Monday, June 7th, 2021

WEEK B - LIBRARY

WEEK 3 - Cafeteria Menu Items

This will be my last update for the year and what a year it's been. But we made it! I am hopeful that the coming year will continue to improve. I wish you all safe and wonderful summer with lots of family time together to just relax and enjoy life. We are looking forward to seeing everyone in August. For those of you who are leaving us, we wish you well. Remember, you will always be part of the Nova family no matter where you go.

Many special events are coming up this week, please take note:

SPIRIT WEEK - June 7 - 14th:

Students are excited about spirit week coming up. Scroll down to see what to wear each day.

On the last day of school we are asking grade levels to wear a specific color of T-Shirt to create a "team" feel to our games. Students may also wear socks and hats to match their t-shirts as well if they want.

Also, we will attempt to take a group rainbow picture (outside with masks.) In order to prepare, here are the colors assigned for each grade level:

Kindergarten - red

Grade 1- orange

Grade 2 - yellow

Grade 3 - green

Grade 4 - Blue

Grade 5 - purple

The Moving Up Ceremonies below will be held in our Nova Outdoor Auditorium with all safety protocols in place (masks, and spacing). We will only be able to admit two (2) family members per student at these ceremonies in order to follow safety protocols.

If we experience rain for the Moving Up ceremonies, we will move the Kindergarten inside to the EMS Auditorium; and the Grade 5 Ceremony to a different date which will be announced closer to the time. If it is a light on and off rain, the ceremonies will still be held outside, so plan to bring an umbrella.

• Tuesday, June 8th - Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony - 5:00 (17:00h)

• Thursday, June 10th - Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony - 5:00 (17:00h)

• Monday, June 14th - Last Day of School - "Field/Game Day"

REPORT CARDS WILL BE RELEASED IN ALMA BY THE AFTERNOON OF MONDAY, JUNE 14TH - Also coming on this day will be the results of the NWEA MAP tests for Grades 3-5.

Monday, May 31, 2021

WEEK A - LIBRARY

WEEK 2 - Cafeteria Menu Items

One more day and June is upon us. As mentioned in my last update, we have many events going on that we are excited about.

LIBRARY BOOK RETURNS:

All Library books need to be returned by June 9th. If you would like to know what your child owes in regards to books, please contact our ES Librarians: sonja.jankovic@nova.edu.mk or silvishah.goodspeed@nova.edu.mk and they would be happy to help you.

Please know, that your child's report card will be held until all books are returned or paid for.

SPIRIT WEEK - June 7 - 14th:

Students are excited about spirit week coming up. Scroll down to see what to wear each day.

On the last day of school we are asking grade levels to wear a specific color of T-Shirt to create a "team" feel to our games. Students may also wear socks and hats to match their t-shirts as well if they want.

Also, we will attempt to take a group rainbow picture (outside with masks.) In order to prepare, here are the colors assigned for each grade level:

Kindergarten - red

Grade 1- orange

Grade 2 - yellow

Grade 3 - green

Grade 4 - Blue

Grade 5 - purple

LAST DAY OF SCHOOL - GAME DAY

Your child will not want to miss the last day of school. We will have games, a pizza lunch will be provided, and one of the stations will be ice cream bars. This will be a day of fun and a chance for students to say farewell to each other for the summer, and for some it will be the last day at Nova.

Your child will have taken home all their materials the Friday before so he/she should not need to bring anything to school on Monday, other than a small backpack that might hold some of the following:

• Pizza Lunch: If your child does not like pizza, he/she will need to bring their own lunch - there will be no lunch served from the cafeteria except for the pizza

• Ice Cream: If your child is unable to have ice cream, please send an alternative snack

• Sunscreen

• Hat

• Anything else your child's teacher may request students to bring

REPORT CARDS WILL BE RELEASED IN ALMA BY THE AFTERNOON OF MONDAY, JUNE 14TH

Tuesday, May 25, 2021

WEEK B - LIBRARY

WEEK 1 - Cafeteria Menu Items

Here we are entering a new week with 14 more days of school left and a lot of learning and assessing being done. This is the final push to the end of the year, so let's make it a good one.

END OF YEAR SPECIAL EVENTS

The Moving Up Ceremonies below will be held in our Nova Outdoor Auditorium with all safety protocols in place (masks, and spacing). We will only be able to admit two (2) family members per student at these ceremonies in order to follow safety protocols.

If we experience rain for the Moving Up ceremonies, we will move the Kindergarten inside to the EMS Auditorium; and the Grade 5 Ceremony to a different date which will be announced closer to the time. If it is a light on and off rain, the ceremonies will still be held outside, so plan to bring an umbrella.

• Tuesday, June 8th - Kindergarten Moving Up Ceremony - 5:00 (17:00h)

• Thursday, June 10th - Grade 5 Moving Up Ceremony - 5:00 (17:00h)

• Monday, June 14th - Last Day of School - "Field/Game Day"

Last Day of School "Field/Game" Day

Our amazing PE Department is planning a day of fun game stations that will be set up all around our playground areas. These games will be similar to what the PTA did for our Spring Festival Day in April. Grade levels will have 15-20 minutes at each station, and one of the stations will be an ice cream/rest station that will be located in the shade in the grassy area behind our secondary cafeteria. We are looking forward to this fun day of sending our students off for the summer vacation.

Monday, May 17, 2021

WEEK A - LIBRARY

WEEK 4 - Cafeteria Menu Items

Extended Day - Begins TODAY - May 17

ES Class Hours are now: 8:00 - 13:15

ARRIVAL TIME: Between 7:40-7:55. Please ensure your child arrives at school BEFORE 8:00. Students who arrive after have missed one of the most important times of the day, plus they are walking into a class that has already started which makes them feel as though they have missed something, and it disrupts the flow of the class. All students should be in school and in their seats at 8:00.

Dismissal time: 1:15-1:45 - Please be on time to pick up your child as we do not have childcare, or supervision after 1:45.

Assessment Season is Here:

During the month of May we are assessing students with the NWEA MAP in grades 3-5; we are assessing with the DRA (reading skills) with students in K-5; WIDA testing for our EAL students, as well as other end of unit assessments. We know that everyone is excited about the borders opening up and the ability to travel a little easier now; however, this is not the best time for your child/ren to miss school to take a vacation. We want to make sure that students are able to show us what he/she can do at the end of this challenging year.

DL Classes are not offered to students who are on vacation, only those who parents have chosen to keep home due to covid. Vacationing students will be responsible for informing their teachers and finding out what assignments will be due upon return. Again, this is a very important time of the year for everyone.

FROM THE NOVA PTA:

Dear Nova Community,

Just a quick reminder that the 2nd Virtual Nova Family Bazaar is coming up soon. This year's theme is Nova Families Make a Difference. We have had a great response from our community, submitting videos representing different nationalities at Nova and showing our community working together to do something good for the environment. We want to give everyone a chance to be a part of this event in some way, here are the options:

1. Make a Video: Nova families are encouraged to prepare a SHORT VIDEO CLIP including your child(ren) and other family members as desired. All video clips should be submitted by Wednesday, May 19^th and will be edited into a short montage as part of the virtual edition of the Nova Family Bazaar 2021 premiering at the end of May.

• Sharing something representing your home country. It can be instrumental, vocal or dance, or even fun facts. This will highlight the wonderful diversity within our community.

• Doing something good for the environment in your home or yard, or the greater Skopje community. Record a short video doing something that makes a difference for our planet.
  Suggested activities: Planting flowers, a tree, a small garden; taking a walk and cleaning up trash; recycling items like paper, plastic, glass, clothing, batteries, electronics, etc; riding a bike to school or work instead of taking a car/taxi; preparing a plant-based meal; other ideas welcome

Instructions for your video to be submitted by Wednesday, May 19th:

1) Decide what you will record (Represent your country or Nova Green Initiative)

2) Include an introduction of who is in the video and what they will be sharing

3) Record your video in LESS than 3 minutes and in LANDSCAPE format

4) Try to be creative and have as much FUN as possible in making the video

5) Send your video to dalibor.arsovski@nova.edu.mk (attach it or share a link)

2. Make a Donation: Each year a beneficiary is chosen for the proceeds from the Family Bazaar. Last year, we made a difference at Idnina, a local school for special needs. This year with the environmental theme, we invite Nova families to donate funds towards the purchase of additional waste and recycling bins, large and small, to be placed near our campus. The municipality will be responsible for maintaining and emptying them. Donations will be accepted ONLINE through Nova’s website until June 5^th (World Environment Day), and on campus at the PTA table from May 31^st - June 4^th.

3. Buy a T-Shirt: The PTA is selling t-shirts to spread the word about Nova and environmental awareness. The shirts cost 600 denars and all proceeds go toward this year's beneficiary - the purchase of waste and recycling bins to be placed near our Nova campus. Attached is a preview of the shirt design, and all orders can be placed through this T-Shirt Order Form, and payment made online through a link in the form to Nova's website. Orders for the t-shirts must be placed by May 21st. T-shirts will be printed and delivered before the Family Bazaar Premiere. Students will be encouraged to wear their shirts that day in support of the event. These shirts are a practical way to spread awareness about Nova and our concern for environmental issues, and to make a donation towards a cause that impacts all of us.

We look forward to our community's participation in this year’s Family Bazaar, your contributions will help our community celebrate our diversity and together make a greater difference in our environment.

Please email any questions to pta@nova.edu.mk

Sincerely,

Your Nova PTA

pta@nova.edu.mk

Monday, May 10, 2021

WEEK B - LIBRARY

WEEK 3 - Cafeteria Menu Items

Extended Day - Beginning May 17.

Our extended day will begin next week which changes our school day from 8:00-1:15 (13:15h).

ARRIVAL TIME: Between 7:40-8:00. Please ensure your child arrives at school BEFORE 8:00. Students who arrive after have missed one of the most important times of the day, plus they are walking into a class that has already started which makes them feel as though they have missed something, and it disrupts the flow of the class. All students should be in school and in their seats at 8:00.

Dismissal time: 1:15-1:45 - You need to be on time to pick up your child as we do not have childcare, or supervision after 1:45.

Next Year's Classes

Soon we will be putting together the class allocations for next year. As many of you know, we do not keep cohorts together, as they do in Macedonian schools. Each year students are reallocated due to a variety of reasons that will be mentioned below. Keep in mind, teachers know your child at school and are aware of their friendships, academic levels, and how they work together with others. Teachers spend a great deal of time with your child in an environment that is different from being at home, so it is our hope you will trust us in ensuring your child is placed into a cohort that best fits him/her.

