Dear AISL Community, I have talked about risk taking a number of times in this newsletter. It is one of the skills that we wish for our students and ourselves to have so that we are challenged and trying new things. It isn't an easy skill to have. Sometimes fear can be overwhelming and hinder us from trying new things and from stepping outside of our comfort zone. Risk taking doesn't mean doing dangerous activities. Risk taking simply means doing activities or trying things that are not part of our normal routine. We take a risk and do something new or different. As the image outlines, "If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place", risk taking sometimes follows that famous quote - Every journey begins with a single step. If we want to stagnate, then we stand still. That might be good for some people. However, as a specie, we are a curious animal. We rarely like standing still. We question, we investigate, we inquire. This is a good thing that can lead to innovation, creativity, and new ideas. We should encourage people to take that step forward. Take that risk and do new things, but of course, in safe environments. At AISL, we want students and staff to step forward so that we as a school are not in the same place. Mark Brookes
Monday, 6th March - Friday, 10th March - Celebrating King Moshoeshoe I Friday, 10th March - Trimester 2 ends; Reports go home Saturday, 11th March - Moshoeshoe Day Monday, 13th March - Thursday, 16th March - Student-Led Conferences Thursday, 30th March - School Play (details to follow) Saturday,1st April - Monday, 10th April - Easter Holiday Tuesday, 11th April - Students Return to classes NOTE: Older versions of the calendar had different dates for after Easter. Please make sure you look at version 6 which is on the school website. Also, the end of the school year is correct on version 6.
From the Director
Meerkat News
American International School of Lesotho
3rd March 2023
Effects of Climate Change on Health According to the World Health Organization, climate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity in the 21st century. Our health is closely linked to the environment we live in. However, our climate is changing with significant consequences for our health and wellbeing. Some of the effects of climate change have been extreme heat which may have detrimental effects on our health. An increase in forest fires, for instance, may expose us to fumes that may trigger respiratory or pulmonary illnesses. Children, older people, and people with pre-existing medical conditions are at risk because they are susceptible to heat stress and dehydration and are more sensitive to exposure to air pollution and smoke from bush fires. It is very important to know the risks climate change brings so that we may protect ourselves and those around us from the effects of the changes. https://www.cdc.gov/climateandhealth/effects/default.
News from the Nurse
AISL Events
1st Grade Newsletter
1st Grade Language Arts For the past week, we have been working on verbs as part of our study of grammar. We know that a verb can be an action word or a feeling. We created different sentences using verbs, and then further looked into the tenses: the past, present and future. 1st Grade Science We have been doing some Mystery Science lessons on sound. We have discovered that sound comes from vibrations, and vibrations are back and forth movement. Below is an interesting activity from our Mystery Science lesson demonstrated. First, we chose a partner. One was a Big Noise and the other was a Hum Feeler. The Big Noise would make different sounds and the Hum feeler would record what he felt as those sounds were made. Indeed, in conclusion, we agreed that sound vibrations travel through the air hence the Hum Feeler could feel the balloon moving when the sounds were made.
1st Grade Math In our Math unit, our focus has been Geometry. First, we differentiated between the 2D and 3D shapes. We drew them and we discovered that 2D shapes are just flat while 3D shapes are solid. We further discovered that the 2D shapes have edges and vertices, so each one of us picked a shape to count the number of vertices and edges. For instance, "A square has 4 vertices and 4 edges", Selai observed whilst 3D shapes have edges, vertices and faces. For instance, "A cube has 12 edges, 8 vertices and 6 faces", Tlhomamo demonstrated to the class as he held a cube. We further looked at a line of symmetry, and we saw that a line of symmetry is a line that divides a shape into 2 equal halves. We wrote our first names and discovered how many lines of symmetry each name has. Whilst still on math, we are happy to participate in the MiniChess program every Wednesday, led by Ms. Palesa. In this program, 1st Grade will learn chess whilst also reinforcing our number sense, including addition and counting.
Alliance Française