Newsletter #17

Making New Year's resolutions dates back to antiquity. Babylon was a key kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia from the 18th to 6th centuries BC and the Babylonians were the first to have implemented this ritual of promises. (1)

Originally the Babylonians vowed to their Gods to return agricultural equipment that they had borrowed, and to pay off their debts, so that they could begin the new year on good footing by supporting healthier relations between neighbors and by encouraging everyone to assume their responsibilities. Over the centuries this tradition has endured, leading us today to make positive resolutions the day before January 1.

There are a number of interesting reasons we can find in the origin of Babylonian New Year resolutions to begin our first Newsletter of the new decade:

Another New Year tradition is to exchange well wishes. It started with the Romans who celebrated January 1st by offering sacrifices to Janus, the god of beginnings, gates, transitions, time, duality, doorways, passages, and endings. It was then common for friends and neighbors to make a positive start to the year by exchanging gifts of figs and honey with one another, along with best wishes. (4)

António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, shared his New Year Message to the World last week:

From here at the United Nations, I join you in welcoming the New Year. We enter 2020 with uncertainty and insecurity all around. Persistent inequality and rising hatred. A warring world and a warming planet. Climate change is not only a long-term problem but a clear and present danger. We cannot afford to be the generation that fiddled while the planet burned.

 But there is also hope. 

This year, my New Year’s message is to the greatest source of that hope: the world’s young people. From climate action to gender equality to social justice and human rights, your generation is on the frontlines and in the headlines. I am inspired by your passion and determination. You are rightly demanding a role in shaping the future. I am with you.

The United Nations stands with you – and belongs to you. 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. We are launching a Decade of Action for the Sustainable Development Goals, our blueprint for a fair globalization. This year, the world needs young people to keep speaking out. Keep thinking big.  Keep pushing boundaries.  And keep up the pressure.

 I wish you peace and happiness in 2020. 

 Thank you. 

Supporting young people as they raise their voices and keep speaking is fundamental and is the core value of our Mission which aims to "educate and inspire its students to become an active force in shaping a better world: peaceful, compassionate and sustainable."

It is our pride, as Junior School Principal and Assistant Principal, inspired by the Secretary-General, to "keep up the pressure" and to be fully committed to all of you, students, parents and teachers. More than ever, the UN goals and our Mission need our collaborative commitment to allow our children to build and live in a Better World.

Best wishes to all of you, and your family, friends, and neighbors around the World.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal

Susan Scullin, Junior School Principal Assistant

IMPORTANT DATES

EVENTS THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

TO DO: UPDATE YOUR PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION

Please take the time now to review your family profile and contact information to ensure that your cell phone numbers, email addresses and home address are correct. You may update your information at any point throughout the year, but if you have not reviewed your information since the school year began, we encourage you to do it today. 

All departments at UNIS, including the Nurse, rely on the information that you provide in the Veracross Parent Portal to contact you. The only way you can be reached in an emergency is through the information that you have entered in the Portal. After logging in to the Portal at myunis.vc , you may review and update all of your family contact information by:

If you need support in order to make your updates, please email veracross@unis.org

INFORMATION: JS PARENT COFFEE on DESIGN ENGINEERING AND DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP

This coming Wednesday, January 8th at 8:30am in the Cafe, JS faculty members Javier Alvez and Francesca Zammarano will lead a Parent Coffee to share insights about our Design Technology Curriculum. We look forward to welcoming you!

INFORMATION: JS TOY SALE, JANUARY 24TH -  BRING ON THE TOYS!

Any unwanted toys or games taking up space at your house? Let's find them a loving new home and honor the spirit of 'Greening the Blue' by handing them over to another happy owner.

We will gratefully take all gently used toys off your hands for our beloved JS Toy Sale (except stuffed toys). Please make sure that all toys or games with small pieces are intact and well secured. No one wants broken toys or games and puzzles with missing pieces. Thank You! Collections in the UNIS lobby will take place from January 21st to 23rd – three days only!

The JS students will visit the Toy Sale with their homeroom teachers on Friday, January 24th. Please send your child to school with a shopping bag (again: Greening the Blue) and $5 to spend.

This highly popular event is only possible with the help of many parent volunteers! Please click the link for volunteering and join the fun!

