January 9, 2021

Dear DEMS parents,

Happy New Year! I hope you and your children are rested and ready for school to begin again on Sunday.

DEMS teachers are ready to welcome everyone back for the final semester of 2020-2021. While we’re hoping to have students on campus at some point this school year, we continue to operate virtually until we receive permission from the Ministry of Education to welcome students back in person.

Thank you for your continued support and for the work you do each day to ensure your children are successful at school.

Take care and stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

December 8, 2020

Dear Parents,

We're on the home stretch of the first half of the school year. I am so proud of our students' resilience and the learning that has happened over the course of these months out of the school building. Nice job students, parents, and teachers!

In celebration of the accomplishments of this first semester, we're planning a week of special activities for our final week of school before the winter break. Students will have a set of activities each day in lieu of regular classwork.

Each morning you will receive an email with instructions about accessing the day's activities. Additionally, homeroom teachers will post a link for the webpage of activities on their Google Classroom stream each day.

The schedule of activities for next week is:

• Sunday: Arabic Day

• Monday: Literacy Day

• Tuesday: PE Day

• Wednesday: Arts Day

• Thursday: International Day

While some of these days may look familiar from last school year, each of the activities are new and guaranteed to be a day of fun for our students and parents.

We look forward to seeing you all cooking, dancing, and learning in the galleries on each of those days.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

December 6, 2020

Good afternoon Parents, Students & Teachers

Due to many families traveling early this year, After School Activities will only start on January 10.

Have a great winter break!

Regards

December 2, 2020

Good afternoon DEMS Parent

The teachers have once again prepared the resource bags for their students. DEMS Staff will be at the outer parking lot during the collection windows on Thursday 12/03/2020 to collect and distribute resource bags.

You are signed up to visit DEMS during the 8:30am-10:00am / 10:30am-12:00pm / 12:30pm-2:30pm window.

Instructions :

Drop off - Should you have a resource bag or other school materials (from the 2019-2020 school year) to drop off, please make sure the bag is clearly marked with your child/ren's name/s and class/es and hand it to the DEMS staff at the first stopping point.

Collection - In an effort to follow safety precautions, and limit wait time standing outside, please do not leave your vehicle, simply drive up to the regular student drop off point, second stopping point. Please prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together for the success of our DEMS students.

December 1, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Thank you to the many parents that have already filled out the resource bag collection form, you will have received a copy of your response to the mailbox used to sign up on the form.

This is our last resource bag before the winter break so if you have not already done so, and plan to return and/or collect a new resource bag, please be sure to fill out this form to select a window of time to visit the school for your child/ren on Thursday 12/03/2020. Include all children in one form please.

The form will close tomorrow - Wednesday (December 2, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

A confirmation email, with instructions will be sent on Wednesday afternoon to the email address used to fill in the form.

Regards

November 26, 2020

Dear Parents,

I believe not all DEMS students had the opportunity to sign up for After School Activities. If you are one of the parents/students that missed the deadline, please make use of this opportunity to sign-up your child up immediately.

You can find more information in the DEMS ASA Booklet to plan your child's ASA for this trimester. Here is the link for the online sign ups.

Timeline

*Registration closes on Wednesday December 2, 5:30pm.

*Your child will receive their Google invite to the club on Saturday December 5.

*ASA Trimester 2 will start on December 6.

Just a few reminders about ASA's

*Students can only sign-up for a maximum of 2 activities for the trimester.

*ASA are only for Grade 1 to Grade 8 students.

*Responses are recorded on a First Come, First Served Basis

Have a great week

Alichia Gerber

November 26, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Our teachers have prepared new resource bags for their students and these will be available for collection on Thursday 12/03/2020 at the school gate.

To sign up and select a window of time to visit the school to return and/or collect a resource bag for your child/ren, please include all children in one form.

DEMS Staff will be at the outer parking lot during the collection windows on Thursday 12/03/2020.

We have limited spaces in each window to assist with safe return and collection of bags. Please be sure to arrive within your identified window.

In an effort to follow safety precautions, you will not leave your vehicle. Please stay in your car and drive up to the regular student drop off point. Please ensure everyone in the car is wearing a face mask while interacting with the DEMS staff members.

Please be sure to prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

The form will close on Wednesday (December 2, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

Regards

November 25, 2020

Dear Parents

We will be starting Trimester 2 After School Activities next week. Please read through the DEMS ASA Booklet and plan your child's ASA for this trimester.

Timeline

*You will receive the Sign-up Document at 5:30pm tonight (November 26).

*Registration closes at 5:30pm Friday night (November 27).

*Your child will receive their Google invite to the club on Saturday Night (November 28).

*ASA Trimester 2 will start on November 29.

Just a few reminders about ASA's

*Students can only sign-up for a maximum of 2 activities for the trimester.

*ASA are only for Grade 1 to Grade 8 students.

*Responses are recorded on a First Come, First Served Basis

Have a great weekend

November 18, 2020

Good afternoon DEMS Parent

The teachers have once again prepared the resource bags for their students. DEMS Staff will be at the outer parking lot during the collection windows on Thursday 11/19/2020 to collect and distribute resource bags.

You are signed up to visit DEMS during the 8:30am-10:00am / 10:30am-12:00pm / 12:30pm-2:30pm window.

Instructions :

Drop off - Should you have a resource bag or other school materials (from the 2019-2020 school year) to drop off, please make sure the bag is clearly marked with your child/ren's name/s and class/es and hand it to the DEMS staff at the first stopping point.

Collection - In an effort to follow safety precautions, and limit wait time standing outside, please do not leave your vehicle, simply drive up to the regular student drop off point, second stopping point. Please prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together for the success of our DEMS students.

Regards

November 17, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Thank you to the many parents that have already filled out the resource bag collection form, you will have received a copy of your response to the mailbox used to sign up on the form.

If you have not already done so, please be sure to fill out this form to select a window of time to visit the school and collect bag/s at the school gate for your child/ren on Thursday 11/19/2020. Include all children in one form please.

The form will close tomorrow - Wednesday (November 18, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

A confirmation email, with instructions will be sent on Wednesday afternoon to the email address used to fill in the form.

Regards

November 16, 2020

Dear DEMS Families,

We are writing to you not in our roles as Assistant Principals, but in another very important role we each have, and that is as the Designated Child Protection Lead (Nichola Smith) and Deputy Child Protection Lead (Tracy Bosch) for DEMS.

We want to make you aware of our roles, and let you know that you or your children can contact us anytime, should you have any questions or concerns regarding Child Protection. Linked here is the latest version of the ISG Child Protection Handbook, that can also be found on our website. It is an excellent resource for everyone in our community.

As we are all in the midst of life in this virtual world, we also wanted to share with you a really useful website for parents; https://www.commonsensemedia.org/.

Common Sense Media is a non-profit organization that provides education and advocacy to families to promote safe technology and media for children.

Common Sense Media reviews thousands of movies, TV shows, music, video games, apps, websites and books. Based on developmental criteria, the reviews provide guidance regarding each title's age appropriateness. For each title, they indicate the age for which a title is either appropriate or most relevant. An overall five-star quality rating is also included, as are discussion questions to help families talk about their entertainment.

Click on the ‘For Parents’ tab and look around at the available resources applicable to the age of your child/ren.

As parents ourselves, we have found this website extremely useful when monitoring what our children are watching, playing, accessing online etc. We hope you find it useful too!

It is our priority to keep our DEMS kids safe, no matter if they are with us physically or virtually, so please feel free to contact us at any time.

You can contact us directly via our school emails, or via the confidential child protection reporting email: dems.safeguarding@isg.edu.sa

Kind regards,

Mrs. Nichola Smith Mrs. Tracy Bosch

smith.n.03@isg.edu.sa bosch.t.03@isg.edu.sa

November 15, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Our teachers have prepared new resource bags for their students and these will be available for collection on Thursday 11/19/2020 at the school gate.

Please use this form to select a window of time to visit the school to return and collect bag/s at the school gate for your child/ren. A confirmation email will be sent on Wednesday to the email address used to fill in the form.

We have limited spaces in each window to assist with safe return and collection of bags. Please be sure to arrive within your identified window.

In an effort to follow safety precautions, you will not leave your vehicle. Please stay in your car and drive up to the regular student drop off point. Please ensure everyone in the car is wearing a face mask while interacting with the DEMS staff members. The first stopping point is for returning resource bags, the second stopping point is for resource bag collection.

Please be sure to prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member at the second stopping point to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

The form will close on Wednesday (November 18, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

Include all children in one form please.

November 5, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all parents who completed our recent survey. We had over 1,700 responses. I am pleased to report that 81% are in favor of their children returning safely to our campuses. We look forward to making this happen as soon as we can.

We are conducting preliminary work with the Ministry of Education to enable us to open in a hybrid model in mid-January 2021. The details are still being ironed out, but we envision starting with our younger students, followed by the rest of the elementary grades. Our more senior students are already attending campus on an as-needed basis and for specialist subjects, labs, etc. There is still much to review in terms of planning and gaining approval, but we are moving forward.

I will keep you updated on our progress as we continue our conversation with the Ministry of Education.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

November 4, 2020

Good afternoon DEMS Parent

The teachers have once again prepared the resource bags for their students. DEMS Staff will be at the outer parking lot during the collection windows on Thursday 11/05/2020 to collect and distribute resource bags.

You are signed up to visit DEMS during the 10:30am-12:00pm window.

Instructions :

Collection - In an effort to follow safety precautions, and limit wait time standing outside, please do not leave your vehicle, simply drive up to the regular student drop off point. Please prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

Drop off - Should you have a resource bag or other school materials (from the 2019-2020 school year) to drop off, please make sure the bag is clearly marked with your child/ren's name/s and class/es.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together for the success of our DEMS students.

November 3, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Thank you to the many parents that have already filled out the resource bag collection form, you will have received a copy of your response to the mailbox used to sign up on the form.

If you have not already done so, please be sure to fill out this form to select a window of time to visit the school and collect bag/s at the school gate for your child/ren on Thursday 11/05/2020. Include all children in one form please.

