“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.” (H. Jackson Brown)
RE: First Days of School Complete Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance (5 P’s)
ISO Community, Prospective Parents, Partners, and Friends,
It is hard to believe that today marks the second day of our physical return to our school campus. We have indeed had a great start, and continue to have great expectations. This year we will open our campus to around 145 students. This is the same enrollment level that we had during my first year in 2020. However, through creative scheduling, “rebalancing of resources”, and most importantly, time we were able to make adjustments proactively to our educational program. This time with 145 students our educational program is much stronger, with more course offerings than we had during my first year here at the International School of Ouagadougou. In the spring of 2020, the school was dealing with the COVID worldwide health emergency, and doing long-range contingency planning was clearly more challenging.
As we have learned, the two most important ingredients in the educational process are quality communication, alongside positive proactive parent involvement. During these first days back at school, we have seen those two items firmly in place to help the International School of Ouagadougou continue on that journey of going from Good to Great!!
To that end, we just have a few highlights to pass along…
Quick Notes:
- Last year, the school had a new security system installed over the summer. It is the Visplex Security System known worldwide as the leader in school security system protocols. This new state-of-the-art system no goes “hand in hand” with our updated Health and Safety Manual, approved by the Board of Trustees, and located on PlusPortals. Our first safety “drill” will be next week, as we understand these are exceptional times in our region.
- Our new IB Coordinator and Band/Theater teacher have settled in very nicely, and have had a seamless transition to the International School of Ouagadougou. Ms. Joanna Bashir will return the first week of September to continue in the position of Lower School Music Teacher.
I personally have heard in the parking lot, on the phone, and by email, how excited your students are to work with the returning and new faculty who have come on board this year. Indeed, we are all pleased with our newest members of the ISO Teaching Team. - Next Thursday, August 31st, from 15:30 – 17:30, the school will hold its annual Open House, which will give you the chance to meet your students’ teachers. Please note that the time is adjusted from years past. For parents who can’t make it, we will record some sessions for each class and have it sent out on Friday.
- MAP testing for Grades K – 10 will take place the week of September 5th. Once again, MAP stands for “Measure of Academic Progress” and it is not a test you can study for. However, a good night’s sleep and a healthy breakfast will help your students focus so we can measure their growth more effectively and accurately.
Lastly, as we exit the rainy season, our nurse has reported that we have had several cases of mosquito bites. Therefore, it is advisable that your students wear long pants on non-PE days for the next few weeks.
Over the years and from prior experiences in other Director roles, I have learned that although we know that nothing will be “easy”, we also know that administrators, teachers, and parents will continue to work together in order to get students at every level of learning back on track after the summer break.
Final note: Tomorrow, (Wednesday) we will be testing our SMS WhatsApp group, and parent phone numbers as part of our security protocols. Please enter the QR (sent by email) directly into your phone and presto (Voila!)… you will be in our WhatsApp group!
Looking forward to seeing you at the Open House next week.
Jeff