KISU Newsletter

Over the past few weeks we have made great strides in our efforts to get back to normality. Information about clubs has been sent home and lots of students have signed up. ISAAK trials have taken place and squads selected. Over 90% of our students are now back in school experiencing physical learning. KISU looks and sounds like a school again!

Secondary students now have lockers. We would discourage students from bring valuable items to school but if they have to then please keep them safe in your locker.

Students have had 2 weeks now to purchase uniform and we would now expect all our students to be in the correct uniform everyday. School photos will be taking place at the start of February and we want all our students looking their best. More details of the photo dates will be sent home soon.

Year 11 mock examinations have started and we wish all our Year 11 students the best of luck. Work spent on revising for the mocks does pay dividends when it comes to the actual examinations.

A big thankyou to all the staff involved in health week. We have learned a lot this week and hopefully started on the road to a healthier life style.

Last week a family slept through our alarm. Once they were up, you can imagine the madness...

After a few frantic minutes, the little boy sat down in the hallway and yelled:

"My body can’t move that fast right now. I need to slow down!!"

Even though they had no time to lose, they had to honor his “I statement.”

He’d just resisted blaming someone else for his discomfort which would have sounded like:

YOU are making me rush and I'm angry!

Instead, he took ownership of his needs and feelings.

Another example of an "I statement":

"I feel frustrated when I need to get ready fast. I need more time."

Teaching child to use “I statements” to express their needs and boundaries is a lifelong skill that would help them maintain healthy relationships and resolve conflicts.

This will start on Saturday 29th January.

KG2 to Y2 9.00am to 10.30am 100,000/- for 10 sessions

Y3 to Y6 9.00am to 11.00am 150,000/- for 10 sessions

If you are interested then please email r.kimoto@kisu.com

Over the last two weeks, key stage 1 musicians have explored ways of using their voices expressively while learning beat rhythm and have developed appreciation of music around the world. The students have pitched low and high notes and were tasked to sing some complex songs from memory which they did so well. I must admit they made a great choir. They also had fun in creating music with musical instruments that included drums, boom whackers and xylophones, a very good aspect of concentration while playing together and keeping a steady beat.

Our Year 3 class are very happy and excited to be back in school. They have settled in so well and adjusted to both school and classroom routines. The transition into KS2 has been very smooth as we had a guided tour around the campus in the first week.

As an introduction to our topic ‘Signs and Symbols’, the Year 3 students created their own cave drawings using cave symbols they had studied depicting different messages.

Even within our own communities, we have seen a rise in the digital divide in recent years. One question that I am frequently asked is whether or not ICT should be made mandatory. I can't give a different answer than the one I gave many years ago, which was yes. The only thing I'd add is that mandating ICT will not solve the digital divide problem, but mandating digital literacy will. A population that is more informed about the current state of ICT is unquestionably at an advantage over one that isn’t.

But the question is, how do we make ICT interesting? How do we introduce young people to challenging ICT activities that keep them engaged and interested? You could do graphics design, website authoring, or desktop publishing, but none of these are particularly challenging or engaging. Enter coding. In this context, coding does not imply writing complex code in Python or C++. It is, in fact, a fun way to approach coding by creating. In this regard, one will, for example, create their own games, test them, and improve them, and each time they do so, they are improving their own skills while also challenging themselves with the complexity of their creation.

Of course, the next question is where and how I go about doing this. That is even easier because you can do it from the comfort of your own home with the help of online tools and resources from an online school. If Covid 19 has taught us anything, it is that we do not always have to take the learners to classes; instead, we can bring the classes to them. So, in that spirit, a number of online coding schools have emerged, and I will discuss the two that I believe are the most promising.

First on the list is Codelearn. Codelearn is a game-based learning method that teaches everyone programming, robotics, and computational thinking. It was originally designed by parents for their own children, with the main goal of preparing them for the future and teaching them 21st century skills. Their program revolves around having a detailed study plan, assigning the learner to a mentor, and having a learning platform with Artificial Intelligence embedded in it.

Codakid is the other. This online school provides two options. The first is a self-study program, while the second is a private tutor-led program. The program works by providing a platform that teaches kids how to use real programming languages and professional tools by creating games, coding apps, programming drones, building websites, and more.

Of course, these are not the only ones, but they provide a good starting point and an enriching experience for students. So, if you're not sure what to do with your kids, introduce them to some of these, and you could start by allowing them to try out the trial programs before enrolling after all like President Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States said, "The best way to predict the future is to create it."

The most merit awards this year have been awarded to;

Year 7 Samaira & Jamal

Year 8 Alena, Alexis, Doreen, Ismail & Mark

Year 9 Joshua O & Joshua N

Year 10 Edip, Suchita, Tinotenda, Arianna & Christiana

Year 11 Emma & Matias

DP1 Zawadi

DP2 Anne P, Fatima & Selena

The highest number of merits this week were awarded to

Samaira, Jamal, Alena, Alexis, Doreen, Ismail & Mark