Communication

ICS Addis provides many lines of communication between home and school.  Each classroom teacher and/ or grade level sends home a brief update via Toddle every Thursday, explaining classroom happenings and updates. Every six weeks there will be a unit overview sent giving an oveview of the upcoming unit explaining clasroom activites and notifying parents about ways they can support their children at home. All teachers check their emails daily, and if you send a teacher an email, you can expect a response in no more than one business day. All parents receive the weekly ICS newsletter, the ICS Weekly, from the school, highlighting upcoming events and important happenings across the campus. There will also be announcements that are sent to parents, as needed, via the Toddle platform.

See also the ICS Community Communications guidelines HERE.    

We believe that proactive communication between school and home is essential for all students’ success. If for any reason you are having difficulty communicating with a teacher, do not hesitate to contact the elementary office and we will relay the message to the teacher.

An informed and involved parent community is an asset in any educational environment. Two-way communication is essential.

Communication to Parents

ICS makes use of a number of ways to keep parents updated on what’s happening at school, in the classroom and with students. 

• ICS Weekly: This Weekly newsletter is the primary source of information for parents.

• Coffee Mornings/Parent Education Sessions: Leadership will be present for you to interact with. 

• Board of Governors Meetings: The board is the governing body at ICS. There are two Association General Meetings throughout the year that parents are welcomed and encouraged to attend. Strategic overviews are provided with an opportunity for parents to ask questions.

• Toddle: is a learning management system that allows PYP schools to plan, assess, report, and document learning. It supports students in capturing their growth through a digital portfolio feature that allows students to create, reflect, share, and collaborate. This captures the learning process, not just a product or final result. Toddle is a tool that gives students an authentic audience of their peers, parents, and teachers which encourages real feedback. Posts are viewable only by family members and classmates if desired. All classroom and school-wide announcements to parents will be sent through the Toddle platform.

Note: all communications to parents from classroom teachers and the ES Office will be through the ICS- issued parent email. Please make sure to activate your parent email address. For any assistance, please contact the es.office@icsaddis.org.

Communication from Parents

At ICS, we believe that feedback and constructive communication is important for the success of the school. Here are a number of ways for parents to communicate with the school.

• Teachers & Administrators: Each year we provide an extensive list of teacher and administrator contact details. In addition, parents are welcome to set up an appointment with the teacher(s) and principal(s), or any other administrator. If you have any feedback, please reach out.

• Info@ICS Email: This email is monitored throughout each day. Any general questions or feedback is welcome.

• Parent Teacher Organization (PTO): Join the PTO. The PTO is set up to help facilitate two-way communication between parents and the school. They can be contacted at ppto@icsaddis.org

• Board of Governors: The Board of Governors are elected by the Association each year. You can reach out to them directly or you can email the Board with any concerns or questions at board@icsaddis.org

• Show up at events: Come to the coffee mornings, come to the Association General Meetings, come to other ICS events. These are forums for parent communication. 

Parent/Guardian Contact Information

ICS stresses the importance of providing a safe and well- balanced school program. However, we recognize that even with the most thorough preparations, accidents and emergency situations may occur. It is important that each student’s parents provide the school with the most current information that will assist in the event of an unfortunate situation. At the beginning of school, families will be asked to verify the contact data on file at the school. Parents will be asked to confirm the accuracy of this information and make amendments as needed, should this information change during the year.

Parents are asked to contact the school with the amendments. Parents or legal guardians are the only persons recognized by the school to:

• give permission for participation in school activities

• sign forms, write notes of absence

• allow students to leave school in case of illness

• pick up children from school

Persons designated to perform any of the above activities must have written authority from a parent or legal guardian. Forms are available on the website under  Temporary guardianship should also be recorded in the student's file.

Other Caregivers and Extended Parent Absences

It is required that all responsible guardians/caregivers are entered properly into our school administration program (PowerSchool). Please drop by or email the elementary office and make sure your PowerSchool page is up to date and lists all possible people who could be responsible for your child. Also, make sure they have the appropriate ICS IDs.

At ICS, many of our families are involved in work all across Africa. This sometimes requires parents to be away from Addis for lengthy periods of time. We request that parents advise the school when they will be away for extended periods. We also need to know who to contact or work with in case of an emergency.

Temporary Guardianship

All students must have a parent or guardian present in Ethiopia who assumes full responsibility for the student. If the parent(s) or current guardian(s) will be out of Addis Ababa, not in cell phone range or absent from Ethiopia, they MUST designate another adult as the guardian during that time. The designated guardian will be the primary contact for the named students during the dates of guardianship, including for emergencies. The appointed guardian has the authority to direct medical intervention and emergency evacuation from Ethiopia.

Parents will also be contacted whenever possible. Guardianship forms are available on PowerSchool, which can be accessed from our website under Community Portal.