Newsletter #27
Dear students and parents,
You may wonder why Antoine de Saint Exupery was chosen to begin this Newsletter and to welcome everyone back from a two-week break that was like no other. You might consider that the author of "The Little Prince", by inspiring dreams and inviting us to escape our reality, may be very welcome in this time of challenges and uncertainty. Some might see a fragile attempt to invite us to take to the air and travel, to our distant families, to our dream places, far away from a virus that unfortunately keeps us very close to home. But it is his view of perfection that brings him to us today.
"A designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
When we anticipated an eventual school closure, we designed a model of virtual online instruction aimed at specific goals:
Engaging the students in their learning while being away from school in various activities related to the UNIS curriculum.
Building routines: in Junior School grades it is important for students to follow daily and repetitive routines. The school being closed should not be perceived as a break. Learning happens on a daily basis with a specific pace.
Maintaining the relationships: students will continue to hear and see their teachers.
Being supported: the plan is designed so that counselors, learning specialists, ELL teachers, and technology integrators can provide support to students, families and teachers during this challenging time in order to support continuity in student learning and well-being.
The current learning ecosystem has been developed by researching, by confronting different solutions, by debating. But in all the conversations, one idea was recurrent: "simplicity". This idea of simplicity did not mean that the Distance Learning Plan came without challenges, questions and frustrations for students, parents and teachers.
The idea of simplicity was important first from a technical point of view: introducing a brand new distance learning platform to our students, teachers and parents forced a reflection on how to use the tool, rather than how to design, within a well-known ecosystem, a learning experience that could move instructional goals from a physical space to a virtual synchronous and asynchronous space. It was also important to echo Antoine de Saint-Exupery's vision of perfection: perfection will be when everything left in our model is everything, and only what makes the most sense to our students and what best serves our initial goals.
While our community is currently experiencing the model with different perspectives, either as a parent, student or teacher, we can still all agree that the model can and should evolve, in order to aim towards a "perfection" that, while it may not be attained, should always guide our efforts.
During the two weeks prior to the break the model was confronted with reality. We received feedback from parents covering many different areas, expressing many different feelings, demonstrating that we are all experiencing the situation differently. Each day we met with our teachers and worked closely with our Team Leaders to reflect on the model, with the common goals in mind as stated in the Distance Learning Plan. We have brainstormed, applied adjustments and imagined what the Distance Learning Plan 2.0 could look like. We have listened closely to our students, who shared their feelings and their aspirations with their teachers at any opportunity to do so.
During the break we had also the opportunity to collaborate with the New York Independent School Elementary Principals and with the Principals from the Network of French American schools in North America. Participating in discussions with these two groups of leaders was very helpful to extract ourselves from isolation, to understand that our challenges are everyone's challenges, but more importantly to see that while we share many common ideas, we have all developed different models, while still all making the theoretical assumption that "our ideas" would be... perfect. But, everyone agreed that none of our models are perfect. And could it be different? It probably would be presumptuous to think so!
"The man with insight enough to admit his limitations comes nearest to perfection." - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
This effort to reflect on the limits of our model, and its imperfections, is also the foundation of the necessary growth that we see taking place as it becomes more evident that the reality of our social isolation, and the necessity to keep the UNIS campus closed, may extend beyond what we initially expected and hoped for.
"Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence." - Vince Lombardi
Our goal will therefore be not to pretend to have developed a perfect model but, with humility, to chase it with rigor, a sense of innovation and creativity, taking into consideration the diversity of our school, to keep inspiring our students, while being guided by our School Mission and the United Nations' ideals.
The week before the break, the Junior School Leadership began the process of collecting evidence and ideas from the different teams and stakeholders. During the break we formalized the evolution of our model, chasing perfection with the goal of catching excellence.
Much of the feedback collected from teachers, students and parents centers around initiating periods of live instruction allowing direct interactions between teachers and their students. Therefore this is an important element of the ongoing development of our Distance Learning Plan. This coming week will be an opportunity for training and carefully exploring issues of security and confidentiality in order to avoid the complications that other schools have encountered recently by going live.
So what is next for this coming week?
This coming week we will follow the current Distance Learning Plan model, with a few adaptations, as we did from week 1 to week 2.
The JS Leadership will meet with different teams to review and solidify the evolution of our Distance Learning Plan 2.0
The JS Leadership will meet with the Class Parent representatives, led by Denise Debono and Nadine Lemm, our JS PA Reps, to share the evolution of our model, and to review it again taking into consideration their feedback and perspectives.
At the end of the week, we will share with all parents the evolution of our Distance Learning Plan to Version 2.0, and the rational behind this evolution.
But as Saint-Exupery, Ghandi, Goethe or Lombardi have clearly identified, the model will not be perfect. And this process of revision will be an ongoing one in order to ensure that we are reaching, if not perfection, the excellence that defines our school, in its academic, inclusivity and social emotional dimensions.
Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal
Susan Scullin, Junior School Assistant Principal
DON'T FORGET TO SUBMIT YOUR CHILD'S DAILY ATTENDANCE
The JS Spanish teachers worked together on a video to welcome everyone back from Spring Break! They put a lot of excitement and love into it. Click on the link below to enjoy!
IMPORTANT DATES
EVENTS THIS WEEK
April 6 through April 20 – Distance Learning in Session
Tuesday, April 7 - All School (Virtual) PA Meeting 7:00 pm (details in this newsletter)
Thursday, April 9 - Smiling Mask UNIS Online Musical Performance 6:30pm (details in this newsletter)
IN THIS NEWSLETTER
TO DO TODAY: 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 and are entered in the correct fields. You may update your information at any point throughout the year, but if you have not reviewed your information recently, we encourage you to do it today.
All departments at UNIS, 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, or when there are school wide announcements, 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:
Going to Veracross
Clicking on Household Information
Updating Household Profile -> Contacts.
If you need support in order to make your updates, please email veracross@unis.org
TO DO: BEFORE YOUR MORNING MEETING STARTS EACH DAY!
Charge or plug in your computer or tablet
Wear headphones
Sit in a quiet place, without distractions
Have your books and materials next to you
Don't have a light or a window behind you when you have a face-to-face meeting with your teacher
Do not eat or drink during class time, but have a bottle of water nearby at all times
Do not use other electronic devices or a cell phone unless your teacher asks you to
Be kind, be respectful, be patient: this is new for everyone!
Try your best, but if you feel frustrated ask an adult for help.
Build time into your schedule each day for small breaks during your learning to have a snack and to move your body around.
VIRTUAL EVENT: ALL SCHOOL PA MEETING - TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH AT 7:00PM
I hope everyone is safe and healthy as we all navigate these challenging times. Dr. Brenner has graciously agreed to hold a virtual All School PA Meeting on Tuesday, April 7th at 7pm. He will give a general update on where things stand and then take questions. The format of the meeting will be the same as the Webinars that were organized this week, Dr. Brenner will be the featured speaker and four members of the PA will ask the questions submitted. The webinar technology only allows for a certain number of viewers and we hope that everyone who wants to will be able to join, we will be recording the meeting and a link to that recording will be available 24 hours after the meeting.
We also tried to pick a time that would be most convenient for parents knowing that all of our schedules are in a great deal of flux at the moment. If that time is not convenient, you are unable to tune in and/or want to submit a question in advance, please email me directly at Amanda.Dubois@pa.unis.org.
As always, and especially now, please reach out with any questions or if the PA can be of assistance at unispa@unis.org.
Take good care,
Amanda Dubois
VIRTUAL EVENT: SMILING MASK UNIS ONLINE MUSICAL PERFORMANCE - APRIL 9 AT 6:30
SAVE THE DATE! Join us for our first virtual concert on Thursday, April 9, 2020 at 6:30 p.m.
INFORMATION: WHAT’S NEW ON THE JS LIBRARY PAGE
Our Librarians are always adding new resources for students, parents and teachers to the JS Library web page so check in often!
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: JA - J4 TEACHING LESSONS FROM OUR SUPPORT TEAM
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR JA: Caring and Helping
This Second Step lesson builds on the previous lesson about feelings, especially about accidents. If you remember, an accident is when you do something you didn’t mean to do. This lesson continues on the idea about caring and helping others. Together we learn that feeling empathy and expressing care and concern are different from each other, and both require practice. We know that young children may have trouble showing care and concern for others in emotionally overwhelming situations, and that is why practicing these skills makes it easier. Together we also learned that compassion means caring about how someone feels, and you can show you care by saying or doing something kind.
From this lesson, students will be able to identify that listening is one way to show you care, and helping is another way to show you care. Snail, Biscuit and a very special visitor- my dog, Henry! stopped by to show us how they care and how they helped.
Follow up questions for your child:
Skills you can practice at home with someone else:
For each scenario, invite someone to stand near you and pretend to be the other student in the scenario.
Model what you could say or do to show compassion for the other person.
Scenarios:
Feeling sad about being left out of a game….
Feeling scared about going to a new school or starting a new afterschool program…
Feeling disappointed because there aren’t enough jump ropes to use during recess (and you really want to use one).... [Even though we don’t use jump ropes at recess, you can imagine how you would feel]
Feeling sad because it’s too rainy to play outside*...
*Following CDC and governmental social distance guidance guidelines, of course.
Dr. Marnin
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR J1: Lesson 18 Solving Problems, Part 2
In this lesson we learn that many students are more likely to be involved in peer conflicts and aggression, tend to think of only one solution to a situation and act on it without thinking through what might happen. The E: Explore consequences Problem-Solving STep is important because it helps students think through the effects of their choices, thus increasing their ability to pick solutions that will solve the problem while taking people’s feelings into account. If then thinking builds students’ ability to predict consequences.
