Newsletter #36

Dear students, parents, teachers,

On Friday, June 5, UNIS celebrated our J4 students. Facing the challenges of the last few months, our students have risen to the occasion as true heroes would. The Student Council elected at the beginning of the school year, with grace, eloquence, humor, kindness and determination, spoke not only in the name of all J4 students, but in the name of the entire Junior School student body. With the same conviction, our J4 teachers expressed how proud the entire Junior School is of the achievements of all our students.

This tribute to the J4s was also an opportunity to recognize everything that we stand for at UNIS - our Mission - and our commitment to helping them become “an active force in shaping a better world: peaceful, compassionate and sustainable.”  The world as we know it needs this active force for many reasons. Today we witness the crucial need to defeat racism, once and for all, here in this country, and all around the World. In the years to come I trust our UNIS students to join the collective effort we must undertake to overcome this plague.

Delailah, as have many others, put down on paper, in poetry, her hope and the actions to reach it. Together. 

This hope and our actions are what will dominate racism. And as we head to the end of the school year, we invite you to support Delailah's words of wisdom by joining the last UNIS MASTERCLASS: DISMANTLING RACISM on Wednesday, June 10 at 7:15pm. 

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Susan Scullin, Junior School Assistant Principal

• Monday, June 8 & Tuesday, June 9 - JS Student pick up of personal possessions from cubby (see Dr. Brenner’s June 1 email for details) Click here to sign up. Access to campus will not be permitted without an appointment made first.

• Wednesday, June 10 - UNIS Masterclass Webinar: Dismantling Racism at 7:15 (details in this newsletter) Click here to join

• Thursday, June 11 - Last Day of Classes for JS Students

• Friday, June 12 - Report Cards Posted for Parents

• Special Notes:

  • P41 requests may be addressed to Margaret Chiu in our Business Office at mchiu@unis.org

  • Requests for verification of a student’s attendance at UNIS during 2019-20 may be addressed to our Registrar at evanaken@unis.org

• Friday, September 4 - New J1 - J4 Student Orientation 9:30 - 11:00

• Tuesday, September 8 - Junior School First Day of School

  • J1 - J4 - Full Day 8:20 - 2:55

  • PK Orientation 9:15 - 11:00

  • JA Orientation 9:30 - 12:00

• Wednesday, September 9 - PK & JA ½ Day 8:25/8:30 - 12:00

• Thursday, September 10 - 

  • PK ½ Day 8:25 - 12:00

  • JA First Full Day  8:30 - 2:55pm

• Friday, September 11 - PK First Full Day  8:25-2:55 pm

Yellow Bus Service (dates are subject to change)

• Wednesday, September 16 (to be confirmed)

  • Yellow Bus Service begins for J1-J4

• Monday, September 21  (to be confirmed)

  • Yellow Bus Service begins for JA students whose older sibling(s) ride the bus

• Wednesday, September 23  (to be confirmed)

  • Yellow Bus Service begins for JA students without a sibling who rides the bus

• IMPORTANT INFORMATION: SEMESTER 2 REPORT CARDS - JUNE 12

• IMPORTANT INFORMATION: JS LIBRARY BOOKS & JS STUDENT ART WORK 

• IMPORTANT INFORMATION: KEEPING CHROMEBOOKS OVER THE SUMMER AND PICKING UP POSSESSIONS FROM CAMPUS

• EMOTIONAL SUPPORT: RESOURCES TO SUPPORT CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACISM

• TECH SUPPORT: TECH SUPPORT FOR FAMILIES ENDED JUNE 5

• INFORMATION: LIBRARY RESOURCES FOR THE SUMMER

• INFORMATION: SAVE THE DATES: UPCOMING MASTER CLASSE

• TO READ: FROM OUR TUTORIAL HOUSE STUDENTS

•  BIT OF NEWS: IF YOU MISSED RECENT EVENTS 

•  BIT OF NEWS: (IN)VISIBLE WOMEN NYC'S ANNUAL STORYTELLING - JUNE 8 AT 6:00

•  REMINDER: REPORT CARDS AND PARENT TEACHER CONVERSATIONS

• REMINDER: JS LIBRARY: ADDITIONAL RESOURCE

• REMINDER: UPDATE YOUR PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION

Semester 2 Report Cards for Junior School students will be published on Friday, June 12 on the Veracross Parent Portal. We encourage you to review this report card with your child to celebrate his/her achievements during this past year and engage in conversation on their potential growth.

