Newsletter #20

Dear Parents,

Community service projects are a great way for students to develop real-world skills such as:

Most importantly, students gain confidence and learn that their actions can help to have a real impact on the people around them, and they develop a richer perspective of the world they live in, while they connect their learning to the real world.

So today we want to applaud and acknowledge our students for their actions to make their school and the world a better place. Our Pre-K Superheroes of Kindness took over the Junior School last week with their contagious smiles and laughs as they shared happy hearts and happy rocks, reminders to walk in the hallways, delivering kind gifts to students who were not feeling well, and helping other classrooms with repairs to broken materials.

Older students raised their concerns following the terrible Australian bushfires. They worked hard to organize projects to support the firefighters who protect Australia and its wildlife. Two thumbs up for our students as they make our world a better place!

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal

Susan Scullin, Junior School Principal Assistant

COMPASSION, GRATITUDE, KINDNESS, HUMANITY, DEDICATION! 

These words come to mind when I think about my J1LS students. I am in awe and so proud of each and every child. Over the past few weeks, your children have acted as global citizens; they demonstrated empathy, concern, and commitment through informing, inspiring, participating, and stimulating awareness for the Australian bushfires and the animals impacted. 

Over the past three weeks, energy and excitement has been building. In order to prepare, it was necessary to inform ourselves about the impact bushfires were having on the Australian animals—particularly koalas. We learned a lot through: inquiry, exploration and investigation, reading books and articles, and watching video clips. Our next step was to come up with ideas and ways in which we could help; as a group we decided to create signs, draw pictures, and make puppet koalas. 

Last Thursday and Friday, all the hard work paid off. We visited each JS classroom to inform and explain the  project. A nerve-racking experience for the J1LS students; they had to courageously enter and speak in front of the “big kids”, e.g., J3 and J4. The students delivered the information in a clear and confident manner. The JS students and teachers gave such amazing feedback about J1LS students; not only were they “so cute”, but they were “informative and super positive”. Friday’s event really showed how impactful the message was for our Junior School Community. 

On Friday morning, a student from J4 came in with bookmarks that were decorated in a very Australian style. She made them Thursday evening after being inspired by the two students that came into her classroom that day. She said we could sell them at the Australian Station. Following this generous and thoughtful action, a J2 student came in with keychains in Australian colors and words that she had also made and donated to our station. Throughout the day, numerous students come to the Lobby with their own drawings of koalas that they made in their classrooms and donated them to us to help the fund. At one point, we started to run out of the koala puppets (they were a big hit), as soon as the J1LS class heard this, they stopped what they were doing and said, “Let’s get to work, we need to make more!” 

Not a single complaint or whine was heard from any students—especially seeing that on Friday afternoons the J1LS students have their beloved free choice time. The students have been committed from the beginning right through to the end. 

I feel very humbled and honored to inform you that J1LS raised a total of $1,000!  This will be donated to https://www.koalahospital.org.au/  in Port Macquarie, New South Wales.

The smiles never left the faces of the students running the Australian Information Station last Friday. Each student had a 30 minute time slot and it was endearing to hear supportive comments from the Junior School community—children, teachers, and parents! Here are some of the wonderful comments we received: “Wow!  You are doing a great job, J1LS!” “These koalas are so cute! Did you make these?” “You are doing such a great thing by helping to raise money for Australia” “Who came up with this idea?” “You guys are awesome!” “I just want to donate some money; you can keep the koala for someone else to buy.”

We hope that this project has helped to inspire our UNIS community! UNIS sees this action project as "being an active force in shaping a better world"—something that is grounded in our UNIS mission statement. 

 Thank you all so much for your continued support and positivity! 

Louise Skinner, J1 Teacher

On Friday, 14 February, there will be a special "Mates Table" at the Friendship Day Bake Sale. The PA has graciously approved to donate some of the money raised at the bake sale to two organizations in Australia that are helping affected communities and animals. This stall will be run by the J4 students and parents, along with some of our J1 friends. We will be selling classic Australian treats and artwork. If you would like to contribute to the stall you could try making this Australian delicacy, the Lamington.