In many schools across the world the practice is to do these allocations each year. We feel this is another learning opportunity for our students. Children are able to meet and learn how to coexist with a variety of different personalities, and we believe this is beneficial to supporting them in the future to become better collaborators as adults.

Below you will find the policy from our Student Parent Handbook in regards to class allocations. While we allow parents to make a request for a friend, we are not guaranteeing those requests will be honored. Again, please trust us that we know your child/ren very well at school.

NOVA ES Class Allocation Policy

At NOVA we believe that educating and developing our children is enhanced when our staff, students and parents co-exist in positive collaborative relationships of shared responsibility.

Therefore, we encourage and facilitate active participation by parents in the education of their children and support our staff to foster a culture of teaching excellence. As an integral part of the process of creating positive learning environments, we will strive to achieve the best possible class placement for every child.

Rationale

The purpose of this policy is to provide all members of the school community with information regarding class placement of students, which in turn enhances clarity, transparency and consistency.

Guiding Principles

• The staff members of NOVA are committed to nurturing all aspects of every child to their full potential. Foundational to this is the trust that parents hold that the school will do the very best for their children.

• Only valid educational reasons will be taken into consideration by the school in decision making, following any requests made by parents for the following year’s class placement. Parents, who present such reasons and translate these into requests, should do so on the understanding that the request will be listened to and discussed with the appropriate personnel, but not necessarily acted upon in the way requested.

• While the concerns of parents, based on valid educational reasons, are important, requests based solely on teacher preference will not be considered. Furthermore, no requests are guaranteed.

• All communication relating to class placement needs to be in writing and addressed, in the first instance, to the relevant ES Administration Assistants. This will be collated and then passed on to the Principal.

• It is not to be assumed that the information provided to a school in the past in relation to class placement will be considered in current discussions. Previous requests are not kept on record and need to be communicated yearly, if necessary.

• The teachers who form the grade level team, in collaboration with the Learning Support Team (and other key stakeholders, when and where appropriate), will work together to determine classes for the following year.

• Placement of children in classes will be made considering the following, where relevant, for both the student and the cohort. Below are a few of the main considerations we take in forming the classes:

Class Size Academic Needs Gender Mix Cultural Considerations

Peer Groups Sibling Divisions Behavioral Needs Specific Learning Needs

Social Emotional Needs Personalities Cohort Dynamics Learning Combinations

The Principal, in conjunction with the school’s Leadership Team, will have the final say in the placement of children into classes.

Procedures

• The Class Placement Policy, with accompanying guidelines and procedures, shall be made available to all in the community via the Student Parent Handbook that is located on the school website. It shall further be referred to in the school newsletter towards the latter part of the year.

• Written communication from parents to the ES admin assistants needs to be received no later than 4.00pm on May 28th.

• Parent requests will be shared with teachers from the current grade level team, the school’s Learning Support Team and other personnel, as appropriate, to help decide placements for the following year. If parent requests based on sound educational reasons and comply with the policy guidelines then this information will be considered alongside other factors noted above.

• Class teachers for the following year will be announced as soon as the school is in a position to do so but will usually be after students have been allocated to classes.

• Prior to the start of the next academic year (August,) class placement of your child/ren's teacher and schedule will be announced through Alma.

Monday, May 3, 2021

WEEK A - LIBRARY

WEEK 2 - Cafeteria Menu Items

Welcome back to a new week! I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend. The weather was beautiful and just right for hiking, biking, and enjoying nature; along with enjoying family time for those who celebrated Orthodox Easter.

SUNSCREEN AND HAT

One more quick reminder, be sure to put sunscreen on your child/ren in the morning before they come to school. It would be good to send it in their backpack so they have it to put on before recess. While students are not allowed to wear hats in school, a hat for recess is perfectly acceptable on these sunny and hot days. Let's stay protected!

DRESS CODE

The weather is getting warmer and it is time to remind students about our dress code. It is important to dress appropriately for school that will not cause distractions or offend others. Below is the Dress Code Policy from the NOVA Student Parent Handbook. I have taken the liberty to bullet point the items in the original paragraph in the handbook for easy reading:

Dress Code (From the handbook)

The purpose of the NOVA dress code is to maintain a safe, respectful, and positive learning environment for all community members. Adherence to a positive dress code models good citizenship and preparedness for a learning environment free of distractions. NOVA students must abide by the dress code every school day. Parents will be notified in advance of special occasions on which the dress code is waived or modified.

The NOVA dress code, in general terms is described as follows:

At school, students are expected to dress for professional learning.

• Clothing with any inappropriate decals or messages are not allowed (i.e. drugs, alcohol, sex, inappropriate or offensive language, etc.).

• Shirts which bare midriffs,

• short skirts or shorts,

• or revealing tank tops, are not allowed to be worn.

• Hats and headwear should be worn only outside, not in class, unless for religious or cultural reasons.

Students who are dressed inappropriately may be sent home to change their clothing or be issued with appropriate clothing to wear for the day.

Commonly accepted standards of modesty and neatness will ensure that student dress and appearance is appropriate and non-offensive in our multicultural setting.

Students not following the dress code will be sent to the ES Office to call home for someone to bring in clothes to change into.

Extended School Day

As mentioned in Ivan's update to parents last Friday, the ES will be extending the school day by 40 minutes. This will begin on Monday, May 17th and last until the last day of school on Monday, June 14th. We will update you on any specific schedule changes if there are any. Dismissal time will be 1:15 - 1:45.

Results of the Parent Survey, that was sent last week, were very positive in regards to the slightly longer school day being a benefit for your child.

125 people responded to the survey with

84.8% (104 people) Yes,

15.2 (19 people) No.

This survey was not to vote on a decision, it was to gage parent perspective as we know that this will mean a change in your daily schedule for picking up your child/ren at dismissal time.

Monday, April 26, 2021

WEEK B - LIBRARY

WEEK 1 - Cafeteria Menu Items

FRIDAY IS A SCHOOL DAY

We do have a three (3) day weekend coming up; however, Friday we do have school and Monday, May 3rd is our day of no school.

CHAIN OF COMMUNICATION & Problem Solving

Respectful communication between home and school is vital in working as a team for your child. Our Student Parent Handbook clearly outlines the procedure for communicating a concern or an issue. Any type of classroom, recess, or general issue should go directly to the teacher involved. Health issues are addressed with our Head Nurse, Ms. Sandey, Security issues with security and so forth.

Below is our communication strategy that is outlined in our Student Parent Handbook:

NOVA International School is committed to taking all problems seriously. Members of the school community can, and should, express constructive criticism. In the event of a query or concern, the following procedure should be observed:

• In the first instance contact the relevant teacher and express your concerns.

• Try to resolve the issue or negotiate constructive and achievable solutions.

• Allow time for any agreed steps to take effect.

• If this does not result in a satisfactory conclusion, contact the relevant principal of each division.

Please note:

NOVA International School will not investigate anonymous complaints. Nova International School will only investigate complaints if they are presented in a constructive manner that is respectful to all parties.

In case you missed the presentation of our Classical Music Evening, here is a link for you to enjoy:

Classical Evening of Music

Monday, April 19, 2021

WEEK A - LIBRARY

WEEK 4 - Cafeteria Menu Items

First I would like to give a big "Thank You" to our PTA for the planning and preparation of the Spring Festival on April 1st; and also to the parent volunteers who participated to make the games run smoothly, as well as disinfecting between each group of students. The students had such a fun time and I am hoping we can do something similar the last day of school . This is what community is all about! In case you missed it, here is the video link: Spring Festival If you receive a redirect message, just choose the first link that is offered.

BE SURE TO PACK EXTRA MASKS!

Your child needs at least 3 masks in his/her backpack. There have been a lot of students visiting our Health Office to secure a mask. It is important for each child to have the extra masks with them. If you are looking for N95 masks for kids, the store DM carries them if they have them in stock.

Classical Music Evening

Coming tomorrow, Tuesday, April 20 at 6:00

We will be sharing a link with families on the NOVA Facebook Account. Please join us for a wonderful evening of talent. Our NOVA musical stars will be performing for your listening pleasure. This is the 10th annual music event, don't miss it!

Coming in May there will be a Grade 5 Parent Session regarding the transition to Grade 6 and the MYP. Be on the lookout for more information.

_____________________________________________________

I would also like to thank the 63 parents who took part in the Student Led Conference Survey last month. Overwhelmingly parents were pleased with conferences and also gave feedback that will help guide our plan for next year. Below is the breakdown of the Multiple Choice answers. The suggestions/comments will be used as we plan for next year's conferences. Some of the concerns shared were: more time needed, using 2 school days for the conferences, allowing time a the end for teacher/parent conversation, making sure the student does the talking and not the teacher, and more. Again, your feedback is appreciated and will be taken into consideration for next year.

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS - PERCENTAGE OF RESPONSES

Which of the following best describes your reaction to Student Led Conferences

82% - SLC are a good way to for my child to share their learning, goals, and growth

8.8% - SLC provides some new information

SLC helped me to understand my child's strengths and challenges as a learner.

59.6% - Strongly Agree

35.1% - Somewhat Agree

How well did your child convey their learning?

36.8% - Exceptionally well

49.1% - Very well

The amount of time allotted for SLC was

70.2% - Exactly the right time

24.6% - Almost enough time

This conference helps me to talk with my child about his/her learning and how I can help.

59.6% - Strongly agree

33.3% - Somewhat agree

The conference was well organized.

66.7% - Strongly agree

31.6% - Agree

SignUps for the SLC were manageable.

75.4 - Strongly Agree

24.6 - Agree

Monday, March 29, 2021

This is SPIRIT WEEK, please see the information below in regards to what to wear each day.

April 1st Spring Festival

We need parent volunteers! If you would like to help with games, and snacks this Thursday, please contact the PTA. They need at least 6 people to help with this fun event.

Please keep in mind, when you enroll your child into NOVA, you are officially part of the PTA. So you are invited to support the PTA events when you can.

Please email the PTA at: pta.nova.edu.mk if you are interested in taking part on April 1st. They will inform you of the protocols for coming on campus. If you can even give 1-2 hours of your time for this event it would be greatly appreciated.

SPRING BREAK IS COMING

We know that many are excited about the upcoming spring break to have some time to relax, rejuvenate, and restore in order to finish the school year strong. We would ask that you take precautions in your travel plans in order to stay safe. We care about each and every one of our families and want to encourage all to be safe during this time of increasing covid numbers and variants. Our Health & Safety Committee, as well as our Crisis Management Team are watching the numbers daily in order to make the right decisions for our community.