The form will close tomorrow - Wednesday (November 4, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

A confirmation email, with instructions will be sent on Wednesday afternoon to the email address used to fill in the form.

November 1, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Our teachers have prepared resource bags for their students and these will be available for collection on Thursday 11/05/2020 at the school gate.

Please use this form to select a window of time to visit the school and collect bag/s at the school gate for your child/ren. A confirmation email will be sent on Wednesday to the email address used to fill in the form.

We have limited spaces in each window to assist with safe collection of the bags. Please be sure to arrive within your identified window.

In an effort to follow safety precautions, you will not leave your vehicle. Please stay in your car and drive up to the regular student drop off point. Please ensure everyone in the car is wearing a face mask while interacting with the DEMS staff members.

Please be sure to prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

The form will close on Wednesday (November 4, 2020) at 12pm for us to submit the list of names to security.

Include all children in one form please.

October 22, 2020

Dear Parents,

Due to restricted access to campus, November 12 and 15, originally scheduled as staff development days, will now be regular school days for all students. As we move forward through virtual school, I will be in touch with any further adjustments to the school calendar.

Thank you to all those who have completed the survey regarding the return to campus. If you have not already completed it, we would appreciate receiving your feedback by the end of today. The survey is very short and should take less than two minutes to complete. You can find it here. I will be sending out the results once we return from the break and discussing them at our next Town Hall meeting.

For those of you making travel plans for the winter break, Emirates is offering a special discount to students. Please note that ISG in no way endorses one airline over another, but is simply passing on information that you might find useful.

As we head into the October break, I would like to wish you all a very relaxing and enjoyable week.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 21, 2020

Good morning DEMS Parent

The teachers have prepared the resource bags for their students. DEMS Staff will be at the outer parking lot during the collection windows on Thursday 10/22/2020.

You are signed up to visit DEMS during the 8:30am-10:00am / 10:30am-12pm / 12:30pm-2pm window.

In an effort to follow safety precautions, and limit wait time standing outside, please do not leave your vehicle, simply drive up to the regular student drop off point. Please prepare a piece of paper with your child/ren's name/s and class/es to hand to the DEMS staff member to assist them in getting the resource bag/s for you as quickly as possible. The staff member will gather the bag/s for you and then hand them to you in your vehicle.

Thank you for your continued support as we work together for the success of our DEMS students.

October 19, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Our teachers have prepared resource bags for their students and these will be available for collection on Thursday 10/22/2020 at the school gate.

Please use this form to select a window of time to visit the school and collect bag/s at the school gate for your child/ren.

We have limited spaces in each window to assist with safe collection of the bags. Please be sure and arrive within your identified window. Social distancing markers will be visible and you will be required to wear a mask.

October 15, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

It is vital we have full, accurate contact information for your child/ren.

Please fill in the form for your child/ren before October 20, and the office staff will update Skyward so that the school records can be 100% accurate.

Each grade level has a form to submit so if you have multiple children enrolled at DEMS, you will need to submit the correct grade level form for each.

Kindergarten 1 Kindergarten 2 Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5

Grade 6 Grade 7 Grade 8

Thank you

October 15, 2020

Dear Parents,

With the move to the new Dhahran campus next year and the merging of DEMS and DHS into one school, we will be renaming the schools for 2021. Please view our announcement here.

For the latest time lapse video of construction at the new campus, please click here.

As a reminder, we are very much looking forward to the eventual return of ISG students to our campuses in some format, once we are permitted to do so by the authorities. In preparation for this, we would like all parents to complete this brief survey. This information will help us to plan for the future and I would like to thank you in advance for your participation. Thank you to those who have completed this already.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 12, 2020

Dear Parents,

We are very much looking forward to the eventual return of ISG students to our campuses in some format, once we are permitted to do so by the authorities.

In preparation for this, we would like all parents to complete this brief survey. This information will help us to plan for the future and I would like to thank you in advance for your participation.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 9, 2020

Dear Parents,

We received confirmation from the Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday that we will now continue in virtual school until December 17, 2020, at which time the situation will be reviewed.

We have already circulated our ISG Reopening Roadmap and we will continue to plan for the return of our students to our campuses. Our Government Relations Office is working closely with the authorities to allow ISG students to return in some format as soon as possible. We will keep you informed of any updates we receive concerning this possibility as they become available.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 8, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all who have activated your ISG parent email accounts. If you require any assistance with this, please contact admissions@isg.edu.sa. We would be very happy to help you.

A friendly reminder that NESA's next webinar in the Parents as Partner series is scheduled for Tuesday, October 13. The workshop is on 'Mental Health Risk and Living as an Expat' by Sean Truman. For more information and to register, click here. For recordings of past sessions, please visit ISG Learns Parent Resource page.

We are very much looking forward to the eventual return of students to our campuses and will be sending a brief survey to you next week for your views.

Have a lovely weekend.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 1, 2020

Dear Parents,

Please join me in congratulating DBGS as it has just been approved as a Common Sense School, an honor that recognizes its efforts in teaching digital citizenship to young people and engaging the entire school community in this important discussion.

The Learning Office has compiled a list of several valuable resources and short videos to assist parents in supporting your child(ren) with virtual school. Learning materials include guides on Google Classroom and other online platforms used at ISG, subject specific material and recordings from NESA's Parents as Partners webinar series. Please visit our ISG Parent Resource Page for a complete list.

I am pleased to report that construction remains on target for the new Dhahran campus and the schools are shaping up very nicely. For the latest photos and details, please see our September progress report.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

October 1

Good Thursday to you all,

I hope you all enjoyed your Saudi National Day holiday and that you and your children are refreshed and feeling good about being back at school.

I thank you for responding to the virtual school survey and for your thoughtful comments. Your children's teachers are working hard to provide an excellent online education; your constructive feedback helps us continue to improve.

In response to the common thread within your comments for the need for feedback, teachers are providing feedback on student work in several ways. Teacher feedback could be in the form of a voice recording attached to a document, verbal feedback during synchronous learning times, or detailed feedback about several elements of a piece of work. If you have specific questions about feedback, please don’t hesitate to ask your child’s teacher.

Today is specialist day. By now, your children should have all of their specialist work completed and returned to their teachers. Unfortunately, specialist work completion is beginning to lag a bit. Please be sure to check that your child has completed all Arabic, Music, Art, and PE each Thursday. Please know that these classes are marked and will be graded on report cards.

Enjoy your weekend and take care.

Jana Barhouse

September 17, 2020

Good afternoon DEMS Parents & Students

DEMS is excited to begin the first session of After School Activities for the 20-21 school year.

Click to view the Session 1 Activities List. Please use this weekend to discuss the activities with your children and be ready to sign-up on Sunday.

Online registration opens: September 20, 5:30pm

Online registrations closes: September 21, 5:30pm

Start of Session 1 ASAs : September 27, 2020

End of Session 1 ASAs : November 25, 2020

Note: Students may only sign up for a maximum of 2 Activities this trimester.

Please understand that space is limited and sign-ups will be time limited.

Once sign ups close teachers will add the successful students to a Google Classroom for their activity.

September 17, 2020

Dear Parents,

As a small token of appreciation for the resilience and hard work our students are showing this term in virtual school, over 70 ISG staff members contributed to a quote collage addressed to our students. Please share this ISG Quote Collage with your child(ren).

Just a reminder that on Wednesday, September 23 and Thursday, September 24 there will be no school in honor of Saudi National Day.

Wishing you all a good weekend.

Dr. Michael P. Mack

September 16, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope you are well and that you've settled into the routine of virtual school.

On Sunday next week (September 20), please expect a video from your children's teachers which will be followed by a questionnaire from the school. The video will focus on the partnership between school and home during virtual school and the questionnaire will give you an opportunity to submit questions not already answered on the teachers' videos.

Depending upon the number and nature of parent questions, your children's teachers will either contact you for a conversation or post answers to those questions in another video.

Please know that parent teacher conferences are scheduled for mid-October. We're planning to do those conferences virtually and will send sign-up invitations at the beginning of October. Additionally, you are always welcome to reach out to your children's teachers should you have any questions before those conference dates.

I look forward to seeing you all again sometime (hopefully) soon.

Jana Barnhouse

September 14, 2020

Dear Parents,

As you know, September 23 is Saudi National Day and a holiday for everyone in KSA. I am pleased to confirm Thursday, September 24 as an additional holiday for all ISG students and staff.

I hope that you enjoy the long weekend!

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

September 14, 2020

Dear Parents,

As you will be aware from our school calendars, the first early release day of 2020/21 is scheduled for tomorrow, September 15. My leadership team has discussed this scheduling and in light of our current virtual school arrangements, we will run a standard timetable for our students.

Our next early release day is scheduled for October 19 and we will take a decision on whether this will also be a standard day for students nearer the time.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

September 10, 2020

Dear Parents,

As I had mentioned in June, we will be providing all families with their own ISG Gmail address in order to ensure we have a clear channel of communication with you. You will be receiving your email account and further details next week.

Over 350 parents registered for the NESA ‘Parents as Partners’ eight-part webinar series. For more information and to register, click here. If you are unable to attend live sessions, recordings of the webinars will be emailed to all registrants.

I am excited to let you know that in partnership with the KSA authorities we have been able to secure travel permissions back into KSA for all teaching staff currently overseas. We expect all teaching staff to be back in KSA within the next few weeks.

Enjoy your weekend!

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

September 3, 2020

Dear Parents,

We have just completed our second week of virtual school and, while most of the comments received have been positive, I would like to hear from each of you about your child’s experience. We will be sending you a survey in a few weeks to gather more specific feedback from you.

I have also received very positive feedback about the first NESA online webinar that was held for parents. The next session, on September 15, addresses how parents can support learning and well-being at home. For further information and to register, click here.

