Dear parents,

In September 1998, I received my first paycheck as a teacher in a public school in France. I saved my first salary as an educator to realize my dream: traveling to Indonesia. Less than a year later, in July 1999, I was visiting the French School in Bali. I stepped into the office of the head of school, who graciously welcomed me for a tour. This was my first encounter with the "The Flower People" of Mentawai Island: photographs of what appeared to be an Indonesian tribe were displayed on the walls of his office, without captions or explanation of who the subjects were.

Intrigued, I asked about them. The head of school did not know and I did not insist. 

The moment I had walked through the gates I knew this was the school where I wanted to be. I never forgot this first encounter with those indigenous people and, seven years later, because I had never given up my dream of living in Indonesia, I became the Head of the French School in Bali. In my office, those same photographs surrounding me, with the same questions about their origin. 

While the indigenous people captured in those photos were frozen in time, just as I had left them 7 years before - just a bit more faded -  I was struck by the questions: "Where are they?", "Are they still alive?", "Are they pressured to adopt a different way of life?", "Are they forced to unlearn who they are to be who others want them to be?", and "Who are they?". Interestingly, no one at the school had answers to those questions. And I felt a bit like the former Head of School who I had met a few years before: sitting in an office surrounded by photos that I knew nothing about.

Until Thierry Robinet arrived. A French adventurer, photographer and parent of Jonathan, a bi-cultural student beautifully embracing the French and Balinese culture. When Robinet walked to my office with a question that I do not remember - lunch? report cards? a safety issue? -  he said: "oh, you kept my pictures?".

I turned to him, sparkles in my eyes, and put aside whatever he originally came in for: "you are the photographer who captured this moment in time?" He was. And he told me of the fascinating adventures and encounters he had with those indigenous people, the "Flower People", the "Last of the Mentawai" (1), living solely on the small island of Pulau Siberut. Deep in the Indonesian jungle they eat sago, practice shamanic rituals, hunt monkeys with poisoned arrows, and wear hibiscus flowers, trying to preserve their ancient traditions. A place so remote to access that as far as I know only anthropologists, botanists, ornithologists... and surfers ever visit. One year later, I was heading to the Mentawai Islands.

What led me to the Mentawai Islands with a group of friends was what surfers would call "the search": exploring remote places hoping to find the most mesmerizing virgin waves. But as Werner Herzog explained brilliantly in a documentary (2) that I encourage you to watch, when "searching" the wave, the most intense memories are also related to those people you meet on the journey. Two years earlier, we were in a small village in Sumba where a shaman saved my friend from a snake bite by chewing and spitting bark and leaves mixed with saliva. This time, we met our "captain", a old indigenous man from Masokut, one of the numerous tiny islands of the Mentawais Archipelago. This was as close as I wanted to be to the "Flower People" after learning more about them from our Captain. It was not my place to go any further and interfere, to satisfy my curiosity, with a tribe that have been able to maintain a way of living known in other places 10,000 years ago, preserving over the centuries an oral culture, apart from modern civilization. I left the Mentawai Islands full of memories of waves, laughs, emotions... and people.

The memory of the Flower People has always been alive inside of me, and as tomorrow, Monday, October 12, we are celebrating Indigenous Peoples’ Day, they made their way into this Newsletter.

It was in 1977 that participants at the United Nations International Conference on Discrimination against Indigenous Populations in the Americas proposed that Indigenous Peoples’ Day replace Columbus Day. Indigenous Peoples’ Day recognizes that Native people are the first inhabitants of the Americas, including the lands that later became the United States of America. And it urges Americans to rethink history. The movement to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples’ Day or Native American Day has gained momentum and spread across the United States, the first state to rename Columbus Day being South Dakota in 1990.

And while this Monday is a day of celebration, we should remember that indigenous cultures around the world should be nurtured, protected, admired, and remembered every single day. 

