Newsletter #16

01/08/2023

Dear parents,

Semester 1 Report Cards for Junior School students will be published on Friday, February 3 at 5:00pm 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 about their potential growth.

Your child’s academic achievement for each individual subject is reported separately from his/her learning skills. The descriptors for academic achievement levels ensure a greater JA to T4 alignment and provide clarity in the transition between the word-based scale used in JA to M2 and the numeric scale used from M3 to T4. Previous used Learning to Learn Skills have been replaced by the IB Approaches to Learning Skills. The skills selected for a K-12 progression (Social Skills, Communication Skills, Self-Management Skills, Thinking Skills) are developmentally defined and will be assessed from a frequency of observable behavior.

What is the purpose of the report cards?

The purpose of the report card is to communicate your student’s achievement and learning goals. It is designed to provide you with clear and specific information about your child’s academic progress and the development of behaviors that support lifelong learning. This information includes identifying your child’s level of progress; areas of strength; areas needing additional time, effort, and/or support; and opportunities for growth, based on assessments that demonstrate evidence of learning and teachers’ evaluation.

What grade descriptors are used (JA-M2 Descriptors)

How do I access my child’s report cards?

The Report Cards will be published on the Parent Portal of Veracross on February 3. To view them, access the Parent Portal of Veracross (link found on the Parent Portal from the UNIS Website). After logging in to Veracross, simply click on "Classes & Reports", and then on "Report Card".

Friday, February 10 will be the deadline for questions about a specific JS teacher’s grading. Please contact the teacher directly by email no later than the 10th of February with a copy to jsoffice@unis.org.

If you do not yet have access to the Veracross portal and need instructions on how to do so, please contact veracross@unis.org for support.

Detailed instructions for accessing your child's report card will be shared closer to the February publication date.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

COLD WEATHER REMINDERS: IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Cold weather is here and the Junior School has important reminders to bring to your attention:

STUDENTS ARRIVING BY YELLOW BUS

With colder weather, Junior School students who ride the yellow bus in the morning will assemble in the tents in front of the school after leaving the bus and then, instead of remaining outdoors in the tents, will be escorted by school personnel to line up indoors in the cafeteria area until 8:15/8:20 when they transition to their homeroom classes.

Note that, at arrival, designated school personnel are assigned to the supervision of bus riding students only.



STUDENTS ARRIVING WITH A CAREGIVER

Students who arrive with a caregiver in the morning may continue to line up outside Stairwell D to wait to enter the building at 8:15/8:20 or, if the weather is too cold or wet, may wait accompanied by their adult caregiver at all times in the cafeteria. At the 8:15/8:20 start time for their grade, students who are waiting in the cafeteria with their caregiver can transition to their homeroom by walking through Stairwell D.



UNACCOMPANIED JS STUDENTS

We have noted a number of Junior School students entering the school gates unaccompanied by an adult caregiver. These students are arriving between 8:00 - 8:15, which is too early for them to transition to their homeroom. School personnel are not available to supervise them prior to them joining their homeroom class.

As a reminder:

IMPORTANT DATES

THIS WEEK: JANUARY 9

TO DO: Update your child's SDM account for January 

See the PA's section of this newsletter for PA-sponsored events & information.

In response to COVID-19, RSV and flu levels, the NYC Health Department issued this Commissioner's Advisory on December 9: NYC HEALTH DEPARTMENT ADVISORY

UPCOMING EVENTS

Athletics & After School Activities: Final Meeting Dates for Semester 1 

Update your child's SDM account now to reflect the end date of their Semester 1 Athletics and After School classes:


After you have registered your child for new Semester 2 Athletics and After School classes, remember to update SDM so that your child will be dismissed to the correct location for their new activities.

You will find the links to register for Semester 2 in this newsletter.

CELEBRATIONS OF LEARNING 

Each JS grade is looking forward to sharing their learning with parents during the 2nd half of the school year. Exact dates will be shared by homeroom teachers, but in the meantime our students are preparing for these special projects: 

DATES WITHOUT YELLOW SCHOOL BUS SERVICE DURING 2022-23

Note these dates in February and April when bus service will not be provided by the DOE. 

