ISY Elementary Blog

February 25

Mike Simpson, Elementary School Principal

February 25, 2022

We are starting to see more movement of students from our online program to our in-person program. This is positive news as less students online and more in the classroom benefits students in both programs.

Our online program is for students who will need to learn online for an extended period of time because they are unable to come to campus but are well enough to study. If your child is sick, we ask that they rest as they normally would instead of joining online classes.

Thank you for keeping us informed if your family’s needs change and you need to switch back to our online learning program. The earlier we get this information the more effective we can be in adapting to meet every student’s needs. Please email the Elementary School Office (elementaryoffice@isyedu.org) as soon as you know that your child will need to learn online.

New Staff Update 2022-23

ISY is pleased to report that any staff members leaving at the end of this school year have already been replaced with new teachers who will be joining us in August. It is a credit to the reputation and quality of ISY that we are able to attract such excellent teachers despite the challenges that Yangon faces at the moment. This permits us to continue to maintain the same high standards ISY has always had. This is also a reflection of the high caliber of students we have at ISY. In addition, all of the IB teachers we have coming in are fully trained in the IB program and we look forward to the fresh ideas they bring.

ISY Compassion Conference

There will be no in-person or online classes this Friday, March 4. On that day, our faculty will be attending our annual ISY Compassion Conference. This conference is an opportunity for our faculty to reflect on our compassionate Mission and Vision and our definition of compassion:

The will and understanding to respect and value the identity, culture, perspective, and experience of others in acting to make a positive difference to their lives.

Over the course of the day, faculty will share in the experience and expertise of international presenters in a variety of topics that relate directly to our compassionate Mission and Vision and accompanying Strategic Themes of service learning, technology integration, culture and diversity, and inclusion. Our faculty will then be able to apply this experience and expertise in meeting the needs of every student.

Donations can be made at

https://isyedu.org/life-at-isy/online-ordering/

COUNSELOR’S CORNER with Ms. Patty:

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

-Nelson Mandela

Education is a proven method for breaking the poverty cycle and yet 1 in 6 children worldwide are not in school. We know that education empowers communities and promotes a fairer, more equitable world but not all children have access to education. This connection between education and poverty is why ISY partners with United World Schools to support the Myanmar Village of Wan Kaung.

For the last several years, I have supported ISY students as they have developed their service learning skills to support the Wan Kaung school through event development, fundraising and collaborative programming. One key component of the programming is the Sponsor the Students of Wan Kaung Program. This fundraising program allows individuals to sponsor the children of Wan Kaung, allowing them to access the education that can help them overcome poverty. Donations supply the children with the tools, teachers and programming they need to build a brighter future. Please consider supporting the students of Wan Kaung by making a donation at ISY Pay Now, indicating it is a UWS donation. Your help is greatly appreciated and will help provide a positive impact.

Warmly, Ms. Patty

Ms. Patty is available to support all ISY families. If you have any questions or concerns please contact her at escounselor@isyedu.org.

Patty Amundson-Geisel

Pre-K to Grade 6 Counselor

Used Book Donations

The elementary service learning group, UWS Partners is seeking gently used English and Myanmar books. Books will be sold at a future book sale and all proceeds will benefit the ISY-UWS partnership. Books can be brought to school throughout February and placed in the donation boxes located on the front steps, near the elementary office and to room 209, Ms. Saunders classroom.

MAP Testing Next Week

February 28 – March 3

From this Monday, February 28 until Thursday, March 3, we will be MAP (Measures of Academic Progress) testing in the Elementary School (Grades 2 to 5).

MAP assessments are online adaptive assessments that provide useful data in developing a fair and accurate assessment of a student’s academic achievement and growth.

Grade 2 to 5 students will be tested in Mathematics, Reading, and Language Usage.To ensure a fair and accurate assessment of a student’s academic growth and achievement, teachers combine MAP assessment data with all other student data that they have collected in classes. This combination of data informs teacher instruction in meeting the needs of each child. MAP assessment data is not the basis for a student’s academic grade as reported in Semester Report Cards.

Students will be able to sit their MAP tests in-person or at home although technology issues are more likely to arise at home. This week, teachers have worked with students to try to ensure that the device they are using at home can be used for MAP testing.

We appreciate that in many ways this might be a challenging time for your child to be MAP testing. If you would prefer that your child not participate in MAP testing, please email the Elementary School Office on elementaryoffice@isyedu.org.

Covid At-Home Testing

This message is copied from an email that went out to the community last week from the ISY Communications email account:

As a further measure to keep ISY students safe we have acquired a substantial number of COVID test kids, and are continuing to acquire more. Subject to availability we should have enough kits for every student and staff member to test themselves twice a week for the rest of the school year.

Every Monday, two test kits will be sent home with every student each week. We ask that students be tested every Wednesday and Sunday evening and that you inform the ISY clinic (clinic@isyedu.org) if your child’s test result is positive. If a student is absent on Monday they will be able to get their kits directly from the clinic when they return.

Each kit has instructions on how to perform the test but here is a video from the clinic showing you how to test. Again, if your child tests positive please inform the ISY clinic (clinic@isyedu.org) and keep your child at home. Here is ISY’s ‘Can my child come to school’ graphic.

If a student has a suspected case of Covid-19, the other students and parents in that person’s class will be informed and they should follow ISY’s Health and Safety instructions.

Many thanks in advance to all the members of our community for helping to keep ISY a safe environment to come to school.

COVID Considerations

This message is copied from an email that went out to the community last Thursday from the ISY Communications email account:

In the last two weeks there have been a number of suspected cases of Covid-19 from staff members and students. All contacts of these suspected cases have been informed accordingly. Our Health and Safety Guidelines have been updated to closely reflect the guidance from the US Government agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Three important messages from the guidelines and from our experience so far are as follows:

If your child has cold or flu-like symptoms do not send them to school. They should be kept home and monitored for symptoms for at least 5 days. If after 5 days they are symptom free and are testing negative, they can return to school.
If a member of your household is sick with flu-like symptoms, do not send your children to school even if they have no symptoms. They should be kept home and monitored for symptoms for at least 5 days. If after 5 days they are symptom free and are testing negative, they can return to school.
If your child has been exposed to Covid-19 but has recovered from a case of Covid in the last 90 days AND has no symptoms, they may come to school. Only if they develop symptoms should they be kept home.

Lunches

Students will need to bring a packed lunch and water bottle. Lunches can be dropped off at the front steps between the hours of 9am and 11am only. There will be no food vendors on campus initially and there will be no facilities to heat food.

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