For questions about a specific JS teacher’s comments please contact the teacher directly by email, with a copy to jsoffice@unis.org, no later than Monday, June 15, 2020.

The June 2020 UNIS Junior School report card reflects the opportunities for assessment during this term, which included our first exploration of distance learning. The report does not assign achievement levels in deference to the variability of students’ access to instruction, materials and appropriate supports, and the impact of this variability on student performance. For the core areas of math, reading, writing, and languages, you’ll find a brief course description followed by bulleted statements that capture your child’s performance across the term as evidenced by their live and asynchronous participation in coursework. These reflect the strengths your child has demonstrated this term, as well as the areas that would benefit from more attention in the future. For the specialist subjects of science, music and theater, art, and physical education, you’ll find the course description that gives the context for your child’s learning in these areas this term. 

How do I access my child’s report cards?

The 2nd Semester Report Cards for JS students will be published on the Parent Portal of Veracross at 5:00pm on Friday, June 12. 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. 

1. From UNIS website, select “Parent Portal”

2. Click on "Veracoss Parent Portal"

JS library books for return can be left with Security in a box by the entry to the campus. However, if your child would like to keep the books over the summer, you are welcome to bring them back when we return to school.  Please email any JS library questions to jbarrer@unis.org and xiwasykiw@unis.org .

For the safety of our faculty and students, the art department will not be able to organize and distribute JS student artwork to families as they normally do at the end of each school year. Ms. Dohna and Ms. Mattson will coordinate this in the fall instead. Parents who come to campus to pick up possessions are asked NOT to attempt to enter the art rooms or collect any art projects at this time.

Please see Dr. Brenner’s June 1 email for the details to schedule a time to pick up your child’s personal possessions from their cubby on June 8 or June 9. Questions regarding entry to the campus at a pre-scheduled time can be addressed to our head of Security, Ernest Lentini, at elentini@unis.org 

Reminder from Dr. Brenner (emailed June 1):

As we approach the end of the academic year, I want to share the plan for collecting personal belongings and returning school materials. For Manhattan dates and times CLICK HERE

To keep the process safe and orderly in Manhattan, here are the following procedures:

• You must sign up for a time based on the schedule. CLICK HERE to sign up.

• Only 15 students (along with their parents) may enter the building at one time.

• Everyone should bring a bag to collect their belongings. To expedite your time on site, please wait to sort through items collected until after you leave UNIS.

• Please only return to campus at the time of your appointment. This is the only way to ensure a smooth transition of students in and out of the building.

• Masks must be worn at all times on campus.

• Social distancing will be enforced.

• All Pre-K/Junior School and Middle School students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.

• Tut House students may enter without an accompanying parent.

For those who are unable to attend on their scheduled day, there will be a makeup day on August 18. Details to follow.

As part of an effort to upgrade our technology, which will enable us to operate more effectively in a virtual world, we will be refreshing all of the current Chromebooks and MacBooks for students. Also, we will provide all of our Pre-K/Junior School students with new Chromebooks. Students NOT returning to UNIS in the fall should return their laptops during their scheduled time. All other students, please do not return laptops when you come to school at your scheduled time to collect your belongings.

The distribution of the new computers is as follows:

• All current T4s will keep their computers. It is a gift to them from the school.

• If the graduating student has no siblings at school, UNIS will return their $250 deposit in the coming weeks.

• UNIS will keep the $250 deposit for T4 students who have siblings at school.