IN THIS NEWSLETTER

INFORMATION: J4 HEALTH CURRICULUM

Dear Parents,

We are thrilled to be teaching six Health Education lessons in J4 this Spring. As a part of our ongoing JA-T4 Health Curriculum Review, the Health teachers, along with the Curriculum Department, have developed six lessons in order to be proactive and informative regarding personal physical, mental and social Health issues and to be an integral part of our Comprehensive Health Education program. The lessons have been carefully created utilizing the National Health Education Standards, are age-appropriate, lead into our Middle School and Tut House Health program, and, most importantly, are adapted to our international and varied-learning community. Units will be delivered by Amy Iamundo, Junior School Counselor, in discussion-based lessons aimed at making students feel comfortable. We encourage students and parents to continue conversations at home and to provide feedback so that we can adapt accordingly. Feel free to contact me or any of my collaborators in the interim.

Sue Steinberg, Health Team Leader | ssteinberg@unis.org

J4 Health Curriculum Parent Newsletter .pdf

INFORMATION: REGISTRATION FOR AFTER SCHOOL & CARE  SEMESTER 2

Links to registration for the 2nd Semester After School Program are listed below. If interested, we invite you to register as soon as possible.

Semester 2 begins on February 6. All activities are subject to enrollment, and confirmations and cancellations will be sent by mid-January.

Questions: Dr. Lidana Jalilvand  | Director of Special Programs | afterschoolprogram@unis.org

INFORMATION: REGISTRATION FOR UNIS ATHLETICS SEMESTER 2

After School and Weekend Sports Registration


Registration is now open for the Semester 2 After School and Weekend Sports Program. The information can be found on the UNIS Athletics Website.


The Schedule is the same as Semester 1 with a few new activity additions:


Monday to Friday JS Sports from 4:00 - 5:00 pm

Tuesday MS Pickleball

Tuesday and Wednesday M4-T4 Strength & Conditioning 

Thursday PK-J1 Climbing

Friday Parent Zumba 

Saturday Gymnastics


Questions: Daniel O'Connor | Director of Athletics and Physical Education | doconnor@unis.org

Sports Camps Registration


Registration is also open for the upcoming Sports Camps. The information can be found on the UNIS Athletics Website.


Camps take place at UNIS for JS to T4 Students at the following times:

February Break

Spring Break

Summer Break

October Break

Winter Break starting in 2023

INFORMATION: T3 & J4s DISCUSS CLIMATE ACTION

On Friday, J4 Green Team and Animals Rights Club students visited Tut House Environmental class to listen to a special guest speaker. UNICEF representative to COP 27, Paloma Escudero, spoke to the students about the role of Youth in the Climate Agenda. She spoke about how 11 years old children are making a difference in their neighborhoods to correct the damage of climate change. I wanted to use this visit to reinforce our J4 students’ passion and determination to make a difference. A big cheer to the J4s!

Rose Fico |  J1 Teaching Assistant | Junior School Sustainability Coordinator 

PARENT ASSOCIATION CORNER: JS PARENT COFFEE / VIRTUAL CITY HARVEST / LUNAR NEW YEAR / VIDEO LIBRARY / ARCHIVE LINKS

Junior School Parent Coffee


Join us on Tuesday, January 10 at 8:30am in the Cafe for the next JS Parent Coffee on the topic of School Lunch. Join Tara Marcelle from FLIK DINING and the Administration Team to learn about lunch and lunch routines in the cafeteria. 

If you are not available to attend in person, you are welcome to connect using this livestream link instead:   Livestream Link

Virtual Fundraising for City Harvest by UNIS Community - Ends January 16 

Here is the link to the virtual Drive:

Thank you for your compassion, generosity, and support for the UNIS City Harvest Drive. For more information, please do not hesitate to get in touch with the Social Responsibility Committee Co-Chairs:

Lunar New Year - Saturday, February 4

UNISPA Cultural Committee invites you to bring in the Lunar New Year with us to celebrate the arrival of spring and the year of the Rabbit!


It is the time to reunite with the family and we would like to come together with our UNIS Family! Join us at UNIS  on Saturday, February 4, 2023, from 4 - 7pm


Tickets are $25 per person and free for kids 4 and under. Buy your tickets here: https://www.unis.org/cf_forms/view.cfm?formID=901


To usher in a year full of abundance, good luck and fortune, there will be a food feast, Lion dance, Korean dances, student led musical Performances, lantern making, calligraphy and more….