Lamington Recipe - from AWNY.pdf

The money raised will be donated to the following two organizations:

The students, teachers and community are just so thankful (more than we could ever express) that the parents and the UNIS community are supportive of our efforts. As a thank you, the students in J4JH would like to put on a "Thank You" Talent Show. The J4JH students are busily planning this event at the moment. We look forward to sharing more information with you soon.  

Thank you to everyone for their kind words, support and generosity. 

Louise Skinner, Meaghan Payne, Karen Wells and Jess Hiebl

IMPORTANT DATES

EVENTS THIS WEEK

UPCOMING EVENTS

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

BIT OF NEWS: J4 & J3 WINTER CONCERTS

J3 WINTER CONCERT - FEBRUARY 10 FROM 9:00-10:00AM

Join us at the annual J4 Winter Concert on February 3 from 9:00-10:00am in the Sylvia Howard Fuhrman Theatre! Featuring songs and dances and more than a few surprises, this annual tradition is a highlight of the Junior School year!

J4 WINTER CONCERT - FEBRUARY 3 FROM 9:00-10:00AM

Join us at the annual J3 Winter Concert on February 10 from 9:00-10:00am in the Sylvia Howard Fuhrman Theatre! Featuring songs and dances from around the world along with a healthy dash of student humor, this annual tradition is a highlight of the Junior School year!

SAVE THE DATES!

REMINDER: SEMESTER 1 REPORT CARDS AVAILABLE ON PARENT PORTAL

Semester 1 Report Cards for Junior School students were published on Friday, January 24 on the Veracross Parent Portal. If you haven’t already, we encourage you to review this report card with your child to celebrate his/her achievements during this past semester and engage in conversation on their potential growth.

This Friday, January 31 is the deadline for questions about any specific JS teacher’s grading. Please contact the teacher directly by email no later than the 31st.

Note that recently enrolled students who have attended UNIS for less than 8 weeks, will not receive a report card this semester.

If you do not yet have access to the Veracross portal and need instructions on how to do so, please contact veracross@unis.org to get information.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What is changing on our report cards?

Your child’s academic achievement for each individual subject continues to be reported separately from his/her learning skills. The descriptors for academic achievement levels have been reviewed to ensure a greater JA-T4 alignment and to provide clarity in the transition between the word-based scale used in JA to M2 and the numeric scale used from M3 to T4. The previous Learning to Learn Skills have been replaced by the IB Approaches to Learning Skills.

The skills selected for a K-12 progression (Social Skills, Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Thinking Skills) are developmentally defined and will be assessed from a frequency of observable behavior.

What is the purpose of the report cards?

The purpose of the report card is to communicate your student’s achievement and learning goals. It is designed to provide you with clear and specific information about your child’s academic progress and the development of behaviors that support lifelong learning. This information includes identifying your child’s level of progress; areas of strength; areas needing additional time, effort and/or support; and opportunities for growth, based on assessments that demonstrate evidence of learning and teachers’ evaluation.

What grade descriptors are used (JA-M2 Descriptors)

How do I access my child’s report cards?

The Report Cards are published on the Parent Portal of Veracross. To view them, access the Parent Portal of Veracross (link found on the Parent Portal from the UNIS Website). After logging in to Veracross, simply click on "Classes & Reports", and then on "Report Card" (see screenshot). If you do not yet have access to the Veracross portal and need instructions on how to do so, please contact veracross@unis.org to get information. 

REMINDER: UNIS FUNDRAISER GALA ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28

Don't miss the Party of the year!!!!

The UNIS  Fundraiser Gala on Friday, February 28, 2020 

at the Prince George Ballroom 

We look forward to welcoming you to this celebration.  

Tickets are selling fast!!!

It is your commitment to UNIS that will make this an event full of fun, energy, and excitement. 

Don't delay! Buy your tickets today!  

REMINDER: ADVERTISE IN THE MATILDA PLAYBILL

Interested in sending a shout out to a cast member in the Matilda playbill? Want your business to be seen by the 2,400 people that will be seeing Matilda? Advertising in the playbill not only gets your message seen by thousands, but supports the Theatre Program at UNIS. 

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 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

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.