As you’ll notice in our calendar, September 20 was set as our annual virtual school day. Given that our students and staff are fully experienced in virtual school now (to a degree we never imagined), this will be school as usual.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

August 27, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope your child(ren) enjoyed a good first week back at school. This is the first time schools have started virtually, so it is a new experience for us all - teachers getting to know new students, and students getting to know new teachers, classes and classmates. Despite a bit of nervousness all around, our teachers reported a very positive first day experience as you can see from their comments.

Earlier this week, you received an email from our Learning Office. ISG, in partnership with NESA, is pleased to offer our parent community an exciting learning opportunity: Parents as Partners. This eight part webinar series is delivered by distinguished specialists and is designed to support you with your child's learning and development. For full details and to register, please click here.

For your information, you can find an updated version of our ISG District Health Manual on our website. Among other things, there is information that you might find helpful on our medication policy and immunization records.

Have a good weekend!

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

August 27, 2020

Dear Middle School Families,

Welcome to the 2020-2021 school year, whether you are returning or new to DEMS, we are excited to have all of you as part of our DEMS family this school year. From Morning Meetings to Closing Circles, getting acquainted and building strong learning communities has been a priority in every classroom this week.

Whilst we would love to be at school physically, it is clear that virtual school has allowed all of us the unique opportunity to learn new skills and grow as learners, whatever our age. I would encourage you to share in this virtual learning experience with your child. The partnership between home and school has never been more important and you as parents are vital in supporting your child's success. Students and teachers have started working on routines and expectations. Extending these routines and expectations at home and checking in regularly with your child, not just to ask about what work they have but also to help them check for understanding would be extremely beneficial. You can find more tips for parents here.

Thank you for trusting DEMS with your children. I am confident in the abilities of our dedicated staff, who care deeply about every student, to work hard providing them a world class education. In addition to those daily synchronous learning sessions, please remember that our teachers have office hours everyday. This time is not just to be available to any students that have questions but they are also just an email or Google Meet away for you, the parents too.

I have enjoyed individual Google Meets with a number of students this week and will no doubt see more as we start week two. Seeing the faces of our children and watching them listen, discuss, question, make connections, smile and laugh is possibly the best part of my day.

I look forward to the day we can welcome our Scorpions back on campus but until then I can assure you that 2020-2021 is off to a great start from a distance.

Kind regards,

Tracy Bosch

August 27, 2020

Dear Elementary Families,

Welcome back to the new school year. A special welcome to our new Elementary Scorpions!

We are so thrilled to have all of you as part of our DEMS family this school year.

As I reflect on this first week, as both the Elementary Assistant Principal and as an elementary parent, I feel we have so much to be grateful for. Yes, we all want life to be back to ‘normal’ and for our DEMS classrooms to be buzzing with students again, and one day this will happen, and I too, cannot wait.

However, in the meantime, I feel it is important that we embrace this opportunity we are given to be part of our children’s learning; like never before. I know as a parent I have found it fascinating to see my daughter interact with her classmates and teacher during morning meetings and closing circles. I have also really enjoyed watching her think, ask questions and learn, during her synchronous sessions. It is not often as a parent you really get to experience what life is like in your child’s classroom, and right now we can.

I believe that this virtual platform has also ironically brought us closer together. Our community building and communication at DEMS has been more purposeful than ever this year. This school year may not be the start we would all have wished for, but I feel that there are a lot of positives that will come out of this, and when we do return to school, we will be more in touch with our children's learning, have a closer relationship with their teachers and as a community we will have stronger connections with each other.

My hope is to see you all on campus soon, but in the meantime, embrace this unique opportunity we are in and feel comfort to know that you are in a very supportive community here at DEMS, where the staff deeply care about your children and are committed to providing a world class education, whether this is virtually or physically.

Kind regards,

Nichola Smith

August 24, 2020

Dear Parents,

As we come to the close of our first day of the 2020-2021 school year, I thank you for your engagement in your children’s learning, your positivity, your patience, and your support for your children’s teachers. I agree wholeheartedly with one of our DEMS parents who said to me today, “We are so lucky to have these teachers!” Not long after hearing that comment, a teacher voiced the same sentiment for our parent community. We’re off to a great start. Thank you all!

Today I ask you to take a look at this short Parent Guide to Google Classroom and our Parent Guide to Managing Multiple Accounts in Chrome. Both of these guides can be found on the Resource tab of the DEMS Virtual School Website.

If you haven’t already downloaded Chrome, I suggest you download and use that browser as it interfaces perfectly with Gmail, Google Meet, Google Calendar, and Google Classroom.

Have a restful evening.

Jana Barnhouse

August 23, 2020

Dear Parents,

Tomorrow is the day! I hope your children are excited to be starting another school year.

We've prepared a short welcome back video for you to share with them.

Best wishes for a terrific first day.

Dr. Michael P. Mack

August 23, 2020

Dear Parents,

Welcome to the final night of summer holiday. I hope you and your children have something special planned for this evening and that you are able to manage some sleep before the first day of school.

In recognition of your final night of summer vacation, today’s message is shorter and meant to remind you of some resources that will be useful throughout our time in virtual school.

Please be sure you bookmark the DEMS Virtual School Website. The Announcements tab on the website is an archive of messages from my office as well as from the ISG Superintendent’s office. If you have children in elementary school, please be sure to read through the information on this tab and parents of middle school children will find information for their children on the middle school tab.

Teachers prepare and publish weekly Learning Plans for you to view. Check here every Thursday after 2:30 PM to see what your child will be learning the following week. Year long curriculum plans are also available on the website. Please note there are tabs for each grade level along the bottom of the curriculum map. Please don’t forget our Resources tab and Scorpion Care tab.

This year, I ask you to please email your children’s teachers to report your children’s absences. In middle school, you’ll email both the Humanities teacher as well as the Science/Math teacher. In elementary, it’s only necessary to email the homeroom teacher.

I wish you all a wonderfully exciting first day of school and, once again, look forward to seeing you all back on the Dhahran campus.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

Good morning,

Your elementary level children will receive an email from their teachers today with an invitation to a one-on-one meeting tomorrow. Please be sure to note the time and to accompany your children to those meetings. This is meant to be a low stress introduction; the electronic version of dropping your children at the classroom door and saying hi to the teacher.

Teachers have prepared an informational video with details about routines and expectations that we’ll share with you Monday after school...so relax and use the meeting time tomorrow to learn more about your children’s teachers while they get to know a little about your children.

I suspect there may be some timing conflicts. If that happens in your household, please contact the teacher and s/he will work with you to find a time for your family.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

August 20, 2020

Dear Parents,

Only a few more days of summer break and we’ll all be back in school...the excitement is building!

It’s important that during virtual school we maintain and continue to improve those most valued components of education. It goes without saying that academics are valuable; the DEMS teachers are prepared to offer an excellent virtual education. Your children will receive instruction in all academic and specialist areas; sometimes that instruction will happen live with their teacher (synchronous) and sometimes it will be posted as a video for your children to access without the teacher present (asynchronous).

Many educators and parents are currently looking for the best ratio and use of synchronous and asynchronous learning times. We’re concerned about screen time. We’re concerned about students not having an opportunity to ask questions and get clarification in a timely manner. We’re worried that synchronous will be too casual and asynchronous will be stilted. I’m not sure that any of us can put together a perfect plan that will fit the needs of each student in our school, but I do think we can continue to read and learn how to best use the times and tools available to us. I invite you to read the linked writings on the subject of synchronous and asynchronous learning times and want you to know that we have prepared a schedule with your children’s best interests in mind. Your children’s teachers will share details about those schedules with you next week. Edweek EDUCAUSEreview Digital Promise Education Rickshaw

In addition to the academic side of school, and just as important, is the social and emotional learning that happens within a school community. DEMS teachers are committed to building and maintaining an emotionally safe and respectful learning climate within their virtual classrooms and will host daily synchronous Morning Meetings and Closing Circles for their students. While not academic in nature, these sessions are extremely important and I ask that you ensure your children attend all sessions and take advantage of the opportunities to participate and feel a part of their classroom community. In addition to Morning Meetings and Closing Circles, the DEMS counselors will continue student counseling lessons throughout virtual school and will also be available should a parent or student need support.

Please let your children know they will receive Google Classroom invites on Sunday...which means they find out who their teachers are on that day. On Sunday, I’ll share links to our planned curriculum for the 2020-2021 school year, the weekly Learning Plans, and a reference sheet with our most frequently asked parent questions.

In the meantime, I invite you to enjoy your final weekend of the summer break. I look forward to school starting and to working with you and your family this school year.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

August 19, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your attention to the details in this week’s emails. I’m pleased that many of you are responding with questions and clarifications so that everyone is prepared for school to begin next week. And, as a bonus, a few of you have shared some articles with me that I will share with the broader community as we work together throughout our virtual school time period.

An important update to the DEMS virtual school experience this year is the structure of our specialist classes on Scorpion Thursday. In line with our new schedule and our goal of creating a school routine, specialist teachers will be presenting lessons that are of the length to be completed on the same day rather than extending that work over the course of a week. Classroom teachers will host your children’s Morning Meeting each Thursday and will preview the students’ scheduled specialist work for that day. Classroom teachers will also host the Closing Circle on Thursday to check in on the students’ progress for specialist classes.

As promised, I’m happy to share a list of elementary school supplies that you should have ready for school on Monday. You’ll find the list for middle school supplies here. Please note that the items on the basic supplies list may be shared within your household. Most importantly, please remember that we recommend a device for each of your children.

Today I’m sharing an article with some more good tips for parents. I’m sure some of this is repeated information, but please take note of the Leisure Time Considerations as well as the resources about speaking with your children about COVID-19.

I’ve saved the best bit of information for the end; please be sure to check your email later today for welcome videos from your children’s grade level teachers. The DEMS teachers are looking forward to seeing your children on Monday!

Take care and stay safe.

Jana Barnhouse

August 18, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope your children are excited for school to begin on Monday. We are certainly excited to see them again!

In preparation for that first day of school, please take some time today to login to your children’s Gmail accounts. If your children attended DEMS last school year, the Gmail passwords remain the same. If your children are newly enrolled at DEMS, our office forwarded Gmail access information to you yesterday.