STUDENT LED CONFERENCE SURVEY

If you have not had the opportunity to fill out the survey to provide feedback in regards to the conference, here is your last chance to do so. The survey will close this week, so please be sure to take part. Your feedback is important to us in order to continue to make the experience better for everyone. LINK TO SURVEY

Monday, March 22, 2021

Spring is here and SPRING FESTIVAL IS COMING APRIL 1st!

We are very excited to announce that Spirit Week is coming and

the PTA is planning a Spring Festival for students.

Below this post is the calendar for Spirit Week that was created by our Grade 5 students. The events are to add some fun the week before we go off on spring break. Spirit Week begins on Monday, March 29th, please see the calendar below.

The ES Spring Festival at NOVA is coming up on April 1st. The event will be held during school hours and will include outdoor games, a photo booth, a flower display and festival treats. Students are encouraged to wear spring colors and flower accessories to go with the theme. Beginning March 29th, students are invited to bring small potted flowering plants to add to the decorations. The PTA will also be asking for donations from students to help cover the cost of the photos and the treats. All safety protocols will be followed in the organization of this event.

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

The PTA is encouraging the following support from parents to make this event fun for the kids:

• To help with decorations, send in potted flowers, or pictures of flowers (to include virtual learners) by 31.03.2021(potted flowers can be taken home after the event)

• Students are encouraged to wear Spring colors, flowered hair accessories, or dress up in a fun springy costume for April 1st.

• Cash donations (at least 100 MKD) to help support the prizes that students will receive. Please send your donation in an envelope with your child's name and grade level on the outside. Collection will begin on Monday, March 29th; however you may send your donation in anytime between now and then.

MORE INFORMATION WILL BE COMING FROM THE PTA LATER THIS WEEK.

Monday, March 15, 2021

CONFERENCES ARE COMING NEXT WEEK:

Be sure to sign up for your child's conference. Students have been preparing for this special time to share their learning with you. The link to schedule a time for the conference will be DEACTIVATED on Friday, March 19th. Last minute conference scheduling will not be available. This is due to the preparation that goes into these conferences.

CONFERENCE SIGN UP

Social Developmental Stages of Children

Children are going through different stages of development at each age both socially and academically. Sometimes these stages are challenging for kids to negotiate, so it is our goal to help them through some of the difficult moments of hurt feelings, lost friendships, teasing, and more. Students in each grade level are receiving classes monthly from our counseling department that touch on social issues developmentally appropriate for each grade level as we work to support personal independence.

From Responsive Classroom research, children typically go through the following stages:

FIVE - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• Are the center of their own universe and seldom see things from another's point of view, however they can be very empathic if someone is hurt.

• Respond well to "That's the rule"

• Needs adult approval

• Have a hard time distinguishing between real and pretend

SIX - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• May be bossy, teasing, or critical of others

• Take teacher direction seriously

• Often report hurtful incidents to the teacher

• Are eager to make new friends

• Are active

SEVEN - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• May find teasing to be particularly painful

• May find excluding to be particularly painful

• Try out friendships and frequently change friends, leading to lots of opportunities for hurt feelings

• Often work and play best with one friend

• Need clear rules and expectations

EIGHT - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• Love to take on big projects but sometimes overestimate their own capacity

• Are forming larger friendship groups and making new friends

• Have a growing sense of moral responsibility and are interested in fairness

• May exaggerate

NINE - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• Like to work with partners of their own choosing, especially same gender partners (which can lead to gender role - based teasing)

• May begin to form cliques

• Are concerned about fairness

• Are concerned about who's "in" and who's "out"

TEN - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• Work well with classmates, and are open to thinking about how to avoid gender role based teasing

• Are concerned with friendship and social interaction

• Are highly sensitive to and able to resolve questions of fairness and justice

ELEVEN - YEAR - OLDS TYPICALLY:

• Put lots of focus on cliques, who's "in" and who's "out"

• Feel that saving face is important

• Feel it's important to choose their friends on the basis of common interests

• Are less willing to let adults have a role in handling bullying problems

Monday, March 8, 2021

HAPPY INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY!

This week's update is about Student Led Conferences being held on Tuesday, March 23rd and Wednesday, March 24th.

Here is the structure for the conference:

• No classes on the 23rd and 24th

• Conference Day hours 10:00 - 6:00 (18:00hr) each day

• Conference time will be 30 minutes. Each part of the 30 minutes will be specifically organized, and HR Teachers will be the time keeper.

• Be on time for your conference as you will not be able to go over your time due to others signed up after you.

• Specialists will be joining the HR conferences, some conferences may overlap so specialists will be unable to attend all.

• Extra Conference Time, should you need to have a further conversation with your child's teacher, HR or specialist, you can contact the teacher for a separate conference at another time.

• PK 3 and PK 4 Conferences will not be student led and will be a regular conference with the teacher

Student Responsibility During the Conference:

• Share two samples of work, one they are proud of that shows their learning, and one that was a challenge

• Sharing their reflection/work of their specials classes

• Share what goals they have to improve their work/learning

Parent Responsibility During the Conference:

• Be present & Listen

• Be encouraging and supportive

• Focus on Growth

• Ask questions when needed

• Tell your child how you will support their successful journey to the end of the year

Sign up with the link below:

CONFERENCE SIGN UP LINK

When you access the link, you might receive a Redirect Notice. If this happens, just click on the first link that's offered.

If you have any problem with the SignUp link, please contact your child's teacher, or the ES Administration.

Conference Link will be deactivated on

Friday, March 19th,

so please be sure to sign up ASAP.

Thursday, March 4, 2021

I want to share a newsletter article from Eric Barker called, "Barking Up The Wrong Tree" The article he posted is about the neuroscience of being an awesome parent.

When you click on the link below, you may come to a "Redirect" page. When that happens, just click on the top link that's offered.

New Neuroscience Reveals 5 Rituals That Will Make You An Awesome Parent

Monday, March 1, 2021

Here we are, March already! Does anyone else feel like this school year is flying by? Despite all the readjustments to our "new normal" we are proud to say that our school has stayed a safe place to be this year. Students and teachers are happy at school and doing well. I love seeing all the smiling faces coming in each morning and hope that more and more students will come back to school soon.

Classes begin promptly at 8:00

Please have your child/ren at school by 7:50 at the latest. They need to move through a line, much like the airport, to have their Health Booklets (passports) checked along with their temperature. After that the students move to their lockers to unpack, put personal items in the locker, and then they proceed to their classroom. The Morning Meeting is one of the most important times of the day as students and teachers prepare to have a successful day of learning. When a child comes in the classroom at 8:10, they are late and have already missed some important information. Let's please continue to work on students arriving early as now we have middle school and high school students coming in as well.

Student Led Conferences Are Coming

On Tuesday, March 23rd and Wednesday, March 24th we will have Online Student Led Conferences for grades K - 5. This is a way for students to take responsibility for their learning and show you what they are proud of, and what they find challenging. We will have more information coming soon as to how to schedule your conference (we will use SignUp.com again). For this conference, you may find that not only homeroom teachers will be there, but perhaps specialists as well.

Your child will lead you through the conference and when he/she is finished, parents will have a chance to provide input. The teacher(s) will also be there to provide input at the end as well. This is the moment your child will take a leadership role in conveying his/her learning.

There will be NO CLASSES for ES on Tuesday the 23rd and Wednesday the 24th

Guidelines for your conference and sign up links will be coming soon.

Monday, February 22, 2021

It was so nice to see the students happily skipping into school today all happy to be back, albeit a little tired. I would like to thank those families who kept their children home due to traveling over the last four days. We appreciate your care and concern for others and taking the right steps to follow safety protocols.

ART AND MUSIC ARE IMPORTANT CLASSES

While we know that having classes online in the afternoon are not always the best option, at this moment it is the best we can do in our current situation. These classes are just as important as core classes that our students interact with during the "in school" hours.

It has been brought to my attention that many of our students are skipping out of these online classes, not turning in the required work, and perhaps are not in a location that is the most adequate for learning. We need parent support in ensuring that your child/ren are involved in these classes. It is important for parents to convey to their child/ren that these classes are also important for the development of the whole child.

We are working to get these classes back in school and at some point they will be. However, this does not make up for the fact that some of our students are missing work from the first semester.

Part of the learning process is stretching ourselves and doing things that we may not be as comfortable with. That's when learning takes place, when we are out of our comfort zone. Art and Music is most important for our children to experience.

The following is from Edutopia:

"Involvement in the arts is associated with gains in math, reading, cognitive ability, critical thinking, and verbal skill. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, and teamwork."

According to a report from the Rand Corporation in 2005:

"The arts can connect people more deeply to the world and open them to new ways of seeing,"

Research has proven that students who are involved in the arts do better in academics than their peers who are not exposed.

We ask that you talk with your child about the importance of being involved in all their classes. This is part of the responsibility of a good student at any school, and especially at NOVA.

Cafeteria making some changes...

Thank you for your responses in the cafeteria survey. The results were shared with our cafeteria staff and as you received today an email has gone out to all parents with the new selections. We hope that this will be more in line to what students like. This will hopefully reduce food waste and keep our students nourished during the day.

Below is the email that you were sent today in case you missed it:

Dear parents,

We would like to share the Cafeteria’s 2nd semester Snack and improved Hot Meal program.

All families who would like their child(ren) to sign-up for our Snack and/or Hot Meal program, for the remainder of the school year, can apply through our online forms: https://nova.edu.mk/cafeteria.aspx.

The Snack is a healthy and fresh nutritional option for students who would like a small meal served during the school lunch break. The service will commence from March 1st until the end of the school year, a total of 67 days, for a fee of 80 euro.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeuEodpoF8KJ8KNw-fNYkUG7AW65asUruWvoVNY3Y_0QiruKQ/viewform

The Hot Meal menu has been updated and improved, based on your feedback, adding some new meal options. All families currently signed-up for the Hot Meal will benefit from these changes. We are also happy to offer the Hot Meal to new families, starting from March 1st, for a a fee of 300 euro.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdjxqbNc99AcZ38fhD3-X33-OpT4wCGVXx8glqF7MRFj0u-rQ/viewform

If interested to commence with either the Snack and Hot meal options, or you want to make modifications to your existing Hot Meal plan, please sign-up the week of February 22nd-25th, so we can start serving your children from Monday, March 1st.

