Dear parents,

This coming week, Wednesday through Friday, you will have the opportunity to meet with your child's teachers for our traditional Parent Teacher Conferences. Again this year, the conferences will be held using Zoom, our video conference platform. In this newsletter, you will find important information and a link to the instructions to book appointment with your child's teachers if you haven't done so already.

Conferences with the Homeroom Teachers and Mother Tongue Teachers (20 minutes) could cover:

• Check-in

  • Information gathering: This is another unique school year and this meeting is an opportunity for teachers to hear your experiences as a parent, taking into consideration your child's journey on an emotional and an academic perspective

  • Building relationship: opportunities to connect with your homeroom teacher may have been limited this year as compared to others. This is an opportunity for you and your teacher to connect and build a relationship important for your child's academic growth and well-being.

• Sharing information

  • Approaches to Learning: teachers will share information about the IB Approaches to Learning (ATL) which focus on specific skills and dispositions that support learning and have relevance across the curriculum to enable students to manage their own learning and to provide a foundation for success in further education and the world beyond the classroom.

  • Academic Skills: teachers will share information about how their students have academically grown, based on their observations and assessments.

  • Learning in Progress: teachers will share with you where they are in the curriculum and what they have covered.

  • Next Steps (Goals, Expectations): when necessary, teachers will set up specific goals and expectations with parents.

Conferences with your child's specialist and language teachers (10 minutes) will focus on:

• Check-in: opportunities to connect with the specialist and language teachers may have been limited this year as compared to others. This is an opportunity for you and your teacher to connect and build a relationship important for your child's academic growth and well-being.

• Sharing information

  • Units and Curriculum Covered: what your children have learned during the first part of the year

  • Goals: what goals the teacher has for the students in a specific grade for this school year

  • Academic Growth and Learning Successes: Teachers will share observations and assessments related to students, regarding academic progress/behavior.

Please note that teachers will use a clock to be sure they don't go over the allotted conference time for each family. We want to ensure that parents in the waiting room are welcomed on time to their meeting. When meeting with parents on campus, a parent can always see that the teacher is still engaged with another family and is wrapping up the conference. Parents in a Zoom waiting room will not have the same visibility on that matter. Thank you for your understanding - our goal is to give to everyone the same opportunity to meet with their child's teachers.

Due to the high number of students taught by some of our specialist teachers, not every parent will have the opportunity to meet with each specialist. Therefore, we encourage you to book an appointment with specialist teachers only if you have a concern regarding your child and the subject taught by that specialist. This ensures that specific concerns are addressed as a priority. This is not the case with our homeroom teachers as every parent is expected to take the opportunity to meet with them. 

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

REMINDER

 JS students are expected to arrive at the gate no later than 8:20

Arrival after 8:20 is considered late and interrupts the start of the school day

• Monday, November 8 | Return all books borrowed from JS Library (details in this newsletter)

• Monday, November 8 | JS Parent Coffee Webinar 7:00pm Parent Teacher Conferences | LINK

• Monday, November 8 | Parent Teacher Conference Online Registration Re-Opens at 1:00pm and will close on Tuesday at 12pm (sign up instructions in this newsletter) 

• Wednesday, November 10 - Friday, November 12 | Parent Teacher Conferences for PK - J4 (details in this newsletter)

  • • Wednesday, November 10 (Evening 5:00-7:00pm)

    • Thursday, November 11 (Day 8:30 - 3:00 - No School for Students)

    • Friday, November 12 (Day 8:30 - 3:00 - No School for Students)

• November 10 - November 12 | After School Programs are Cancelled during Parent Teacher Conferences (Wednesday through Friday):

  • • JS After School Program Classes Cancelled

    • JS Francophone, Portuguese and Mandarin Classes Cancelled

    • After School Athletics for JS students Cancelled

    • On Campus Private Music Lessons for JS students Cancelled

    • Note: Care Program will be available from 3-6pm Wednesday, Nov 10 only

REMINDER:

Update School Dismissal Manager (SDM)

with instructions for Athletics, After School, Care & Bus

• • November 14 | UNICEF Fundraiser Ends (details in this newsletter)

  • Thursday, November 18 | Picture Day Make-Up with Stomping Ground (details in this newsletter)

  • November 24 - November 26 | Thanksgiving Break - School Closed

  • December 20 - December 31 | Winter Break - No Classes for Students

  • Monday, January 3 | Classes Resume

  • Monday, January 17 | School Closed (MLK Day)

  • February 21 - February 25 | February Break - School Closed

SIGN-UP PROCESS: 

Registration for conferences re-start tomorrow, Monday, November 8 at 1:00pm and will close at 12pm on Tuesday. If you have questions or concerns about sign up, please reach out to veracross@unis.org.

CONFERENCE DATES:

• Wednesday, November 10 (5:00 - 7:00pm Evening) - PK/JA - J4 Parent Teacher Conferences

• Thursday, November 11 (8:30 - 3:00 Day - No Classes for Students) - PK/JA - J4 Parent Teacher Conferences

• Friday, November 12 (8:30 - 3:00 Day - No Classes for Students) - PK/JA - J4 Parent Teacher Conferences

SIGN-UP PERIOD

• Re-Opened: Monday, November 8 at 1:00pm

• Closes: Monday, November 8 at 5:00pm

ACCESS TO CONFERENCE SIGN-UP

• Sign-up is available only through the Veracross Portal (myunis.vc).

• Without access to Veracross, you will not be able to book conference times with your children’s teachers.

• If you have not yet received notifications regarding your Veracross login credentials, send an email message now to veracross@unis.org to retrieve them.

• If you have received your credentials you must log in to Veracross to access the Parent Teacher Conferences sign up.

• When you log on to your portal, you will be able to sign up for conference slots for each of your children.

SCHOOL WILL NOT BE IN SESSION ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 11 and 12

CHILDCARE AT UNIS WILL NOT BE AVAILABLE DURING CONFERENCES

PLEASE PLAN AHEAD

While we are doing our best to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on our student's learning experience, since the beginning of the pandemic in March 2019, we are aware of the effect it can still have on this experience: 

• students having mild symptoms that could be related to COVID-19 are staying home, while for the same mild symptoms some students may have still come to school in any other year.

• students returning to school depends on getting a negative COVID-19 test, while in any other year they would have returned to school once all symptoms had cleared.

• students required to quarantine for 7 days after an international trip

• students required to quarantine after contact with someone who tested positive.

With the vaccination now available to our students 5 years old and above, the need for quarantine due to international travel and due to direct contact with someone who tested positive will not apply anymore,  but we will continue to see students required to stay home and to provide negative tests in some situations where this would not have systematically applied in the past.

The same directions are applied to our faculty and staff here at UNIS. As any student, all our staff and faculty are required to monitor any symptom they may have that could be COVID-19 related: fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, fatigue, muscle or body aches, headache, new loss of taste or smell, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, nausea, etc. This has impacted, as compared to any other year and since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of days that teachers have had to stay home, to monitor their health before returning to the classroom, and providing a negative test to guarantee the safety of our students, a population who were not eligible for vaccination until today. To lower the impact on the learning experience, teachers are working closely with the Junior School Office and a group of substitute teachers with whom we have been able to build relationships and trust over the year. Teachers who are absent share their lesson plans,  and teams support our substitute teachers in their critical mission. 

In the Classroom

As a health measure, fresh air is regularly circulated into the school building. Now that the weather is cooling, classrooms may feel colder than they were in the past, despite heat circulating as well. Please be sure your child has the warm clothes they will need for days when the temperature drops. We encourage all students to have an extra sweatshirt to keep in their cubby, labeled with their last name and homeroom.

