Newsletter #02

Dear parents,

Her way of looking at us, as if her lips were eyes, this slight, mocking fold like a comma on the left commissure, this pleasure taken in posing and letting it be known via this subtle movement of her mouth: Mona Lisa's smile has fascinating the world for more than 500 years. 

But let's go back to Mona Lisa. Since its creation at the beginning of the 16th century, Mona Lisa's smile has not ceased to arouse passions and mobilize all kinds of experts, who have desperately tried to crack the mystery of her smile... in particular medical experts who have hypothesized about the model's state of health: heart disease, syphilis, asthma, rheumatism, or nerve degeneration resulting in facial paralysis. Four years ago, researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital in Massachusetts and the University of California concluded that the 63 years old model was suffering from hypothyroidism, justifying their macabre diagnosis by medical observation: fatigue, yellow complexion, weight gain, skin dryness, muscle weakness. Really? This is when scientific explanations reach the limits of mon esprit cartésien: my rational, scientific, rigorous and somewhat formalistic way of thinking cannot suffer those - however scientific - explanations.

Reducing the mysterious, enigmatic, captivating smile to a disease? I will respectfully disagree. By personal choice, I prefer to believe that the sfumato is at the origin of this transcendent emotion: the sfumato (from Italian sfumare, “to tone down” or “to evaporate like smoke”), is a unique technique for softening the imperceptible transitions between colors and tones, mimicking an area beyond what the human eye is focusing on. Or, even better, as Jacques Frank, a specialist in the Leonardian technique, explained: "The strangeness of the thing is not the cracks, a completely normal phenomenon. It is that some of these cracks have married the anatomy of the places where the smile is formed with such opportunity that this smile seems to have intensified", slightly raising the left corner of the lips, giving Mona Lisa's smile that sly side that makes it legendary: a divine coincidence? Much more fascinating than a cold medical explanation.

The French anthroplogist David Le Breton in "Le sourire n’est pas un sous-rire", explained that a smile could express just about anything and everything: benevolence like threat, well-being like embarrassment, love like hate, deference like contempt. And sometimes both at the same time! The interpretation being a matter of circumstance or more broadly, a result of our own culture. It can express pleasure, be an effective technique of seduction or respond to a social convention or even a threatening political obligation.

Our students, teachers, and staff have nothing to envy from Mona Lisa. This first week in Junior School was an ocean of smiles. And while David LeBreton very thoughtfully reminds us that behind a smile there is a unique, personal or cultural signification, one emotion was shared by all of us: Happiness. And we all have another thing in common: our collective smiles can change the world, but the world will not change our smiles!

And while creating this Newsletter truly makes me smile, I also faced a unique dilemma: who would I select for the smile of the week? As Leonardo's mysterious crack was guided by divine coincidence, I closed my eyes and let chance decide for me. Randomly chosen is Matteo, with his legendary... smile. 

Don't forget to scroll through our Junior School Album of Photos, with so many more smiles that will make you smile too.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal 

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

• • Monday, September 12 | Full Day Schedules for all JS grades

  • Wednesday, September 14 | 1st Parent Association Meeting 8:25am Cafe (details in this newsletter)

See the PA's section of this newsletter for PA-sponsored social events taking place this week!

We hope you enjoy this moments captured on the 1st Day of 2022-2-23: 

1st Day Photos 2022-2023 

1st Day Video 2022-2023

• • Monday, September 19 | 1st Day Yellow Bus Service for J1-J4 & JAs with older siblings on the bus

  • Wednesday, September 21 | International Day of Peace

  • Monday, September 26 | 1st Day Yellow Bus Service for JA students without a sibling who rides the bus

  • Wednesday, September 28 | JS Back to School Night - Homeroom & Specialist Teachers (more information to follow)

  • Monday, October 3 | After School Classes Begin 

  • Wednesday, October 5 |1st  JS Parent Coffee 

  • Thursday & Friday, October 6 & 7  |  JS Photo Days (more information to follow)

  • Saturday, October 15  |  UNIS Celebrates 75 Years! (see invitation below)

  • Friday, October 21  |  UN Day Celebrated at UNIS

  • October 24 - October 28 |  No Classes for Students / October Break

  • Thursday, November 17  |  Photo Retake Day

See the PA's section of this newsletter for upcoming social events!

As part of our Physical Education curriculum, swimming is offered to students in J2-J4. Students will swim once a week during the term at a designated time during their schedule. They will use the swimming pool located in the Waterside Plaza complex immediately north of the UNIS Manhattan campus. Their PE teachers and the Teaching Assistant will remain throughout the lesson and will escort students to and from the pool.