For any issues regarding menu selection or payment information, please contact Ms. Emilija Bumbaroska, our Junior Accountant, by e- mail (emilija.bumbaroska@nova.edu.mk), or phone (3061-807 ext. 119).

Sincerely,

NOVA’s Cafeteria Team

Have a great week!

Also, be on the look out for our Valentine's Video that will be available on Youtube soon. Once it is ready, I will also have a link on my website under Video Messages.

Monday, February 15, 2021

Welcome to a short week of school. First, I would like to thank all of you who participated in the PTA Valentine's Event last Friday. The students looked great in their red, and they were so excited to be able to purchase cookies, treats, and/or balloons. Those purchases will support our PTA in doing some good things for our school and community. Thank you so much again.

COMMUNICATION - RESPECTING THE WEEKEND

This is just a reminder that our weekends are a time to recharge our batteries, spend time with our families, and to find some time for ourselves. For our teachers and administration at NOVA, this is a very important time for them to also have time to recharge batteries and spend quality time with their family, and to prepare for the week ahead.

I would kindly ask that if you have a question, or an issue of concern, that you wait until Monday to contact the person, or write your email and do a "scheduled" send for Monday morning at 8:00. Once the teacher, or other, receives the email, she/he has 24 hours to respond. We need your support to respect each others personal time and space. Please know that we are happy to accommodate your communication during the work week between the hours of 8:00 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (15:30h).

WHEN HOMEROOM CLASSES GO ON QUARANTINE

This is a reminder that when you receive the email from me that your child's class is on quarantine, the afternoon DL classes will run as normal. We always give homeroom teachers a day to prepare materials to send home, or to change things in their planning in order to switch to DL. However, Art, Music, EAL classes, and other afternoon DL classes will remain the same and will not be given a day to prepare since they are already on DL. All students are required to attend their afternoon classes each day.

FEBRUARY BREAK - 18th & 19th

We have our February Break coming this weekend from Thursday, February 18 to Sunday, February 21st. Our hope is that everyone enjoys the time and is safe in doing so. Please continue to follow safety protocols over this long weekend. Have a wonderful break and we look forward to having everyone back on Monday, February 22nd.

REMINDER ABOUT MASKS

This is just a quick reminder in regards to our Mask Policy for students. While we recommend the N95 mask, we do know that this size of mask is not appropriate for some of our younger students. We would like to remind everyone that pull up neck masks or bandanas are not allowed, as well as masks with valves. Below is the mask policy from our Reopening Plan:

1.13 Face masks for students

• Wearing of face masks while on campus, both in and outside the classroom, is necessary at all times for students.

• Early Education students (PreK3 - K) will be permitted to temporarily remove their face masks in classrooms, with the permission of their teacher.

• Elementary and Secondary School students (grades 1 through 12) will be required to wear their face masks at all times in classrooms.

• Elementary students (PreK- grade 5) are permitted to remove their face masks while having their lunch in the classroom.

  • • Students must be already sitting and ready to eat lunch before removing their masks; masks should be put back on after finishing the meal, and before leaving the lunch area.

• All students and staff are expected to be familiar with the proper way of use and removal of face masks.

• Disposable face masks should be disposed only in special bins designated for used medical supplies.

• Each child must have a minimum of two face masks at school each day and stored in a clean ziplock bag. The school will provide a replacement mask, but on no more than two occurrences during the school year.

• Students must replace masks regularly. Depending on the quality of the mask (cloth/surgical/FFP2) they should not be used for longer than a day (cloth/surgical), up to a week (FFP2). If bringing more than one mask to school, students should carry a clean container in which they will store their clean replacement masks, and another container for discarding dirty masks, if they plan on washing and reusing them. We advise that from the two masks students bring to campus, one is reserved for outside activities and the other for their classes.

Masks with a valve, bandanas, neck gaiters and scarfs should not be used.

Monday, February 8, 2021

PTA Valentine's Celebration - Friday, February 12th

Our amazing PTA is at it again this week. We will be seeing our auditorium transformed into a Valentine wonderland as we move toward the end of the week. I know that students, teachers, and everyone will be excited to see what they come up with.

On Friday, the PTA will be selling individually wrapped and decorated cookies for students to purchase for a friend, their parents, and/or siblings. These tasty treats will sell for 100 denars and the proceeds will go to help fund PTA future projects. If the cookies are anything like last year's Halloween cookies, I'm sure they will be amazing. If your child would like to purchase cookies, they are encouraged to bring their money in an envelope with their name, grade level, and how many cookies they are buying on the outside.

A schedule will be created for each class to have a particular time in the day to come and purchase without having a large group of students gathering in one place to buy.

LET'S GET INTO THE SPIRIT!

All STUDENTS, FACULTY, AND STAFF ARE ENCOURAGED TO WEAR RED ON FRIDAY!

Recap:

• FRIDAY, FEB 12TH - VALENTINE CELEBRATION

• 100 DENARS PER COOKIE

• WEAR RED ON FRIDAY

AFTERNOON CLASSES - STUDENTS ARE EXPECTED TO ATTEND

Currently our Art and Music classes are still being held online. We expect all students to attend these classes as they are being assessed on their understanding of the learning. If students are not showing up for class they are losing out on valuable lessons, as well as being involved with the rest of the class.

WHEN CLASSES GO INTO QUARANTINE - CLARIFICATION on ART & MUSIC

When a classroom is put in quarantine due to an identified case, we give teachers a day to prepare for the transition. However, when it comes to ART and MUSIC they do not have that day to prepare since they are already a DL class. So, when parents receive the message that a homeroom class will start the day after, that does not mean that Art and Music are also canceled. They will continue with their afternoon classes. I hope this helps to clear up any misunderstanding.

Monday, February 1, 2021

Week two has begun, as well we are already into February. I don't know about you, but time seems to be slipping by faster and faster each day. Students are still coming in with the same excitement as last week.

We hope to see more and more students return to school. Please stay safe out there, continue to follow your own protocols at home and when you are out, and we will all benefit from everyone's support.

CAFETERIA SURVEY

We would like to encourage you to take part in a survey that might better help to serve your child's lunch needs. We are also giving this survey to teachers to have students answer in class as well so we have a better perspective of what people want when it comes to ordering food at NOVA.

Choices we are looking at are a light lunch at 11:30, or a full lunch at 11:30. What we are finding is that many students are not hungry at 11:30 due to having a much needed snack break at 9:00. Many students who order the hot lunch end up throwing it away due to not being appealing to them, or they are just not hungry. Teacher often encourage students to take the lunch home, but somehow the lunch finds its way into the trash can. If you would like your child to bring their lunch home, please be sure to talk to him/her and make that an expectation. It would also be helpful to email your child's teacher in regards to your decision.

Please click on the link below to participate:

CAFETERIA SURVEY

TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION

Think Before You Click: Internet Safety Tips for Parents

By Matt Levinson

May 31, 2012

"Your clicks have consequences," says Clay Johnson, author of The Information Diet. Johnson writes about the impact of consuming a poor information diet, "unhealthful information deep-fried in our own preconceptions."

We are all one click away from being pulled into an information portal, filled with erroneous, distracting and at times dangerous material. We are also one click away from making a public gaffe, mistakenly sharing information not intended for a wider audience, in the form of an email, a wall post, text or chat message.

We've all heard the admonition "think before you post." The new mantra should be "think before you click." It's hard to stay true to this statement in practice, especially as we endure a fast-paced, real-time information onslaught.

To Filter or Not to Filter

How can parents help to instill the "think before you click" mindset in their child? Should parents use filters to help with this process?

The value of filters is that they make it harder to slip easily into objectionable content. The filter wall asks the user to stop, pause and think before clicking further. The filter in essence serves as the conscience on your shoulder and slows the pace of super-fast clicks that can have consequences, in terms of both faulty information and sharing information that should not be seen by a wide audience.

One advantage of filters, particularly as mobile devices make working in one shared space more difficult to manage, is that the filter creates a walled garden to protect the online content that can enter the household when a parent is not around.

One disadvantage is that the filter creates a false sense of security and abdication on the part of the parents. If there is a filter, the thinking goes, then it's easy for the parent to say, "I'm off the hook, and now I don't need to monitor what my kid does online." Also, kids are savvy and can easily figure out ways to skirt the filter. The parent can end up playing a game of cat and mouse with the child, particularly as the child gets older and grows more sophisticated.

The ideal scenario is one in which the child listens to "the little voice" propped on his or her shoulder. For some children, that means having the additional hurdle of the filter in place, to ensure wait time before forging ahead into questionable online territory.

The key component is to engage in and facilitate regular conversation around responsible use, and help to nurture "the little voice" that sits atop each child's shoulder.

Difficult Choices

As with any parenting choice, the question to consider is what will the child do when confronted with a situation outside of the home, away from the home ground rules, whether or not there are filters imposed.

For example, a child is at a sleepover in a household with no filters and loose supervision. The child is playing online with the friend and they explore a social networking site like Omegle, which advertises the possibility of meeting strangers. The kids start to "play" and encounter a stranger who starts asking personal questions.

What will the child do? Will the child say anything to their parent? Filters won't answer these questions, though the filter might or might not have blocked entry into Omegle in the first place.

This is a tough spot for a kid to be in and it can be especially tricky if the other child wants to continue to "play" and does not see the danger or inappropriateness of the "play."

What options does the child have?

• Stop "playing" and walk away.

• Tell the parents.

• Say nothing and continue to "play," but at a distance.

• Ask to call home and be picked up right away (some parents choose to use a conversation code for when the child wants to be picked up, so it's not obvious that the child wants out).

It's important for parents to rehearse these types of specific situations so that children can see possible, positive outcomes when uncomfortable online scenarios arise.

The parent is then helping the child develop "the little voice" to use when the parent is not around.

First Week of "In School" Classes

Monday, January 25, 2021

It is so fun to see all the students returning to school. We have been so excited to see the smiles and to hear children's voices ringing through the hallways. Our building will be brought back to life with our students and teachers.

Keep in mind the following:

Arrival Time: 7:45-7:55

School/Class Begins: 8:00

Dismissal: 12:30

Keep in mind that we will have grade 6s coming back to school this week as well, and on February 1st, we will be welcoming back grades 7 and 8, so arriving on time will be helpful for all students coming to school.

ART AND MUSIC ARE STILL DL CLASSES IN THE AFTERNOON

Students, don't forget to show up for your online specials of art and music. We will continue with these specials online in the afternoons for some time yet. Our hope that as things get better we can have these classes on campus again in the near future.