Ms Iamundo
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR J2: Lesson 13: Handling Making Mistakes
In this lesson we will learn that everyone makes mistakes but if you're feeling a strong feeling, it is important to calm down. Making mistakes helps you learn because mistakes show you what you need to practice more. In this lesson, you will learn a belly breathing technique which is a strategy to calm down.
Ms Frost
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR J3: Lesson 18: Solving Problems, Part 2
In this lesson the second Problem-Solving Step,T: Think of solutions, builds cognitive skills and helps students avoid jumping at the first idea that comes to them. Emphasizing the importance of safe and respectful solutions builds prosocial norms and helps students employ perspective-taking skills to think about the effects of their actions on others. The third step, E: Explore consequences, helps students think through cause and effect and avoid solutions that will cause more problems.
Lesson 18 Handout
Ms Iamundo
SOCIAL EMOTIONAL LESSON FOR J4: Lesson 13: Managing Anxiety
In this lesson we will talk about what anxiety means and understand what happens in our bodies. We will also identify situations that cause anxiety and explore the idea of control. Additionally, we will talk about academic challenges that may cause anxiety and different ways to manage those strong feelings. We will continue to practice the “calming down” steps.
Ms Frost
REMINDER: MAKING AN APPOINTMENT FOR A MEETING WITH THE SUPPORT TEAM
In order to meet with a member of 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
REMINDER: VIRTUAL AFTER SCHOOL PROGRAMS
We hope that this message will find you, your children and everybody in your family safe and healthy. We look forward to the opening of the “virtual school” on Monday, April 6, 2020.
For your information and convenience, below we are listing courses that are virtually available from after school providers. If interested, please feel free to register using their links. We will keep sharing with you more and more online resources.
Please note that UNIS has NOT processed charges for the registration in the Spring After School Activities.
FROM THE AFTER SCHOOL PROVIDERS:
Amanda Sawyer
Amanda Sawyer is offering all her classes remotely. She has also recently partnered with a few specialists in self-defense & physical fitness, yoga…
If interested please register using the above link.
Leadership
Model Congress
Mock Trial
Debate
Speechwriting & Public Speaking
Civics & Activism.
Writopia
Writopia Lab runs one of the most fun and productive writing workshops for children and teens in New York City.
US Chess Academy
The US Chess Academy offers robust virtual learning tools in a variety of formats.
CinemaKidz
Music Production
Radio Show
Video Editing
Computer Animation …
Spark Business Academy
“Empowering the next generation through financial literacy”
Entrepreneurship
Economics
Stock Market
Money Matters …
Parker Anderson Enrichment
Robotics
Young Doctors
Science Exploration …
MORE ONLINE RESOURCES at your disposal:
code.org (provides the leading curriculum for K-12 computer science)
BrainPop.com (BrainPOP helps curious learners stay informed and on-track with free access during school closures)
CuriosityStream.com (the driving force that fuels our passion to learn, create, understand and explore!)
tynker.com (Coding platform for kids)
outschool.com (online training)
BeastAcademy.com (Complete Math courses)
iXL.com (Comprehensive curriculum)
myImaths.com (Interactive Math Learning)
KhanAcademy.com (Free world-class Education)
CreativeBug.com (Creative Arts)
DiscoveryEducation.com Learning Beyond Classroom)
starfall.com (Free public service to teach children to read)
ScienceChannel.com (a global leader in real life entertainment)
TheBrainScoop.com (based out of The Field Museum in Chicago)
SciShow.com (explores the surprising and exciting realities of the universe)
KidsLearningTube.com ( Educating Kids of all ages through original Music & Animated Video)
Some more resources for students:
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCXLLQkbYE-G9jYrra7R4Qsw (Octonauts: animation cartoon about sea life and sea animals - explores new underwater worlds)
https://www.abcya.com/ (Educational games)
https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html (Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site)
https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours (Travel the world…Go on a virtual tour of 12 famous museums)
https://www.starfall.com/h/ (Offers language arts and mathematics)
Additional free learning websites:
https://pbskids.org/ (CPTV PBS Kids 24/7 provides educational programs)
https://www.seussville.com/ (awarded for literary and entertainment projects)
https://www.storylineonline.net/ (award-winning children’s literacy website)
https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/ (a global organization committed to exploring and protecting the planet)
https://www.abcya.com/ (Educational games)
https://www.splashlearn.com/ (Math learning)
https://www.coolmath4kids.com/ (brain-training site, where logic & thinking meets fun & games)
http://www.mathgametime.com/ (math games and homework help)
https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/ (builds home libraries and support families to develop a daily habit of reading)
http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp (reading material for youngsters)
http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ (online science & technology)
https://www.turtlediary.com/ (offers educational content for youngsters)
https://www.e-learningforkids.org/ (fun, curriculum-based quality primary education)
We will share more resources, as we learn about them. I am at your disposal if you need any further information.
Please stay safe!
Lidana Jalilvand, Director of Special Programs
REMINDER: 2020 - 2021 CLASSES
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