Newsletter #16

Dear parents,

Celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. is an important moment during this school year, and it has always been. 

In past JS Newsletters we have paused and reflected on Martin Luther King Jr.'s heritage and our common responsibility to stand for Social Justice and Equity.

This year, even more than during the past three, I have been honored to be your child's Principal as we celebrate the memory and actions of Martin Luther King Jr.  The current situation in the United States and beyond reminds us that not only is standing up for social justice and against racism still an urgent need, but that marching and peacefully protesting with an informed opinion is a right that misinformed opinions and violent marches have tried to challenge.

So while UNIS will be closed on Monday, January 18 in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., and in advance of that holiday when we are asked to reflect on the work that still needs to be done towards racial equality, we'd like to share the special resources offered to our students to watch with their classmates on Friday, January 15, or over the weekend with you.

We encourage all of our families to explore the history, values and vision of Martin Luther King Jr. together. We hope that you will watch the videos recorded by our Junior School students, as well as those from two of  the TH students from the Equity & Inclusion Board (EIB) who supported us in this celebration. The fully remote students who shared their thoughts have done an outstanding job! You will also find stories read aloud by Mr. Fabrice, Ms. Camilo, and myself. 

Wishing you a peaceful and reflective weekend.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

• • Monday, January 18 - School Closed - MLK Day

  • Saturday, January 23 - Mexican Cultural Night (see below)

• Friday, January 29 - Report Cards Published for Parents (see below)

• Tuesday, February 2 - Class Parent Meeting 12:00-12:45

• Wednesday, February 3 - JS Parent Coffee (Webinar) 7:00pm (save the date)

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

•  INFORMATION: J4JH HELPING KIDS BEAT THE BOREDOM BLUES

• INFORMATION:  REMOTE TEACHING & LEARNING BRINGS OUT THE BEST IN US 

• INFORMATION: JS iPADS & CHROMEBOOKS - SAFETY SET UP AT SCHOOL & AT HOME

• PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: MEXICAN CULTURAL NIGHT - SATURDAY, JANUARY 23

• REMINDER: SEMESTER 1 REPORT CARDS

• REMINDER: UPDATE SDM AND FAMILY CONTACT INFORMATION

• REMINDERS: HEALTH AND SAFETY

• REMINDERS: REMOTE LEARNERS

Junior School Origami Club

Why not make cool origami with friends? The Junior School Origami Club follows the instructions found in origami books and they come up with their own inventive paper creations too. Wish you had a pet dog? Why not make one out of paper. Want a pet cheetah? Why not make one out of paper? Sensei Masuya (the mother of Gento in J1H and UNIS Japanese teacher) shared this website with us, Origami Club, that you could use to get started.  

So, if you're bored, why not start your own club, and share it with the world. Stay tuned, for when J4JH shares more ways to beat boredom in February! 

THE  J4H STUDENTS

We have a fully remote student who lives in Spain.  He was supposed to come here in November, and then in January, but COVID upended those plans.  He is a member of our class, the 17th piece of our puzzle, as essential as the other 16.  At the start of the year we had 5 remote learners.  Gradually, our remote friends joined us in the hybrid model and only our Spanish friend, Tristan, remained fully remote.  In the age of technology, oceans no longer separate us, but my heart still skips a beat when I watch 16 hybrid learners greet Tristan every morning on the screen, as if he were sitting right there next to them, and stop their work to smile, wave and say “good night, Tristan” every day at 2:30PM. In Spain, it’s 8:30 PM, and it’s Tristan’s bedtime.  

This past week, one of our hybrid learners had to learn remotely for 3 days. She was not happy about having to stay home, and at one point broke down on screen.  We stopped our writing and addressed the situation. The children participated in calming their friend, and she was able to continue in the lesson.  The following day I received an e-mail from Tristan’s mom.  She explained that Tristan was able to relate to the girl, as he, too, would rather be here in class with his friends, so he made her a colorful card with a big heart that said “friends”.  Imagine a five-year-old child empathizing with another, and doing a random act of kindness because he knows what it’s like to be an ocean away.  When I showed Tristan’s card to the girl, her eyes lit up like bright stars, and her wide smile was obvious even beneath her mask. Empathy and community in action!  