• During the summer, all returning M1 through T3 students will receive an addressed shipping box to return their computer. Be sure your address in Veracross is up-to-date to receive the necessary packages.

• At the same time, a new Chromebook or Macbook (depending on grade level) will be shipped to your address listed in Veracross.

• Students in grades M1 through T3 not returning to UNIS must return Chromebooks/Macbooks in the box we ship to them.

• The $250 deposit will be returned after the computer has been received by UNIS.

• All Junior School students will be assessed a refundable $250 deposit fee, consistent with the other divisions. It will be in a future billing cycle after they receive their new device.

If you have questions about these procedures, please send them to Ernest Lentini, Director of Security (elentini@unis.org), or to your division principal.

This has been a sorrowful and difficult time. The past week and half have been so deeply emotional for us all in the UNIS community.  In conversations with parents, who like us, share feelings of grief and anger at the senseless and brutal killing of George Floyd and so many other Black people, from Emitt Till to Michael Brown, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, and so on.  There are no words to heal all the suffering hearts in our UNIS community and beyond. 

We’ve spent these days talking with teachers, individually or in small groups, to help each other process our own feelings of racism, violence and privilege. We’ve spent these days also talking about how we can better speak with our students in a developmentally appropriate ways to help dismantle racism, present ideals of equity, access and anti-discrimination, and to promote love and kindness to others. But these conversations need to continue. 

This is a moment, once again, in our nation’s history where we must do more than just talk, we must act. UNIS students are raised to ‘make the world a better place,’ from the JS Peace Tables and studying the Rights of the Child, to the MS clubs for equity and GSA, to the TH students participating in peaceful rallies across the city. We must continue to raise our voices to fight for those whose voices and lives have been silenced. We must continue to hold strong to the ideals of the Golden Rule to treat others the way we want to be treated. It is our community’s responsibility to support, care for and respect each other.  Meaningful change begins in the individual level and moves upward. We are reviewing our book lists to increase representation and diversity in our books, and must continue to always look at ways our curriculum includes inspirational leaders and represents changemakers in our history. It’s so important for children to see themselves and their experiences represented in the books they read, and also crucial for children to read about the experiences of people who are different from them. We must always present the glowing notion to our children that they can make a difference.

While school can be a place to offer this information and these ideals, we all know that these conversations start at home.  Parents and families hold the essential key for providing understanding and support. We are aligned with you to help you process these events (in a developmentally appropriate way), and find ways to come together to make a change. Included in this article are resources to help guide your conversations, with books, articles and resources with helpful language.

Our team wants you to know that we are here for you. We offer care and support, and are here to help you through this immediate crisis and days that follow. If you need someone to talk to, please reach out to us and/or to the JS Principals. 

• Racism and Violence: Using Your Power as a Parent to Support Children Aged Two to Five | Zero to Three- Wonderful scripts and language to help children process these events and issues

• A Kid's Book About Racism | YouTube

• Resources for Talking about Race, Racism and Racialized Violence with Kids | Center for Racial Justice

• Talking to Kids About Race and Violence in America | Child Mind Institute

• Your Kids Aren't Too Young to Talk About Race: Resource Roundup

• Being Antiracist

• Talking Race With Young Children | NPR Podcast

• 30 Books to Help You Talk To Your Kids About Racism

With care,

Dr. Dana Marnin, Amy Iamundo (J1/J3) and Alyssa Frost (J2/J4)

Please note that the tech support offered from 11:00 - 12:00 each day to JS families by our Tech Integrators, Francesca Zammarano and Javier Alvez, has ended for the year.

Thank you to everyone who checked in! It was a pleasure to be able to help!

Children who engage in recreational reading increase their vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension as they enjoy books.  Find our librarians recommendations for the summer of 2020 below. You can access more resources at the UNIS Junior School Library.