We are excited to see you all in person!


Abhilasha & Sabrina

Cultural Committee Co-Chairs

abhilasha.mahan@pa.unis.org; sabrina.zancan@pa.unis.org

UNIS VIDEO LIBRARY

If you missed a meeting or want to review what you remember from a past meeting, UNIS maintains a library of recordings available at https://vimeo.com/unisny.  Some highlights include a Fireside Chat with the Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed and a recent This is Junior School video

ARCHIVE


New2UNIS If you’d like to meet other parents - new or current to UNIS- sign up for the New2UNIS listserv at new2unis@unis.org Follow us on Instagram too!  


Publicize your Business or Seek Services - UNIS marketplace. Submit your business description, website and image on this form to publicize. Scroll through services here


Never too late to volunteer with the PA. Submit your interest here


Buy UNIS merch online. Visit https://store.unis.org/ And if you want to join the UNIS PA swag team, email unis@unispa.org

IMPORTANT: 

Please review your family profile and contact information to ensure that all of your local cell phone numbers, work phone numbers, email addresses and home address are correct and are entered in the correct fields. If you have not reviewed your information since the start of this school year, we encourage you to do it today so that we can reach you quickly if needed, especially if you have relocated from abroad.

All departments at UNIS, including the nurse, rely on the information that you provide in the Veracross Parent Portal to contact you. The only way you or your caregiver can be reached in an emergency, or when there are schoolwide announcements, is through the information that your family enters in our UNIS Portal. 

After logging into the Portal at myunis.vc , you may review and update all of your family contact information by:


Thank you for taking the time to review and update your contact information now, and throughout the school year if your contact information changes.

If you need support in order to make your updates, please email veracross@unis.org

REMINDER: HEALTH REMINDERS

We would like to remind everyone about our health protocols:

You may review the full protocols on our website COVID & Health Protocols. 

Thank you for supporting the entire UNIS community by keeping your children at home when they are not well. 

When your child will be absent, please email your homeroom teacher before 8:00am with a copy to jsattendance@unis.org . We also encourage families to update SDM in order to alert all other departments, especially After School activities and Transportation.

REMINDER: PREPARING FOR COLDER WEATHER

Outdoor Activity & Recess Policy During Cold Weather

Throughout the winter season, 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 first and 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.

REMINDER: ARRIVAL

IMPORTANT REMINDER: 

Be on time for class:

LATE ARRIVAL

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 at 8:15 and proceed directly to their homeroom. 

PK, JA and J1 are expected to arrive at 8:20 and proceed directly to their homeroom.

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

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

IF YOU GO TO THE CAFETERIA BEFORE DROPPING OFF YOUR CHILD

2. RULES

3. ARRIVAL TIME

REMINDER: DISMISSAL

IMPORTANT NOTICE: JUNIOR SCHOOL STUDENTS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO LEAVE THE CAMPUS ALONE, OR WITH A SIBLING IN M1 or M2. JS STUDENTS ARE ONLY PERMITTED TO LEAVE CAMPUS WITH ADULTS IDENTIFIED IN THE UNIS DATABASE AS PARENT, LEGAL GUARDIAN, M3 - T4 SIBLING, OR CAREGIVER/RELATIVE AUTHORIZED BY PARENTS TO PICK UP THE STUDENT.

2. RULES

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:

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.

ID Authorization Form for Caregivers

3. DISMISSAL TIME

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.

4. DISMISSAL PICK-UP

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).

At dismissal please stay in motion, circling around the outside of 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. 

REMINDER: WHEN YOUR CHILD IS SICK

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.

Pack a Jacket or Sweatshirt Every Day

The weather can be changeable and we encourage all JS families to send their child to school with a warm jacket or sweatshirt every day. Students are outside on the playground twice daily and they will need an outer layer with them on most days. They should be dressed appropriately for rainy days as well.

REMINDER: PK-J4 LUNCH BROUGHT FROM HOME

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. 

REMINDER: JS BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION POLICY 

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

REMINDER: MASK WEARING AT 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 if they aren't disposable. 

REMINDER: UNIS IS AN ALLERGY AWARE SCHOOL

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.

If you have technology issues, please send an email to tech.support@unis.org

If you have academic tech questions, please contact Ms. Zammarano at fzammarano@unis.org