Please note that invitations for the 2020-2021 school year Google Classrooms will be sent on Sunday. Please do not be concerned when you login and do not see those classes available.

A second task today is to login to your family Skyward account. Skyward is our student management system and, as the school year progresses, is where you will find your children’s grades and report cards. When you login to Skyward today, please check that your children’s contact and family information are accurate and complete. Please double check that your phone numbers and email addresses are up-to-date.

If you have trouble logging in to Skyward or Gmail, or if you need to correct information on Skyward, please email the DEMS office at dems@isg.edu.sa and someone will assist you.

Several parents have asked if our school holidays on our posted calendar will remain the same this school year. Our plan is to keep the school calendar as published. However, if the ISG Board of Trustees determines that our calendar needs to be reviewed in response to any national and/or global developments, we will notify you accordingly.

If you have children attending our middle school, they will be receiving a separate email later today with elective choices. Please be sure to remind your children to check their school Gmail accounts and to complete the form with their requested classes.

I hope you found value in yesterday’s article about the importance of establishing a routine for school. Today I’m sharing this article about talking to your children about online safety. We’re heading into a significant period of school time that requires your children to be online. Please be sure to read the article and to have conversations with your children.

Watch out for tomorrow’s message as it will include virtual school supply lists and a video message from your children’s grade level teachers.

Please stay well.

Sincerely,

Jana Barnhouse

August 17, 2020

Dear Parents,

As you will know, we have already planned to start our school year virtually on August 24, 2020. We received confirmation from the Ministry of Education (MOE) yesterday that we will now continue virtually for a further seven weeks from August 30, 2020, at which time the situation will be reviewed. This will officially extend our virtual school period until at least October 18, 2020.

We have already circulated our ISG Reopening Roadmap and will continue to plan for a number of scenarios following this date. We will also continue to lobby the MOE for our teaching staff and specialist subject instructional classes to be officially permitted access to campus.

Our Government Relations Office is working closely with the authorities on options for ISG and we will keep you informed of any official communications we receive.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack​​​​​​​

Please note we have staggered the beginning and ending times for our youngest students. We recognize these students will need adult guidance and supervision while accessing their virtual Morning Meetings and Closing Circles and want parents who may have more than one child in the family in those grade levels to be available to assist each child.

Please be sure to monitor your email. Each day this week I will be sending an afternoon message with more details about the start of school. I’ll include links to your child’s weekly Learning Plans, articles about protecting your children when they are online, and everything else your children will need for a successful start to a new school year.

Parents who are new to DEMS will be receiving a separate email today with access information to access Skyward, DEMS student management system, and login details for your children’s G Suite for Education (Google email and Google Classroom).

In addition to my emails, you will also receive introductory videos from your children’s teachers and requests for individual first day parent / student / teacher Google Meet introductions.

I am anticipating a great year of learning for DEMS students and am excited to begin the year. Here is your first article of the week and, again, please check in each day for more details about your children’s 2020-2021 school year.

In closing, I welcome you to another year of learning and invite you to view the linked video. Welcome back to school!

Sincerely,

Jana Barnhouse

August 13, 2020

Dear Parents,

As our staff return to work this Sunday - virtually for now - they will be preparing for a school year which, at the time of this writing, remains somewhat unknown. We know we will be starting virtually on August 24, but we do not know for how long or when students might be allowed back on campus. This means we will all need to be flexible, adapt quickly to change and, of course, keep a positive attitude.

For details about protocols and procedures that may be put in place following our initial virtual opening, please see our Reopening Roadmap. Each school will provide you with daily schedules, timetables and further details, specific to them, by early next week.

In addition, please see my recorded video message for further clarification on synchronous and asynchronous learning and how we are committed to building community in a virtual world.

Many of you may have seen articles circulating yesterday concerning the replacement of school heads and principals with KSA nationals. We have had our GRO team investigate this and I am pleased to confirm that all ISG schools are unaffected by this.

You may also be interested to know that Richard Charlesworth, the Coordinator for School Improvement, had an article published on the NESA website concerning the development and impact of our mission statement. At times like these, it can be encouraging to remember what underpins our work at ISG and how teaching and learning has benefitted from our commitment to our mission statement.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

August 6, 2020

Dear Parents,

We have been informed that emails have not been received by DEMS parents.

We are so sorry for this break in communication and have fixed this error in our email system.

Please access the announcements page on our virtual school website to find all previous communication. Thank you. https://bit.ly/DEMSVS2020

Sincerely,

Jana Barnhouse

August 6, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you to all those who submitted questions in lieu of a Town Hall meeting. You can find the questions and their responses here.

The leadership team of ISG will be officially back to work next week as we prepare for the start of the new school year. We look forward to welcoming our students and families back virtually on August 24, 2020.

In the coming weeks, I will be sharing our detailed roadmap for returning to school. You will be able to see plans for each school across a variety of scenarios, depending on what the Ministry of Education announces.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

July 30, 2020

Dear Parents,

Best wishes to you and your family for a joyful Eid Al-Adha.

We were hoping to hold another online parent Town Hall meeting in early August. However, since we are currently based all over the world in different timezones, we are asking parents to submit any questions via this form instead. Responses will be circulated on August 6, 2020. This will be a chance to brief you on our plans for the opening of school, as well as address any questions you may have.

Our summer school program feedback is now in. We had 856 students register for courses, with 601 participating until the end (70.2% completion rate). 92.4% of respondents indicated they learned something new and 91.8% said they enjoyed their course. One of the most valuable aspects for students was the opportunity to meet and collaborate with students from other ISG schools, as well as work with new teachers. Areas for improvement included increasing the duration of summer school, providing more availability in each course and increasing course offerings. We will be taking all the feedback into consideration as we look to make improvements for next year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

July 16, 2020

Dear Parents,

I trust this finds you all well and healthy.

ISG is still waiting on official news from the MOE for the delivery format of school for next year, once we have started back virtually on August 24. We continue to monitor the situation closely and, as indicated previously, we have plans in place for several models depending on what is needed. Regardless of the model, we know there will be changes in cleaning, health screening and physical distancing and these are already being implemented.

I hope that within the next few weeks I will have more specific information to share with you about the rollout of the 2020-21 school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

July 2, 2020

Dear Parents,

I trust this finds you well and enjoying the summer, whether that is in KSA or elsewhere.

You can find the latest new campus progress report on our website, with recent photos. The project is now 24% complete and is moving forward at a steady rate. I anticipate it will be ready in time for the opening in 2021.

Our virtual summer school programs are in full swing with over 900 students participating. There were a few hiccups to iron out at the beginning, but things are progressing nicely now with students deep into the material.

The leadership team continues to prepare for the next school year, while waiting to receive specific directions from the MOE. I will have a detailed roadmap to share with you in the next few weeks about the changes in virtual school and our reopening.

In the meantime, keep well and keep safe.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

June 18, 2020

Dear Parents,

As we end this school year, I’d like to say a special thank you for your partnership and support this year. But rather than elaborate my thoughts in writing, please see my end-of-year video for a more personal message.

With this year coming to a close, we are busy planning the next one. As you know, we will be starting school as scheduled on August 24, 2020. Given the high degree of uncertainty this pandemic has brought, we are waiting for information from the Ministry of Education on plans for school in the fall. Because of that uncertainty, we will be starting the 2020/21 school year virtually. As always though, we will be looking for guidance from the Saudi authorities on the final format.

Regarding virtual school, there will be changes. Under the leadership of Dr. Andrew Crouse, we have been examining best practices and refining our offerings. We will be providing synchronous learning (happening in real time with student/teacher interaction) as well as asynchronous (happening on your schedule without real time interaction).

As I indicated previously, we have plans in place for the reopening of the campus. You can find these on our website, and we now have a video that demonstrates some of the changes students can expect. These plans will evolve as we receive further instructions from the Saudi government.

I would like to thank all who have registered their children for the ISG Summer School program. Because the response from the community for this initiative was exceptional, the Learning Office is now exploring the possibility of running a second round of offerings for our high demand courses. We will circulate more information as soon as we know.

I will continue with my communication to you over the summer break, but on a biweekly basis (every two weeks).

Until then, I extend my best wishes to you and your family for an enjoyable, healthy and safe summer break.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

June 16, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

Thank you so much for trusting us with your children this school year! It did not turn out to be the year we planned but I am so proud of the tenacity and perseverance shown by all of our community to continue the last trimester of learning. We were certainly the definition of teamwork these last few months.

School is scheduled to begin again on August 24. We've made lots of plans; plans for virtual school, plans for brick and mortar school, and plans for a hybrid of brick and mortar / virtual school. As soon as we have the needed information from the Ministry of Education, Dr. Mack will inform parents about the specifics of next school year. Please be sure to monitor your email over the summer months.

If your child does not have her/his own personal device, I highly recommend you purchase a chromebook for your child before school begins. Chromebooks are basic low-cost devices that will serve your child's needs for virtual school. Additionally, your child will use that device when we physically return to school; devices will not be shared at school due to the possibility of transmission of germs.

Specifications for the Chromebook is:

• Operating System: Chrome OS

• Min Screen Size: 13”

• Processor: Intel Celeron N3050

• RAM: 8GB

• Hard Drive: 256GB or higher recommended

• Wireless: 802.11n or faster (the latest version is 802.11ac)

• Battery Life: 6+ hours

• Warranty: We recommend a 3 year warranty

• Software: Google Chrome Browser

Have a great summer! I look forward to seeing you all (in person, hopefully) next school year.

Sincerely,

Jana Barnhouse

June 15, 2020

Dear DEMS Community,

I am very happy to share with each of you our digital 2019-2020 DEMS yearbook. Please be sure to bookmark this page or flag your email so that you will easily be able to locate the book.

Thank you to Filza Ahmad, who did a great job shifting from paper to a digital copy of this year's book.

For those of you who paid for a paper copy yearbook, please know that your money is in the safe and will be refunded to you in the fall.

Take care. Enjoy browsing the 2019-2020 yearbook.

