Director’s message 80

“In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength but by perseverance.” (H. Jackson Brown)

RE: First Week of School Complete Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance (5 P’s)

ISO Community, Prospective Parents, Partners and Friends,
(français ci-dessous)

It is hard to believe that today marks the one-week physical return to our school campus. We have indeed had a great start, and continue to have great expectations.

We know that the two most important ingredients in the educational process are quality communication, alongside positive proactive parent involvement. During this first week back at school, we have seen those two items firmly in place and helping the International School of Ouagadougou go from Good to Great!!

To that end, we just have a few highlights to pass along…

Quick Notes:

  • The school has a new security system that was 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 will go “hand in hand” with our new Health and Safety Manual, approved by the Board of Trustees, and located on PlusPortals.
  • Our five new teachers and Lower School Principal have settled in very nicely, and have had a seamless transition to the International School of Ouagadougou. I personally have heard in the parking lot, on the phone, and by email, how excited your students are to work with the new faculty that have come on board this year. Indeed, we are all pleased with our newest members of the ISO Teaching Team.
  • Next Thursday, September 1st, from 16:30 – 18:00, the school will hold its annual Open House, which will give you the chance to meet all of 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 – 9 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. Note: Students in Grade 10 will also take the MAP test the following week, starting on September 12th. This will assist our Upper School Administration in making informed decisions regarding placements for Grades 11 and 12.

Lastly, as we exit the rainy season, our nurse has reported that we have had several cases of mosquito bites. So, it is advisable that your students wear long pants on non-PE days for the next few weeks.

Over the years, I have learned, from prior experiences and in other Director roles, 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: Tonight, we will be testing our SMS WhatsApp group. Please enter the QR code sent directly to your phone, and presto (Voila!)… you will be in our group!

If you do not get to join the WhatsApp group by 18:00 today, please notify Jonnathan at cro@iso.bf, and he will personally enter you into our system.

Looking forward to seeing you at the Open House next week.

Jeff