All students will require the following items:

• Girls: one-piece bathing suit, preferably in a plain dark color

• Boys: speedos/jammers/ swim shorts, no longer than the knee, preferably in a plain dark color

• Swim cap (mandatory for all)

• Goggles

• Towel

• Flip-flops or water shoes

• A rash guard is permitted but not required

• Labeled swim bag, preferably a backpack big enough to hold everything

Please ensure your child is appropriately dressed for walking to and from Waterside Pool on their designated swim days. Hair Dryers are available for use after swimming in colder weather.

If your child needs to be excused from swimming for a medical reason, please ensure they bring a note for the PE teacher as they will still accompany the class to Waterside unless there is a physical reason that they cannot walk there.

In order for your J2-J4 child to participate in the swimming program, please complete the online permission form by clicking on the link.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Daniel O'Connor, CAA, CIAA. | Director of Athletics and Physical Education

doconnor@unis.org | Office: 212-584-3059 

To facilitate a smooth dismissal for all of our teachers and students, all JS families are expected to have an SDM account set up for each JS child and have entered both their "Default Dismissal" plan and any "Exceptions" for the week ahead by Monday morning each week.

If you have not updated your SDM account for the week of September 12, and the 2022-2023 school year, please take the time to do it now.

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 attend school, please use SDM to mark your child "Absent".

SDM is the only way of informing the dismissing teachers where your child should go at dismissal each day. 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.

UNIS Covid-19 protocols have been updated for 2022-2023:

• Face masks are optional

• Everyone on campus must be vaccinated. A booster is not required for students or parents in order to be on campus at this time, however.

• No Covid-19 restrictions in the cafeteria

• People who have been in contact with confirmed positive Covid-19 cases are no longer required to quarantine: we recommend you wear a face mask, however.

• Vaccinated parents/guardians are allowed on campus, on a limited and as-needed basis. Large parents meetings will take place on site and may be livestreamed. 

• Remote Learning is NOT available -including for students who test positive for Covid-19-, except in cases of approved/documented long-term medical absences exceeding 10 school days.

• Anyone testing positive for Covid-19 (Day zero) will need to be out until Day 5 (no remote learning available). On Day 6, the person can come back on site and will need to wear a face mask until Day 10. Note that the school does not do contact tracing.

• Anyone on campus who is exhibiting any of the following symptoms must stay/be sent home:

  • A temperature greater than or equal to 100.0° F (37.8° C)

  • Feel feverish or have chills

  • Cough

  • Loss of taste or smell

  • Fatigue/feeling of tiredness

  • Sore throat

  • Shortness of breath or trouble breathing

  • Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea

  • Muscle pain or body aches

  • Headaches

  • Nasal congestion/runny nose

Please be mindful as you pack lunches for your Junior School child(ren) as these will remain stored in their backpacks until snack or lunch time. If lunch items require cooling, please be sure to include insulated ice packs in the packaging for your child's lunch. No additional heating or cooling options are available. 

For reasons related to student allergies and health, the policy for JS student birthday celebrations on campus has been updated.

• Birthdays will continue to be acknowledged and celebrated in the JS Homeroom and/or with the Mother Tongue group. 

• Students may bring a special food treat for themself from home on their birthday to enjoy at snack or lunch time.

• Instead of bringing food treats from home to be shared with classmates, the birthday student may choose from a menu of fun activities offered by the Homeroom or MT teacher for the class to participate in together. The activities will be age-appropriate and vary by grade.

• At the discretion of the Homeroom teacher, there may be individual celebrations for each student, or there may be grouped, monthly birthday celebrations. 

• Details about the birthday celebration policy for your child’s homeroom will be discussed in more detail with parents at Back to School Night on September 28.

IF YOU DROP OFF YOUR CHILD AT ARRIVAL TIME FOR THEIR GRADE

IF YOU GO TO THE CAFETERIA BEFORE DROPPING OFF YOUR CHILD

• Legal guardians may access the school building to wait near the drop-off zone, and remain in the company of their children until the announcement is made for students to line up with their classes at 8:15 (J2/J3/J4) or 8:20 (PreK, JA, J1).

• Legal guardians may access the school building to sit in the cafeteria, beginning at 7:30 am, and remain in the company of their children until the announcement is made for students to walk independently to their classes at 8:15 (J2/J3/J4) or to line up with their teachers in the covered playground area at 8:20 (PreK, JA, J1).

• Legal guardians may remain in the cafeteria until 9:00 am.

• Legal guardians who arrive earlier than 8:15/8:20 in order to have breakfast in the cafeteria must supervise their children at all times while on the premises until an announcement is made for students to line up with their teachers or proceed directly to their classrooms (dependent upon grade). 

• At no time is playground access permitted for students being supervised by their guardians. Playground access is reserved solely for students arriving by Yellow Bus who are in the care of school personnel.

• At no time may legal guardians enter the 2nd floor or access any classrooms.