And, here are the links to all the books that have been shared previously. The links have been updated to ensure that you can access them: 

Best regards,

Dave Sun T3 

• Days of the dragon kings

• Pinocchio

• Ramona the Pest

• The Witches

The J4 Graduation on Friday, June 5 was a wonderful ceremony and celebration of our oldest students as they move up to Middle School. The link to this special assembly is here

If you were not able to join us for the JS Parent Q&A on May 28th, you can view it here 

And the Wellness Wednesday Circus on May 20th can be viewed here

While the school decided to postpone the Tut House graduation ceremony to a later date, the student-ran Celebration of the Class of 2020, which took place last Friday, May 29th, and featured H.E. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, was the most widely attended UNIS online event of this year, and a huge success! Click on the link to view the event, if you missed it. You can also find below separate links to the seven videos shown during the event, including the wonderful video gift to the Class of 2020, from proud UNIS dad and TV anchor Pat Kiernan:

1. Class of 2020 Junior School Memories

2. Class of 2020 Middle School Memories

3. Class of 2020 Tut House Memories

4. Jennie Gonzalez's Poem (performed by Ezequiel Pujols)

5. UNIS in the Papers (anchored by Pat Kiernan)

6. Faculty Messages to Class of 2020

7. My Flame Montage 2020

Our school's closure due to the Covid-19 Pandemic has disrupted routines that the Junior School is usually proud to organize. While the current situation has forced upon us some challenges to overcome, there are still key moments in your child's journey at UNIS we do not want to miss. Some are more easily replicated in our Distance Learning Environment, and some need to be adapted to our "new normal".

Communicating with families regarding our students' learning journey is essential. It is with this in mind that the Junior School is organizing Parent Teacher Conversations between now and the end of the school year. These conversations will allow each parent to have a face-to-face interaction with the Homerooms Teachers, as well as the French Mother Tongue Teachers who teach literacy and mathematics in French. And, at the end of this term, on June 12th, 2nd Semester Report Cards adapted to the current situation will also be available for download by families.

Typically, a Junior School report card offers a narrative reflection on your child’s demonstrated use of the IB Approaches to Learning (ATLs). Given the complex interrelationship during distance learning between students, families, and teachers, these approaches to learning have become a shared endeavor more than ever before as everyone adapts to the new context. For this reason, UNIS Junior School homeroom and language teachers will engage with families in conversation to discuss and honor the observations from both sides of the family/school partnership in regards to the student’s evolving ATLs. 

PARENT TEACHER CONVERSATION: DETAILS

• WHEN: Individual Conferences between May 27th - June 12th

• HOW LONG: 15 minutes

• WHO: Homeroom and French Mother Tongue Teachers

• HOW TO BOOK AN APPOINTMENT: The slots available for parents to book an appointment will be shared class by class in a separate email. Parents will be able to add their name, in a specific time slot, to the Google Doc that will be shared with them

PARENT TEACHER CONVERSATION: GOALS

• Sharing the ATLs’: the social-emotional aspect of the student learners is a priority. Academic success and next steps can be used to illustrate the conversation.

• Listening to parents’ observations about their child’s learning.

• Celebrating the school year and the parent-teacher partnership.

PARENT TEACHER CONVERSATION: NOTE FOR J4 PARENTS - STUDENTS ARE ASKED TO JOIN THE CONVERSATION

As we are seeing our J4 students leaving for Middle School, the J4 Parent Teacher Conversations will also include our J4 students. 

2nd SEMESTER REPORT CARDS:

The June 2020 UNIS Junior School report card reflects the opportunities for assessment during this term, which included our first exploration of distance learning. The report does not assign achievement levels in deference to the variability of students’ access to instruction, materials and appropriate supports, and the impact of this variability on student performance. For the core areas of math, reading, writing, and languages, you’ll find a brief course description followed by bulleted statements that capture your child’s performance across the term as evidenced by their live and asynchronous participation in coursework. These reflect the strengths your child has demonstrated this term, as well as the areas that would benefit from more attention in the future. For the specialist subjects of science, music and theater, art, and physical education, you’ll find the course description that gives the context for your child’s learning in these areas this term.