"Je voudrais [...], selon la portée de l'âme qu'il a en main, [qu’] il commençât à la mettre sur la montre, lui  faisant goûter les choses, les choisir et discerner d'elle-même; quelquefois lui ouvrant le chemin, quelquefois le  lui laissant ouvrir. Je ne veux pas qu'il invente et parle seul, je veux qu'il écoute son disciple parler à son tour." - Montaigne (1533-1592), Essais, I, 26, "De l'institution des enfants"

Dear parents,

Michel de Montaigne is a precursor in progressive education - already in the 16th century. I will attempt to translate his main idea from one of his major philosophical essays, the book 16, where he is evoking the role of the teacher in these words:

"I would […] that at the very first, he should, according to the capacity that he has to deal with, put it to the test,  permitting his pupil to taste things, and of himself to discern and choose them, sometimes opening the way to  him and sometimes leaving him to open it for himself; that is, I would not have him alone to invent and speak, but  that he should also hear his pupil speak in turn.”

Michel De Montaigne considers that developing knowledge and understanding of the world around us cannot do without interaction with others in space and in time. In space, by dealing with cultural diversity and what we can read from it; and in time, by our historical sensitivity to the currents of thought that now create our own thought. Today, it is Montaigne’s philosophy that inspires our work in the world of education:  enabling children to develop into thinking adults who communicate, who are responsible, who are sensitive to otherness, and who respect diversity - whilst retaining their individual, unique attributes. A critical spirit and independence of thought, facilitated by the acquisition of methods and the apprenticeship of knowledge. 

We could think that evoking Michel de Montaigne's philosophical view on education with this quote in this Newsletter following the Spring break is a great way to share what could be the origin of the IB Learner Profile which guides our work with our students, your children. But it's another famous quote that is leading this week's letter to you

Michel de Montaigne was not shy to use the words of others to express himself, because others may have said it better than anything he could have ever said. In this Newsletter, I recognize with humility and admiration that our students can express, beyond our academic curriculum, the values and ideas that have led the way to UNIS for almost now 75 years. Madiba, J2 Turner, is one of those students and I would like to celebrate his view on DIVERSITY in this Newsletter, in a much better way than anything I could do.

While we are entering the last part of the school year, we will make sure to work hard, acknowledge our differences, celebrate them, while making sure that they are keeping us together.

Madiba, J2 Turner Student

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

• Monday, April 11 | Classes Resume (COVID test at home required before returning to campus)

• Monday, April 11 | Remote Marking Period #4 Begins 

• Friday, April 15 | No Yellow Bus Service Available 

REMINDER:

Arrive no later then 8:20 and

Update School Dismissal Manager (SDM) for Semester 2

with your child's dismissal instructions for Athletics, After School, Language, Care Program & Bus

• • Friday, April 22  | Earth Day Celebrated

  • Wednesday, April 27 | JS Parent Coffee (save the date)

  • Friday, May 27 - Tuesday, May 31 | Memorial Day - School Closed

CLASS LISTS 2022-2023 (DEADLINE IS APRIL 15)

Our teachers will soon begin the process of creating class lists for the 2022-2023 school year.

Homeroom teachers and specialists collaborate to create balanced classes across each grade. Teachers take into account friendships and social interactions from this and previous years and take care to ensure that children are placed in a group with familiar friends and where they also have the opportunity to develop new friendships. Our school psychologist and counselors review all class groupings before they are finalized.

While we cannot honor specific requests for teachers, if you have any concerns about next year’s class placement be sure to email your child’s counselor before this Friday, April 15. 

• PK & JA - Dr. Dana Marnin  dmarnin@unis.org

• J1 & J3 - Amy Iamundo  aiamundo@unis.org

• J2 & J4 - Alyssa Frost  afrost@unis.org

This means that students, families, faculty and staff are respectfully asked to refrain from bringing peanuts, nuts, and seeds of any kind or foods processed with these items or their by products, such as oils, into the school. This includes products which state "may contain traces of nuts/peanuts/tree nuts” or "manufactured in a facility which processes" nuts/peanuts/tree nuts.

For example, tree nuts (such as almonds, pistachios, pine nuts, cashews, brazil nuts, pecans, walnuts, etc.) and foods associated with them (such as nutella, pesto, granola bars, marzipan, macaroons, hummus (containing sesame), etc.) may present a risk to others.