Outdoor Activity & Recess Policy During Cold Weather

As winter approaches, please be sure your child is dressed for outdoor play every day, with a warm coat, sweatshirt, gloves and hat as needed.

UNIS JS follows the Dept of Health guidelines for outdoor play: "New York City Department of Health Guidelines regarding outdoor play in cold weather policy states “Children benefit from vigorous exercise and should be given the opportunity to play outside whenever possible. Unless it is snowing or there is ice on the playground low temperatures should not be a barrier to outside play, as long as children are appropriately dressed. The City’s Health Department strongly encourages principals to maintain outdoor play periods on the vast majority of winter days.”

Recommendations are as follows: If the wind chill factor is above 20 degrees, it is safe to play outside. If the wind chill factor is 0-20, outside play is advised provided that students are appropriately dressed and under observation to make sure that they are wearing their coats, hats and gloves." 

From:  New York City Department of Education and New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Labeling Clothing

With students wearing extra layers of clothing now, it's time for families to be sure that all coats, jackets, sweaters, scarves, hats, etc. are clearly labeled with your child's last name and homeroom. Our faculty and staff do their best to return misplaced items to their owners, but clear labeling is needed to do that.

Photo Retake Day will be Thursday, November 18 for JS students who either missed photo day or would like a retake. 

Further details will follow regarding sign-ups.

For general information regarding photos, ordering and other details, please review the Stomping Ground website: https://iloveschoolpictures.com/UNIS 

Stomping Ground Photo customer support:   help@stompinggroundphoto.com

Please join us for our next JS Parent Coffee Webinar

Monday, November 8 at 7:00pm

Topic: Parent Teacher Conferences

 LINK

Donate to UNICEF

Your 100% tax-deductible donation to UNICEF USA will help UNICEF support ACT-A, the global Access to COVID-19 Tools Accelerator, which provides vaccines, diagnostic tests, therapeutic medicine, and community engagement around the world. The 2021 fundraising campaign runs through November 14, 2021.

UNIS families can make their donation by visiting this link.

In order to review and correlate their inventory in connection with an upgrade of the UNIS JS Library system to cloud-based software, our librarians ask that all JS families return any books that their children have borrowed from the JS Library by Monday, November 8. 

Please assist your child(ren) this weekend as they locate the UNIS library books that they have at home and place them in their backpack for return on Monday morning.

For any specific questions regarding books that your children have borrowed, please reach out to our librarians directly at jbarrer@unis.org and xiwasykiw@unis.org

Thank you for your support and understanding as we embark on this project.

PROCESS FOR QUARANTINE, CONTACT TRACING & RETURN TO SCHOOL

The Junior School Office, in collaboration with the Nurse's Office and Security Team, has set in place a process for contact tracing in the event of a positive case and for informing the family:

1. Parents are asked to inform the Nurse's Office schoolnurse@unis.org and the Junior School Office jsattendance@unis.org in the event that their child tests positive for COVID or is a contact of a positive case.

2. The Nurse's Office and the Director of Security, in collaboration with the Junior School, identify the students who may need to quarantine

3. The Nurse's Office and the Director of Security call the parents of any students who need to quarantine and give any information related to the quarantine over the phone.

4. The Principal sends an email containing important information about the quarantine (reiterating the phone call) and all the information needed to connect remotely to the student's class. However, students who are not feeling well are expected to rest and not to connect remotely to their class until they feel better.

5. The Junior School Office informs the student's teachers so they can be ready to connect the student(s) remotely during their quarantine.

6. The Parents send their child's PCR test results by email to jsattendance@unis.org with a copy to schoolnurse@unis.org. The Junior School Office will collect test results submitted by families.

7. The Principal sends an email acknowledging receipt of the negative test to the family with the updated return to campus date.

8. The Junior School Office informs teachers of student return dates.

PROCESS FOR STUDENT ILLNESS AND RETURN TO SCHOOL

The Junior School Office, in collaboration with the Nurse's Office and Security Team, has set in place a process for clearing students to return to campus after an absence due to illness.