• Legal guardians and students are expected to arrive at the campus no later than the arrival time for their grade as shared by the school's administration. Late arrivals impact the efficiency of our protocols designed for smooth transitions, as well as to detract from our community's safety. Families are strongly encouraged to ensure that their child(ren) arrives at UNIS at the time assigned for their grade, and no earlier or later.

• Students arriving at school by bus will be welcomed and supervised in the playground.

• J2, J3 and J4 students arriving at 8:15 am walk independently to their classrooms. If J2, J3 and J4 students have arrived earlier and are in the cafeteria supervised by their legal guardians, an announcement will be made at 8:15 for those students to proceed to their classrooms independently.

• PK and JA are welcomed by their teachers at 8:20 in the playground covered area behind the school in order to line up and proceed to their classrooms. 

• J1 students are welcomed by their teachers at 8:20 in the playground covered area behind the school in order to line up and proceed to their classrooms.

• PK, JA, and J1 students who are in the cafeteria being supervised by their legal guardians will hear an announcement at 8:20 to meet their teachers to proceed to their classroom.

The late arrival of students in the morning is disruptive for faculty and staff and your child's classmates.

 J2, J3 and J4 students are expected to arrive no later than 8:15. 

PK, JA and J1 are expected to arrive no later than 8:20. 

Please ensure that your child arrives at the time assigned for your child's grade.

There is a strict hand-to-hand policy in the Junior School for dismissal:

JS teachers will only dismiss at the end of the day to a parent, authorized caregiver, after school/after care/athletics teacher/coach, or bus supervisor. JS students are not permitted to leave the front gate of the campus without adult supervision. Only a sibling in M3 or older may be given permission to escort their sibling from campus.

During Dismissal time, legal guardians should not gather inside the school premises to wait for their child. If their child is not at the designated location, they should continue to walk, following the flow, until their child arrives.

PreK through J4 students are not permitted to meet parents or caregivers outside the school’s front gate. Teachers must release students whose dismissal is indicated as being “Pick-up” in SDM, to parents, or another adult authorized by the parents, following the dismissal guidelines as indicated below.

Please note that parents and caregivers are expected to arrive at UNIS no later than the time indicated in this section. If parents or caregivers are not able to arrive on time on a regular basis, please contact our Office of Special Programs to register for the Care Program. If you or your caregiver is running late in unusual circumstances and will arrive later than the time indicated, the school will place your student in the Care Program. Parents are aware that Non‐Registered Care Program drop off has a specific cost (see After Care protocol for most updated fees).

To give permission for a new caregiver to enter UNIS to pick up or drop off your child, please log in to the Veracross Parent Portal at myunis.vc:

• Log in to Veracross

• Click on Household Information

• Update Household Profile by clicking on Contacts for My Children and +Add New

• Enter that caregiver’s details under the Contacts section (add as many additional contacts and caregivers as you need)

• Next, grant the contacts Pickup Authorization as needed by clicking on Pickup Authorization on the right and +Add New.

After you enter that information in Veracross, your caregiver can have a UNIS ID made that will allow him/her access to the school to pick up and drop off. In the interim, until the caregiver information is populated by IT to the Security Access card system, fill in this ID Authorization Form, print and sign it, and have the caregiver carry this form along with a photo ID to present to Security at the front gate until a physical UNIS ID card is printed.

Parents are asked to retrieve and turn in ID cards issued to caregivers who are no longer employed.

• PK and JA are dismissed by their teachers at 2:45 pm

• J1 and J2 are dismissed by their teachers at 2:50 pm

• J3 and J4 are dismissed by their teachers at 2:55 pm

To support our Security team and ensure a smooth transition, parents and guardians arriving to pick up their children at dismissal should avoid entering the school building.

• Parents/legal guardians arriving on time at school for dismissal can pick up their child at designated areas indicated in the Dismissal Map.

• After JS dismissal and before 5:45pm: parents may pick up their child in the cafeteria by following the directions given by the security guards.

• Parents are required to indicate in the note field in SDM the identity of the parent/caregiver who will pick up their child, providing both the first and last name as it appears on that person’s identification. This information needs to be accurate on any given day. If the information is not provided correctly by the family, but the parent/caregiver is registered as a parent or an authorized caregiver in Veracross, and UNIS personnel are able to verify that information, the student will be allowed to leave with him/her. This information is required at dismissal as well as when the pick-up is scheduled after an After School, Care Program or Athletic activity.

• Parents are required to list all caregivers/babysitters on the portal in Veracross. Security will not allow entrance to caregivers/babysitters who are undocumented/not listed in Veracross. To avoid delay and complications at pick-up, please make sure to maintain an updated list of all caregivers/babysitters in Veracross on the portal. In case of an emergency, parents are required to call and email the JS Office or After School program (depending on the pick up time) providing the full name of the individual who is picking up their child and confirming that that person will carry a government issued photo ID.