Unfortunately, we continue to face tragic events in the world that may have an impact on our students and their families. We acknowledge that this crisis affects many countries, cities and communities and brings up strong feelings. At the same time, we find ourselves with the difficult task of educating, guiding, and supporting children through the latest current events. 

If you feel that your family or child would benefit from additional support, please reach out to the Junior School Support Staff. 

With kind regards,

Dr. Dana Marnin (JS Psychologist) dmarnin@unis.org

Amy Iamundo (J1 & J3 Counselor) aiamundo@unis.org

Alyssa Frost (J2 & J4 Counselor) afrost@unis.org

As has been shared in this Newsletter, and our JS Guidelines, students with medical and other appointments during school hours are asked not to attend classes that day, either in person or remotely. Although the school fully understands and excuses absences for medical or other reasons, the Junior School cannot offer flexibility in the schedules and duties of our faculty and staff to escort students to or from the gate during school hours. All of the school's personnel are fully dedicated to the routines of our division, and our students, and follow a full daily schedule. In addition, leaving early or arriving late disrupts the flow of learning in the classroom and affects the entire class.

Note that, as the school's leadership has shared in previous correspondence, the school provides the option of remote learning to only those students in quarantine or for exceptional medical reasons. If it is necessary for your child to attend an appointment during school hours, the expectation is that they are absent for that full day.

Your child's teacher will support them with catching up when they return. Thank you for your understanding and for supporting the school protocols.

PA Meeting - MAP Test Discussion

If you missed the PA Meeting discussion on MAP Testing held on March 16, you can view a recording of the event here.

UNIS Food Fair 2022 - Early Bird Tickets

Welcome to 2022 International Food and Fun Fair (IFFF) - an annual community building and fundraising event that celebrates the spirit of UNIS.We are excited to have this event in person at school this year after a gap of 3 years. The IFFF will be an ALL OUTDOOR event and in two separate times sessions. You can purchase your ticket(s) for either a morning session 10.30 am -12.30 pm or an afternoon session 1:30 pm to 3.30 pm. Please note that food will be served during both the sessions.

The number of tickets for each session are limited. Tickets CANNOT be bought at the gate. All volunteers also need to buy a ticket. Early Bird tickets are $20.00 per person until May 1st. Starting May 2nd, tickets are $25.00 per person. 

RSVP for April 22nd Parent Happy Hour on Volunteer Opportunities 

Dear UNIS families:

• Have you thought about volunteering with the UNIS PA?

• Do you want to meet some other UNIS parents and raise a glass to the (fast approaching) end of the school year? 

Please join the UNIS PA Executive Committee on April 22nd for a Happy Hour mixer featuring drinks and appetizers as we share information about volunteering opportunities. We are recruiting volunteers for next year, celebrating our current volunteers (We are looking at you hard working class parents and Committee volunteers!!) and enjoying each other's company.

Date: Friday, April 22nd 

Time: 5:30pm-7:30pm

Location: Restaurant/bar in Midtown East/Kips Bay

Appetizers, drinks, beer and wine will be provided, compliments of UNIS Parents' Association

Click here to RSVP by Wednesday, April 13. First come, first served. Our capacity for this event is 120 guests.

Have a great spring break!

Angela 

Angela Tolosa | PA President (Manhattan)

angela.tolosa@pa.unis.org  

UNIS PA Marketplace UPDATED!

Own/operate a business or restaurant that you’d like to promote? Want UNIS community members to host a social at your establishment? Please learn and support local businesses owned/operated by UNIS community members and services sought such as childcare or afterschool services at https://www.unis.org/school-life/parents-association/businesses . To submit to the marketplace, you’ll have to log into your account by clicking here. Special thanks to Hongtao Wu, UNIS PA Vice-President, Manhattan for his work on this page.

#BreakTheBias

Happy Women's History Month - #BreakTheBias! We are very excited to share with you our 2nd Diversity, Equity and Inclusion newsletter of 2022.  This month, we highlight Women In Leadership at UNIS that work everyday to "Break The Bias” (visit the newsletter page 2 to see photos and quotes of UNIS board chair Ms.Catherine Pollard and other UNIS women leaders), we celebrate a historic SCOTUS nomination, we shine a spotlight on our very own EIB chairperson, have a conversation with an Emmy nominated food expert, and we have exciting DEI related webinars and events taking place too. We are sure you will enjoy the read. Other newsletters available here.