1. Parents are asked to inform the Junior School Office at jsattendance@unis.org if their child is sick.

2. The Junior School Office sends an email containing important information about the protocol in order for the student to return to campus.

3. When the student feels better and has tested negative for COVID, the parents send the rapid test results by email to jsattendance@unis.org with a copy to the schoolnurse@unis.org. The Junior School Office will collect test results submitted by families.

4. The Principal sends an email acknowledging receipt of the negative test result to the family.

5. The Junior School Office informs the student's teachers that the rapid test result has been received.

6. With a rapid test negative result, and without any symptoms, the students is welcome back on campus.

STUDENTS WHO MAY CONNECT TO CLASS REMOTELY

Following Dr. Brenner's direction, access to fully remote learning is an option offered only to students from PK to T4 who have opted in for fully remote for a full marking period, or those who need to quarantine due to direct contact with a positive case, or in the case of a student who tested positive and is asymptomatic. Online learning may also be offered in exceptional or medical circumstances. 

Students who have returned from an international trip and are required to quarantine due to travel, do not have access to fully remote learning. Thank you for your understanding. 

For families with a JS child connecting remotely to class while under quarantine, a daily Academic Tech Support session has been scheduled.

Junior School Remote Student Live Support for ACADEMIC TECH

Monday - Friday from 8:20 - 8:40am

Join Zoom Meeting

https://unis.zoom.us/j/9673245905

Meeting ID: 967 324 5905 

Francesca Zammarano & Javier Alvez, JS Design Engineering Teachers, and/or a member of the JS office, will be available for the support or guidance that you and your child may need regarding connecting to the JS academic technology learning tools such as Seesaw, Dreambox, etc. 

When Your Child is Sick

When your child is sick with stomach ache, fever, headache, etc. there is no expectation from the school that they should attempt to learn remotely. If your child has symptoms that would normally have kept them at home prior to COVID-19, parents should not request to join classes remotely. We hope that time will be taken for your child to rest and recover as the school believes that children recover more quickly when they are permitted to disconnect and rest.

Learning Model Consistency

The expectation is that Junior School students attend school consistently, through the end of this marking period, in accordance with the learning model the family has opted for at this time (either fully in person or fully remote). Inconsistent in person attendance is disruptive for the class as a whole and for the individual student. The school believes that a consistent schedule reinforces learning and appropriate classroom behavior, and reduces anxiety.

Dismissal for Parents and Guardians

At dismissal please stay in motion, circling through the tents as you wait to pick up your children, or wait outside the main gate between pick ups. The school has not relaxed it's policies regarding gatherings. Please do not linger or sit down in the tents to wait for a second child, or gather within the school gates to speak with other parents or teachers. At dismissal our goal is to have as few people on campus for the shortest time possible, and always in motion. Thank you for understanding and support as we work to keep our community safe. 

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. JS students are expected to arrive no later than 8:20 and the front gates should be closing no later than 8:30. Please ensure that you arrive at the time assigned for your child's grade.

3. Masks: Be sure you have packed 2 or 3 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 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. Days with Appointments or Travel:

Because parents and caregivers are not permitted inside the school gate, a request for either late arrival or early dismissal for a JS student requires that school personnel leave their work in order to escort your child. 

Please support the school by arranging appointments and travel outside of school hours.

Of course, if your child falls ill during the school day, the nurse's office will coordinate an early pick plan with families.

5. Returning to Campus After Illness:  

We appreciate your cooperation in keeping the community safe!  

Please use the guidance shared by our Nursing Staff in this newsletter in coordination with your physician to address any illness.

For health related questions please email: schoolnurse@unis.org and mrivera@unis.org

6. 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.

7. 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 regularly on campus.

Thank you for your support.

• • 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 and fzammarano@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 work hard to address the glitches we face. 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. 

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 your child has 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.