Jana Barnhouse

June 11, 2020

Dear Parents,

We launched our summer programs this week and the response was overwhelming. Thank you for your interest. I’m sure our students will find the courses interesting, informative and fun. If by any chance you were unable to register, please contact the ISG Learning Office (learningoffice@isg.edu.sa) for assistance.

Because of the heavy reliance on email for communication, particularly during this time of virtual school, ISG will be making some changes over the summer break. Too often we hear that parents do not receive communication because their email addresses have changed, or are blocked, or our communication ends up in spam. As a result, we will be providing every ISG family with an ISG email address. We will use this ISG address for all our email communication to you. More details on this initiative will follow over the summer. We will include some helpful hints for you, including how to forward communication to your usual email address if you prefer. Our aim is to make communication simpler, easier and more reliable.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

June 9, 2020

Happy Tuesday evening to you all,

Tomorrow is our final specialist day. We're finishing our specialist days with Gratitude Day and giving all of our community an opportunity to let those around us know that we appreciate them.

Gratitude Day is brought to you by our Learning Support Team + Miss Ahmad + Mr Ham. Be sure to check out the Gratitude website , get involved in the activities, and get those submissions in by 6 PM.

As always, keep an eye on the Gallery to see your community's submissions.

Take care!

Jana Barnhouse

June 9, 2020

Hi all,

Last weekend, the school custodian and I went through classrooms searching for, collecting, and then delivering library books back to our LC. We found and returned more than 200 books!

The library staff emailed an updated list of overdue books to parents and students yesterday. If you did NOT get a message from our library, that means we found and returned your children's books for you. Hooray!

If you do still have school items to return and/or pick up, please watch your email for a separate message from me about dates and times to come to school.

Thank you!

Jana Barnhouse

June 9, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

We are pleased to announce that ISG will be offering its first Virtual Summer School Program for ISG students who wish to continue learning and remain engaged throughout the summer.

This program will operate from June 28 until July 16, 2020 and is free for all ISG students.

For more information and to register, please check the following catalogues:

1. Lower Elementary (PreK-Grade 1/ Keystage 1)

2. Upper Elementary (Grade 3 - 5/ Keystage 2)

3. Middle School (Grade 6 - 8/ Keystage 3)

4. High School (Grade 9 - 12/ Keystage 4)

Registration will close on Sunday, June 14 at 6:30 p.m. Please note that you can only sign up your children for a maximum of two options.

Spaces will fill quickly, so sign up soon!

If you have any questions, please contact the ISG Learning Office at learningoffice@isg.edu.sa.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

June 8, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

What a fun week for our DEMS community; Get Up and Move! Day, Literacy Day, and tomorrow, Tuesday, is DEMS Arts Day.

Thanks to Ms Al-Shami and Mr Ham, all of our artists, musicians and performers have their time to shine tomorrow. Be sure to check out the Arts webpage and get those submissions in by 6 PM.

As always, keep an eye on the Gallery to see your community's submissions.

Have fun!

Ms Barnhouse

June 7, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

I hope you've enjoyed Getting Up and Moving! today. If you haven't had a chance to join in those activities, you still have some time to get moving and submit your videos.

Tomorrow we celebrate our readers and writers on Literacy Day. We are excited to offer a variety of activities suitable for all ages. I encourage you to go to the Literacy Day webpage, explore the options, and get involved in as many activities as possible.

Please know that submissions will close at 6 PM tomorrow, Monday, so don't wait too long to join the fun.

Be sure to check the Gallery tab on the top right of the website regularly to see your DEM classmates' submissions.

Get reading and writing, DEMS!

Ms Barnhouse

June 6, 2020

Good afternoon DEMS parents,

Tomorrow will be a day of healthy eating, exercising, and showing off your talents. We are super excited to see all of your submissions, so enjoy the day ahead!

On our DEMS Get Up And Move Day website you will find three different activities. There will be a healthy eating activity, a spell your name workout, and a sports talent show activity.

Please just click on each activity to go to a page with video and written instructions. You will be able to upload a healthy meal, an exercise, and a short video of you showing off a skill or special talent in a sport or activity. You will use FlipGrid for the workout and sports talent show submissions. You will use Padlet for the Healthy Meal submissions.

Feel free to email one of your PE teachers or Mr. Ham if you have any trouble. All submissions will close at 6:00pm.

Please be sure to have fun with your family and to check the Gallery tab from the top right of the website regularly to see your DEMS classmates' submissions.

Thank you!

June 4, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

School administrators are currently working on a plan allowing parents to drop off books, musical instruments, and other school materials and, while at school, pick up students' personal items.

Because we have more than 2,000 students and limited time available to access campus, we ask that you consider acting as a compound representative who will take on the responsibility of returning school items for others on your compound. Please only volunteer to do this if you commit to abiding by all social distancing, sanitizing and health guidelines as advised by the Saudi government. Please also be assured that your children's leftover school supplies, hats, and other non-essential items will be available for you to pick up next school year.

If you need to return / pick up something, please complete the linked form. When we have scheduled dates and times, we will get back to you. Please do not attempt to come to school before you receive an invitation; in order to keep numbers within the Saudi government guidelines, you will not be permitted on campus if your name is not on the list.

Please note that all persons entering campus are required to abide by the current Saudi government COVID-19 regulations.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

June 4, 2020

Dear Parents,

Many thanks to those of you who attended the virtual Town Hall meeting on June 1. I regret that we were unable to accommodate more of you in that forum. We are now investigating platforms that will allow for a larger audience. For those of you unable to attend, please see the video here. We also received additional questions by email and those responses can be found here.

As I mentioned at the Town Hall, we have developed plans for the reopening of our schools in the fall. You can find this information on our website. We will be updating this section as we receive further directions from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education.

Plans are underway for our summer school offerings and we will announce the details next week.

I would also like to extend a special congratulations to all our graduates. Virtual graduation ceremonies are occurring this week and next, and I know they will be a memorable - if not different - experience for everyone. Best wishes to our graduates and their families as they embark on their next academic adventure.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 30, 2020

Marhaba. Thanks to our Arabic team and the technical support of Mr. Ham, Ahlan wa Sahlan to Daa'd Day! Together, let's explore the history, culture, and heritage of the Arabic world.

On our Arabic Culture Day website, you will find six different topics. The first topic is Arabic Facts, Countries and Dialects; we hope you learn something new and have fun with this information.

The Fun and Games topic contains activities for you and your family to enjoy together. We encourage you to play the games with your family and to see who is the best Arabic language speaker in your home.

The Arabic Dances, Arabic Foods, Arabic Music and Art, and the Poster Challenge are all participatory. We encourage you to learn the Dabka, make your own rice pudding, and create your own home safety poster to submit and share with your classmates.

The Arabic Culture Day website link can be found here, on the Grades 1 - Grades 8 Arabic Google Classrooms, and on your child's homeroom Google Classroom on Sunday, May 31. The activities you find on this website are for KG1 through Grade 8 students and are the entirety of the virtual school activities for Sunday, May 31.

Please be sure to have fun with your family and to check the Gallery tab regularly to see your DEMS classmates' submissions.

Shukran.

Jana Barnhouse

May 30, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope you enjoyed your break and are geared up for the final days of school. Because we aren't permitted to physically be at school celebrating a successful year of learning, we've created the next best thing with some fun days filled with opportunities to create and share memories while still including some curricular days for teachers and students to wrap up their year.

While we're not presenting your children with the same virtual school routine of the last couple of months, please know that student attendance and participation are still expected.

May 31: Arabic Culture Day

June 1: Core Class Time

June 2: Core Class Time

June 3: Core Class Time

June 4: Core Class Time

June 7: Get Up and Move

June 8: Literacy Day

June 9: Arts Day

June 10: Gratitude Day

June 11: D (With Core Class)

June 14: E (With Core Class)

June 15: M (With Core Class)

June 16: S (With Core Class)

On the day prior to the special event days, I will send you an email with a short explanation of each day and the link to the website hosting the day's events. You'll also be able to find those links on your child's Classroom. Please keep an eye out for an email coming soon to give you the highlights of the Arabic Culture Day.

I hope you enjoy these last few days of this extraordinary school year with your children and I truly look forward to seeing you all back at school some day soon.

Jana Barnhouse

May 28, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope you are enjoying a relaxing Eid break.

As we head into the final few weeks of this school year, I would like to remind you that virtual school will now be more activities-based for our elementary students.

I would also like to remind you of the upcoming virtual Parent Town Hall on June 1, 2020 at 14:45. If you have not yet registered, please complete this form.

We have been busy preparing our school reopening plans which we will post to our website shortly. These plans, of course, will depend on the directives from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health, so they will evolve over the summer as we receive more specific guidelines. However, the basics are in place.

With Saudi implementing post lockdown phases in June, I know many of you are eager for more details on end of year procedures. Please contact your principal for more information.

I would like to wish you all a very pleasant weekend before we return to our final few weeks of the school year.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 21, 2020

Dear Parents,

I will be hosting a virtual Town Hall meeting for parents on June 1, 2020 at 14:45. I hope to address some questions regarding the end of the school year, reopening plans to date, and any other issues from our parent community and would encourage you to join our discussion.

If you would like to attend this meeting, please complete this form as soon as possible to register for a place. Questions can be submitted at the end of the registration form.

A while ago we shared Kath Murdoch’s video on how to support student learning at home. She has provided four additional tips which can be found at:

https://vimeo.com/409609062

Password: bonusinquiry

Once again, she asks that this not be posted on any public site.

With so many people working remotely from home, there has been a global spike in cyber attacks. If you’re interested in tips to help protect your data, please refer to our website.

Finally, I would like to extend my best wishes to you and your family for a lovely Eid-al-Fitr holiday.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 21, 2020

Dear Parents,

In honor of Eid al-Fitr, there will be no virtual classes next week, May 24 through May 28.

We look forward to welcoming you all back to virtual school on May 31 when we will devote the day to celebrating Arabic Culture. I will send you an email with a link to the Arabic Culture webpage of activities for our DEMS students on Saturday, May 30. I encourage you to participate in the fun-filled day and to make sure you upload your family photos to be included in our gallery before the end of the day.

