Dear parents,

As we can agree that students of all ages need to move their bodies and stay physically active, getting outside for fresh air and movement on a daily basis is important to support physical and mental health. We are pleased to announce that in collaboration with the UNIS Maintenance Team and the Physical Education Department, we will be able to offer more opportunities for our JS students to be part of outdoor and physical activities:

• Students from JA through J4 will be able to use indoor space initially dedicated to fitness for Middle and High School for their PE classes.

• All JS Students will be able to use the Playground as it is now open thanks to the Maintenance Team who were able to secure the area last week. 

Promoting physical education and outdoor games is an important component of your child’s health. We encourage all children to have at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. The School, while facing this worldwide pandemic, cannot reach this goal on days when PE classes are not scheduled and so we recommend that parents supplement their child's activity time.

In order to maximize the safety of our students and minimizing the risk of cross-contamination in JS, we are following basic rules as indicated by the CDC:

• While playing outdoors at school during playtime or PE lessons, or in the city parks, children should always wash hands before and after their outdoor activities. At school, we provide education about and demonstration of proper hand washing.

• While children are playing outside, remind them about how to stay healthy — avoid touching their eyes, nose, and mouth and cover their coughs.

The School offers outdoor playtime to the Junior School students in staggered shifts. If multiple groups are outside at the same time, they are instructed to maintain a minimum of 6 feet of open space between outdoor play areas, or visit these areas in shifts so that they are not congregating. We are also keeping groups together, as this will help reduce potential exposures and may prevent the JS division from moving to a period of fully remote learning  if exposure does occur, as indicated in our school-wide safety guidelines.

For your information, guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates that outdoor areas like playgrounds in schools and parks generally require normal routine cleaning, but do not require disinfection. However, the UNIS Maintenance Team will conduct daily disinfection, focusing their cleaning efforts on plastic and metal high-touch surfaces where hands frequently make direct contact, like grab bars and railings between groups of children. 

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

• • Registration for Winter After School Session is Open (details in this newsletter)

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

• Monday, January 4 – Classes Resume

• Monday, January 4 - Friday, January 8 - Remote Learning Only / No Students on Campus

• Wednesday, January 6 - JS Parent Coffee (Webinar) 7:00pm Save the Date

• Monday, January 18 - School Closed - MLK Day 

• Monday, February 15 through Friday, February 19 - No Classes for Students - February Break 

In this Newsletter, you will find important registration information for the Winter Session After School activities offered by UNIS. We also share the Homework Policy and direct links to the suggested activities related to this policy implemented in September 2019. You will learn about a remarkable project from our J4 team: they are inviting guest speakers to their classes, parents eager to share their knowledge with our students. Thank you! Also included are links to the Parent Coffee held last Wednesday (presentation and video). Parents in charge of collecting food for City Harvest this year share more information and express their gratitude to everyone who donated. This year, more than ever, our generosity is needed by those who do not have enough to eat. Finally, do not miss a fantastic concert organized by our students this coming Wednesday!

• TO DO: AFTER SCHOOL REGISTRATION IS OPEN - WINTER SESSION

• IMPORTANT INFORMATION: SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

• INFORMATION: GUEST SPEAKERS IN J4

• PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: PARENT COFFEES

• PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: CITY HARVEST

•  BIT OF NEWS: TH STUDENT CONCERT - DEC 11 at 1:00

• REMINDER: AVOIDING LATE ARRIVAL & EARLY PICK UP

• REMINDERS: HEALTH AND SAFETY

• REMINDERS: REMOTE LEARNERS

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

• REMINDER: UPDATE YOUR PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION

In 2019, the Junior School assessed its homework policy, investigated what research tells us about homework, and surveyed parents and faculty about their understanding of homework. The result of this year-long project was shared with parents in May 2019 during our Parent Coffee.

Based on our research, we have designed a new Homework Policy which was implemented in September 2019:

I.​ INTRODUCTION

At UNIS we support teaching practices which encourage personalization of our students’ learning experience. Homework is an extension of students’ learning experiences. Our policy takes into consideration the results of research in the field of education and tailors homework to meet individual needs.

​II.​ WHAT IS DIFFERENTIATION?

Differentiated and scaffolded instruction aims to accommodate students’ learning needs, by providing appropriate levels of support, challenge and choice while valuing all students and recognizing that each may follow a different learning pathway. When considering homework, recognizing that each student has different learning needs supports the idea that each student may have different tasks at home as well. 

​III.​ WHAT THE RESEARCH SAYS?

Harris Cooper, an educational psychologist, conducted the most exhaustive review of 60 years of research on the impact of homework on academic growth. He performed a “meta-analysis,” which is a statistical technique for combining numerous studies into the equivalent of one giant study. The result of his research shows that “there is no evidence that any amount of homework improves academic performance".

In fact, his research evidences that traditional homework as we know it only shows a positive impact on academic growth beginning in grade 7. In the lower grades, the relationship between academic growth and homework is either nonexistent or demonstrates a negative impact on grades.

​IV. JUNIOR SCHOOL POLICY

Our homework policy is developed through vertical collaboration from PreK to 4th grade. It is based on our school mission, values and guiding principles. We believe that students need time to explore and grow in areas besides their academic endeavors. We believe that parents may appreciate suggestions of activities beyond our curriculum that support their child’s well-being, academic growth, and success. We recognize that every student has different needs.

Our homework policy, therefore, offers three main aspects:

• Reading is recommended every day: reading alone, reading aloud, reading to parents, parents reading to children, reading to learn, reading to laugh, reading to feel, reading to share, etc…

• Personalized homework: based on individual needs, some students may have specific homework on a specific day to address specific needs identified by the teachers, while others may not have assigned homework. Teachers will inform parents by email when their child is handed out personalized homework.