Cynthia Muffuh - cynthia.muffuh@pa.unis.org    

Lamson Lam - lamson.lam@pa.unis.org    

UNIS Arts Festival: Call for Parent Photography for Arts Fest in May 

This year UNIS will be mounting a school wide Arts Festival May 16th-20th and the UNIS PA Arts Committee will be curating a parents photography exhibition as part of it! Using the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals as inspiration, and perhaps from your travels in the past or one of the other breaks, take a moment to share through photography what these goals mean to you or your family. Please email your submission to tali.harel@pa.unis.org by May 1, 2022. If you are interested in helping us collect and manage submissions, including creating a slideshow, please email amanda.dubois@pa.unis.org  as we would love to have your help!

Summer Camp Recommendations

Want to share info about your favorite summer camps/ programs that your child has been a part of? Have questions for other parents? Fill out this survey and preview our Parents Summer Camp Report with 12 ideas so far!  Note that UNIS will be only hosting sports camps this summer due to space constraints. 

Meeting Recordings from UNIS available on vimeo

• March 2022- International Women's Day Speaker on Environmental Justice with Ms. Leslie Fields, Sierra Club

• March 2022 State of the School

• February 16, 2022 -  PA meeting on Modern Languages Department 

• February 2022 - Senegalese Music and Dance Class by Brooklyn Academy of Music

• February 2022 - Black History Month Speaker Nekima Levy Armstrong on Contextualizing Civil Rights and Racial Justice 

Please email me or unispa@unis.org with any questions/feedback. Thank you!

Angela Tolosa | PA President (Manhattan) angela.tolosa@pa.unis.org  

Thank all of you who participated in the collection of humanitarian aid for the children and civilians affected by the war in Ukraine.  Your support is critical and invaluable.  I wanted to especially thank Michal Urieli and J2U who stepped up and organized the collection and saw it through from beginning to end and truly embodied the mission of our school to "become an active force in shaping a better world: peaceful, compassionate and sustainable." 

-Xenia Iwasykiw, JS Librarian

A lovely learning moment took place in JAW! Former JAW student Anna G. and her T2 friends David and Teo joined JAW on Zoom. T2 had a Sustainable Development Goal Fair on Friday, March 24 and Anna's group has been working on SDG 13: Climate Action. They believe climate action starts at a very young age. 

Anna, David and Teo did a fabulous presentation and designed a wonderful sorting game about recycling materials which JAW had great fun playing. The JAW students loved meeting Anna, David and Teo.  Anna told me that I had inspired her & she wants to be a Kindergarten teacher!

-Virginia Whitelaw

Dear UNIS Community,

The International Baker's Club is revising the UNIS cookbook for the modern era, and we would like all of you, with your delicious recipes from all over the world to help contribute to it. We will collect and organize your creations into the cookbook, which will be released in June of this year. We hope that you will buy a copy or access the e-book version to cook all of these wonderful foods at home! Please fill out this form to submit your recipes. Thank you for your contribution. 

From the School Nurse:

The health office would like to take a moment to provide some education regarding lice. Evidence-based research and guidelines from the CDC, American Academy of Pediatrics and National School Nurses Association report that “screening for nits alone is not an accurate way of predicting which children are or will become infested, and screening for live lice has not been proven to have a significant effect on the incidence of head lice in a school community over time.  Because of the lack of evidence of efficacy, routine classroom or school wide screening should be discouraged." 

We ask for your cooperation in ensuring that head lice are managed successfully, through a school and parent partnership. We would like to recommend that all parents be vigilant in checking their children for evidence of head lice on a frequent basis, as early diagnosis and treatment is crucial to prevent widespread transmission. Working together, let’s limit lice interruptions in school. 

Please note that students found to have active cases of lice (live bugs), and those with moderate/severe cases of nits (eggs) will be sent home for immediate treatment. Those students who are found to have a mild case of nits will be able to finish the school day and will require treatment after dismissal. 