REPORT CARDS

Report cards are an important piece of communication between school and home. This communication lets you know how your child grew over the first semester; as well as, letting you know what areas your child needs to work on. We are very excited to be introducing our new report card that is generated on Alma. Our Curriculum Coordinator, Ivana Brajnovska, and myself will be holding an ES Town Hall Meeting this Wednesday evening and we hope you can join us. We will show you a sample report card and how to access your child's report card on Alma. On Friday, will also receive an email from your child's teacher that will include instructions for access.

WHAT: Report Card Information Session

WHEN: Wednesday, January 27th

TIME: 6:30 pm (18:30h)

GOOGLE MEET LINK

This meeting will be recorded and posted on the ES Principal website under Video Messages above.

HAPPY NEW YEAR & WELCOME BACK!

Monday, January 18, 2021

Dear NOVA ES Families:

We have had a great first week back to school and a successful start to a second week with Distance Learning. As I visited classes last week, students and teachers seemed very happy to be together again, even though it was online. We are now excited to see the students back next week, in person. We hope that all students will return to school in the second semester and enjoy the “in person” learning with their teachers and peers.

SAFETY PROTOCOLS AND TRAVELING

Our school continues to follow all the safe protocols of wearing masks, washing and sanitizing hands, taking temperatures, cleaning desks and materials. We are very proud of the fact that we were able to keep students safe and in school from August to December. Now that we begin a new year, we are confident that we will be able to keep students in school until June, with your support as well. If you have traveled within the last two weeks, please review our Traveling Protocols 1-9 for your child to return to school. Keep in mind we want to keep your child, as well as his/her peers, safe.

REPORT CARDS ARE COMING

Friday, January 22 will mark the end of our first semester. Report cards will be released on Friday, January 29th. More information to come in regards to our new report cards.

RETURNING MATERIALS

Please remember when your child comes back to school on Monday, January 25th that he/she will need to bring with them any materials they took home in December to support their two weeks of online learning. They should keep their Art Bags at home and anything else for their online classes, but library books, etc. should be returned.

ARRIVAL AND DISMISSAL

We will also continue our procedures for Arrival and Dismissal, so be sure your child has their security card to gain access to campus and to leave campus in the afternoon. Have your family dismissal number ready to bring with you when picking up your child. It is vitally important that your child/ren arrive at school on time each day. Eventually, we will be inviting more students on campus from middle and high school, so you will want to be here before.

Arrival Time: 7:45-7:55

School/Class Begins: 8:00

Dismissal: 12:30

WINTER PERFORMANCE PREMIERE

We are happy to announce the premiere of our 2020 Winter Performance this Wednesday, January 20th at 18:00h. You can access this premiere with the following links:

YOUTUBE

FACEBOOK

Let’s have a great start to the new year.

From Mehmet Murat Ildan:

Sometimes a year has been so disastrous and so terrible that entering a new year will automatically mean entering a wonderful year!

Monday, December 14, 2020

Twas the last week before Winter Break,

When all through NOVA School

Everyone was excited

From Grade 5 to Preschool.

Friday, December 18, 2020 - Winter Performance Event

We will have our Winter Performance event as was mentioned last week in my update. Please scroll down in order to see how your child should dress for this event.

Santa will be here and handing out treats to all students. We will also be live streaming the event for students at home to see. Even though your child may be at home, he/she can certainly follow along with the dancing and singing.

If your child is not planning to attend school on Friday, please be sure to let the Homeroom Teacher know.

We wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season.

We know this is a difficult time when it comes to making decisions about being with family during C-19. I know how hard it is as I think about this being the first Holiday Season I will not be flying home to be with my family. We will be celebrating on Zoom together and while we won't be physically close, we will be together . Please stay safe, rest, recharge, reconnect, and be ready to return on Monday, January 11th. Let us hope we see the light at the end of the tunnel of this pandemic year.

IMPORTANT DATES & REMINDERS:

• December 21st - January 8th: WINTER BREAK

• January 11th-15th and January 18th-23th: We have scheduled two weeks of distance learning classes FOR ALL STUDENTS following the break

• Monday, January 25th - Start of second semester

Monday, December 7, 2020

NO SCHOOL - TUESDAY, DECEMBER 8TH - OBSERVANCE OF ST. KLIMENT OHRIDSKI

It is great to see students returning to school from the most recent precautionary quarantine, and they are happy to be back as well. Please remember to continue following the protocols of safety (wearing masks, washing hands, not gathering in large groups) so we can continue "in school" until December 18th.

We are currently gearing up for our annual Winter Performance, which will look a bit differently than years past, but still maintain a high level of fun and holiday spirit. More on that below.

WINTER PERFORMANCE INFORMATION - PLEASE READ

On Friday, December 18th we will present our Winter Performance. Nasha TV will film the event and later produce a high quality video that will be shared with families through social media and the NOVA YouTube Channel. We will live stream the event for the parents to be able to see their kids performing and for the students on Distance Learning to follow along too. We are also including the DL students in the event by projecting their videos during the event and later using them in the video produced by Nasha TV.

We will ask students to send videos of them making a gingerbread house at home which later they can bring to school for a display is they want to. This is an optional activity to promote the holiday spirit.

EVENT ATTIRE - WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO WEAR BY GRADE LEVELS:

Grade 1 to 4

Girls: dress; skirt with a blouse; or leggings with blouse in the color of red, white or green with dark color shoes. Students can be dressed in one of the three colors, or the colors can be combined.

Girls hairstyle: Nicely done in a ponytail.

Boys: Dark jeans or red, white, green pants with button shirt or blouse in the colors of red, white, green, and dark color shoes. Students can be dressed in one of the three colors, or the colors can be combined.

Grade 5

Girls: Red dress or a red blouse with a red or black skirt and dark color shoes.

Hairstyle: 2 braids and Christmas hairband.

Boys: Black pants, white button shirt, dark color shoes, and Santa Claus hats

Positive Vibes and Manners at School

While we seem to look at the downside of what C-19 has brought us, I have to say there have been many positives to this as well. Here are a few things we have noticed in the students each and every day:

• Increases sense of independence. Students are coming in and putting their materials away and ready for class on time each day. Most students are arriving at 7:50 in order to start school promptly at 8:00. They are taking care of their things in their lockers and keeping their desks neat and ready for learning. This includes all students from PK - Grade 5. This is a lifelong skill (to take care of ourselves) that will be invaluable to all our students.

• Increase in manners toward adults on campus. Due to students arriving to come through the auditorium, this has given us, especially me, the opportunity to greet students individually. From this interaction, students are now greeting people with a hearty "Good morning", "How are you today," and "Have a great day." They are now modeling what we have modeled since day one of school. This was not the case with students in the past.

• Student know and understand the protocols and will often remind their peers to keep a distance, pull up their masks, and to wash their hands. So they have learned to "take care of each other."

• Students are better prepared to problem solve situations. Most of our students can now look at a situation and really figure out what to do differently. When students are young, sometimes as parents we are afraid to let them try things and we want to do everything for them. It is being proven that when given a chance, children will sometimes be better problem solvers than adults as they see things from their perspective.

We know this pandemic will be with us for the long haul, and we need to continue finding the positive behaviors and skills we are all learning at this time. Resilience is key and that is something we are all learning and benefitting from.

Monday, November 30, 2020

School is an amazing microcosm of life. Not only do children learn to read, write, do math, and experience science and social studies, but they also experience life long skills of problem solving and how to deal with many evolving situations.

We parents are always wanting to protect our child from the negative side of life, but we have to ask ourselves: "Is this really helping my child?" It hurts us to see our child/ren hurt, crying, disappointed, etc, but these are real world situations that we must support our children in dealing with. They must learn that life is full of disappointments, but how we manage these situations is what defines us as people.

If a child is kept from experiencing hurt, disappointment, transitions, and more; then, we may be doing them more of a disservice. With my own children, when they were children, I considered these as "teachable moments". We sat down and talked through how we were feeling and what we could do about it. As our children get older, taller, more mature looking, we have to keep in mind they are still just kids and going through some experiences for the very first time and need our guidance. Let's not shield them from all hurt and disappointment, let's help guide them through it with conversation, understanding, and support.

Here is a website (CHILDMIND.ORG) that covers many topics that might support you in supporting your child through difficult times. The main page talks a lot about our current situation with COVID, but there are many topics to choose from if you click on the link at the top called: For Families.

SURVEY TIME:

It is time again to fill out our survey to get feedback from you before we enter into the Winter Break. Below are the survey links for your current situation. Please fill these out by Friday, December 4th:

DISTANCE LEARNING FAMILIES

BLENDED LEARNING FAMILIES (In school learning)

Fran Prolman - Next Week

More information will be coming out about this wonderful opportunity for our parent community. We hope you will join this ZOOM Conference with Fran who will be helping us with tips on wellness and more. She is an amazing speaker who will guide us through these difficult times. Keep an eye out for an upcoming announcement with the date and time.

ALL DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS MUST ATTEND CLASSES

MORNING & AFTERNOON

Please speak with your child about making sure he/she attends all DL classes everyday. We realize this becomes challenging with some of our younger learners; however, it is important for them to show up. We need everyone online each day in order to assess where students are with their learning. Please follow these rules for attending DL classes:

• Be on time for class

• Turn camera on and leave it on

• Have materials ready and available

• Be sure to take care of personal needs before the class starts (bathroom, snack, etc.)

• If you are absent due to illness, or other reasons, the parent must email the teacher to let her know the reason, and for how long you will be absent.

• Keep your mic muted unless you are told otherwise by your teacher

• At all times, be respectful to your fellow students and your teachers

Being in a DL class is like being at school, you must follow the rules and the expectations of the class at all times. This is a challenging time for learning and we must make sure we are getting the best out of the situation.

Monday, November 23, 2020

A new week and schedule begins!

Welcome to another week of learning, in fact a short week of learning at that. This week we are celebrating a US Holiday, Thanksgiving. While this marks a historical event in the United States, it is also a good theme for us all at this time, "Thanks" and "Giving." I always look at this time of year in these ways and try to be sure that I thank people for giving me something special, such as: their time, their smile, their presence. Giving can be so much more than handing over a gift. This is also a time of reflection, at least it is for me. My hope is that we can teach our children to be thankful and giving all year around, but especially during this time. As a world, we need to stick together and appreciate the wonderful family, friendships, and opportunities that we have. I am truly thankful for a supportive school community at NOVA.