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

• (1) The Last of the Mentawai,  Etienne Desclides

• (2) Encounters at the End of the World, documentary film by Werner Herzog

• • Monday, October 12 - Indigenous Peoples’ Day

  • Monday, October 12 - No Yellow Bus Service 

• Monday, October 19 and Tuesday, October 20 - JS Photo Days (details in this newsletter)

• Week of October 26 – October 30 - No Classes for Students – October Break 

• Wednesday, November 11 - No Yellow Bus Service - Veterans Day 

• Wednesday, November 25 - Friday, November 27 - School Closed – Thanksgiving Break 

• Week of November 30 - December 4 - Remote Make Up & Retake Photos (Coordinated by Stomping Ground with families)

• Monday, December 21 to Friday, January 1 – Winter Break

• Monday, January 4 - Friday, January 8 - Remote Learning Only

In this week's Newsletter, parents of fully remote students are invited to come to school to pick up an art kit. We also share important information regarding this year's Junior School Photo Day. Ms. Sanchez, one of our J4 teachers, invites you into her classroom with a few pictures and videos. You will find also a link to register for the Race and Privilege Parent alliance Group. RAPPA is an inclusive collection of parents, from independent, parochial and public schools, interested in pursuing a greater understanding of anti-bias awareness, cultural competency and social justice. Everyone is welcome.

• INFORMATION: ART KIT PICK-UP FOR STUDENTS FULLY REMOTE - THURSDAY, OCTOBER 15

• INFORMATION: JS PHOTO DAYS - OCTOBER 19 & 20

•  BIT OF NEWS: HYBRID LEARNING IN J4 SANCHEZ

• BIT OF NEWS: RACE AND PRIVILEGE PARENT ALLIANCE

• REMINDER: SWITCHING FROM REMOTE TO HYBRID

• REMINDER: QUARANTINE

• REMINDERS: HEALTH AND SAFETY

• REMINDERS: REMOTE LEARNERS

• REMINDER: UPDATE YOUR CHILD’S DISMISSAL PLANS in SDM

Throughout the past two weeks, Ms. Mattson and Ms. Dohna have been working on the organization of Art kits for students who are fully remote. The JS Art teachers included in their kits materials for the next units they will be teaching. Parents of students who opted for the distance learning, and who are in the city, are invited to come to UNIS on Thursday, October 15th, between 3:15 to 3:30, to pick-up their child’s Art kit. We will use the same system in place for dismissal. Parents will follow the walking flow, guided by the security team, to access the tents where tables will be set up with the kits to grab and go. The bags will be separated by grade level and identified with big labels to support a quick transition. Parents who are in other countries will receive a list of Art materials to support their children at home.

You'll find the online viewing dates, ordering deadline, delivery dates and other important information. Note that families coordinate their purchases, makeups and re-takes directly with Stomping Ground.

You may contact Stomping Ground Photo for support at  help@stompinggroundphoto.com

In J4NS, we try to connect our yellow and blue cohorts as well as our fully remote students by making sure students work together through different platforms. Students connect to Zoom and we do whole class sharing activities as well as games, especially during our morning meeting. During lessons, not only do we have all students connected to our class via Zoom, but they have also been using Google Meets to do partner work.

It is great to see how they help each other and connect with the students who are at home. It is a learning curve for us all!

When requesting a switch from full time Remote to Hybrid Learning attending in-person classes, at least 48 hours (2 full school days) in advance, please email:

• your homeroom teacher

• jsoffice@unis.org

• schoolnurse@unis.org (to request health clearance to attend in person if your child has not been on campus yet)

The last step is to update SDM with your dismissal plans for each day your child is on campus.

For those students already in the Hybrid model: If you choose to have your child learn from home for a period of time, please inform your homeroom teacher by email and by selecting "Remote Learning as an Exception" in SDM.

Please be advised that New York State has recently extended its 14 day quarantine order to most countries. Travelers required to quarantine now include anyone arriving from a U.S. state on the NY watch list, but as well as any country on the international travel watch list. This watch list includes the EU, the UK, or Mexico, among other countries. Only 31 countries are exempt from this requirement. Make sure you take this into account when planning any travel during October Break or Winter Break. 

1. Arrival: To speed arrival for everyone, please have your child take possession of their backpack and lunch before they approach the entry gate in the morning and check to see that their mask is on, fits well, and is covering their nose.

2. Late Arrival: The late arrival of students in the morning delay our faculty and staff moving back to their positions. The JS gates should be closing no later than 8:40. Please ensure that you arrive at the time assigned for your child's grade.

3. Masks: Be sure you have packed spare masks in a clean bag in your child's backpack, as well as an extra bag to hold used ones. For the safety and peace of mind of all, do not send your child to school in a vented mask. We understand that many of you do use vented masks with filters inserted. But our teachers cannot be certain that every vented mask has the filter necessary to keep them safe. Please respect our community and do not send your child to school in a vented mask.