• Lists of suggested home activities for parents: per grade, non-mandatory, aligned with the curriculum, these lists aim to support parents who are seeking suggestions. They are shared with parents every few months.

​V-1.​ HOMEWORK WILL CONSIST OF (PreK to J4)

• Reading in English to, with, and by parents or independent reading

​V-2.​ HOMEWORK MAY CONSIST OF (J1 to J4)

• Personalized reinforcement tasks associated with classroom activities based on specific needs, mainly focusing on building automaticity and fluency in math and fluency in word work

• Reading, listening, engaging in activities in French/Spanish/ELL to extend the language exposure beyond the classroom.

• Gathering of additional information or materials

• Unfinished classroom activities

• Writing to respond to the students’ reading, based on grade and class expectations.

• Utilization of materials such as games, flash cards, quiz prep sheets, used in class and shared with specific students based on their needs to be used at home and brought back to school the following day.

​V-3. SUGGESTED HOME ACTIVITIES MAY CONSIST OF (PreK to J4)

• Books

• Websites

• Games

• Applying skills and knowledge learned at school in real life and play activities with parents/family

Suggested Home Activities were published on the Parent Guidelines Portal a few weeks ago. In response to a question asked by a parent during our last webinar, we remind everyone that these Activities are available to everyone by clicking on the top menu on the Parent Guidelines Portal.  You can also access the page related to your child's grade by clicking on one of the links below.

On Wednesday 2 December, as part of J4's "Why does Geography Matter?" unit, Margret Jorundardottir in J4JH taught our class about volcanoes in Iceland. She was joined by her mother, Helena and father Jörundur who also shared their knowledge and answered questions about their heart country, Iceland. The students in J4JH enjoyed learning about the geography of Iceland, why it is often called "the country of fire and ice", and hearing about past volcanic eruptions, their effects, and how the country responded to these disasters.

While we're still learning how to pronounce, "Eyjafjallajökull" and "Vestmannaeyjar," we enjoyed having Marget and her parents Zoom in as experts to teach us about Iceland and the natural hazards that happen there.  

Jessica Hiebl-McArdle, J4 Homeroom Teacher  

This year, the J4s experience a parent "Expert Talk Series" to learn about the different aspects of the United Nations and how organizations and individuals help communities prevent, mitigate, and respond to natural hazards worldwide. On December 2, Sophie Battas (Chloé's mom) joined the J4 assembly on Zoom to share her humanitarian assistance expertise with the Red Cross, NGOs, the European Commission, and UNICEF. Ms. Battas has been deployed to the field for emergency response after natural disasters struck. For example, after a hurricane in Honduras, a volcano eruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo, floods in Pakistan, Senegal, Togo, Ghana, Benin, earthquake in Columbia, and communities affected by drought in Senegal, Mauritania, and Sudan. She elaborated on the impact on people and communities depending on the disaster's severity and scale. Although not all disasters are big, vulnerability might be high. We learned how humanitarian aid could help during and after the disaster to save lives by providing health care, nutrition, water, and sanitation, emphasizing offering humanity by responding to all without discrimination based on identified needs. The importance of responding on time and having imaginative solutions to reach people who are most in need, including riding horses or donkeys, as well as ways to prepare communities to reduce and avoid suffering through education and protection, gave further insight into humanitarian aid in practice. Ms. Battas inspired our community, and learning from her experiences will continue to spark ongoing conversations in class. We also want to acknowledge Chloé's contributions and her commitment by offering assistance before the presentation. Great teamwork!

Olivia Decicco, J4 Homeroom Teacher  

For those of you not able to join us for the Parent Coffee held on December 2 for a discussion about the Distance Learning schedule and the Math and ELA curriculum, you can view the presentation by clicking on the links below.

UNIS City Harvest Drive -  A BIG Thanks for Making it a HUGE Success!

We want to thank the whole UNIS Community, who came together to make a success of this highly meaningful drive. The UNIS Community donated 4000 pounds of food - this is an incredible feat! It is equal to the amount of food we donated last year, and this in spite of Covid closures of school during the collection week and rain and carrying heavy school bags, and alternate days of attendance for half the school!!!!

We would like to thank the school administration for their support, the parents and Mr. Baha for volunteering their time, The STAR Project club for spreading the word and helping out, and of course, all of you for the generosity with the donations!!! 

If you wish to know more about the program, please visit the website by clicking on the link below.

If you need any assistance in creating a sub-team page, please reach out to the Co-Chairs: Abhilasha Mahan (Abhilasha.mahan@pa.unis.org); Magda Torres (magda.torres@pa.unis.org)

We also collected enough toiletries to create 100+ gift bags for the homeless. The toiletries we collected at the UNIS Food & Toiletry drive will be made into gift bags by TH volunteers and given to guests at the Community of Hope soup kitchen. A BIG thanks to the TH students for their amazing dedication.

Once again, thank you for your compassion, generosity, and support for the UNIS City Harvest Drive!

In gratitude,

Abhilasha & Magda, Co-Chairs, UNIS Food & Toiletries Drive

We ask that you support us by having your JS child learn remotely on the days that they have appointments outside of school, or need to leave early for travel. Parents and caregivers are not permitted inside the gate and so late arrivals and early dismissals pull school personnel from their work in order to escort your child. 

Please just enter "Remote Learning as an Exception" in SDM to alert your teacher that your child will connect remotely instead of joining in person on days when you make other plans during school hours. Thank you!

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.