I leave you with a quote from John F Kennedy, quoting from Margaret Cousins:

“Appreciation can change a day, even change a life. Your willingness to put it into words is all that is necessary.” – Margaret Cousins

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

HALLOWEEN VIDEO EVENT is Coming...

This Wednesday, November 25th at 18:00h/6:00 p.m., we will be presenting on Facebook and on the NOVA YouTube channel, our video of the Halloween Celebration at NOVA. We hope you will join us for this "Spooktacular" event. A huge thank you goes out to our PTA, including Ms. Ana Velkova, our teachers, and admin for all the time and effort put in to make this event so much fun for the students. Also, a big thank you goes out to Nasha TV for putting this amazing video presentation together.

WINTER PERFORMANCE 2020 or 2.0

As I'm sure you expect, the Winter Performance will not be as grand this year as in the past; however, it will be grand in it's own way. Preparations are happening now in order to bring you the best possible event at this time. The format of this event will be very similar to the Halloween event. In a 30 minute intervals HR teachers will bring their students to the amphitheater where students will have the opportunity to present a song or dance, watch a short play performed by ES teachers, take photos in front of the winter decorations in the amphitheater and get some sweet treats. We will air this event sometime during the week of December 14th. We will keep you posted.

PTA FOOD DRIVE - THIS WEEK...

From our PTA and Head of School: In the spirit of Thanksgiving, the Nova PTA will be organizing a Food Drive to collect food for the less fortunate. Beginning Monday, November 23rd, each morning PTA representatives will be inside the EMS front entrance to accept donations of non-perishable food products, or you can make an online donation through the following link. Your donation will be added to the 100+ meals the school will prepare and deliver to families in need through the #Retweet-a-meal initiative.

IF YOU ARE TRAVELING THIS WEEKEND...

We know this is a difficult time right now when thinking about traveling, visiting family and friends, etc. Should you decide to travel to the neighboring countries over the long weekend, we ask that you self-quarantine upon your return to Skopje, or North Macedonia in general. Be sure to mark you Health Booklets with your travel. We want to keep our school community safe, so it will be important for your to communicate with your child's Homeroom Teacher if you plan to travel and be on DL for the next two weeks starting on Monday, November 30th. Thank you for your respect to this request.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT COVID REPORTING

As soon as you know a family member, or your child, has tested positive, please send an email to our Nurses group, and our Health and Safety Group at the following addresses:

nurse@nova.edu.mk

hsc@nova.edu.mk

Please include the following information in your email:

• Who is the person infected and what relation to the student

• What was the last date of contact and how often

• If there were symptoms and when they first appeared

• The date the student was last in school

This information is very important as we need to do our own contact tracing within the school to determine what teachers were in contact. Thank you to all parents who provide the needed information so that we can ensure our steps are taken in a timely manner.

ALL DISTANCE LEARNING STUDENTS MUST ATTEND CLASSES

MORNING & AFTERNOON

Please speak with your child about making sure he/she attends all DL classes everyday. We realize this becomes challenging with some of our younger learners; however, it is important for them to show up. We need everyone online each day in order to assess where students are with their learning. Please follow these rules for attending DL classes:

• Be on time for class

• Turn camera on and leave it on

• Have materials ready and available

• Be sure to take care of personal needs before the class starts (bathroom, snack, etc.)

• If you are absent due to illness, or other reasons, the parent must email the teacher to let her know the reason, and for how long you will be absent.

• Keep your mic muted unless you are told otherwise by your teacher

• At all times, be respectful to your fellow students and your teachers

Being in a DL class is like being at school, you must follow the rules and the expectations of the class at all times. This is a challenging time for learning and we must make sure we are getting the best out of the situation.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT COVID REPORTING

November 20, 2020

As soon as you know a family member, or your child, has tested positive, please send an email to our Nurses group, and our Health and Safety Group at the following addresses:

nurse@nova.edu.mk

hsc@nova.edu.mk

Please include the following information in your email:

• Who is the person infected and what relation to the student

• What was the last date of contact and how often

• If there were symptoms and when they first appeared

• The date the student was last in school

This information is very important as we need to do our own contact tracing within the school to determine what teachers were in contact. Thank you to all parents who provide the needed information so that we can ensure our steps are taken in a timely manner.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Safety First - New Schedule Beginning Mon. Nov 23rd

As you have probably read by now, we have a new schedule for ES Blended and Distance Learning. Some schedules actually won't change much, with the exception of having Art and Music in the afternoon online. We have many reasons for doing this, but the most important reason is to keep our school community safe. Over the past few weeks, Covid has been knocking at our door and pushing classes into precautionary quarantines. This has created a chain reaction that has affected staffing and coverage of classes.

With the new schedule we will be able to:

• Increase the time during the day for core classes

• Continue to offer PE and Dance in school in open and well ventilated spaces

• Reduce the amount of teachers who may need to go out on quarantine if a class goes on DL

• Keep us in school until December (we hope!)

• Arrival and Dismissal Time will remain the same

We are looking at what is best and safest for our students and faculty during this challenging time. We hope this modification doesn't cause challenges for you at home. As I mentioned, some of the schedules will not change much at all.

ART & MUSIC

We realize that being online in the afternoon may be challenging for some students and we hope a balanced routine at home will help. Our younger students in Kindergarten may have this as an option if they are unable to attend due to being tired. This means they may or may not attend depending on how they are feeling. However, all grades are expected to attend these classes once a week, they are not optional. They will be assessed, attendance will be taken, and this participation will be noted in their report card coming out in late January.

AFTERNOON DL CLASSES WILL BEGIN AT 1:30.

Transition time for students will be from 12:30-1:30

This decision was not made on a whim. With the Health and Safety Committee, feedback from teachers, and a collaborative effort we felt this was the best scenario to keep us in school for as long as possible. In January, we will reassess where we are in terms of the pandemic, and keep you posted as to which schedule we will be following. Keep in mind, we will all be on at least a 2 week Distance Learning plan after the December break.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2020

Welcome to another wonderful week of learning.

It was great to see all the classes back at school today.

MODIFIED SCHEDULE: BLENDED LEARNING 2.O: As our Head of School mentioned in his update last week, the Elementary School will be modifying the schedule in order to keep us in the Blended Learning Model for as long as we can. We are hoping to make it to the December break without closing and going to Distance Learning (DL). We will be sharing the new schedule with you when we have it finalized, hopefully by Wednesday or Thursday. To be honest, it will not change the current schedule much, other than adding Art and Music in the afternoon.

SHORTENED TRANSITION TIME HOME: One of the modifications that will affect families is the transition time at dismissal. Students who have an afternoon online class will need to be home by 1:30. So from dismissal to class time there will be one hour to make the transition.

ART & MUSIC CLASSES will be DL classes in the afternoon. It is an expectation that students attend these classes each time they are given. Attendance will be taken, as well as grades on any assessments. If your child does not attend, or turn in assignments, this will be reflected on their report card.

We hope that sometime after the December break we will be able to bring kids back on campus for all classes. In January, we will reassess the pandemic situation and let you know where we stand.

EXPECTATIONS FOR DISTANCE LEARNING

Show Up: attend ALL classes scheduled

Do your BEST work - this looks different for everyone, but always turn in your best.

Keep camera on

Turn in all assignments according to your teachers' instructions

Be Respectful & Responsible

Be Patient

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2020

Thank you to all parents who participated in the ES Parent Teacher Conferences. I am so proud to announce that we had almost a 100% participation in conferences. This is amazing and just shows the dedication we all have in our students. This definitely shows we are a team. If you are someone who did not have a chance to meet with your child's teacher, please do reach out to the teacher and schedule a time. Thank you again.

SURVEYS:

I'm including the links to the surveys I sent out last week. Please take a moment to fill them out. The last survey we collected approximately 81 responses. So far this survey has elicited 31 responses. We hope to hear from you.

Blended "in school" Learning Parents

Distance Learning Parents

PREPARING FOR THE WEATHER

As the weather is unpredictable we need to make sure students are prepared for it. As you noticed it was quite chilly today and I have a feeling that is not going to end. Many students either didn't bring a coat to school, or they were trying to go outside for recess without a coat. This is the time for your child to dress in layers, or at least bring hat, gloves, scarf, etc. along with a nice warm jacket to school to have on hand in case they need it for recess.

FROM OUR FAVORITE SCHOOL NURSE

Remember to send in 3-6 masks with your child so he/she always has a spare. Also, make sure the mask fits your child well. We have noticed some of the masks are either too big or too small, so having the right fit is very important not only for prevention, but also for comfort.

Being Cautious

As our Head of School, Mr. Ivan Novakovski mentioned in his update, it is up to us to be careful as we move about around our communities. We need to keep following all the precautions that keep us safe. We cannot control what others do, but we can control our choices and what we do to stay safe. At NOVA we are keeping the environment safe for everyone and hope that the community will support us by making the right choices outside of school.

Have a great week and stay safe!

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2020

Can you believe it is November already? Time is flying by and before you know it we will be at December break. I feel very proud of the fact that we have been able to continue with classes and students at school over the past 12 weeks. We are well aware the number of COVID cases are rapidly increasing and we ask that our families take care as you venture out into the community. Please stay safe and healthy and follow all safety precautions.

Just to clarify, I am sending the link to these newsletters through ALMA. You receive the email from: NOVA INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS, but the email is from me. Please be sure to bookmark this website as changes are made regularly, and sometimes between newsletters when necessary. Using this site will hopefully cut down on the emails that are sent.

Parent Teacher Conferences - SignUp is Closed

Please email our Nurses (nurse@nova.edu.mk) if you would like to schedule a meeting with them as well.

Macedonian Classes Update - Beginning Monday, November 9th - Grades 1 - 5

As you can imagine, scheduling classes during this time in our history certainly has its challenges. However, we have been able to adjust the Macedonian schedule to include one more class for each of the grade levels (1-5.) With the addition of one more class of Macedonian, homeroom teachers will need to readjust their schedule to accommodate this addition. Kindergarten will not be affected by this change.

Your child's homeroom teacher will make sure you receive the final schedule by the end of this week along with all the updated links for meets if necessary. Below is a breakdown by grades as to the addition of classes:

• Grades 1-3 - Blended Learning (BL) students will have 2 “in school” classes and 1 online class

• Grades 1-3 - Distance Learning (DL) students will have 2 online classes a week

• Grades 4-5 - BL & DL students: Due to live streaming within the classroom, both BL and DL students will increase by one class to give 3 classes a week.