4. Remote Learning on Days with Appointments: We ask that you opt to have your child learn remotely on the days that they have appointments outside of school. Parents and caregivers will not be permitted inside the gate and late arrivals and early dismissals pull vital personnel from their assigned posts in order to escort your child. Just enter Remote Learning as an Exception in SDM to alert your teacher that your child will connect remotely instead of joining in person.

5. Switching from Remote to Hybrid: When requesting a switch from full time Remote Learning to Hybrid attending in-person classes, at least 48 hours (2 full school days) in advance, please email:

• your homeroom teacher

• jsoffice@unis.org

• schoolnurse@unis.org (to request health clearance to attend in person if your child has not been on campus yet)

The last step is to update SDM with your dismissal plans for each day your child is on campus.

6. Returning to Campus After Illness:  Based on CDC guidance, students who are sent home or become ill may not return to UNIS until the following:

• WITH A COVID TEST: A negative COVID test and clearance note from MD. Must explicitly state that the student is cleared to return to school.

• WITHOUT COVID TEST: Must be fever free (less than 100F) for 3 days with no fever reducing medications and improvement of symptoms

  • AND must be 10 days post-symptom (No symptoms in last 10 days)

  • AND report general feelings of wellness.

All students who are returning to campus after an illness, MUST FIRST SEE THE NURSE WHEN COMING BACK ON CAMPUS BEFORE STARTING CLASSES.

If your child is exhibiting symptoms consistent with COVID please have them tested so we can alert potential contacts within UNIS. This helps us keep everyone safe. If you feel these symptoms are due to a cause other than COVID, please have your physician clearly document this in your return to school clearance letter. For health related questions please email: schoolnurse@unis.org and mrivera@unis.org

7. Social Distancing Outside of UNIS: Exercise caution and, whenever possible, to stay clear of gatherings where social distancing or face masks might not be the norm. We advise students and families to be particularly vigilant on playgrounds and during play dates, keeping in mind the impact they may have on the safety of everyone in our community.

8. COVID Testing: We recommend that students be tested at least ONCE a month, preferably every two weeks. All UNIS Faculty and Staff will be pool-tested every other week on campus.

• • Instruction begins at 8:40 each morning. Remote learners are expected to connect with their homeroom no later than 8:40 to participate in Morning Meeting. Students who try to connect after that time disrupt the class and pull the teacher away from the rest who are already engaged in person or remotely. It is tremendously important that students are ready to join at 8:40. Meanwhile, we recognize that due to technical glitches or late arrivals, not all teachers will always be able to start at 8:40. We thank you for your patience. But, once the class begins, students who join between 8:40 and 9:00 are missing important direction and are inevitably disrupting the class. Let's try our best together!

  • Question related to technology should be addressed by email to tech.support@unis.org only. Tech Support will need your child's full name, teacher name and grade in order to assist you quickly. Please do not disrupt your teacher's instruction time to address tech support issues for your family. We understand it can be frustrating sometimes; we recognize it and are working hard to address the glitches we are facing. But we have noticed teachers trying to troubleshoot a system while teaching, a system that really requires technician intervention. They do it out of caring and concern about their students not being able to connect. Please help them by reaching out to our Tech Department for support instead. 

  • All families should check their internet connection. The audio when your child connects from home should never be distorted - it is disruptive to the class when that happens and is likely the result from a poor connection at home. You should have at least 3mbps up and download. A 5mbps up and download will ensure optimal quality. You can check your bandwidth here: fast.com 

Our homeroom teachers follow the instructions entered by parents in School Dismissal Manager (SDM) each day. Please update your SDM account to regularly indicate what the plans are for your child each day of the week. SDM is always mandatory for Dismissal but can easily be used for Attendance as well. If your child will be learning remotely on a day that he/she is normally scheduled to be on campus, please use SDM and select "Remote Learning as an Exception". On days when your child will not engage in classes either remotely or in person, please use SDM to mark your child "Absent".

SDM is the only way of letting the dismissing teacher know where your child should go at dismissal. In addition to indicating that there is an 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.

No student will be placed on a bus at dismissal if their SDM account does not authorize their ridership on that date.  They will be placed in the Care Program instead.