Newsletter #23

Dear parents,

Women have played an integral role in shaping history and March, Women's History Month, is a time to honor their contributions and celebrate their social, cultural, economic, and political achievements throughout history. Women's History Month originated in the United States and began as a single day celebration. In 1981, Congress passed a resolution proclaiming Women's History Week, and in 1987 Congress declared March as Women's History Month. The celebration of Women's History Month has expanded globally, with various countries and organizations acknowledging the importance of women's contributions to society. Every March, schools and other organizations worldwide celebrate Women's History Month to recognize the vital role of women in history and society. 

Women have been historically underrepresented, including women of color, women with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ women. The month-long observance acknowledges their continued struggles for equal rights and opportunities and raises awareness about the gender disparities that persist in society. Women still face discrimination in various forms, including pay inequity, gender-based violence, and limited access to healthcare, education, and employment opportunities. By acknowledging these issues, Women's History Month aims to foster dialogue and action toward creating a more equitable world for all. 

Celebrating Women's History Month at UNIS, and in other schools, aims to encourage young women and girls to pursue their dreams and careers without facing discrimination and barriers. In March, we will continue our efforts to align our effort with the UN in celebration of Women's History Month:

• On March 8, we will hold an assembly in support of girls' education and we will connect with CAMFED*, a grassroots-led movement that is fighting poverty, inequality, and injustice through girls’ education and women’s leadership across Africa. During this assembly, which will be led by our students, we will have the opportunity to interview Norma Isaczai, a UNIS employee who left Afghanistan as a child in order to receive an education in a safer environment. With her story, we hope that everyone who hears it will support the right for girls all around the World to also attend school.

• On March 22, we will hold a second assembly to learn about the Kenya Education Foundation. We are not sharing too many details about this special Assembly yet, but we anticipate that it will be an assembly that our students will remember all their lives!

The assemblies will be live-streamed so that parents can share the experiences with their children and continue the discussions at home.

CAMFED (the Campaign for Female Education) is a non-profit organization that focuses on providing educational opportunities for girls and young women in rural Africa. The organization's primary purpose is to help girls and young women to stay in school, and to support them in developing the skills, knowledge, and confidence they need to succeed in life. The specific objectives of CAMFED are to improve access to education (CAMFED works to increase the number of girls and young women who are able to attend school, by providing scholarships, school uniforms, and other necessary resources), to improve the quality of education (CAMFED supports teacher training and school development initiatives, to ensure that schools are able to provide high-quality education that meets the needs of their students), to support girls' and young women's empowerment (CAMFED provides mentorship and leadership training to help girls and young women develop the skills and confidence they need to succeed in school and in life) and to promote gender equality by advocating for policies and programs that promote gender equality in education, and works to address the social and cultural barriers that can prevent girls and young women from accessing education.

The Kenya Education Foundation (KEF) is a non-profit organization that aims to provide educational opportunities to bright and needy students in Kenya. Specifically, KEF provides scholarships and mentorship to students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds who have demonstrated academic potential. The primary purpose of the Kenya Education Foundation is to help address the education inequality gap in Kenya by providing support to students who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend school. By offering scholarships, KEF is able to help students cover the costs of tuition, books, and other necessary expenses. In addition, KEF provides mentorship and support services to help students succeed academically and prepare for their future careers. KEF also aims to promote gender equality in education by prioritizing support for girls who face additional barriers to accessing education in Kenya.

And, the month of March will also be an opportunity for parents to learn more about our students' achievements during the upcoming Student Led Conferences. You will find more information about the Conferences in the Newsletter below.

Pascal Vallet, Junior School Principal

Alessandra Camilo, Junior School Assistant Principal

* To be confirmed this week

PRIORITY: Update your child's SDM account for Semester 2 Activities After School & Bus

Accurate daily information entered by you in SDM 

is the only way that your child 

can be escorted to the correct location at dismissal.

• • Monday, February 27 | 100th Day of School

  • Tuesday, February 28 | State of the School 6:00pm

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

• • Tuesday, March 7 | JS Parent Coffee 8:30am (details in this newsletter)

  • Thursday, March 16 | Student-Led Conference Sign Up Opens for Parents 

  • Saturday, March 18 | JS Family Carnival Fundraiser (waitlist is open)

  • Monday, March 20 | Student-Led Conference Sign Up Closes 

  • Wednesday, March 22 - Friday, March 24 | JS Student-Led Conferences

  • Thursday, March 23 & Friday, March 24 | No Classes for JS Students

  • March 27 - April 7 | No Classes for Students / Spring Break (camp registrations are in this newsletter)

  • Monday, April 10 | Classes Resume

IMPORTANT: 

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 adds to our UNIS Portal. 