Parent Survey #2

Please take a moment to fill out the following survey. You will find that the questions are the same as the first survey and this will allow us as a school to track trends and to determine how well we are doing with both Blended and Distance Learning. Keep in mind there are two different links.

Please fill out the survey that identifies with your child's current education plan, either Blended Learning (your child/ren is in school until 12:30 and at home in the afternoon) or Distance Learning (your child/ren remains home the full day.) Thank you in advance for taking the time to fill out the survey.

BLENDED LEARNING PARENT SURVEY

DISTANCE LEARNING PARENT SURVEY

Have a lovely week and enjoy your conferences.

Ms. Sherman

Monday, October 26, 2020

Parent/Teacher Conferences Next Week - SignUp Links Below

Parent Teacher Conferences are next week on Tuesday, November 3rd and Wednesday, November 4th. There will be NO CLASSES on these days. Teachers will be posting assignments on Seesaw for students to do independent work during this time.

Conference appointments for Homeroom Teachers will be 30 minutes long. This will give you time to meet the teacher and have a conversation about your child. You do not need to use the full 30 minutes; however, it will be there for you.

Tuesday, November 3-Conference Times: 10:00 a.m. - 14:00h & 16:00-19:00h

Wednesday, November 4 - Conference Times: 10:00 a.m. - 14:00h.

Due to the amount of students Specialty Teachers have, their conference times are set for 10 minutes each. Should you need more time, you can arrange another time with that teacher. We encourage you to meet with all your child/ren’s teachers.

On Monday, November 2nd, your child’s homeroom teacher will send you a Google Meet Link to use for your conferences. When you click on the link, be sure to notice if other parents are in the meeting. If they are, please wait your turn. Parents of Distance Learning students need to sign up for a meeting with the Homeroom Teacher and the DL teacher will join the meeting. Also on Monday, you will also receive a copy of your child’s NWEA MAP scores.

HALLOWEEN REMINDER

You may continue to send in money this week to cover the costs of the treats the PTA is providing for the students on Friday. Also, your child can bring in their decorated pumpkin this week as well before Thursday.

We will be live streaming the parades during the day and will send more information about that soon. We are hoping this will help DL students feel a part of the festivities. The sound quality may not be very good, but students will be able to see the parade. DL students will also be able to join in with their classroom through a Google Meet to take part in any games, and fun activities that will be happening in the classroom.

Increasing Macedonian Classes

On Monday, November 9th, we will be increasing the number of Macedonian classes for students both in school and at home. Blended Learning students will receive 2 in school classes and one online; and the Distance Learning students will receive 2 online classes. We look forward to being able to offer you an increase in these classes.

HAVE A GREAT WEEK!

Monday, October 19, 2020

Social Stigma of COVID-19

Below is a link to a couple of articles regarding social stigma stemming from COVID-19. I hope you will take a moment to read them. In a year of a Global Pandemic no one is immune to the possible contraction of this virus. We can try hard to keep ourselves and our children safe, but ultimately you or someone in your family may contract the virus. It is important for us, as a school community and a society, to not allow stigma to be attached to contracting the virus. It will happen in our school community and we must make an effort to welcome students, teachers, and others back to school without making anyone feel excluded, rejected, or demeaned in any way. Our anthem this year is: "We Are In This Together".

SOCIAL STIGMA - MAYO CLINIC

TALKING WITH CHILDREN ABOUT COVID - CDC

The following message is from the PTA:

There is a Nova tradition each year around Halloween that you won’t want to miss. We know it’s only mid-October, but we are excited to invite all ES children, grades Pre-K to 5^th, to a Halloween Party during the school day on Friday, October 30th, sponsored by the Nova Parent Teacher Association (PTA.) We want your families to have plenty of time to consider costumes that would be mask friendly, so that your children can come to school dressed in their costumes with their -safe masks. See below how DL students can also participate.

The Halloween Party will be a fun time for ALL with:

-COSTUME PARADE by grade from classroom to auditorium

-PHOTO BOOTH all safety protocols will be respected

-IN-CLASS PARTY with individually packaged Halloween treats for each student

-AWARDS for CLASSROOM DOOR DECORATIONS

-PUMPKIN FESTIVAL

We are also planning some fun activities leading up to the day of the party:

Classroom Door Decorations – Each homeroom will be decorating their classroom door. Awards will be given for creativity. Please send Halloween themed decorating items to school with your child by 22.10.2020.

Short Video/Photo Submission – Parents are invited to submit a 10-15 second video or a photo by 30.10.2020 of their child showing off their costume, practicing make-up for their costume, announcing how they will dress up, etc. Each grade will have a folder on google drive to upload their videos/photos. Homeroom teachers will send more information about this. More video and photos will be taken on the day of the event, so DL students and all families can enjoy a virtual version of the event combined with these short clips/photos of students getting ready for Halloween.

Pumpkin Festival – Each child is encouraged to decorate a pumpkin at home (carve, paint, etc.) and bring it to school October 28th-29th. There will be tables set up at the school entrances where students can leave their pumpkins. The pumpkins will be part of the decorations for all to enjoy the day of the event.

Halloween Treats - Due to the Covid-19 situation, the PTA can’t offer the usual Halloween treats for sale, so each class will have their own party with treats provided by the PTA. To help cover the cost of the treats and a professional Halloween photo for each child to take home, we kindly ask parents to send a suggested donation of 200 denars in an envelope with your child’s name to be dropped off in PTA baskets at the morning health screening stations any day between the 16th-22^nd of October.

Please email any questions to PTA@nova.edu.mk.

Together, let’s make this a fun and memorable event for our children,

Your Nova PTA

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Halloween is Coming to NOVA

The NOVA International School PTA is planning a safe and wonderful event for our students on October 30th. You will be receiving an email from them later this week explaining how you can help to make this event a success for our students. Please note that students will be able to wear their costumes to school and parents need to make sure that their child/ren can wear their non-Halloween masks appropriately to keep each other safe. We encourage Distance Learning students to dress up too.

Expectations for Costumes in order to remain pandemic safe:

~The costume must be comfortable to wear in school

~No play weapons or other “extra” items will be allowed

~Students will still need to wear their protective masks

~If you do not wish to wear a costume, it is not required

~Costumes should not be too graphic, bloody, or gruesome

Suggestions for costumes

~Favorite characters from a book

~Superhero costumes

~Something fun and original

Part of the Halloween fun will be a Pumpkin Carving Contest. For those who are Distance Learning and not attending school, you can send in a picture of your pumpkin.

More info to come.

That’s it for me. You will be receiving more information from the PTA on Thursday this week.

Have a wonderful evening,

Ms. Sherman

Monday, September 28, 2020

LET'S NOT LET OUR GUARD DOWN NOW

I was going to focus my newsletter today on the importance of building routines, but in light of information we have received from students I felt the need to switch gears and focus on the current challenges with COVID-19. As a school, in order to keep our students and staff safe, we are being conservative with our practices.

Our hope is that parents too will support this conservative stance to keep children safe by following some guidelines at home as well. All of these preparations and safety measures mean nothing if we do not have parent support. None of us want to be out on Distance Learning; however, if we don't follow safety guidelines, even at home, then we can count on all of us returning to a way of learning we had from March to June.

HERE IS HOW PARENTS CAN HELP:

• Make sure to take your child's temperature each day.

• Fill out the Health Booklet and report ANY travel that your immediate family is involved in. If one parent travels for work, you need to mark that in the Health Booklet. By not making a record of it for us to check on, you ultimately put other children/families at risk.

• If a parent/family travels you MUST:

  • • • • Wait 5-14 days to do an initial PCR test. The incubation period for COVID is: "The time between exposure to COVID-19 and the moment when symptoms start is commonly around five to six days but can range from 1 – 14 days" (WHO-2020)

        • Upon arrival home from business travel from a highly contagious country, your children must remain home from school for 14 days and then have a negative PCR test 72 hours before returning to school.

• Check that your child has his/her Health Booklet with them everyday.

• We know that children will socialize outside of school with many different people, and most likely without masks. We ask that you please consider being vigilant and conservative with this in order to keep our school community safe. As you have heard on the news, weddings and other gatherings have increased the spread of this virus. So please be careful out there.

• SECTION 1.7 - RETURNING TO SCHOOL AFTER TRAVEL - Please read this section of the REOPENING PLAN you will need to scroll down to section 1.7.

DISTANCE LEARNING & BLENDED MODEL When Absent:

• Absent students will find their work on Seesaw or it will be sent by the teacher and not be involved in Distance Learning classes. If a student is sick we want them to rest and get well and not be overwhelmed with work. They will have a day or two to make up the work they have missed.

• Family vacations: student leaving on a family vacation during school time will not be allowed to take part in Distance Learning Classes. Students will need to make up work missed for the time they are absent. Work that the classes are doing can be found on Seesaw and/or the teacher will provide a specific email.

EXTRA ID REQUESTS:

If you need an extra ID Badge for your family, either for a parent or a family helper, please check out the following links.

• • • NOVA ID CARD GUIDELINES

    • NOVA ID BADGE REQUEST FORM

DISMISSAL ON PRASHKA - PLEASE TAKE NOTE:

• Make sure you park in a respectful way that does not block a neighbor's driveway.

• Be sure to line up on the sidewalk in order to keep the crowd to a minimum that is out in the street. We will see you if you hold up your family number

• Make sure to discuss with your child before you pick them up, where you will be standing. Make it the same place each day so your child knows whether to go to Prashka Street turnstiles, or the school parking lot.

PLEASE BE ON TIME IN THE MORNING & AFTERNOON

ARRIVAL TIME: 7:45-7:55 | In class and settled at 8:00 (class begins promptly at this time)

DISMISSAL TIME: 12:30-1:00

• BENEFITS OF BEING ON TIME:

  1. 1. 1. Students have time to settle in and get ready for learning

        2. Being punctual for class sets up the habit of being on time for other things in life, for example: meetings, doctor appointments, etc.

        3. Prevents students from feeling lost when they come into the classroom

        4. Students benefit from the social time before school begins

        5. Increases academic progress

• BEING LATE:

  1. 1. 1. Causes anxiety for the child to walk in "late" for a class when everyone else is settled.

        2. Students feel disconnected from the class that eventually impacts their whole day.

        3. Disrupts the flow of the Morning Meeting and morning Routines.

        4. Students lose out on important information that every teacher reviews each morning, for example: the daily agenda, learning goals, specials, etc.

Monday, September 21, 2020

We are off to another great start to the week. I will try to make this short, but meaningful with the information provided.

