From the Director
Meerkat News
American International School of Lesotho
Important Dates:
Tuesday, 21st September - Annual Photo Day. Saturday, 2nd October - Sunday, 10th October - October Holiday - No School. 4th October, 2021 - Lesotho Independence Day.
17th September 2021
Dear AISL Community, As we finish yet another week, I wanted to talk about endurance and energy. All of us for the last 18 months have had to adapt to many things, often needing to summon up courage, mental agility, as well as some resilience to get things done. This all requires energy both physical and mental. Being overwhelmed with work is not just something that affects adults. It affects children also. Like the image on the left: sometimes when we have so many things to do, or a large 'pile' of tasks, we struggle to progress. This can also be the case when trying to juggle too many things at once. However, what we try to promote with the students, particularly as part of the skills training, is that you don't try to tackle problems in large chunks, but do it in smaller pieces, smaller steps, or more manageable tasks. One skill, that is not portrayed in the image on the left, is one of the 21st Century learning skills of collaboration. Even doing one task at a time can be productive and helpful in achieving the goal. However, getting help, collaborating, or having someone else support you is also a great approach to completing work. Over time, you may learn to not rely on the support, but there is nothing wrong with getting that support. We should never be too proud, stubborn, or afraid to ask for help in moving our 'bricks' of work. Mark Brookes
COVID-19 Update
Dear Community, There are a lot of different places to get information regarding COVID-19 in your home countries or here in Lesotho. It is important that the information you are getting is from a reliable source and not from social media sites that are not verifiable. Sites like WHO or CDC, who are global leaders in the fight against COVID-19, will have honest, accurate, and scientifically supported information. Other sites to consider would be official government organisations from your own countries. One of the great things about the Internet, but also the problem with it, is that anyone can make a site or post an opinion. It is important that you get your information from reliable sources. Mark Brookes Reminder: If someone in the household is symptomatic, please keep the child home. Contact the nurse on the information below.
School Nurse Sengovuka Mlotshwa
This is his contact information: +266 5888 7263 and nurse@aisl.co.ls.
For the past weeks in First Grade, we started a unit about the characteristics of living and non living things. We also looked around to find living things and nonliving things. We now know that living things can move, grow, reproduce, and eventually die. They also need air to breathe, enough space, food and water. Then we moved on to discuss plants. Students creatively painted different parts of the plant. As a class, we discussed different functions of each part of the plant. Last week, we planted pumpkin seeds. Students take the responsibility to water them every morning before class starts, and ensure that they are in a sunny place. We hope that soon they will start sprouting. Students sharing their understanding on the unit taught Mario: I love science and I know that plants need water to grow! Panashe: Plants need air to grow. Jayson: Plants need enough space to grow. Bereng: Stem helps support the plant. Elijah: Plants use their roots to get nutrients from the soil. Moipone: All living things need food and water to grow. Kabo: Non living things don't grow. Mazvita: Living things are things like flowers, trees, and people. Mpule: Non living things are things like a chair, rock, and pencil. Yula: Living things can reproduce, which means they can have babies.
First Grade Science
First Grade Science (Continued)