Communications

The home-school relationship is vital to support student learning and to build a supportive and informed community. We believe in timely and respectful communication that serves to strengthen relationships and positively impact student learning.

Communication methods

The High School division supports communication in the following ways:

ICS Weekly: Sent via email every Thursday by the communications team at ICS. The communication found in this newsletter outlines current divisional learning information and previews upcoming events.
Back to School nights: A great opportunity to meet with teachers, leaders, and support staff.
Parent-Teacher-Student Conferences: Families may request a conference at any time with a teacher, but the High School staff will welcome families once per semester to discuss students' progress.
Coffee Mornings/Parent Education Sessions: Leadership will be present for you to discuss and learn together.
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
HS Office: hs.office@icsaddis.org will distribute 'live' information to grade levels or to the entire section that falls outside of the ICS Weekly. A reply will be sent to any email received within 24 hours during the work week.

Between faculty and parents: Families and faculty are encouraged to communicate directly vie email at any time in order to engage in real-time learning conversations that support student success. An email will be responded to within 48 hours if received during the work week. The general email format at ICS is: first name. last name@icsaddis.org .

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. The 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 these 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 from the Counseling Office and kept in the student's file. Temporary guardianship should also be recorded in the student's file.

Guardianship Form

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.

As part of our Child Protection Policy, parents who are out of the country for more than one day must designate an official guardian for their children by submitting the guardianship authorization form through PowerSchool. In the unlikely event of a health or disciplinary concern, we need to be able to contact someone locally with the authority to make medical and disciplinary decisions. A guardian is not necessary if one parent is still present.

Parent / Student Updates & Forms - In PowerSchool /PS

The following mandatory forms can be completed in PowerSchool. HERE is a video showing you how to access forms in PowerSchool. HERE is a PDF of how to log into PS

Parent / Family contact information
Student Contact and Medical Updates
Guardianship Form

Keep Parent Contact Information Updated

It is very important that any change in telephone contact numbers or email addresses are reported immediately to your student’s school office. We use this contact database for all communications and to develop a "telephone tree" which is designed to contact as many ICS families as possible in case of an emergency or school closing (or partial closing) for any reason.

Thank you for your cooperation.

Photo /Video Release

ICS takes photos and videos of students during school and class events, performances, presentations, in the classrooms and around the school. Photos and videos are used in ICS promotional materials including but not limited to our website, information displays, brochures, flyers, banners, posters and recruitment materials. Students may be identified by grade level and/or first name only. Videos of concerts and presentations are made available on our website to ICS parents.

If you do not want your child’s photo to be used in our promotional materials please email communications@icsaddis.org with your request.

Channels of Communication

Whenever a question, issue or problem arises, the solution is first to be sought at its source. In any situation of interest or concern, it is best to go to the person directly involved in order to ensure that you:

Gain first-hand information
Acquire a complete understanding of the situation
Communicate important information
Achieve a timely response
Support the concept of open communication to maintain optimal support for your child’s learning and well-being.

Subject teachers

If parents have a question or concern about their child’s experience in a particular class, then they may contact the subject teacher directly. Listed below are some issues that parents might address with subject teachers directly:

Subject or course information
Class supplies and requirements
Assessment and grading
Home-learning (homework)
Curriculum information
Project or research requirements
Student progress and performance
Teaching and classroom incidents
Field trips related to that particular subject
Rapport between the student and teacher.

Counselors

Parents may contact their child’s counselor if they feel that their child would benefit from greater social-emotional support. Students receive social-emotional mentoring and learning in their homeroom classes, and questions about the advisory program can be discussed with the appropriate grade-level Counselor. Counselors also act as academic advisors and can provide advice on course selection and academic pathways that will support post-secondary pursuits in addition to subject teachers.

Curriculum Coordinator

If you would like to know more about the curriculum standards which guide units of inquiry, conceptual based learning, Approaches to Learning (AtL) skills, or assessment particulars, please reach out to the curriculum coordinator.

Diploma Program Coordinator

If parents have a particular question about the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program, subject selection, or overall program requirements, you can please speak with the Diploma Program Coordinator (DPC) directly.

Principal and Deputy Principal

If more information is required or if a situation is not resolved with a teacher, coordinator or counselor, parents are encouraged to contact the Deputy Principal and/or the Principal directly for a conversation to bring understanding and a resolution to the issue.

If the concern still remains unresolved after the aforementioned steps are taken, parents can involve the Deputy Head of School, Head of School, and Board of Governors. The Head of School, together with the Board of Governors, will review the issue and come to a conclusion.

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