My family and I spent a lot of free time in August watching the Olympics – we held our breath as we watched Simone Biles on her comeback tour, cheered as Cindy Ngamba won the first gold medal for the Refugee Team, were on our feet as Julien Alfred won St. Lucia’s first-ever Olympic medal, and gasped in awe as Steph Curry made four 3-pointers in the last three minutes of the gold medal basketball game. We stayed up too late, got up too early, and were excited for sports we had never heard of until those Olympic moments. When it all ended, I was somewhat happy to return to the cadence of our usual TV-watching.

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Earlier this year, teachers from grades 1 to 4 gathered to share their views on the successes and challenges in teaching Earth Warriors lessons. During these lessons, students from grades 1 to 4 at Impact Network are taught about the pressing environmental issues faced by our planet. By raising awareness and providing practical solutions for a more sustainable future, students are inspired to act in their own communities.

 

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I’ve been traveling a ton over the last month and spent some downtime listening to old musical soundtracks. I was particularly fond of some old ones – Rent, Spring Awakening – but also found myself listening to Hamilton a ton. Hamilton tells the story of one of America’s founding fathers – Alexander Hamilton – and is inspired by the biography of his life by historian Ron Chernow.

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Each term, we provide academic enrichment programs to offer teachers and pupils an opportunity to engage in longer thematic projects. On these 'Special Days', regular classes are suspended to allow extended time for hands-on projects.

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Last month, we had a very productive and interactive teacher training, which took place across our 4 districts where we operate. We started our teacher training with a day-long Read Smart session, attended by our grade 1 and 2 teachers who implement this program.

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Hope everyone is having a good start to their week!  As some of you may know, my son got really into Rubik’s Cube this year. For a bit of time, we both did – on a snow day back in winter, we spent the better part of the day learning how to solve a Rubik’s cube using youtube videos, some trial and error, and a healthy dose of frustration. My journey ended there, but he has continued plugging away trying to solve different shapes, different sizes, and constantly twiddling his fingers around a colorful shape.

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Over the past years, we have conducted several Continuous Professional Development (CPD) training sessions to enhance our management team’s skills. These sessions have equipped us with valuable knowledge and skills to lead our teams more effectively. Since the beginning of this year, our commitment to continuous professional development has remained steadfast. We've embarked on several training programs aimed at enhancing our management skills and fostering a culture of growth within our organization. Here are some highlights and key takeaways from our recent activities:

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 The transition to adulthood can be particularly challenging for boys, especially without opportunities to interact with peers and a trusted adult with whom they can discuss the changes they're experiencing. We introduced a Boys' Club to support upper primary male learners in our Impact Network schools during this critical period, to run alongside our Girls’ Clubs.

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For those of you that have been with us since we started our expansion project in partnership with American Institutes for Research (AIR), you might recall that we were supporting a couple of grades at the school. AIR then conducted a randomized controlled trial evaluation with incredible results, that we’ve shared with you before. This year marks the final year of primary school for this research cohort of students and we are celebrating this by sharing stories from students, parents and teachers that have been with us since 2017, when that study started.

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Bwanji from Zambia (I landed early yesterday morning!). For those of you that have been with us since we started our expansion project in partnership with American Institutes for Research (AIR), you might recall that we were supporting a couple of grades at the school. AIR then conducted a randomized controlled trial evaluation with incredible results, that we’ve shared with you before. This year marks the final year of primary school for this research cohort of students and we are celebrating this by sharing stories from students, parents and teachers that have been with us since 2017, when that study started.

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In Sub-Saharan Africa, only 1 in 3 children access secondary school – both because of a lack of actual secondary schools, and because many students do not successfully complete their primary schooling. In Zambia, seventh grade marks the final year of primary school before students advance to secondary school. A critical step in this transition is the national exam taken at the end of the year, which determines eligibility for secondary education.

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As we bid farewell to Term 1, which officially ended on April 26th 2024, our operations team saw the term break as a perfect opportunity to kickstart the preparations for the upcoming Term 2. This school term reset involved a number of meticulously pre-planned activities designed to ensure a seamless transition between the terms. Interestingly, this term break was one of a kind, as it lasted for only a week, thus presenting a unique set of challenges. The team was tasked with the critical role of planning and executing all necessary activities to ensure everything was in perfect place, awaiting the commencement of Term 2.

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Last month, as the world celebrated Earth Day, we reflected on our work over the last few years to combat deforestation. A hope to see a greener environment, a reduction of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, a slow climate change and restored degraded forests are some of the many reasons Impact Network decided to introduce the tree planting program at all its schools and in communities where its schools are being operated.

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As we are alternating between droughts and severe flooding the last few months in Zambia, sometimes our students have incredibly difficult journeys to school. Recently, I revisited this article showing some of the world’s most dangerous and unusual journeys to school

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The solar eclipse has meant that my kids are more interested in space than usual over here. We spent some time this weekend reading a book on Mae Jemison. Jemison was born in Alabama, in 1956, and moved to Chicago when she was three years old. She entered kindergarten knowing how to read, and when teachers asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, she said a scientist.  

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As NYC is about to experience a solar eclipse (the first one since 2017!), I’ve been thinking a ton about space exploration. It reminded me of an amazing Zambian space program in the 1960s (you can read an article by Namwali Serpell here). It’s an interesting, whimsical, and unexpected piece on Edward Makuka Nkoloso, a grade school science teacher who founded the Zambia National Academy of Science, Space Research and Philosophy in 1960.

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In today's world, electronic devices have become an integral part of our daily lives, from smartphones to laptops to televisions. Naturally, our eLearning program requires tablets, projectors, and dongles for the classroom and our management staff have phones and laptops to perform their duties. We can safely say that Impact Network has more electronics in circulation than many other Zambia-based organizations! With the use of technology comes the issue of electronic waste, or e-waste, which poses significant environmental and health risks if not properly managed. E-waste can pose serious environmental and health risks if not disposed of properly like toxic chemicals leaching into the soil and water, harming ecosystems and communities.

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Towards the end of each year, we ask employees to give us feedback on a number of items related to their work life to measure their happiness, motivation, and support received. Our aim of collecting this information is to promote and ensure Impact employees' overall wellbeing. Then, at the start of each new year, the management team reviews and discusses the responses. We pull out the most positive areas where we have done well and the least positive areas, where there is an opportunity to improve.

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This year marks a decade since the world lost American author and poet, Maya Angelou. Active in the civil rights movement, Angelou worked with both Martin Luther King, Jr and Malcolm X, and was one of the first African American women to write about her personal life. Before becoming an author, she held various jobs – a cook, dancer, actress, educator, a journalist in Egypt and Ghana.

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This week, the world lost a huge personality born not too far from where I live in Queens. Iris Apfel – the businesswoman, fashion icon, and actress – died at the age of 102 in Florida. She was born in 1921 to Jewish parents; her mom owned a fashion boutique and her father ran a glass business. She would ride the subway into Manhattan, and explored Greenwich Village, shopping at antique stores. She studied art history at New York University and the University of Wisconsin.

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