Treatment can be provided by any company of your choosing or done at home. There are many effective creams and shampoos available over the counter or by prescription from your doctor. You may also seek treatment at any professional lice removal salons. After treatment it is important to continue combing the hair daily for 14 days to prevent re-infestation. A retreatment may be necessary 10 days after the first treatment. 

Please read the attachment “Facts about Head Lice” for additional information. You may also find more information on these websites: 

www.healthychildren.org 

www.cdc.gov 

If you have any questions, comments, or would like additional information, please speak to your child’s pediatrician.

Facts about Head Lice 

What are head lice? 

Head lice are parasites, which are found on the scalp. Head lice cause itching, commonly at the back of the head and neck or behind the ears. The adult louse is the size of a sesame seed and can be the color of your child’s hair. Eggs, or nits, are smaller and silver in color. Lice do not transmit infections and do not endanger a person’s health. 

Who gets head lice? 

Head lice occur commonly among school age children. This is a condition that each year affects approximately 6 to 12 million US children ages 3 to 11. Head lice are not a sign of poor hygiene and anyone can get them. It doesn't matter how clean your hair or home may be. It doesn't matter where children and families live, play, or work. 

How is lice spread? 

Head lice are crawling insects. They cannot jump, hop, or fly. Lice pass from person to person by direct contact or by sharing clothing, items with lice on them. Anyone who comes in head-to-head contact with someone who already has head lice is at greatest risk. Lice can also be spread by contact with clothing (such as hats, scarves, coats) or other personal items (such as combs, brushes, hair ties, sports and bike helmets, or towels) used by an infested person. 

How can lice be prevented? 

If your child has long hair, it is best to have it pulled back into a bun or braid during the school day. Avoid sharing personal items 

How to check for lice? 

Regular checks for head lice are a good way to spot head lice before they have time to multiply and infest your child's head. 

∙Seat your child in a brightly lit room. 

∙Part the hair and look at your child's scalp. 

∙Look through hair for crawling lice and for nits. 

Live lice are hard to find. They avoid light and move quickly. Nits will look like small white or yellow-brown specks and be firmly attached to the hair near the scalp. 

The easiest place to find them is at the hairline at the back of the neck or behind the ears. Nits can be confused with many other things, such as dandruff, dirt particles, or

hair spray droplets. The way to tell the difference is that nits are attached while dandruff, dirt, or other particles are not. 

What is the treatment for lice? 

There are several medicated shampoos or cream rinses that are available over the counter. Retreatment after 7 to 10 days is usually recommended to assure that no eggs have survived. Nit combs are available to help remove nits from hair. To avoid side effects and toxicity, dose and duration of treatment should be followed according to label instructions. Please seek further guidance from your pediatrician when using over-the-counter products. You may also seek professional treatment for a lice-removal salon of your choice. Many of these salons use non-toxic, all natural products. 

To prevent re-infection following treatment, clothing and bedding should be laundered in hot water (140 degrees F for 20 minutes) followed by a hot drying cycle to destroy lice and eggs. Since lice eggs hatch within 6 - 10 days, and lice can survive for only 1 - 2 days away from a scalp, storing infested items in a sealed plastic bag for 10 days is effective for items that cannot be laundered. 

Here is a link for a video that can assist you in the at home treatment and removal of lice. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9y6c3Opr9w 

Recipe for natural lice shampoo: 

● Kill lice by stopping their respiratory systems with a mixture of 1-part baking soda and 3-parts hair conditioner. 

● Apply the mixture and comb the hair by sections. Use a soft tissue to wipe off the comb and remove the nits, baby lice, and adult lice.

• In full consultation with our medical experts at Mount Sinai Hospital, UNIS has instituted a vaccine mandate for students ages 5 and up. This COVID mandate began on January 24, 2022.

• All students must present evidence of their first vaccination by January 24 in order to continue to attend in-person instruction at UNIS.

• The second vaccine must be completed no later than February 28.

• Students who are not in compliance will not be allowed on campus.

• Your child’s vaccination should be uploaded into Magnus Health through the Veracross parent portal. Here is a step-by-step guide to assist you in this process.

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: If you want your JS child to be masked at school, 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. 

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. If it is necessary for your child to attend an appointment during school hours, the expectation is that they are absent for that full day. 

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.