SURVEYS FOR PARENTS

Please take a moment to fill out the appropriate short survey. One is for parents who have children receiving Distance Learning Classes, and the other is for parents who have children in school.

Please fill out a survey for each of your children separately as the information may be different according to the grade level your child is in. Due date for these will be Friday, September 25.

DISTANCE LEARNING SURVEY FOR PARENTS

CHILD “IN SCHOOL” PARENT SURVEY

EEC PARENT AFTERNOON TEA - INFORMATIONAL SESSION

Thursday, September 24th from 3:00 - 3:30

A parent information session will be held to go over Seesaw, Khan Academy and Khan Kids. This is to help parents understand how the apps work and how best to help your child. This is appropriate for parents of students in grades PK 3 and 4, Kindergarten, and Grade 1. Teachers will be on hand to answer questions about these apps.

This meeting will be recorded and available on the Principal ES Update Website.

GOOGLE MEET LINK

ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL REMINDERS:

• Students need at school by 7:55, classes begin at 8:00

• Health Booklets need to be filled out an in hand upon arrival

• Dismissal time is 12:30- 12:50, please be on time to pick up your child.

• Please leave campus as soon as you pick up your child.

• Supervise your child once they are with you.

• Doors are closed and locked at 8:00 and 1:00

It is important to follow these guidelines as teachers and staff have classes to conduct after the arrival and dismissal times.

"Let's remember, one book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world."

By Malala Yousafzai

Have a great week,

Ms. Sherman

Monday, September 14, 2020

Dear ES Families,

Welcome to week three, and welcome to our fourth and fifth grade classes as they begin their first week of onsite classes. I know I have said it many times, we are so excited to have our full ES Division back on campus. Our school is full of life and happy sounds of children learning, playing, dancing, and more. I have to say, I am so impressed with how well the students are adapting to spacing themselves when walking to and from areas in the school, using hand sanitizer, and wearing masks. Well done all! We are also working diligently on making the experience for our Distance Learners as optimal as possible. Truly, no matter how hard we try, DL will never be the same as being in the physical environment. We are making some changes to support DL students “feel” as though they are part of the class.

ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL

DESIGNATED FAMILY NUMBERS NEED TO BE VISIBLE AT ALL TIMES

PARENTS MUST WEAR MASKS ON CAMPUS

COMMUNICATION

The first item I would like to address this week in my update is communication. As a school we are working hard to communicate in a way that is not overwhelming, yet gives you what you need in knowing what is happening at school. We are well aware that you are receiving updates from principals, the Head of School, and your child/ren’s teachers. So yes, it is overwhelming. Yet in many ways while we are trying to organize this communication, without reducing important information, we often are either criticized for either too much, or not enough. Part of our way of organizing our communication is to provide you with different ways to access it. We have:

• The NOVA School Website - General Information with a link to Blended and Distance learning.

• ES Principal Update Website - Weekly updates and other important resources coming

• SS Principal Update Website - MS and HS information

• Teacher Websites (being updated currently with schedules and links)

• SeeSaw, an application we are using in ES

• Google Classroom (Only certain grades will be using this application)

• SS is using Managebac and Alma

• ES also is using Alma as a communication tool for attendance, and email

• Emails (through Google and Alma)

Looking at this long list of communication tools we are using, we are hoping this offers you options to have access to the information needed. In order to manage the stream of information, the principals and Head of School have chosen days in which we will send out our updates so as not to bombard you with them on the same day. The ES Updates will come on Mondays, SS on Wednesdays, and our school wide updates on Fridays. Of course, things come up that may need to be sent out from any division that is an immediate concern, and we hope to keep those to a minimum.

TEACHER AVAILABILITY AND CONTACT INFORMATION

Your child’s teacher is really the most important person to hear from and to ask questions in regards to anything classroom, curriculum, and behavior related. All teachers have OFFICE HOURS each day, indicated in the schedule, in order to speak with you via Google Meet or to answer your emails. Teachers will not be giving out their personal phone information.

The working hours for teachers are from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 pm. (15:30h) each day Monday through Friday. After 15:30h each day, and on the weekends, is family/recharge time for teachers and we ask that everyone respect this. We realize that questions, or issues, come up after these times that are important. But we ask that you respect their time after hours. Teachers will respond during the week within 24 hours, and on the weekend they will respond on Monday.

There is a great tool if you are using Gmail that may help with organizing your emails to teachers. It is called: Scheduled Send. You can find this tool on the Send button at the bottom of your email. Beside the Send Button, there is a down arrow. If you click on that, it gives you choices as to when to send your email. (See Video)

I realize this was a bit of a long email, however I felt it was important to set the boundaries and expectations so that everyone, including students, parents and teachers, understand the importance of having “down” time to recharge and refresh to get us through this time of Blended and Distance Learning. We are here to support each other.

IMPORTANT DATES TO MARK ON YOUR CALENDARS

• Monday, September 14 - NWEA MAP INFO SESSION: Grade 3 students & parents

• Thursday, September 17 - NWEA MAP INFO SESSION: Grade 4 & 5 students & parents

Monday, September 7, 2020

Newsletter #2

Regardless of the government foiling our planned opening of PK3 to Grade 5, we had an exceptional opening of school with grades 1, 2, and 3. Students were so excited to be back in the building as were the teachers to have them. Our beloved school seemed alive again.

Students were doing a great job in distancing from each other and teachers have been stellar in teaching students new protocols during this time to keep everyone safe. Washing hands, wearing masks, and keeping a safe distance has been key. When I visited classrooms with students it seemed that each had their very own, organized "office" space called a desk. I believe there are many silver linings to all this. Some being: students more aware of washing hands, staying organized, and most of all being more independent as the walk into school in the morning. I am sure that parents are missing the fact that they are unable to walk in with their child, but I will say we have seen a growth in our students' independence we never imagined.

Here are a few reminders:

• HEALTH FORMS: Please fill out the health form in order for our Health Office to have the most current information about your child. Here is a link to the form: HEALTH FORM

• HEALTH BOOKLETS: Be sure to remind your child to bring their health booklet to school each day and to have it out of their backpacks and ready to be checked before entering the building. Next week if your child doesn't have their booklet, they will remain in the Health Office waiting room until a parent can be reached to bring it in. Please see the video from our favorite nurse Ms. Sandey in the Video Messages section of my website.

• SPEAKING OF BACKPACKS, if your child does not need it, please do not send it to school. The only thing your child needs is their Health Booklet and their snack/lunch bag. Everything else can stay home.

• PK AND KINDERGARTEN: begins next week on Wednesday, September 9th. We are so excited to welcome our youngest learners to school . Both PK and Kindergarten is scheduling "one on one" family time to come to the classroom on Monday, September 7th. You should have an email from your child/ren's teacher.

• ARRIVAL & DISMISSAL: Our new system of arrival and dismissal with numbers is working out great. We are finding there is no more crowding in the hallways, students are not running down the stairs, and everything is safe and orderly. This is a system that we will keep for a long time to come.

Thank you parents for your support, patience, and flexibility. we couldn't do it without you!

Warmly,

Ms. Sherman

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Newsletter #1

We are excitedly awaiting your child’s arrival to school on Monday, August 31st at 7:45. School will start promptly at 8:00. Our rooms are ready to welcome you with both safety, creating community, and academics in mind. We will be communicating with you often to keep you informed about classroom happenings, and important school information. There are many important pieces of information I will be sharing with you in this email, and while I will try to keep it brief, it may be a bit lengthy. Please be sure to read it all and save it for future reference.

BLENDED MODEL: PK-5 will be offering a blended model of “in school” and Distance Learning. This will consist of the hours in school between 8:00-12:30 and in the afternoon from 1:30-3:30. The hour between is for transition purposes for going home, PK nap time, etc. This is a brief description, more information will be coming from your child’s homeroom teacher.

OFFICE HOURS: Our teachers will have office hours (OH) scheduled for you and your child between their working hours of 7:30-3:30. Please be respectful of this time as our teachers are not “on call” throughout the entire day and night.

EMAIL ETIQUETTE: We will be following the global email etiquette of responding to emails within 24 hours. This means that if you send an email to a teacher after 3:30, he/she will have until the next day to respond.

FIRST TWO WEEKS OF SCHOOL: Teachers will be focusing on creating community in the classroom, teaching students about the new protocols and how we will stay safe; as well as, touching on social/emotional health during this time. Please do not expect a heavy load of academics as we begin our school year. During the afternoon online sessions, it is the goal to connect all students together the first week so that those students staying home will feel connected.

MASK USAGE AND INFO: As our School Director, Mr. Ivan Novakovski mentioned in the Town Hall, we will be on the conservative side when we start. Students ages 6 and above, will need to wear masks most of the time. When outside and keeping a safe distance, masks can be removed. During snack, lunch, breaks and some independent work time in the classroom, students will be able to remove their masks. SEND IN AT THE VERY LEAST 2-3 MASKS A DAY. Students will need to have extra masks to change during the day, and you will need to send in a plastic ziploc bag, or a container for your child/ren to put their mask in to bring home to be cleaned. PK and K students will also need to wear masks during certain times of the day.

From Nurse Sandey, here is a link to a video about wearing masks, please watch: KIDS HEALTH-MASK WEARING, and another article about One Thing You Must Tell Your Kids to Do During a Pandemic.

FAMILY ORIENTATIONS THIS WEEK: This Thursday, August 27 we will be holding grade level online orientations for families so you can see and meet the homeroom teachers at your child/ren’s grade level. While we realize this is a bit unconventional, it is due to our protocols of reducing the amount of adults on campus. We want students and parents to “see” their teachers without masks. Below is our schedule for these orientations, which are being offered twice to accommodate your working schedules. CLICK ON THE MEETING LINK TO TAKE PART IN THE MEETING ON THURSDAY

More detailed information will be coming by the end of this week for the following items:

• TRANSPORTATION SERVICES

• HOT MEAL PROGRAM: There will be lunch service on the first day of school.

• SUPPLY SETS

• ARRIVAL AND DEPARTURE PROCEDURES: We will have specific procedures for arrival and departure locations, and each family will be given a number to aid in our departure procedure.

• NEW IDs: New ID badges will be distributed to parents and students.

Again, I would like to welcome you to a new and unique year. We are continuing our motto of, “We are all in this together.” Please be mindful that your actions will affect others, so we ask that you follow all the guidelines for this pandemic, such as: washing hands, wearing a mask, distancing yourself from others. Please avoid large crowds and gathings. Together we can beat this!

See you soon, at a distance of course.

Warmly,

Ms. Sherman