Every week ELC teachers take it in turns to plan for outdoor provocations with different purposes in mind, in order to elicit thinking and the development of particular skills. Ms. Che’te placed floats with varied shapes and colours for the children to play with and interestingly the children organised them into trampolines. Children experimented with different motions such as hopping, jumping and skipping from one float to the other. While some students made connections between how the floats felt (i.e. ‘it’s wobbly’; EAL learners were seen squatting and uttering ‘rabbit’ to express their experience and understanding) other students made links to the colours and shapes of the floats (i.e. ‘they look like rainbows’ or ‘they are triangles’). All in all, this provocation promoted the development of students’ self-management skills such as gross-motor and spatial awareness – invaluable skills for the growth and development of our students in early childhood.

Thank you to all families who came along to support this year's International Day celebrations held on Saturday, 07 October 2017. The fun, festivities and tasty food ensured that everyone had a great family day out. People were happy, festive and proud to share a sense of their culture and identity. Our mission statement highlights that we are a diverse group of learners. We are extremely grateful to the LIS community who supported an international booth or volunteered their time. A special thank you to our PTA members who helped to plan and coordinate such a successful school community event.

LIS celebrates Peace Day every September. The morning begins with an assembly and continues with a variety of Peace Day centered workshops throughout the day. The day ends with a Peace parade. The children “walk for peace” around the campus on a predetermined route and then finish in the school cafeteria area for a final assembly. Parents come to cheer the children on.

George’s journey from Angola to the Republic of Congo did not have a happy beginning.  George, a chimpanzee, was stolen from his forest home and family for the illegal pet trade.  Thankfully, he was found by Dr. Cristina of Casa dos Animais. He became part of the LIS community and was cared for by Ms. Dalene in the LIS Accounting Department.  Funds raised by LIS students in Year 6 paid for George’s travel cage, flight and customs cost to transport him to the Tchimpounga Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Center in the Republic of Congo.  Today, George is being looked after in a safe place by a professional caretaker, with whom he shares a close bond. In the future, George will be integrated with other chimpanzees of similar ages.  Over time, he will gain friends and become an important part of the group. This is a happy ending for George and his friends at LIS.

Take three ambitious year 12 LIS students, a great medical cause and the highest mountain on the African continent and you have a recipe for a truly inspiring life experience. Our ‘Trek for Meds’ team including Molly, Nabeeha and Denise successfully planned and completed an expedition to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the tallest mountain in Africa! Their collective goal was to raise money to buy malaria preventative medicine and tests to distribute to families in rural areas of Angola. Malaria is a recurring cause of child mortality in Angola. The Trek for Meds team received tremendous encouragement and recognition from their immediate and global communities. The overwhelming support helped the team to conquer the mountain and smash their original fundraising goal of USD3,000. This is service leadership in its purest form. In the spirit of our mission statement, I am confident this amazing story will inspire many other students to find a unique way to ‘thrive in the world’.