The beauty of remote learning is that a small child, an ocean away, has become a part of 16 other small children’s lives. To them he isn’t a remote learner, but rather a friend.  To me, his teacher, I know him and care about him just as I care about the other 16. His progress, his joy and love of learning are paramount, as are theirs. 

This year isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination, but the challenges truly are new opportunities, allowing us to simultaneously reach, teach and touch children who are right here, along with those who live thousands of miles away!  So despite doodles on the screen, muting issues and background noise, remote teaching has opened up a whole new world where I can transverse the vast Atlantic and teach reading, writing, social studies, math, and especially kindness and empathy at the click of a button. 

Michal Urieli, JA Teacher

The devices issued by UNIS to our Junior School students are set up to maximize their safety with regard to online content. Here are recommendations from our IT Team, led by Carlos Mojica, so that parents can also support this at home:

iPads

iPads are managed through the JAMF platform which allows deep integration and management with the iPads on an individual and group basis. There are a series of hard filters in place blocking out problematic sites, and all families have access to the Screen Time function to track a student's hours on the app. On site at UNIS, the school uses a CIPA compliant firewall and web filter. At home, we do not have complete control over what students can and cannot access on their devices, so we suggest limiting use outside of school time or, if limitation of device use is not practical, we suggest using the Circle app for more complete control over your student's screen time. 

Chromebooks

UNIS provided Chromebooks are also centrally managed and have an additional app called GoGuardian which allows teachers to monitor and manage each student's screen in real time. GoGuardian includes filtering, alerts, and monitoring both on site at UNIS and at home, as long as the student logs in with their UNIS credentials on a Chromebook or a Chrome browser (browser instructions here). UNIS administration is notified if a student attempts to access inappropriate materials or shows signs of self-harm/suicidal thoughts. There is also a GoGuardian parent module which is being tested and allows for parents to monitor a student's activity while on a Chromebook. We continue to encourage families to limit use of UNIS devices at home to school activities. 

Dear UNIS families, 

Get ready to be on your happy feet and dance away with Mexican rhythms! Please join us for the live, family event to immerse into diverse dances of Mexican regions. The award winning dance group, Calpulli Mexican Dance Company will teach us a vital repertoire with engaging background information. 

Please join us online on Saturday, January 23rd at 7PM. $5 ticket per family could be purchased at www.unis.org/calpulli 

The purchased confirmation email will contain the Zoom link information. Each ticket will be entered into the raffle automatically. At the end of the event, we will draw one lucky winner for a $100 Michelin starred Mexican restaurant gift card. *The winner must be present on Zoom to claim the prize. 

You can find more information about Calpulli HERE.

UNIS PA CULTURAL EVENTS COMMITTEE

Semester 1 Report Cards for Junior School students will be published on Friday, January 29 on the Veracross Parent Portal. We encourage you to review this report card with your child to celebrate his/her achievements during this past semester and engage in conversation on their potential growth. The deadline for questions about any specific JS teacher’s grading will be Friday, February 5. Please contact the teacher directly by email no later than then.

Note that recently enrolled students who have attended UNIS for less than 8 weeks, will not receive a report card this semester.

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. UPDATE SCHOOL DISMISSAL MANAGER (SDM)

Please update your SDM account by Monday morning each week to indicate what the dismissal plans are for your child. SDM is the only way of letting your child's dismissing teacher know where your child should go at dismissal. 

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 and you will need to come to campus to pick them up.

If you need the SDM welcome message resent and your password reset, please email jsoffice@unis.org

2. UPDATE YOUR FAMILY CONTACT INFORMATION (VERACROSS PARENT PORTAL)

Please review your family profile and contact information to ensure that your cell phone numbers, email addresses and home address are correct and that they are entered in the correct fields. The only way you can be reached in an emergency, or when there are school wide announcements, is through the information that you enter and update in the Portal.

After logging into 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 Portal updates, please email veracross@unis.org

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