To all who are celebrating, I wish you a blessed Eid.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse

May 18, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

I will be hosting a virtual Town Hall meeting for parents on June 1, 2020 at 14:45. I will be addressing questions from our parent community at this meeting and would encourage you to join our discussion.

Unfortunately, we are limited to 150 participants at this online meeting, but we will hold further meetings in the future, if this format works well.

If you would like to attend this meeting, please complete this form as soon as possible to register for a place. Questions can be submitted at the end of the registration form.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 18, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

I am writing to request your participation in this short survey concerning the naming of the new ISG campus schools.

We would really appreciate your input in this exciting new project for ISG by June 03, 2020.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael Mack

May 14, 2020

Dear Parents,

Please find my virtual message to the community here.

This week, I would also like to invite you to complete this brief survey on virtual school. This survey will complement the work being conducted by Dr. Andrew Crouse, but it is specifically designed to collect your views as parents. The survey will take around five minutes to complete. I appreciate your views and feedback.

The WHO recently released a document, Considerations for school-related public health measures in the context of COVID-19, which mentions the importance of planning for catch-up of vaccines that might have been missed. I want to remind you of the importance of ensuring your children are up-to-date with all their vaccinations.

Best wishes,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 7, 2020

Dear ISG Community,

Whether you are a student, a parent, or a faculty member; your daily routine has undergone dramatic shifts since we started virtual learning in March. We acknowledge that these shifts have not been easy, and in many cases they have involved heroic sacrifices in service of student learning. Thank you for making those sacrifices, and thank you for your commitment to inspiring innovation and compassionate action.

Being so busy confronting the challenges of the day, we may not recognize that we have developed considerable expertise. You are an expert at being a student, parent or teacher in a virtual learning system. As such, you are just the person we need. We want to take what we have learned from our shared experience and use it to make virtual school better. There are two ways you can contribute.

First, we ask that you take about 10 minutes to answer the survey linked here. The survey asks you to use your newly developed expertise as you share your thoughts on the ideal virtual learning environment. Secondly, we want to invite you to participate in a task-force composed of students, parents, and faculty to help design what we are calling virtual school 3.0. This is the model that we intend to use in the future if we ever need to implement long-term virtual school again. The last section of the survey will allow you to register your interest in participating. Please do so before 11 May at 10 PM. Then on the 12th of May, we will send additional information to the selected team members. The dates, times, and themes of the task-force meetings are listed below.

Task-force meetings:

13 May 2020, 3:00 - 4:30 PM: a new ideal

20 May 2020, 3:00 - 4:30 PM: stories and perspectives

3 June 2020, 3:00 - 4:30 PM: pruning the future

We invite you to help craft the future of virtual learning. Thank you, in advance, for your help.

Yours,

Andrew Crouse

Virtual School 3.0 Task-force Facilitator

& Head of School at ISG Jubail

SURVEY-LINK

May 7, 2020

Dear Parents,

I indicated in my message last week that I would be sending you a recorded message this week. Apologies, but that has now been postponed until next week.

I also notified you about a confirmed case of COVID-19 among one of our staff members who has left KSA. I am pleased to report that he is doing fine and experiencing only very mild symptoms. Staff from the same compound as this teacher are self-isolating as per directions from the Ministry of Health and there have been no further reports of any symptoms or illness.

At our most recent Board meeting, the trustees acknowledged the intensity and stress caused to some students, families and teachers from the duration of an extended period of virtual school. The trustees had a considered discussion regarding the end date to the school year and they confirmed that we will continue in virtual school until our scheduled end date of June 16, 2020.

The trustees were unanimous in their view that the well-being of students, parents and staff is absolutely paramount. In light of this discussion, I would like to reassure you that, if it is in the best interests of your family for your child to step away from virtual school for a day or two, or longer, this is okay. Please make contact with your child’s classroom teacher or principal and we will ensure that we support you. We strive to serve the best interests of your children and will fully assist you, if or when your child rejoins us.

In preparation for the reopening of school, the leadership team at ISG has been developing preparedness plans, including school emergency and contingency plans. We are following guidelines from both the CDC and WHO in order to ensure the safety and well-being of all our students and staff. We will keep you posted as these plans become finalized.

In closing, I would like to reiterate my thanks for your continued support. It is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

May 1, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

I have just been informed that a DBGS teacher, who returned to the U.K. last week, has tested positive for the COVID-19 virus. I would like to reassure you that he is currently fine and not exhibiting any symptoms.

The local authorities in Saudi have been informed and the necessary precautions are being taken at the compound on which he resides. As of now, no other ISG staff member has exhibited any signs or symptoms of the virus.

We do not know whether this teacher contracted the virus here in Saudi, in transit to the U.K. or once he arrived there. Nevertheless, we are taking all necessary precautions.

I will keep you updated on this matter. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me (superintendent@isg.edu.sa).

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael P. Mack

April 30, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

I am sure that many of us are longing for life to be back to “normal,” including being back at school. Since this is not possible right now, I would like to share with you a brief ISG video with a message of support and encouragement.

A big thank you to all who participated in the Sports Day Challenge last Thursday. We were thrilled at the number of entries (3,731), as well as the quality and creativity of many. It was a wonderful example of the ISG community coming together in common purpose.

Next week, I will be sending you a video message in which I will address several questions. Given the uncertainty of the times, I may not have answers for everything, but I will update you as to where we are in our thinking and planning.

Wishing you all a lovely weekend.

Dr. Michael P. Mack

April 29, 2020

Dear Middle School Parents,

Since this extended virtual school experience started for us seven weeks ago, not a day has gone by that I have not missed seeing the faces of our students on campus. Education is a social environment and I am confident that as difficult as you are discovering it is for your child/ren to be away from their friends, I can assure you that our teachers would give almost anything to be back in their classrooms with their students.

As your Middle School Assistant Principal, I want to acknowledge and thank you for your efforts during this challenging time. As we are faced with this global pandemic, the partnership between home and school has never been more necessary than it is now. We understand that some days are easier than others. On the days when it is a little more difficult to get your teenager, or tweenager, up and started with their assignments or Google Meets, know that we are a team and “in it together”. The DEMS faculty is focused on the academic success of each student to complete this year and be prepared for the grade level ahead.

Along with that statement, emotional wellness is just as important. With many of our families facing this experience, working from home, juggling multiple children, being in a lockdown situation - it is not easy! DEMS middle school faculty are compassionate professionals and available to not only their students but you as parents as well. If there are any struggles that DEMS can assist with, please reach out for support.

Some parents have expressed a concern as to their child/ren being ready for future learning, transferring schools, relocating elsewhere in the world, etc. Please remember that almost every child worldwide will have experienced virtual learning for months, the same as our DEMS students have. Teachers know this and will be prepared to support their students to move onward and upward on their learning journey. For right now, the expectation is that we all just do the best we can.

The following articles and resources may be worthwhile to you as a parent in the virtual learning environment :

• Adjusting to New Realities When Schools Are Closed: 5 Tips for Parents

• How to Get Your Kids to Treat You Like Their Teacher

• DEMS Virtual School website - MS Information

• DEMS Virtual School website - Learning Plans

• DEMS Tips for Virtual Learning in Your Home

• Google Meet Schedule - blank template: this may be useful if you have a printer at home to record Google Meet times for the week and keep somewhere visible to reference.

Stay safe and healthy,

Mrs. Tracy Bosch

April 28, 2020

Dear Elementary Parents,

As we are now deep into the world of virtual life, I wanted to reach out to you all as both the DEMS Elementary Assistant Principal and as a parent.

As the Elementary Assistant Principal, I want to thank you all for working with us to help continue the education of your children. We always talk about the partnership between home and school being a crucial one, but this pandemic has brought a new depth to the importance of this partnership. I am extremely thankful for the hard work of our teachers and parents. I know there are good days and bad days for everyone at the moment; students, parents and teachers, and working together in a positive way will help to ensure we all get through this together. Thank you, parents, for teaming up with us even more than ever. You are doing a wonderful job!

As a parent, when this extended virtual school was announced, I initially thought this could be a wonderful experience; I would now have the opportunity to work with my child on a daily basis. For many years I was an elementary classroom teacher, with most of my time teaching Grade 1. So I thought this was going to be a breeze; well little did I know!

Teaching my five year old, entertaining my three year old, doing my job, working alongside my husband to ensure he can also do his job and continuing as best I can with the day-to-day running of my home, I would have to say that this is the hardest juggling act I have ever done. I want you to know I am riding this journey with you, as are all of our staff. Everyone is doing the best they can and that is all we can ask for.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned to take a step back when it comes to teaching my daughter. The amount of times I now take a deep breath, suggest we have a break, or go back to it later, in order to maintain calmness, seems to be increasing. I have come to the conclusion that the frustration, anxiety and stress is not worth it when we have those days. On the days when things are going well and learning is a joy, I embrace them.

Make the most of the days when your children are coping and working with ease, and on those days when they are not, prioritise a couple of assignments to do. The teachers at DEMS are amazingly compassionate people and a simple email explaining to them that things are not going well that day, or your child is finding a certain activity challenging, is all you need to do. They are here to support us all.

Please remember that all of our kids will be fine. They are one day going to be an amazing part of history. Once school starts again, every child in the world will be going into classrooms with teachers who know they have not been in a physical classroom for months. They will catch them up where needed and ensure they end up where they should be. In the meantime just continue to do the best you can, embrace the extra family time you now have, and prioritize the health and happiness of your family.

Here are two articles you may find useful as a parent to read:

Adjusting to New Realities When Schools Are Closed: 5 Tips for Parents

How to Get Your Kids to Treat You Like Their Teacher

I have also linked the blank Google Meet template form below, which you might find useful to print off and keep handy somewhere at home. I have kept mine on the fridge to help remind me of the Google Meet times in our family. This can also be found along with other useful resources on our DEMS Virtual School website.