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.

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

• Going to Veracross

• Clicking on Household Information

• Updating Household Profile -> Contacts.

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

NEWS FROM TRUIKE BOEKHOLT, DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSION COORDINATOR FOR JS

The JS faculty recently participated in a workshop lead by the EIB Leadership team. The subject of the meeting was micro aggressions and how it shows up in our community. Faculty had a chance to discuss situations at UNIS, how to always use empathy as an approach, and to stand up for our school's mission.

This is a work of progress and will be continued.

For Friendship Day on February 14, and in the spirit of friendship, support and empathy, the Junior School made “hearts of hope and support” written with our Turkish and Syrian families in mind. 

Faculty members crafted Turkish evil eye bracelets as well as many other items that were sold during the bake sale with proceeds intended for UNICEF in Syria and Turkey.

Music faculty serenaded all volunteers with a traditional Arabic song as a support for our UNIS families with lost family members.

JS DEI members held an assembly where they presented the “birthday boxes” outcome. UNICEF representative and UNIS parent Joseph Barnes joined the assembly and explained how UNICEF has a similar way of providing support to victims and impoverished families with a concept called “school in a box”.

WHY DO WE HOLD STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES?

The goal of these conferences is "to celebrate the Learning Experience and Successes of the school year, in connection with the IB attitudes and attributes". To reach this goal, as in the past, parents have a fundamental role to play as the main interlocutor with our students, your children. 

Student benefits:

• empowers students to take responsibility for their own learning

• encourages reflection and self-evaluation

• increases self-confidence, self-esteem and motivation

• improves communication and critical thinking skills

• student ownership of celebrating the learning experience

• opportunity to celebrate what students are most proud of

Parent benefits:

• encourages active participation in their child’s education

• provides parents the opportunity to observe their child as a learner

• increases parents’ understanding of their child’s learning experience.

• involves parents with realistic goal-setting

• allows communication in the home language

Teacher benefits:

• emphasizes shared responsibility and encourages partnership approach

• more reflective of actual classroom learning experience where the teacher is "guide on the side"

• increases parent participation

• keeps student wellbeing and resilience at the forefront of conversations 

Our teachers will soon begin the process of creating class lists for the 2023-2024 school year. Homeroom teachers, specialists, the school psychologist and the counselors collaborate to create balanced classes across each grade. Friendships and social interactions from this and previous years are taken into account and care is taken to ensure that children are placed in a group with familiar friends and where they will also have the opportunity to develop new friendships.

While the Junior School does not accept requests for specific teachers, if you have any serious concerns about next year’s class placement for your child be sure to email their counselor by Friday, March 24, prior to Spring Break, to have those concerns addressed.

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

J2 & J4  Ms. Amy Iamundo aiamundo@unis.org

J1 & J3  Ms. Alyssa Frost afrost@unis.org

RSVP FOR PARENT EDUCATION WORKSHOPS March 6 and March 13

UNIS PA DEI Committee will host a two-part Interactive & Experiential workshop that will benefit parents and caregivers alike. Dr. Rani Varghese, LMSW and Dr. Michael Funk will introduce participants to a social justice approach to having conversations about issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with our children. 

Please sign up HERE. 

For more information from the DEI committee, read its latest newsletter HERE.

Date: Mondays, 6th & 13th March 2023

Time: 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm 

Location: UNIS (no recording)

RSVP: here by 2/27

Price: FREE

Light meal and refreshments will be provided

2023 Spring Break Camp (March 27 - April 7)

During the upcoming spring break, UNIS offers 2 weeks "Spring Camp" for students in JA through M4. The program description is attached for your convenience. 

