Newsletter #26

Dear parents,

It appears to me that this Newsletter is one of the most difficult to write on this Sunday afternoon. And it is not because the birds are chirping and calling my name outside, as always, careless about a worldwide situation that affects every single one of you in many different ways.

It is because I am facing the incredible tension between the celebration of what our teachers, parents, and students, together, have been able to overcome and accomplish in such a short time, and the humility we must demonstrate by recognizing that so much more needs to be done if this situation lasts beyond the spring break. And it is necessary to recognize that some of us may struggle more than others, because of health, fears, or the isolation in which they find themselves, with a minimum of support. Some are alone, with their children, working remotely from home in need of more support, overwhelmed with the disruption of their routines. And of course, there is the knowledge that the current health situation, beyond the borders of UNIS and the USA, are affecting all of us, differently, but without a doubt.

So, it is not easy to celebrate the 3,973 new items published last week on Seesaw, the 3,433 new comments, the 1,581 new likes, and the 1024 parent visits. However, we must. As a community, we need to celebrate our partnership at this critical time. Because it's by working, all of us together, that we can best support our students, your children, in their academic growth and well-being. These words have been our leitmotiv for the past three years. It is at this exact moment, when reality challenges our ultimate goal, that we must reinforce together that we will overcome and be stronger, now and beyond this crisis.

There is no doubt that these extraordinary circumstances force upon us a unique experience that can transform us and UNIS. We will be better, stronger and more beautiful.

And, we will accomplish this if we continue our efforts and communicate and reflect on this experience. So what's next?

While the specialist teachers and languages teachers are ready to share their first activities with your children on Monday morning at 9:00am, alongside the homeroom teachers and mother tongue teachers, we will:

• Feedback: Develop a protocol to collect continuous feedback from our students and teachers. We are working on a protocol with the Parents Association and we anticipate that our classroom parents will be invited to participate in that process. Stay tuned!

• Well-being Survey: The Support Team is working on surveying teachers, parents, and students to monitor the community's well-being. This survey will be shared with you later this week.

• No Screen Half Day: On Wednesday, March 18, beginning at noon, we are asking all of our students, teachers, and parents to step away from their screens (at least for school purposes).

• No Virtual Classes on Friday, March 20: Teachers will participate in a day of reflection and training. It will be an opportunity to review the two weeks of school closure and anticipate the next steps to enhance the experience for our students, parents, and teachers.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Susan Scullin, Junior School Assistant Principal

• Monday, March 15 to Friday, March 20 - Campus closed

• Monday, March 15 to Thursday, March 19 - Virtual School in Session

• Wednesday, March 18 - No Virtual Classes after 12:00pm

• Friday, March 20 - No Virtual School Classes / Reflection Day for Faculty

• March 23 through April 3 – No Classes for Students – Spring Break

• Monday, April 6 – Classes Resume

• Wednesday, April 8 - JS Parent Coffee on Sustainability (Cafe) 8:30 - 9:30 

• Thursday, April 9 and Friday,  April 10 - No Yellow Bus Service

• Monday, April 13 to Wednesday, April 15 - No Yellow Bus Service

• Friday, April  10 -  PA Meeting (Cafe) 8:30 - 9:30

• Monday, April 13  - Class Parent Meeting (Cafe) 8:30 - 9:20

• Wednesday, May 6 - JS Parent Coffee (Cafe) 8:30 - 9:30 (Math)

• Friday, May 29 – TH Graduation - Student Half Day - JS Dismissal at 11:45

• Friday, June 5 - J4 Graduation Ceremony & Celebration

• TO DO: UPDATE YOUR PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION

• INFORMATION: J1 - J4 TEACHING LESSONS FROM OUR COUNSELORS 

• INFORMATION: MAKING AN APPOINTMENT AND MEETING WITH THE SUPPORT TEAM

• REMINDER: 2020 - 2021 CLASSES

• REMINDER: ADDRESSING SCHOOL CLOSURE

SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR J3

Some of you weren't able to view my Second Step lesson that the teachers posted on Seesaw so I've decided to share this with you via our Parent Newsletter. The concepts for this lesson are:  

1. Calming down when your feelings have been hurt can help you avoid jumping to conclusions and 

2. Thinking of other explanations and getting more information can help you avoid jumping to conclusions.  

If you'd like to provide additional examples with your child feel free to do so. I've provided you with a worksheet as well. 

• How To Calm Down poster

• Lesson 16 Worksheet

Ms. Iamundo

In order to meet with our Support Team:

• Click on the link below

• Select an available 15 minute time slot 

• Add your name and your email

• In the text box, add the purpose of the conversation

You will receive a notification from Calendly.