INFORMATION: ARABIC LANGUAGE DAY CELEBRATION

On December 18th, UNIS once again joined the UN Community and the world in celebrating Arabic Language Day. The event was established by UNESCO to celebrate multilingualism and cultural diversity as well as to elevate the use of Arabic as an equal counterpart alongside the other official UN languages. On December 18, 1973, the UN General Assembly approved Arabic as an official UN language. Former Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova described the day as "a bridge between cultures and a practical way of adding to knowledge, perceptions and mutual understanding for peace.” 

Students of the Arabic program and other students wrote calligraphy to promote the Arabic language as a vehicle for peace and positivity in our world. We are grateful for the support from our community in recognizing this day every year, as well as to students of the Arabic program, the MLD and the Office of Student Activities. Also, special thanks to the MLD and faculty members for volunteering and providing treats and hot beverages for this year’s festivities!

REMINDER: INTRODUCING THE KOFI ANNAN AWARD FOR GLOBAL IMPACT

UNIS is very excited to unveil an alumni award. For the first time in UNIS' 70+ year history, we will be celebrating our alumni success, the close connection we enjoy with the UN, and one of our greatest supporters -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This distinction, named the UNIS Kofi Annan Award for Global Impact, will be given to a former UNIS student whose work exemplifies the dedication and spirit of the former Secretary-General who fostered peace, stability, and improved the welfare of the citizens of the world. H.E. Annan inspired our students to follow his example, to take to heart the important work he led, in his roles as Assistant Secretary-General, Under Secretary-General, and as Secretary-General. During his tenure, extraordinary student-led events such as our UNIS Human Rights Conference and our UNIS-UN Conference, began and flourished respectively.  Our award acknowledges the long and meaningful relationship that Secretary-General Annan has had with our school both as a Board Trustee and as Board Chair. It represents a wonderful opportunity to create a new institutional connection between alumni and the School that celebrates the enduring connection with the United Nations and its values, and in particular, Secretary-General Kofi Annan. As faculty, staff, former faculty and staff, parents of alumni, and alumni, put forth your nominations today! 

REMINDER: WINTER SESSION ACTIVITIES - UPDATE SCHOOL DISMISSAL MANAGER

If you have registered your child for any Winter Session After School or Athletic Activities, please take the time now to enter that information into your child’s School Dismissal Manager account.

SDM should be updated to include each specific activity name and all of the dates when that activity will meet.

Dismissing teachers rely on the information that families enter in SDM each day to direct their students to the correct After School or Athletic activity.

If Winter session classes are not accurately entered in SDM your child may be sent to the Care Program instead.

REMINDER: SAVE THE DATE - UNIS GALA - FEBRUARY 28

Don’t miss the party of the year to celebrate and support our School! Love throwing parties? Excited to support the silent auction?  Contact our  gala Co-Chairs by emailing fundraiser@unis.org. Mark your calendar and stay tuned for more details…

REMINDER: LOST AND FOUND UPDATED POLICY

UNIS has implemented new lost and found procedures. Lost and found items will be collected weekly and displayed on racks just outside the front door of the school every Monday, and any unretrieved items will be donated on Friday. Items that are collected after Monday will remain in the lost and found crate by the playground doors until the following week. Any items that are not retrieved from the racks by the front doors after a week of display, will be deposited in our RefashionNYC Bin. RefashionNYC is NYC's official clothing reuse program in partnership with NYC Department of Sanitation and Housing Works to make textile donations to those in need. Once items are deposited into the RefashionNYC bin, we cannot retrieve them.

We ask that you please label all clothing, lunch boxes and water bottles. Labeled items will be delivered to the appropriate school office to be reunited with their owners. Please note that unlabeled lunch boxes and unlabeled water bottles will be discarded at the end of each week. We will no longer set out lost and found during parent teacher conferences. Please stop by the racks on your way in and out of school to retrieve items and ask your children to check for any lost items. 

REMINDER: UPDATE YOUR CHILD’S DISMISSAL PLANS

Our homeroom teachers follow the instructions entered by parents in School Dismissal Manager each day. Please update your SDM account to indicate what the plans are for your child for each day of the week.

SDM is the only way of letting your homeroom teacher know where your child should go at 2:55 dismissal. In addition to indicating that there is an Athletic or After School Activity, you must enter a description of the activity in the box below. If the activity name is not entered in SDM your child may be placed in the Care Program instead.