  LINK to Registration

UNIS 2022-23 Spring Camp BROCHURE

• Division 1 (JA-J4)    

• Division 2 (M1-M4)

Program Dates & Times: 

Week # 1: Monday, March 27 - Friday, March 31, 2023

Week # 2: Monday, April 3 - Friday, April 7, 2023 

Arrival: 8:30am to 9:00am 

Time: 9:00 am to 3:30 pm

Extended Care Program: 3:30pm-5:30pm 

Division 1 Program (JA-J4) (inclusive)

• Leadership

• Arts & Crafts

• Team Building 

• Art and Design 

Division 2 Program (M1-M4) (inclusive)

• Week # 1  Debate & Public Speaking / Student Government:  Exciting Simulation Model UN - Crisis Committee - Security Council 

•  Art and Design 

• Team Building 

• Week # 2  Debate & Public Speaking / Student Government:  Exciting Simulation Model Congress - Executive Power

• Art and Design 

• Team Building 

Registration Fees: 

Early Bird Fee: $700 per week (if registered by February 15 , 2023)

Regular Fees starting February 16, 2023: $750 per week

*Registration is open on a weekly basis. Families can choose to register their children for both weeks or one of the weeks. The program will be offered if the minimum number of participants is reached. Please register as soon as possible.

The confirmation will be sent on March 15th.

Note: Students must bring their own food and snacks as the cafeteria will be closed during this time.

If you have any questions, please contact:

Dr. Lidana Jalilvand, Director of Special Programs

Email: ljalilvand@unis.org

Tel: 212 584 3083  

Save the Date for JS Parent Coffee, Tuesday, March 7, 8:30-9:25 am, UNIS Cafeteria  

Topic: JS reading curriculum, library resources and student-led conferences

Questions: please send your questions in advance to pa_jscoordinators@pa.unis.org.

Waitlist for JS Family Carnival Fundraiser, Saturday, March 18, 1:30-3:30 pm 

• We have SOLD OUT of tickets but you can still join the waitlist. Please sign up HERE (up to 4 tickets per family) to join the waitlist.

• If you want to sell your tickets, please contact the JS PA Coordinators at pa_jscoordinators@pa.unis.org so we can match you with people on the waitlist.

• Proceeds raised will go to the UNIS PA to support events for UNIS families.

• What’s included: 2 hours of carnival fun! Ticket costs cover 4 carnival game tickets, magic show, balloon twisting, a dance party, snacks and non-alcoholic beverages. 

• Special highlight: A silent auction featuring several sought-after unique experiences!

 CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: JS PARENT COORDINATOR (1 position)

Deadline: April 11

• Parents can either self-nominate or be nominated by a fellow parent. 

• Each Coordinator position is for a 2-year term. 

• Nominations should be provided NO LATER THAN APRIL 11th 2023 to the current school coordinators (pa_jscoordinators@pa.unis.org), who will make recommendations and review the nominees with the Junior School Principal.

• The By-Laws of the PA can be found here and have descriptions of the role of school parent coordinators.

• Questions? Please email the JS Parent Coordinators (pa_jscoordinators@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. 

COVID PROTOCOLS

If your child had any symptoms that could be consistent with COVID, they need to remain at home and take a rapid test. 

Students can return to school under the following conditions:

• they have tested negative on a rapid antigen

• they are afebrile for at least 24 hours

• their symptoms have resolved or are greatly improving

If your child's test is positive please email a picture of the test to covid@unis.org.

Please review the full protocols on our website https://www.unis.org/covid-protocols." 

HEALTH PROTOCOLS

We would like to remind everyone about our health protocols:

• When your child is sick with runny nose, cough, stomach ache, fever, headache, etc. there is no expectation from the Junior School that they should attend class 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.

• If your child had any symptoms that could be consistent with COVID, they need to remain at home and take a rapid test. Students can return to school under the following conditions:

  • • they have tested negative on a rapid antigen

    • are afebrile for at least 24 hours

    • their symptoms have resolved or are greatly improving

    • If your child's test is positive, please email a picture of the test to covid@unis.org.

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.

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.

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

• 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 outside Staircase D to meet their teachers and walk to their classrooms 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 using Staircase D.

• J1 students arriving at 8:20 walk independently to their classrooms. If J1 students have arrived earlier and are in the cafeteria supervised by their legal guardians, an announcement will be made at 8:20 for those students to line up outside Staircase D with their legal guardians and then proceed to their classrooms independently.

• PK and JA are welcomed by their teachers at 8:20 at Staircase D and proceed directly to their classrooms. 

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

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 3:00 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).

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.

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 were discussed in more detail with parents at Back to School Night on September 28.

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. 

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.