Once the Support Team receives your request, they will send you an email with:

• A link to join the video conference call (Google Meet, Chrome Browser required or the Android/iOs app)

• A conference call number with a PIN if you can only join by phone

Our teachers will soon begin the process of creating class lists for the 2020-2021 school year. Homeroom teachers and specialists collaborate to create balanced classes across each grade. Teachers take into account friendships and social interactions from this and previous years and are careful to ensure that children are placed in a group with familiar friends and where they will also have the opportunity to develop new friendships. Our school psychologist and counselors review all class groupings before they are finalized.

While we cannot honor specific requests for teachers, if you have any concerns about next year’s class placement be sure to contact your child’s counselor before Friday, April 17.  

• • PK & JA Dr. Dana Marnin dmarnin@unis.org 

  • J1 & J3  Ms. Amy Iamundo aiamundo@unis.org

  • J2 & J4  Ms. Alyssa Frost afrost@unis.org

ABOUT THE CORONAVIRUS

• Start by asking your child(ren) what they’ve heard. Clarify any questions or misunderstandings, and correct rumors. In a developmentally appropriate way, use facts and reassure your child's anxieties about the spread of the virus. 

• Acknowledge that the Coronavirus (Covid-19) is on many people's minds. They may have heard about it in the news, kids may be talking about it among themselves, parents talk about it, and the school recently sent a letter to families and teachers about it and best ways to prevent it. Also in that letter was the discussion that the school can close temporarily as a response to the Coronavirus. 

• Therefore, it is important to talk about it and give your child information (facts) about the virus (Covid-19), how to prevent it from spreading, and who you can turn to for the most adequate information. 

• In situations like these, it can be normal to worry and experience anxiety, especially when we don’t know all the facts. This is a new virus and we are learning new information about it every day. Also, there are many rumors out there which are not all based on scientific facts. 

• Given our unique UNIS community, we realize that some of you may have family and friends who live in countries that have been more affected by this virus. We can understand how you might be worried. 

• It is important that all students treat each other with respect and not jump to conclusions about who may or may not have COVID-19.

• When we experience anxiety of the unknown, it is always best to check the facts with a trusted adult and from reliable sources. 

• From the official government agency in the US (Center for Disease Control), the current information is such:

  • For the general American public, who are unlikely to be exposed to this virus at this time, the immediate health risk from COVID-19 is considered low.

  • People in communities, where ongoing community spread with the virus that causes COVID-19 has been reported, are at elevated though still relatively low risk of exposure.

• There is a great comic strip or BrainPop video that breaks down the information in an understandable way: 

(Show either this comic strip on your screen and scroll through it piece by piece, or the video) Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus (Comic) or BrainPop: Coronavirus.

REASSURING STUDENTS

Reassure your children that schools and homes are safe and the adults are there to help keep them healthy and to take care of them if they do get sick.  Give simple examples of the steps people take every day to stop germs and stay healthy, such as washing hands. Use language such as “adults are working hard to keep you safe.” Give other examples of how they may have seen more grown-ups at school and at home cleaning, such as maintenance workers cleaning door knobs, stairwell handrails, elevator buttons, etc. 

RESOURCES

• Resources for parents and educators. (from International School Counselors Association). A list of resources around feelings, fears and worries. Many are related specifically to COVID-19 and some are about anxiety more generally.  Also included are a couple of mindfulness websites, videos and visuals that are great to help kids find a bit of peace in these unsettling times.

• For younger children: What to say to your child about the Coronavirus (for young children) | Aha! Parenting.org

• Talking to kids about the Coronavirus | Child Mind Institute 

• Basic information about Coronavirus article Healthychildren.org

• Language for Kids: How to Talk to Kids About Coronavirus | NYTimes

• The CDC is very helpful with facts and practice recommendations, as well as information about combating stigma and stereotypes in relation to COVID-19.

• Just For Kids: A Comic Exploring The New Coronavirus (Comic)

• BrainPop: Coronavirus video

Reminder:

As we are working on testing and training teachers, it is necessary to focus on prevention. While the UNIS Maintenance team, under the Leadership of our Director of Building and Grounds, has increased the frequency of their daily duties, and are working today on a deep cleaning of the entire school, you will find below the Preventive Measure for parents, as well as some useful outside resources.

Just as we are reinforcing the internal guidelines with our faculty and staff in order to be proactive in doing all we can to keep our school community healthy, we ask all families for their support in following up at home with these practices:

• Students will be asked to wash hands upon arriving in the morning or will be greeted at the door with a squirt of hand sanitizer.

• Students will wash hands or use sanitizer before lunch and snack and following playtimes. 

• Students will be reminded to wash their hands after using the toilet. 

This may take extra time but keep in mind that the CDC considers handwashing a powerful antidote to illness.

• CDC Handwashing video 

• CDC Handwashing song

Parents, please make sure to send your child to school with a labeled water bottle. We are discouraging children from using the drinking spout on the water fountains.

Remind children to sneeze into their elbow and to throw all used tissues into the waste bin right away rather than putting them in a pocket or leaving them on a table top: How to cough without spreading germs

Keep your child at home when not feeling well.