Newsletter #19

Dear parents,

Last Tuesday, Rachel Henes, experienced facilitator, trainer, and social worker, who is the former director of Hallways, an innovative program that partnered with schools and parents to increase student health and well-being and prevent high-risk behaviors in affluent and independent school contexts, held her first workshop for our JS faculty and staff on "Regaining Equilibrium: Finding Our Way Through Collective Stress & Trauma". The feedback collected after the workshop shows that 91% of those who completed the survey would recommend the workshop to another colleague. 

This week, she will begin a 6-Part weekly Parent Workshop Series from February 9 through March 30: "Mindful Parenting in an Upside-Down World". So far, 50 parents have registered for this series of 6 workshops!

There is still space so don't miss the deadline. Registration will close on Monday, February 8 at 4pm:   fill the form as soon as possible!

The February break is next week and will give everyone the opportunity to rest and recharge. As a reminder, if you travel out of New York State (and out of the contiguous states),  you must obtain a negative test prior to returning to New York, fill out the NY online health form upon arrival, wait three days in quarantine in New York, and get tested on the fourth day. You may only leave quarantine upon receiving your 2nd negative test (results can take 1-3 additional days). Keep in mind also that the United States now require a negative COVID-19 test for all international travelers bound for the United States, regardless of citizenship. 

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

Tuesday, February 9 - PARENT WORKSHOP #1: MINDFUL PARENTING IN AN UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD 7:30 - 8:45pm (Registration information below)

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

• Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19 - UNIS-UN Conference

• Wednesday, March 17 - Friday, March 19 - JS Student Led Conferences (No Classes on March 18 & 19)

• • 6-Part Parent Workshop Series Tuesdays from 7:30 - 8:45 (details in this newsletter)

  • Tuesday, February 23

  • Tuesday, March 2

  • Tuesday, March 16

  • Tuesday, March 23

  • Tuesday, March 30

• TO DO: WORKSHOP REGISTRATION - MINDFUL PARENTING IN AN UPSIDE-DOWN WORLD

• IMPORTANT INFORMATION: NO IPAD AND CHROMEBOOKS IN THE BUS / TENT

• INFORMATION: REMINDER FROM OUR PE TEACHERS

• PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: CITY HARVEST UPDATE

• PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: CAREER PANEL

• BIT OF NEWS: ART WITH MS. GROEGER

• BIT OF NEWS: BLACK HISTORY MONTH

• REMINDERS: HEALTH AND SAFETY

• REMINDERS: REMOTE LEARNERS

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

• REMINDER: UPDATE YOUR PARENT CONTACT INFORMATION

We have noticed that some students who take the yellow bus are using their Chromebooks or iPads in the bus and at school in the arrival tent while waiting to join their classroom in the morning. While the school will reinforce that the usage of devices is not allowed in the tent, we ask that parents remind their children that Junior School students, for safety reasons, are expected to keep their devices in their backpack when outside of their classroom and during transportation. Thanks for your support in reinforcing this rule.

Our PE department asks for your support. As a reminder, please send your JS children to school in their PE uniform on the days that they have PE, especially wearing sneakers. This is to allow students to take part in the many activities with ease and certain clothing can restrict movements.

The virtual UNIS Food Drive ended in January and we are very grateful to the support of the UNIS Community - the amount of food and money we donated, will help to feed more than 17,500 New Yorkers.

A HUGE Thanks to each of you!!!  Please find attached the letter from City Harvest.

With Heartfelt Gratitude,

Abhilasha & Magda, UNIS Social Responsibility Committee 

Building on Barbara Mattson's visual arts course in the first half of the winter term, the art course from November to January with Undine Groeger provided an opportunity for J2, J3 and J4 students to learn about the United Nations Sustainability Goals (Zero Hunger, Good Health and Well Being, Clean Water, Life Below Water, and Peace) through different visual art techniques (pointillism, surrealism words & images, collage, anthropomorphism, symbols & shapes, self-portraiture and portraiture). Students were encouraged to express their creativity and think critically about how to advocate for a better world through their drawings, collages, comics, and posters.

Below you will find a recording of last Thursday's Black History Month event: Scattered Africa Film Screening and Q&A with with filmmaker anthropologist Dr Sheila Walker

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.