Google Meet Form Schedule

Take care,

Mrs. Nichola Smith

April 26, 2020

Dear Grade 6, Grade 7, and Grade 8 Parents,

I apologize for the lengthiness of this email. There are a few important points of information and I ask that you bear with me and read the email in its entirety.

Please note that if you have children in other grade levels at DEMS, you will receive a separate email for their grade levels. While general information from this email will be repeated, please look out for the details specific to each grade level in each email.

Survey Results and Weekly Learning Plans

The DEMS administrators and teacher leaders reviewed the survey results and thank you for your input.

Classroom teachers are carefully planning and monitoring the Google Meet times to ensure students have opportunities to learn new material and ask needed questions. While the majority of middle school parents are pleased with the amount of time for Google Meets, a couple indicated their child needs more time. If your child needs more time with her/his teacher, please reach out to that teacher to organize a time for your child. The DEMS teachers will be more than happy to accommodate your child’s needs.

As a reminder, Weekly Learning Plans are posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website each Sunday at 2:30. Those plans outline the upcoming week of learning for your child and give you an opportunity to plan your week. For your convenience, I’ve included a link directly to your child’s grade level Weekly Learning Plan:

Grade 6 Humanities

Grade 6 Math and Science

Grade 7 Humanities

Grade 7 Math and Science

Grade 8 Humanities

Grade 8 Math and Science

Arabic

Physical Education

Grade 6 Electives

Grade 7/8 Electives

Marking and Grading

When it was determined that our students were going to be in virtual school for an extended period of time, the DEMS teachers identified and then published on the DEMS Virtual School Website the essential curricular elements for each grade level. If you haven’t yet, please look through the Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map. The Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map will open on the KG1 sheet. Please use the tabs along the bottom of the sheet to find your child’s grade level.

Your child will receive grades for all of her/his core and elective classes on the third trimester 2019-2020 school report card. Teachers are using both formal and informal assessments to determine your child’s level of achievement while also taking in account our unusual school circumstances. Please know that DEMS teachers will not penalize your child for being out of school but are looking for evidence of learning.

Learning Behaviors will also be assessed and marked on the report card. Please take a look at the Learning Behavior Descriptors posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website.

Ramadan

Ramadan Kareem. I wish us all a happy and healthy month.

As previously announced, virtual school hours are from 8 AM until 2 PM during Ramadan. All Google Meet sessions will meet between 8 AM and 2 PM and office hours at the end of the day will run from 1:30 PM until 2:00 PM.

However, asynchronous learning assignments will have extended due times and due dates during Ramadan. Please be sure to pay close attention to those published dates and times on each assignment.

As always, I thank you for your continued support and your commitment to work with us as we all navigate this new territory.

I look forward to the day I can greet you all at the DEMS front gates!

Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

April 26, 2020

Dear Grade 3, Grade 4, and Grade 5 Parents,

I apologize for the lengthiness of this email. There are a few important points of information and I ask that you bear with me and read the email in its entirety.

Please note that if you have children in other grade levels at DEMS, you will receive a separate email outlining details specific to their grade levels. While general information from this email will be repeated, please look for the details specific to each grade level in each email.

Survey Results and Weekly Learning Plans

Thank you so much for your survey responses. The DEMS administrators and teacher leaders reviewed the results and have made an adjustment to your child’s virtual school assignments.

Beginning May 3, you’ll find Social Studies and Science activities assigned on Sunday and due on Thursday. These activities will replace the Sunday Literacy and Math skills lessons and will be marked for participation.

Additionally, classroom teachers are carefully planning the Google Meet times to ensure students have opportunities to learn new material and ask needed questions. Please note that while a totally synchronous learning platform may seem inviting at first glance, it is not recommended for students this age. Teacher-recorded material and carefully chosen websites allow students to approach learning at times that are flexible and more convenient for your family. We’re looking to find the right balance of synchronous and asynchronous learning and will, after making these adjustments, survey you again for your feedback.

As a reminder, Weekly Learning Plans are posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website each Sunday at 2:30. Those plans outline the upcoming week of learning for your child and give you an opportunity to plan your week. For your convenience, I’ve included a link directly to your child’s grade level Weekly Learning Plan:

Grade 3 Weekly Learning Plan

Grade 4 Weekly Learning Plan

Grade 5 Weekly Learning Plan

Arabic

Art

Music

Physical Education

Marking and Grading

When it was determined that our students were going to be in virtual school for an extended period of time, the DEMS teachers identified and then published on the DEMS Virtual School Website the essential curricular elements for each grade level. If you haven’t yet, please look through the Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map. The Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map will open on the KG1 sheet. Please use the tabs along the bottom of the sheet to find your child’s grade level.

Your child will be receiving grades for all core classes identified on the map and all specialist classes on the third trimester 2019-2020 school report card. Teachers are using both formal and informal assessments to determine your child’s level of achievement while also taking in account our unusual school circumstances. Please know that DEMS teachers will not penalize your child for being out of school but are looking for evidence of learning.

In addition to these graded areas, Social Studies and Science will receive a participation grade.

Learning Behaviors will also be assessed and marked on the report card. Please take a look here at the Learning Behavior descriptors posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website.

Ramadan

Ramadan Kareem. I wish us all a happy and healthy month.

As previously announced, virtual school hours are from 8 AM until 2 PM during Ramadan. All Google Meet sessions will meet between 8 AM and 2 PM and office hours at the end of the day will run from 1:30 PM until 2:00 PM.

However, asynchronous learning assignments will have extended due times and due dates during Ramadan. Please be sure to pay close attention to those published dates and times on each assignment.

As always, I thank you for your continued support and your commitment to work with us as we all navigate this new territory.

I look forward to the day I can greet you all at the DEMS front gates!

Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

April 26, 2020

Dear KG1, KG2, Grade 1 and Grade 2 Parents,

I apologize for the lengthiness of this email. There are a few important points of information and I ask that you bear with me and read the email in its entirety.

Please note that if you have children in other grade levels at DEMS, you will receive a separate email outlining details specific to their grade levels. While general information from this email will be repeated, please look for grade level specific details in each email.

Survey Results and Weekly Learning Plans

Thank you so much for your survey responses. The DEMS administrators and teacher leaders reviewed the results and have made a small adjustment to your child’s virtual school assignments.

Beginning May 3, you’ll find optional Social Studies and Science activities in the 'Resource' section at the bottom of the Weekly Learning Plan. These are curricular related activities that we hope you will enjoy exploring as a family.

As a reminder, Weekly Learning Plans are posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website each Sunday at 2:30. Those plans outline the upcoming week ( Monday through Sunday) of learning for your child and give you an opportunity to plan your week. For your convenience, I’ve included a link directly to your child’s grade level Weekly Learning Plan:

KG 1 Weekly Learning Plan

KG2 Weekly Learning Plan

Grade 1 Weekly Learning Plan

Grade 2 Weekly Learning Plan

Arabic

Art

Music

Physical Education

Marking and Grading

When it was determined that our students were going to be in virtual school for an extended period of time, the DEMS teachers identified and then published on the DEMS Virtual School Website the essential curricular elements for each grade level. If you haven’t yet, please look through the Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map. The Virtual Learning Core Curriculum Map will open on the KG1 sheet. Please use the tabs along the bottom of the sheet to find your child’s grade level.

Your child will be receiving grades for all core classes identified on the map and all specialist classes on the third trimester 2019-2020 school report card. Teachers are using both formal and informal assessments to determine your child’s level of achievement while also taking in account our unusual school circumstances.

Please know that DEMS teachers will not penalize your child for being out of school but are looking for evidence of learning. We appreciate your collaboration and ask that you please continue to help your child’s teacher see her/his learning by working alongside us throughout the remainder of the school year. Mrs. Smith will be sending an email later this week with some helpful tips for parents.

Learning Behaviors will also be assessed and marked on the report card. Please take a look here at the Learning Behavior descriptors posted on the DEMS Virtual School Website.

Ramadan

Ramadan Kareem. I wish us all a happy and healthy month.

As previously announced, virtual school hours are from 8 AM until 2 PM during Ramadan. All Google Meet sessions will meet between 8 AM and 2 PM and office hours at the end of the day will run from 1:30 PM until 2:00 PM.

However, asynchronous learning assignments will have extended due times and due dates during Ramadan. Please be sure to pay close attention to those published dates and times on each assignment.

As always, I thank you for your continued support and your commitment to work with us as we all navigate this new territory.

I look forward to the day I can greet you all at the DEMS front gates!

Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

April 21, 2020

Good evening students and parents of Dhahran Elementary Middle School,

During these times of isolation and social distancing, the PE Teachers and Athletic Directors of ISG, would like to give you an opportunity to come together for somewhat of a friendly challenge. It is always good to take a break from the computer screen and engage in fun activity. On Thursday of this week, DEMS and the other ISG schools will launch the 2020 ISG Virtual School Sports Day Challenge.

There will be seven challenges for everyone to choose from. You may do as many challenges as you want. Parents and staff may submit photos and videos of themselves doing the challenges for fun. Students must submit videos of themselves doing the challenges in order to show evidence as DEMS will be competing against other ISG schools. DEMS students that do submit videos will also receive points towards their house. Not only will this be an ISG event, we will see which DEMS house can rack up the most points. We will announce the house winners within DEMS next week.

The instructions and information about this event are attached in the document below. A link is also provided. The steps are simple and we hope that you all have a lot of fun. Please contact Mr. Edmondson or Mrs. Karsten for any questions that you may have. The challenge will begin at 8:00am on Thursday and submissions will close at 6:00pm on the same day. We again are excited to bring ISG schools together for this fun event. Go Scorpions!

Sincerely,

DEMS PE Team

ISG Virtual School Sports Day Challenge Information

ISG Virtual School Sports Day Website

April 21, 2020

Dear ISG Community,

A group of ISG PE teachers recently created an event to improve camaraderie and unite us as a whole district. This Thursday, April 23, 2020 will be our first ever virtual ISG Sports Day.

The challenges have been created with all students, staff and parents in mind. There will also be a live stream hosted from Canary Vista Compound.