Any student scheduled to be picked up at school by the parent/caregiver, and that parent/caregiver fails to collect the child at dismissal, will be brought to the Care Program and the family will be billed accordingly. Parents are aware that Non‐Registered Care Program drop off has a cost (see After Care protocol for most updated fees).

On Saturday, you should receive an email from SCHOOL DISMISSAL MANAGER with important information in order to share with the school how your child will be dismissed at the end of each day. We highly encourage everyone to review the information below.

Junior School Class Parents

If you are interested in volunteering as a class parent, please let your child's home room teacher know by email as soon as possible. We look forward to working with all JS class parents in the new school year!

Save the dates: 

• Junior School Family Fun Day (9/10) in St. Vartan Park (1st Ave & 35th Street).  

Feel free to bring your preferred picnic food and drinks, picnic blanket and lawn toys. 

• • • • 10:00-12:00 pm for PreK - J1

      • 11:00-1:00 pm for J2 - J4

• J1 and J2 Parent Social (9/12) 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

• PreK and JA Parent Social (9/15) 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

• J3 and J4 Parent Social ( 9/19) 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

PA Volunteers Needed!

Many thanks to those parents who have indicated their interest in helping the PA plan and organize many upcoming events in the Junior School. 

If you are interested and have not yet done so, we invite you to indicate your interest by completing the UNIS Junior School PA Volunteer Form. 

The deadline of submission is Sunday, September 18.  

Message from PA President, Angela Tolosa

Hello UNIS Families!

Welcome back to the new 2022-23 academic year! Please join us for an in-person meeting on Wednesday, September 14, 2022 from 8:25am-9:25am at the UNIS Cafe. Dr. Brenner will provide remarks. Coffee/refreshments will be served.

Friendly or upcoming events including new JS family fun days this Saturday and a MS family picnic this Sunday. Fliers for these events can be found in this shared folder: 2022-23 UNIS PA Documents for Parents

• Junior School PA Coordinator News

• Junior School PA Volunteers Needed!

  • Please join the JS Co-Coordinators Zhenzhen Huang, Sue Jing, and Mindy Tan in helping to organize a wide range of events. Please indicate your interest by visiting https://js.unis.org/volunteer.The deadline of submission is Sunday, September 18. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

• Events 

  • Sat 9/10 - Junior School Family Fun Day in St. Vartan Park (1st Ave & 35th Street) 

    • 10 am -12 pm for PreK - J1

    • 11 am -1 pm for J2-J4

  • Mon 9/12 - J1 and J2 Parent Social 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

  • Thurs 9/15 - PreK and JA Parent Social 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

  • Mon 9/19 - J3 and J4 Parent Social (9/19) 8:30-9:30 am at Waterside Plaza

• Middle School PA Coordinator News

  • Middle School Co-Coordinators Ayse Aydemir, Nicole Azzopardi, and Valeska VonSchirmeister welcome all incoming MS families. Please look for an email inviting you to join a grade-wide Whatsapp Group Chat for parents. 

  • Event

    • Sun 9/11 - MS Family Picnic from 1pm-3pm in Tribeca, Pier 26. RSVPs are welcomed here. 

• Tut House PA Coordinator News

  • Tut-House Co-Coordinators Neil Nandkisure and Yvonne Brown welcome all incoming TH families.  Please look for an email from your grade representatives inviting you to join a grade-wide Whatsapp Group Chat for parents.  

• New2UNIS - a.k.a. The UNIS parents’ social club

  • Thanks to all that attended the welcome breakfast and see photos at the New2Unis Instagram. So nice to meet so many of you! For more info on volunteering or attending their events, send an email new2unis@unis.org

  • Parent Help Network -

    • We have created a volunteer database to match existing UNIS families with families joining the school and who have questions for fellow parents. If interested, complete this form at https://js.unis.org/mentor

Have a fantastic end to the first week of school. Hope to see some of you at this weekend events or at the PA meeting!

Best regards

Angela

--

Angela Tolosa | PA President  

angela.tolosa@pa.unis.org  | 646-797-7432

https://www.unis.org/school-life/parents-association

United Nations International School 

At this time, mask wearing while on campus is optional and the discretion of your family. Be assured that all JS students whose families choose to have them remain masked at school will be fully supported by our faculty and staff.

If your child will wear a mask at school be sure you have packed at least 2 spare masks in a clean bag in your child's backpack, as well as an extra bag to hold used masks. 

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.

When Your Child is Sick

When your child is sick with runny nose, cough, stomach ache, fever, headache, etc. there is no expectation from the school that they should attend school in person or attempt to learn from home. 

If your child has symptoms that would normally have kept them at home prior to COVID-19, we ask that families not send their children to school or request for schoolwork to be sent home.

We hope that time will be taken for your child to rest and recover at home as the school believes that children recover more quickly when they are permitted to disconnect and rest, and when care is taken by everyone to avoid spreading communicable illnesses.