up of two skill levels: Tuesdays will be beginner swimmers and Thursdays will be for more advanced swimmers. Please note: This is an outside of school activity and in the event or accident or injury ISK assumes no responsibility for your child.

• The daily fee per child charged by the tennis club will be 1500 rwf per session. We will collect this amount in advance to avoid daily confusion.
• The Instructor will charge 10,000 rwf per session, so once we have our groups signed up we will divide that by the number of children in each group.
• As we are not able to provide kick boards and other learn-to-swim accessories, you child must have a basic ability to swim to take part.
• Tuesdays will be beginner swimmers and Thursdays will be for more advanced swimmers.
• ISK will not provide transportation to the pool, and parents must pick up their children from the pool promptly at 4:30. We will attempt to create a carpool system so that parents may share the responsibility of getting groups of students to the pool.
• This is a parent led activity, and as such we will need to co-ordinate it ourselves. If you wish for your child to take part you must be prepared to take on some of the work.

To enroll your child, please contact Fabrizio Cross, at iskptopres@gmail.com

Dates to Remember

27 January – 1 PM dismissal (accreditation afternoon for teachers)

27 January – Movie night at ISK (Kung Fu Panda 2). See announcement below

1 February – No school. Heroes Day.

2 February – All School Dialogue. See announcement below

7 February – PTO meeting

Announcements

**Important Event for ISK’s Accreditation Process**

**Parents:  ISK needs your help!**

Accreditation will represent an important milestone for the future of ISK.  Our process towards accreditation depends on gathering input from all of ISK’s stake-holders, including YOU.  If you took the on-line survey, thank you.  That was step one in a two step process of gathering input from parents.

Your opportunity to participate in the important second step is coming up on 2 February.  We are asking you to seriously consider making a 90 minute commitment to the future of our school by attending the “All School Dialogue,” where we will….

-         Give an overview of what benefits the accreditation process brings to you

-         Review and discuss the results of the surveys completed at the end of 2011

-         Provide a structured time for your input as we plan for the future.

This meeting is a required and essential element in the accreditation process.  Therefore, we need participation from as many parents as possible.  Even if your family is not destined to live in Kigali long-term, we still want your help in planning the long-term success of your child’s school.

Here are the details:                                                 

What?

An “All School Dialogue” on the results of the accreditation surveys. This is a chance to hear the results of the surveys and a face-to-face opportunity to share your thoughts on ISK’s strategic goals.

When?

Thursday 2 February

18:30 – 20:00

Where?

Lemigo Hotel

Refreshments will be provided. The dialogue will be facilitated in English and French.

All are welcome and we hope to see you all there!

PLEASE plan to attend.

-*Flowers from Imbabazi orphanage! *

Bouquets from Roz Carr’s orphanage Imbabazi, in Ruhengeri are for sale in
Kigali every Friday by subscription. Price: RWF3000 per bouquet, RWF39,000
Brighten up your home or office and support IMBABAZI Orphanage.

For more information contact: susanneimbabazi@gmail.com or speak to Jean Marie in the ISK office. Bouquets are delivered to ISK every Friday.

MUN MOVIE NIGHT FUNDRAISER
ISK’s Model UN team is hosting a movie night to raise funds for their upcoming trip to Nairobi to compete in a Model UN conference.
27 January at ISK
6:30 pm
Kung Fu Panda 2

Note from Dr. Anna

Active Kids Get Better Grades

Any kind of physical activity seems to boost kids’ school performance, according to a recently published international analysis. Researchers reviewed 14 studies that compared kids’ physical activity with their grades or test scores. Ten of the studies included in the analysis were “observational” – researchers asked parents, teachers and the kids themselves how active they were and then tracked the youngsters’ academic performance for months or years. The other four studies compared the test scores of groups of kids who attended extra physical education classes or other types of exercise against the test results of those who didn’t get any additional exercise. Here, again, the kids who performed the most exercise scored higher on tests. The investigators concluded that kids may be better behaved and better able to concentrate on schoolwork when they get enough exercise. Another theory: exercise improves blood flow to the brain and improves mood. The study was published in the January 2012 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

Dates to Remember

20 January – 1 PM dismissal (accreditation afternoon for teachers)

27 January – 1 PM dismissal (accreditation afternoon for teachers)

1 February – No school. Heroes Day.

Announcements from the PTO

Next PTO meeting Tuesday February 7^th.

The ISK PTO Normally meets the 2^nd Tuesday of every month, however as the 2^nd Tuesday in February is the 14^th, Valentines day, we will move our next meeting forward to Tuesday February 7^th.

1. More PTO Volunteers please.

The ISK PTO is a group of parents and teachers who put their time into planning fundraising and school activities. Right now we have the classic situation of 5% of the people doing 95% of the work and those 5% are going to become exhausted soon without some more support. Please try to come out to a PTO meeting and find out what you can do to help, or look out for PTO announcements and when a request for support that fits your schedule comes along, volunteer.

Have an idea? Tell us about it, Maybe you have a skill the PTO can use? Let us know.

The PTO is ready to make use of any time you may have to give. Contact the PTO at iskptopres@gmail.com

2. School Catering

The ISK board is in the process of writing up a Request for Proposals for a new catering service, the current caterer will also be invited to submit a proposal. The PTO has been asked to create a group of parents who will evaluate prospective caterers.  If you have an opinion about the food at ISK now is your chance to take part, Interested parents and teachers are invited to put their names forward. Contact the PTO at iskptopres@gmail.com.

3. Sports Day.

One of the ways that we think that the PTO could enrich our students school experience is by facilitating a sports and activities day. This would be an afternoon, either weekday or weekend where the PTO would cover the facility costs to get our kids out to a playing field where a number of games could take place. Football/soccer, running races, fun games–the possibilities are endless. We are hoping to do our first one in March, stay tuned for more info.

Everyone is invited to attend ISK students’ art and photography exhibit this Friday 16 December. Download an invitation!