Attached is the link to the website which explains the challenges and how to submit your results. Your school will be in touch to explain further details.

We hope you will all participate in the fun!

Dr. Michael P. Mack

April 16, 2020

Dear ISG Parents,

As we move forward into April, in consultation with the Ministry of Education, our Board of Trustees, peer American schools in KSA and in the best interests of our students learning, the decision has been taken that ISG schools will remain in virtual school for the remainder of this academic year.

I believe this is the wisest course of action for the safety and well-being of our students and staff, which is my top priority. Given the number of uncertainties we are facing, it also allows for some degree of long-term planning. Further details on end-of-year events will be provided soon by your school principal.

On a different note, for our Dhahran parents, the latest progress report on our new campus can be found here. Although work has been temporarily paused due to curfew restrictions, construction up to now has been progressing on schedule. Despite the delay, I want to assure you that we are still hoping to open in 2021, inshallah.

To end with a little humor: our staff received a special message this week from British satire legend John Cleese. It brought a smile to many of our faces. I thought you might enjoy seeing it too. You can find the details here.

Wishing you all a very good weekend.

Sincerely,

Michael P. Mack, PhD

ISG Superintendent

April 16, 2020

Dear Parents,

As we approach the holy month of Ramadan, ISG has given careful consideration to our Ramadan school hours. ISG will continue to operate virtual school for our students during this period. This is with the intention of maintaining and supporting their academic health as best we can, adhering to a reduced six-hour workday for staff and honoring and respecting this holy month.

Please see below for the virtual school hours for your child’s school. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the site administration.

Ramadan Virtual School Hours - 2020

DBGS DEMS DHS

8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Dammam Sara Village Jubail

8 a.m. - 2 p.m. 7:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. ES: 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.; MS/HS 9 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Please note that Ramadan timings will begin on Sunday, April 26, 2020.

We thank you for your support and understanding.

Best wishes,

Michael P. Mack, PhD

ISG Superintendent

April 14, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you, as always, for your continued support as we work together to ensure DEMS students continue learning via the virtual school platform.

I am interested to know how virtual school is progressing for your children and ask that you please take a minute to complete this survey.

Please complete the survey before Sunday, April 19 at 2:30 PM and remember to complete one for each of your children. Your feedback is important and will help us determine if we need to make any adjustments to our current practice.

Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

April 13, 2020

Good Monday morning, virtual school parents. This is a reminder that you can better plan your child’s virtual school week by checking out the Learning Plans tab on the DEMS Virtual School Website. Those learning plans are posted each Sunday afternoon and give an outline of the week ahead so that you can collect needed materials, plan your family activities, and monitor your child's work.

Daily lessons continue to be posted each morning on your child’s Google Classroom and provide the specifics of the day’s learning.

Stay healthy!

Jana Barnhouse

April 9, 2020

Dear Parents,

As we continue to grow and listen to feedback, this week of virtual school has seen some changes in the delivery and structure of lessons. Under District guidance, each school now has its own virtual school website chock full of resources, learning plans by grade, wellness tips and much more. A big thank you goes to ISG Jubail for their initiative in creating the template for these websites. Please use these sites as your reference guide as we journey through virtual school together.

The website links are below but can also be found on each school’s website under Our School.

DEMS

DHS

DBGS

Dammam

Jubail

SVS

Please also refer to our ISG website for our section on COVID-19. On the main page, you will find information updated daily about any restrictions, curfews, etc. in KSA. There is also an FAQ section, key terms explained, an article on how to talk to your children about the virus (by age) and a log of all my communication to you thus far for easy reference.

While we are living in a time of great uncertainty and rapid change, please know that at ISG, we are working hard to bring routine and consistency to our students, alongside our high standard of academic excellence. While we may not know how long virtual school will last, I will let you know as soon as possible if there are any changes that may impact the remainder of the school year. We are all doing our best today to plan for tomorrow and beyond.

Keep well.

Mike Mack

April 5, 2020

Dear Parents,

Today we launched the DEMS Virtual Learning Website. On this website, you’ll find all the resources you, as parents of DEMS students, need to guide you through this period of virtual learning.

Included on this site are core subject curricular plans for the remainder of the school year as well as weekly learning plans to help guide and structure your child's week of learning. You'll also find guides to Google Education resources, virtual school expectations, and an archive of virtual learning communication from the school. Please take some time, as a family, to look through the Scorpion Care tab on the website where you’ll find wellness resources in addition to some fun virtual community activities.

This is a live website and will be updated regularly. Please bookmark it now and reference it frequently.

Thank you, again, for your continued support as we navigate through COVID-19 virtual learning.

Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

March 28, 2020

Dear Parents,

I hope you had a restful spring break and are ready for school to begin tomorrow. I do wish I could be at the gate welcoming everyone back in person but that is just not meant to be...yet.

Teachers have been planning and, with your input from the DEMS Virtual School Survey, are bringing you an improved version of virtual school. Following are the changes effective tomorrow.

• All specialist, elective, and counseling lessons will be posted on Sunday morning rather than following the regular school schedule of posting throughout the week. While these lessons can be completed and turned in at any time during the week, please be sure they are turned in no later than Thursday at 2:30 PM. I encourage you to enjoy these lessons together and hope they will become a part of your family’s evening routine.

• In order to give your child an opportunity to focus on her/his specialist classes each Sunday, core teachers will post only skill practice lessons in Reading and Math on Sunday. Consequently, specialist teachers will continue to hold office hours and will meet with Students via Google Meets on Sunday while core teachers will hold office hours and meet with students Monday through Thursday.

• New office hours:

  • 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM: Elementary Teachers (Monday – Thursday)

  • 9:30 AM - 11:00 AM: Middle School Teachers (Monday – Thursday)

  • Noon – 1:30 PM: Specialist Teachers (Sunday – Thursday)

  • 1:30 PM - 2:30 PM: ALL Teachers (as above)

• All homeroom teachers will be taking attendance between 8:00 AM and 2:30 PM Sunday through Thursday. Attendance will no longer be tied to learning assignments but will be a separate question which must be completed daily in order for your child to be marked present on that day. Separating attendance and learning assignments will give teachers more flexibility in length of assignments and will take the stress off families feeling the need to finish all assignments on the day given.

• Elementary students will now be using the full facility of Google Classroom. I recognize that eliminating the Google Form for work assignments and moving to using multiple elements of Google Classroom will create a learning curve for parents and students. We have created some tools to help you through that learning curve and want to assure you that teachers will continue to patiently help both parents and students as you learn to use the different elements of this platform. This change will take care of the glitches elementary students were experiencing with work being lost when navigating away from the work assignment page. Please access the Parents’ Guide to Google Classroom and Parents’ Guide to Google Chrome - Multiple Users.

• Beginning this week, your child will have scheduled live lessons via Google Meets with both specialists and core teachers. These lessons will be in addition to teacher-made instructional videos as well as online lessons.

Thank you all for your continued support as we work together to continue your child’s education. I sincerely hope to see you all in person very soon. Stay healthy.

Jana Barnhouse

March 26, 2020

Dear all,

I hope that you have had a restful and safe spring break.

I am pleased and excited to welcome all of our students and staff back on Sunday, as we begin our third week of virtual school. As you know, we will be operating virtual school until further notice. I would like to reassure you that we continue to closely monitor developments with the authorities and I will be in touch with any further news and updates as we receive them.

Best wishes,

Mike Mack

March 18, 2020

Dear Parents,

Thank you all for the support you've shown your children and your children's teachers as we work together to ensure your children continue learning during this school closure.

Attached is a very short survey. Please take just a couple minutes to complete one survey for each of your children who attend DEMS. Your answers will help us make any needed adjustments as we continue virtual school after the spring break.

Enjoy your time together as a family over these next few days and we look forward to working with you again on March 29.

Regards,

DEMS Administration

March 16, 2020

Dear ISG Families,

The coronavirus has presented global challenges on many fronts.

In these times of uncertainty, we want to assure you that ISG is doing everything possible to carry on and maintain as normal a routine as possible. With virtual school, we are trying to provide stability and consistency for all students and continue with the important work of their education.

While our office buildings are closed, our staff are working online from home during regular business hours.

I would like to thank our dedicated teachers and parents, who have jumped into the virtual world and helped provide stability and support for students.

ISG has been in KSA since 1962 and weathered many challenges over the years. We will weather this one as well, with calm heads and a focus on the best interests of our children.

Best wishes,

Mike Mack

March 9, 2020

Dear DEMS Parents,

As announced yesterday, DEMS will be operating Virtual School beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, March 10, 2020. The Dhahran campus will be closed to students until the Ministry of Education gives permission to reopen.

I recognize this is a significant change in the traditional instructional model and am committed to working with you to continue providing quality education for your children. Please feel free to reach out to your children's teachers and/or me if you have questions or concerns.

During Virtual School, teachers will post lessons on Google Classroom and will be monitoring and giving feedback on student work throughout the school day. Teachers will also be available to answer student questions electronically during assigned office hours. Elementary students may access their homeroom teachers from 8:00 until 9:30, specialist teachers will be available online from 9:30 until 11:00, and middle school teachers will be online from noon until 1:30. All teachers will be available again in the afternoon from 1:30 until 2:30.

A couple of things that are important for you, as parents, to know:

• Virtual School work will be posted by 8 AM each morning.

• By signing into Google Classroom and completing work by 4 PM on that day, students are counted as present at school.

• Teachers will be available only during posted office hours to answer student questions.

I understand that, especially for our younger students, this will take a significant amount of parent time. Please remember to ask your children's teachers for help as needed and to be patient. Together we can make this a positive experience for your children.

On a different note, our previously scheduled parent teacher conferences have been cancelled. Teachers have been instructed to contact parents of students who most need mid-year conferences in order to set up an online conferencing time. If you are not contacted and would like to conference with your children's teachers, please be sure to contact the teachers directly to request an appointment.

In closing, I wish you happy Virtual School days and remind you take a few breaks from school work over these next days to get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather with your children.

Take care.

Jana Barnhouse